The Holiday Season (Part VI)

Very Merry Christmas and Yule Tide

Christmas. Possibly one of the most commercialized and beloved holidays in these United States. Every year like clock work all the stores and television programs adjust themselves to go green and red, as it were, for this holiday. It's the big one, the show.

Not to say that any of the other holidays in the season are less than. They have somehow managed to retain their integrity and NOT sell out like a member of the Black Eyed Peas. Christmas, it seems, lost a lot of integrity to gain notoriety. I don't know what's worse, being famous for rumors, or being average for merits.
So how did it get here? How did Christmas arrive to be one of the world's most known, and celebrated (ish) holidays? Well wonder women, all goes back to the pagans...ah yes, those fun loving pagans.

Celebrating the winter solstice has been a long tradition in many pagan cultures. The Scandinavian pagans, for example, celebrated the solstice from the end of December to the beginning of January. It was a celebration of rebirth. The hard days of winter were passing by, and the coming days of spring were fast approaching...sort of. Winter can feel a lot longer than it really is. Most European nations would celebrate the solstice with a feast and party like it was 1099.
In Rome a celebration of the god Saturn took place in the winter. This festival allowed a little topsey, turvey fun. Masters would take the place of their servants, and vice versa. Much partying and getting down, like the Europeans but much more armored. A particular Roman holiday was celebrated on December 25, the birthday of the infant god Mithra, who would conquer the sun. This holiday was the most sacred among some Romans.

Christmas, the actual holiday, had a rocky start for Americans. Pilgrims didn't like the long standing traditions of "getting jiggy with it" and banned the holiday. In fact, the holiday was so frowned upon that anyone showing any Christmas cheer was fined five shillings. Lame. Christmas was not declared a federal holiday in the United States until 1870. Double Lame. You could say that the founding members of our nation were a bunch of Scrooges.

The 19th century was when Christmas started to make a turn around. For a long time it was still associated with parties, frivolity, and even gang riots. The switch from this to a family centered holiday was really a means to control people in winter, keep them from running ragged in the streets. And what could keep you inside more than a call from your mother, expecting you at 5:00pm? And who could forget the Dickens' classic, A Christmas Carol? That single work of literature focused on the charity, love, and warm fuzzies the Christmas season brings. This once again pushed people out of the drunken streets and into their homes where they belonged.

So really, all Christmas is is a 19th century guilt trip? All it ever was was one big awesome party Dickens had to snuff out. Hmmm, I hope it's a little more than that.

Thoughts? WW

The Holiday Season (Part V)

Hanukkah Times are Rockin' Times

Hanukkah began last night. The Festival of Lights. The one where there are eight nights. The holiday that serves really good food. The one that Adam Sandler sings a song about. That thing they talk about in "Hershall and the Hanukkah Goblins", one of my personal favorites. You know, HANUKKAH!

But what is Hanukkah, anyway? Why is it spelled so many ways? Why do people get all bent out of shape because they have to say "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas" this time of year? Well here I am everyone, an unofficial guide to the wonderful world of the Festival of Lights.

Hanukkah, also spelled Chanukah, Hanukah, and Hanuka, is a celebration of a very old Jewish holiday. It falls sometime between late November to late December (the holiday SEASON, people!) according to the lunar calendar and lasts eight nights. Each night a candle is lit on a menorah (Hanukiyah in Israel), a prayer is spoken, and presents are passed around. Good times. The holiday celebrates the Jewish victory over the Syrians about 2100 years ago, give or take. Because of this victory, the Jewish Temple was recaptured...(watch out, this is when the miracle happens!)

But no! The Syrians, in all their evil pagan ways, had really left the temple pretty beat. And they had only left enough stored oil so the Jews could burn their holy lights for one day. It would take eight days to acquire more. Well, they lit that puppy up anyway, and wouldn't you know it? The lights were glowing the whole eight days. MIRACLE! I love miracle holidays, they're wonderful.

And you know what comes with miracle holidays wonder women? FOOD. Yes, glorious, wonderful, amazing food. I believe that all the great holidays have it, and all the lesser ones lack it. Hanukkah could very well be the king of the food holidays. It's got the goods. Because of the special part oil has in the Hanukkah miracle, oil is used in making a lot of the goodies. Latkes, a fried potato pancake, is one of the most famous. Fried up and served with sour cream, butter, and/or apple sauce (my favorite) it could warm the coldest night. Sufganiyot, also served, is a fried jelly donut that is often not shaped so can come out looking pretty funny but pretty darn delicious. It's a donut, I mean, how could it not?

The Festival of Lights. Miracles, menorahs and delicious. Sounds like everyone's kind of holiday.

Deliciously yours, WW

Wonder Woman and Adventures in The Workforce (Part VI)

I bet you've all been wondering why this wonder woman hasn't been mentioning Wonderland all that much. I bet you've been saying to yourself: "Hey, how's that Wonder Woman of ours doing with that book place?"

All right, so maybe you haven't been ACTIVELY thinking about it. But just in case, I'll give you a little window into this wonder woman's world:
It's the Christmas season. 'Tis the season to be jolly. Apparently the rough translation of "jolly" in Wonderland is "noun, meaning major anger and or annoyance, on the verge of drastic actions against other human beings". I was not aware of this culture difference.

In the past week, as the air has turned rough and cold, I have been threatened, yelled at, picked at, overwhelmed, eyes have been rolled, lines have been made, and my job has been called into question by just a few "jolly" customers. It's only the first week of December. I can only imagine how wonderful Wonderland will become as the holidays draw closer and closer. I am preparing for battle wonder women, a full fledged battle on Wonderland and its inhabitants. The only problem: where does a wonder woman buy her ammunition?

Armed and terrified, WW