Hogmanay, the Scottish New Year's Eve

Scotland is the birthplace of "Auld Lang Syne" and also the home of Hogmanay (hog-mah-NAY). Hogmanay is the Scot’s word for the last day of the year and is the wild and crazy Scottish New Year's celebration. It is celebrated on December 31. According to my research, before 1600, the New Year officially started in Scotland on March 25! In 1599, James VI, the King of Scots, changed this to January 1.

There are many rituals and customs associated with Hogmanay. The most popular custom is the practice of “first-footing” which starts immediately after midnight. This involves being the first person to cross the threshold of a friend's or neighbor's house and often involves the giving of gifts such as shortbread, whiskey or black bun (a fruit cake). These gifts are supposed to bring luck to the giftee. The first-foot is supposed to set the luck for the rest of the year. Traditionally, tall dark men are preferred as the first-foot.

One of the local customs in northeastern Scotland is "fireball swinging". This involves making a Scottish fireball consisting of wire filled with old newspaper, sticks, rags, and other dry flammable material to a chain or rope. After the clock strikes midnight, revelers swing these fire-lit balls overhead.

The Hogmanay custom of singing “Auld Lang Syne” has now become common in many countries. "Auld Lang Syne" is a poem reinterpreted by Robert Burns and it later became a song. All the revelers stand together, cross arms and hold hands while singing after the clock strikes midnight.

Sounds like the Scots have more fun on New Year’s Eve than we do!

The Happiness Project of 2011

 January 2011-Not so happy!

Around this time in 2010, I had decided to be happy every single day in 2011. I’ve never been what I used to call "the happy idiot" type, smiling and upbeat every day but after a few years of major emotional turmoil, I had decided that 2011 was the year I'd "take back the happy". This was before I had heard of the book, “The Happiness Project” and months before I had read it (and I highly recommend this book to everyone).  This happy type of person is actually the furthest thing from an idiot and probably a lot smarter than most of us.  They.just.are.happy. Period. End of story.

I say that I wasn’t the "happy" type but one of my close friends once asked me why my profile picture on Facebook (at the time) was a non-smiling picture of me.  She mentioned that I am always smiling and laughing and that it made no sense to have a non-smiling profile picture. I think she said something to the effect that I never see you "without a smile on your face". 

After really thinking about it, I decided that what had made me truly happy 30 years ago would probably still make me happy now. Horseback riding, roller skating, walking everywhere I could, reading and snow tubing. After looking over this list, aside from the reading, I realized I am a very physically-oriented person with abundant energy to spare. When I do any of these things, I feel complete joy. Pure bliss. The world falls away.

Everyone should have that kind of joy in their life. Very often, people look for it only in their love lives/in another person. We all know the type. The type of person who can never be alone because they look for other people to fill them and give them these experiences. These people never do what they really want to and never experience what really gives them joy because they settle for getting it secondhand from someone else and then, they, you know, DIE. Never realizing their own bliss.

I soon realized that all these things (with the exception of horseback riding as I had been riding without fail for 11 years after giving up this passion of mine in my early 20s) had fallen by the wayside.

Not only did I get in better shape (mentally and physically) but I met a lot of really cool people along the way. Some younger, some much older, but all people I would not have gotten to know if I had not reclaimed the things I loved. All with an interesting story but all very positive people.

It started with walking in the snow in January as I grew tired of being in the gym and seeing the same faces and wanted to breathe fresh air. I started with walking one mile or so a day and as the seasons changed, I was up to six miles a day. I found that I loved seeing the birds and all the different trees and flowers. Then  I soon started hiking. Everywhere. All the local state parks. I found that I really love to hike.  This was a huge surprise to me.

As I started walking to the local library from my house (about 5 miles roundtrip), I discovered again how much I loved to read and how important the library is to a community and I became involved with the library and read more this year than I have in a very long time. I learned that there is no reason to ever spend a penny on a book; the library can find you anything you want and need.

When I turned 40, I rented a roller rink and had a huge party there. I skated for 5 hours straight. The Mexican food and the margaritas could not even get me to stop. I felt pure joy all night. I said to myself, I want to do this again. Did I? No. Not until 2011. Being in the rink makes me feel young, alive, happy...essentially 12 again! Having my daughter along for the ride is just the icing on the cake filled with exercise, fun, socialization and joy. I’ve found that there are many adults-men and women-who love to skate and I also found out that everything you can do on ice skates; you can do on roller skates. Every Saturday morning is spent roller skating now. I’ve met people my own age who love it as much as I do and I’ve even met people in their 70s this year who still skate.

I have also spent less time with the "Why are you doing that?", "Why don’t you do this?", "Are you sure that's good for you?" people.  People that think that it is their job to help me with the "closure" of my current situation. Sorry, people. I am all done talking about that. I’ve moved on. Why haven’t you? It's really so 2007, don't you think?

I also gave up meat, caffeine, diet soda, alcohol and most dairy products. It really changed the way I felt-inside and out. I recharged my dormant spiritual side and started meditation and self-Reiki treatments daily. I reconnected with others by taking classes and started learning Chinese.

So, as the last few days of 2011 roll in, I can honestly say that I have had a wonderful year. I haven’t said that in a very long time. A year filled with less tears, more joy, more bliss, more energy, more love and a greater understanding of the interconnectedness between us all.

Here’s to 2012. May it be a positive one for all of you. Happy New Year!

November 2011-Happy!

Happy Horrordays!

 

I admit it. I had never heard of the Krampus until this year. How did I miss this? I love Christmas; I love all things horror. I hang Santa skull ornaments, Day of the Dead, zombies, aliens, half-eaten gingerbread men and skeletons on my Christmas tree. I do also have angels, bells, reindeer, snowmen and all those other “appropriate” Christmas ornaments. My daughter so loves all the nonsense I hang on the tree, she is presenting this "Christmas tradition" to her class this week. Let's see how that goes. However, I digress: How did I not know about the Krampus?!!?

In Alpine countries, the Krampus (known as many other names, including Knecht Ruprecht, Certa, Perchten, Black Peter, Schmutzli, Pelznickel and Klaubauf) is St. Nick’s traveling companion on December 6 (in some traditions, he comes out the night before on December 5). St. Nick takes care of the good kids; the Krampus, the bad. Kind of like good cop, bad cop. It seems to be most common in  Austria, Slovenia, Hungary and Croatia.

He is usually seen as a terrifying, incubus-like, goat-headed devil. He’s also pretty scary to look at. His job is to take the bad children (you know, the ones who have not been nice, as the song goes) down to hell in baskets after hitting them with chains and switches. Very, very creepy.

Tens of thousands of years ago, the Europeans celebrated mummery (a performance by people wearing masks and costumes) during the Winter Solstice. People would up dress up as animals and mythical characters and walk in parades and create plays. The most common costumes at that time were Old Man Winter and a horned Goat-Man. These were early predecessors of St. Nick and the Krampus.

The Krampus gets his name from "Krampen," the old German word for claw. In the mid-1950s, educators feared that the Krampus might scar children for life. However, in modern times, the Krampus has been mellowed down, with drunken adolescent boys dressing like goat-men and marching in a parade.

When St. Nick “came to America” in the 19^th century, he became Santa Claus, his look changed, he lost Krampus and the only thing that bad American kids now receive is coal in their stocking. A hell of a lot better than being dragged away in a basket!

Dalahäst

 

Every day, I walk about 5 miles. There is a house in town that I pass daily that has a red Dala Horse as its street address sign. I have always known that these equine symbols are Swedish but I did not know their significance. I love horses and I love to blog, so of course, a new blog entry was born.

Since Viking Times, the horse has been considered a holy animal. The Dala Horse (Dalahäst) is a very popular Swedish souvenir.  The name comes from Dalarna, in central Sweden. 

During the long Swedish winters, long ago, the forerunner to the Dala Horse was created using simple tools. It was only natural that a horse would be a popular model to craft as the horse was invaluable in those days.

According to the story, in 1716, while King Charles XII of Sweden was at war with other parts of Europe, many soldiers stayed in the Mora section of Sweden. Rumor has it that one such soldier carved a Dala Horse from some scrap wood. Since red was a color readily available from a nearby copper mine, he painted it red and gave it to one of the children in the house.

The Dala Horse gained popularity when it was chosen by the National Crafts Union for part of the Swedish display at the Paris Exposition in the mid-19th century.  Skills for creating the Dala Horse creation have been passed from generation to generation. It is one of the few folk traditions of Sweden still living.

The Dala Horse of today is still made by hand, with pine and takes about 9 different people to create. The village of Nusnäs, in Dalarna, is considered by some to be the home of the only authentic Swedish Dala Horses, with over 250,000 Dala Horses produced there annually.

Heri za Kwanzaa

 

Kwanzaa is celebrated around Christmas time but it is not a holiday dedicated to gift giving. Kwanzaa is not a religious celebration, either. It is a commemoration of heritage and togetherness. Family and friends find Kwanzaa to be a time of sharing and being together.

Kwanzaa was created by Dr. Maulana Karenga in 1966. Karenga said that he wanted to "give black people an alternative to the existing holiday and an opportunity to celebrate themselves and history, rather than simply imitate the practice of the dominant society.” It is celebrated via song, dancing and recitation of poem. The word Kwanzaa comes from the Swahili phrase matunda ya kwanza (first fruits of the harvest).

Kwanzaa is built on seven principles that are commonly known as "Nguzo Saba". These are:

1. umoja - unity
2. kujichagulia - self-determination
3. ujima - collective work and responsibility
4. ujamaa - cooperative economics
5. nia - purpose
6. kuumba - creativity
7. imani - faith

Kwanzaa celebrations usually last seven days, from December 26 to January 1. Each of the seven days of the celebration is dedicated to one of the seven principles. Every day, a candle is lit that represents each principle.

Some symbols of Kwanzaa include a decorative mat on which other symbols are placed, corn, a kinara (a candle holder for seven candles), a communal cup for beverages, gifts, a poster of the seven principles, and a black, red, and green flag. The symbols were designed to convey the seven principles.

Kwanzaa observers decorate their households with art, colorful African cloth (kente) and fresh fruit. The women wear kaftans. The greeting each day during Kwanzaa is Habari Gani (What’s the news?)

On the evening of Kuumba (December 31) there is a feast called Karamu. This is the main focus of Kwanzaa where cultural expression is encouraged. Karamu generally brings everyone closer to their roots and involves a welcoming statement, remembering ancestors, assessing current situations, a recommitment to values, rejoicing, a goodbye statement, and a call for greater unity.

O Galo de Barcelos

Have you ever wondered what the legend is behind the colorful, ceramic roosters seen in Portuguese souvenir and pottery shops? I have two that sit on my kitchen window and a bottle opener and a necklace (given to me by my Portuguese-American sister-in-law many years ago) and I have always loved them but never really understood their significance. I just knew they were supposed to bring you luck.

The rooster has long been the unofficial symbol of Portugual (much like the eagle in the United States). It symbolizes honesty, integrity, trust and honor. The city of Barcelos is located just east of Braga. It is known for its pottery, handicrafts and earthenware.

As with most legends, it is so old that no one knows the exact details but one version (there are a few other versions with minor variations) goes something like this:

A crime had been committed in Barcelos, Portugual and a man from Galicia was passing through Barcelos on his way to São Tiago de Compostela in Spain and was accused of this crime. Because the man was not able to prove his innocence; he was ordered to die by hanging.

His last request before being hanged was to be able to appear one last time before the judge to try to prove his innocence. His request was granted and he was taken to see the judge who was eating dinner with his friends.

The man from Galicia stated his innocence once again and then, pointing to a cooked rooster on the table and said, “As sure as I'm innocent so will that rooster crow!”

The judge grew angry, still didn’t believe him and his immediate hanging was ordered.

Just as the noose was about to go around his neck, the dead rooster sat up and crowed and the man was freed.

The man from Galicia returned to Barcelos, many years later, and erected a monument to the Virgin and St. James (San Tiago).

Since this day, supposedly, the Galo de Barcelos has stood for honesty.

The Star of David (“Magen David”)

 

During the holiday season, I hang a large, shiny, tinseled, blue and silver Star of David in my home along with my Christmas decorations. Another tiny Star of David handmade by my daughter from popsicle sticks sits atop one of my many Christmas trees. I also have a mezuzah (a symbol of God’s watchful care over the home, as it was described to me) near my doorway but that’s for a different blog entry.

My stepfather was Jewish so we celebrated all Jewish and Christian holidays. It’s just not holiday time without it. As strange as that sounds. I need to display my Star of David around the holidays.

Recently, I wondered about its significance which, always, of course, leads to a blog entry. As with most topics I like to research, its origins are rather vague. The Star of David had not been mentioned in the rabbinic texts until the Middle Ages. After this time, a deeper spiritual meaning was associated with the star by Kabbalists. The David in question would be King David. Medieval Jewish texts spoke of a magic shield possessed by King David which protected him from his enemies.

The "Magen David" or “shield of David”, is seen as a symbol of unity. It is also known as a hexagram or more rarely, “Solomon’s Seal”. The Star of David was first used as a Jewish symbol in 1354. The Jewish people were given the right to have a flag by Emperor Charles IV. The people chose the Star of David as their symbol.

Soon, it became a symbol of the Jewish people and was used as decoration for Jewish architecture. Unfortunately, this symbol of unity was turned into something negative during World War II, when Jewish people were forced to wear a yellow Star of David on their clothes as a badge of shame. Yellow was considered to be a negative color.

Fortunately, after that atrocious time in history ended, the Star of David was turned back into a symbol of respect and honor. During the founding of Israel, the Zionists brought national attention to the symbol by placing the it on the flag of Israel.

The Kabbalists thought that the six points of the star represented God's rule of the universe (north, south, east, west, up and down). The triangles also represented the good and evil in all of us and the star could be used as protection against evil spirits.

The structure of the star, with two overlapping triangles, has also been thought to represent the relationship between God and the Jewish people. The star that points up symbolizes God and the star that points down represents us here on earth. 

חנוכה שמח

Santa Lucia

 

How many Italian-American people can say that they did not grow up with their grandmothers cooking on Sunday with Mario Lanza singing Santa Lucia in the background? Very few, I am sure. I grew up with the notion that Santa Lucia was an old Italian folk song.

Who was Santa Lucia? She was Saint Lucy (283–304), also known as Saint Lucia, who was a wealthy young Christian martyr, venerated as a saint. This Italian saint has been "adopted" by the Swedish and other Scandinavian people.

Her origins, however, are actually not Scandinavian, but instead, Sicilian. According to the Sicilian legend, Lucia's mother (who was wealthy) had been cured of an illness by the sepulcher of Saint Agatha in Catania. Lucia persuaded her mother to show her gratitude by distributing her wealth to the poor. By candelight, the mother and daughter went about the city distributing wealth to the sick.

In art, she is often seen with eyes on an offering plate. Legend has it that her fiancé denounced her as a Christian to the governor of Syracuse, Sicily. The guards were unable to move or burn her, so they took out her eyes with a fork. In another version, her fiancé so admired her eyes that she tore them out, handed them to him and said “Now let me live to God.”

No one is exactly sure how this legend made it’s way to Scandinavia, but it was said that Santa Lucia had appeared during a famine in Sweden in the middle ages, carrying food to the farmers across a lake.

Her feast day is celebrated on December 13. It is generally associated with Sweden and Norway but it is also observed in Denmark, Italy, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Malta, Bosnia, Bavaria, Slovakia and Croatia.

St. Lucia's Day is now celebrated in Sweden by a girl putting on a white dress with a red sash around her waist and a crown of candles on her head. (Electric candles are used in modern times for safety) This crown is made of lingonberry branches as they are evergreen and celebrate new life in winter. A national Lucia is also chosen and Lucias also visit hospitals and the elderly, singing songs about St Lucia and handing out Pepparkakor (ginger snap biscuits).

Sul mare luccia l'astro d'argento,
Placida è l'onda, prospero è il vento  
Venite all'agile barchetta mia...
Santa Lucia! Santa Lucia!

Con questo zeffiro, così soave
Oh! Com'è bello star su la nave!
Su passaggieri, venite via!
Santa Lucia! Santa Lucia!

The Changing Names of Countries and Their Cities

Names have always been very important to me. I never can understand why a woman can just give away her last name after marriage when it’s part of who she is. I have never been attached to my first name (it’s bland, boring, it screams “I was born in the late 60s” and is so not me) but I do love my last name; I think it’s beautiful. Due to this, I find it personally disconcerting when a country or city changes its name. And confusing, too!

One day many years back, I was reading an article about a city called Mumbai in India. I realized I was then hearing that word a lot and knew it had to be the new term for the city formerly known as Bombay.  After researching this name change, I learned that in 1995, the Hindu nationalist party Shiv Sena won elections in the state of Maharashtra and after the election, the party announced that the city had been renamed after the Hindu goddess Mumbadevi, the city's patron deity. Federal agencies, local businesses, and newspapers were forced to adopt the change. The name “Bombay” was considered to be an English adaptation of “Mumbai”. This was an unwanted legacy of British rule and thus, Mumbai was born.

What about Peking and Beijing? One day, out of the blue, many years ago, I heard the term Beijing, China. This explanation can be a little confusing to a non-native Chinese speaker or someone who is not a student of the Chinese language. The Chinese capital did not change its name but Chinese words became spelled in English differently. You got that?  According to my research, the name stayed exactly the same and most Chinese people were not even aware Westerners think there has been a name change.  Before 1958, the Chinese government used the Wade-Giles system to transliterate Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet. After 1958, the government switched to the pinyin system of transliteration. So now, we call the capital city Beijing (pinyin) instead of Peking (Wade-Giles).

On to the countries. I asked myself one day, “What happened to Yugoslavia"...Why...it became Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Hercegovina, Montenegro, Serbia and Macedonia, of course!  Namibia is a country I’ve just heard of in the last 5 or so years (Thank you, Brangelina). Why? Because it was formed in 1990 and was once just known as Southwest Africa.

Here are some other countries who just couldn’t keep their maiden names:

Persia: Modern Persia was founded in the sixteenth century and later became known as Iran.

Siam: Changed its name to Thailand in 1939.

Zaire: Changed its name to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1997.

The USSR: Separated into 15 new countries in 1991: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldovia, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldovia, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.

Czechoslovakia: Split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993.

Zanzibar and Tanganyika merged to form Tanzania in 1964.

Abyssinia: Ethiopia’s name until the early 20th century.

Ceylon: Now known as Sri Lanka since 1972.

Burma: In 1989, this country became Myanmar but many countries still aren't recognizing the change, such as the United States.

Transjordan: Known as Jordan since 1946.

Due to all these changes, it is interesting that Siamese and Abyssinian cats are not now known as Thai and Ethiopian cats; Ceylon Tea is not now known as Sri Lankan tea; Burmese pythons are not called Myanmar pythons and Persian rugs are not called Iranian rugs.

Festa dei sette pesci (The Feast of the Seven Fishes)

 

What is the Feast of the Seven Fishes? According to Mario Batali, "It's what Italians do when they say they're fasting."

There is nothing quite like an Italian Christmas Eve. For those who have never experienced it, I take pity on you! I consider myself to be extremely fortunate to be an Italian-American. Every fellow Italian-American, I imagine, has probably grown up with the “no meat on Christmas Eve” rule. I knew it has religious significance but didn’t know what it was entirely about.

The Feast of the Seven Fishes (Festa dei sette pesci) is an Italian Christmas Eve tradition built around fish of all kinds and prepared in as many different ways as possible.

This feast began as a southern Italian custom. The tradition was hugely popular in Italy’s most southern points, including the island of Sicily. In the ancient Catholic church, Christmas Eve was a vigilia di magro -- a sacred fasting day on which no meat could be consumed. This has since been lifted but many devout Italians still follow this tradition (and even most non-devout Italians!)

Some say it’s supposed to remind us of the seven deadly sins (wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony). Some say it is an homage to the last seven commandments which prescribe rules of human interaction, as opposed to the first three. Others say it is because it took God seven days to create the universe.

Others say it is more simple; the long tradition of eating seafood on Christmas Eve is all about abstinence—in this case, refraining from the consumption of meat or milk products—on Fridays and specific holy days. As no meat or butter could be used on such days, observant Catholics would instead eat fish, typically fried in oil.

Yet another theory is that the number seven is a number representating perfection: the traditional Biblical number for divinity is three, and for Earth is four, and the combination of these numbers, seven, represents God on Earth, or Jesus Christ.

Shrimp parmigiana, scungili salad and baccalà are a few of my favorites but other dishes served include:

Crab stuffed mushrooms

Deep fried calamari, oysters, cod, shrimp and scallops

Fried smelts

Insalata di mare

Linguine with clam sauce

Marinated eel

Octopus salad

This is one tradition from my childhood I am very happy to carry on and one of my favorite things about Christmas!

Mangia! Buon Natale!