On the Cusp of Winter on the River of No Return near the cabin (Salmon River, Stanley Idaho).
Goat Creek Meadow at the cabin starts to collect the white stuff.
Goat Creek at the cabin starts to freeze over.
It is December (at least on the Julian Calendar). And that means holiday season moves into full-force. How do you celebrate them? Do they make you happy or excited or do you get stressed out or depressed?
For me, it feels that in the last 25-30 years commercialism of major holiday’s has intensified extraordinarily and the recognition\celebration of the actual event(s) have become highly politicized and muted so as to offend no-one and everyone at the same time. Was this our goal for the land of the free?
Personally, I want for me (and you) the have the ability to recognize and celebrate holiday’s and events of which we find important. This should not give us the right to shove the event down everyone’s throat, but at the same time we should not be forced to dilute it to the point of non-recognition. For me it is Christmas Time and decorating a Christmas Tree with ornaments that allow me to recognize and enjoy (if only for a few days) all that life has provided. Today it feels as if they have become [insert politically correct title] Time and [insert generic like non offensive term] Tree.
I am not a conspiracy theorist. So I do not believe anyone (for who we can lay blame) has stole our holiday’s from us. So let’s not blame the government or some group foreign to the concept. If they have been stolen? Then it is us who has let that happen and it is us who can get them back.
I also like to be aware and respectful of the holiday’s of others – for which I do not specifically celebrate. For example: Hanukkah
For 2017, Hanukkah celebration started yesterday (December 13th) and ends on the 20th. For a a bit of background: Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday that celebrates the liberation of Jerusalem from the occupation of Antiochus IV, king of the Seleucid Empire in 165 BCE. There are many traditions surrounding the holiday, including gift giving, eating fried foods, listening to music and playing with dreidels. A Dreidel is a four-sided spinning top with hebrew letters used for games.
Over the next week, National, Independence, and or Reconciliation type days are celebrated in: Bahrain, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, South Africa, Qatar and one of my favorite places: Anguilla. Note: I own and fly the flag of Anguilla.
So if you want to celebrate? Celebrate and send me an email about what you celebrate, why, and how? Educate me, I would like to learn something new.
For 2017, I am going to say Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. I am going to decorate my Christmas Tree and cheer for my Michigan State Spartan sports teams; Go Green!
Multinational holiday’s in December [here].
Calendar of holidays in December [here].
