Candles in the Window

A candle in the window has long been a welcomed sign for weary travellers. It is not a symbol that is just displayed at Christmas time, but it definitely is more common among the holidays. The correlation is has to Christmas, is that it reminds us that weary travellers like Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus, letting them know that they are welcome!

Christmas Wreath

Did you ever wonder why Greeks are always sporting wreaths on their heads in movies? Apparently there is some meaning and history to that. At the beginning of the Persian Empire (~700 B.C.) it was decided that a wreath, or what they called a diadem, was a sign of success and wore by great athletes, philosophers, and chief leaders like Julius Cesar. Speculation exists as to how it got to being hung on a door and related to Christmas, but some say a great athletic warrior hung it on his door as a souvenir for his victory.

Since a wreath was adorned to the successful or superior beings in the Grecian culture at the time, we could look at the wreath in a few ways. It could just be the beautiful accent to your front door decorations, it may serve as a reminder to all that God, the one and only superior being is present in your house, or it could mean a pleasant memory from Christmas's past.

Any other ideas as to how it may have become a Christmas adornment?

Candy Canes

You may have heard the story about the Candy Cane, and it's Christian symbolism. Apparently snopes.com has deemed this rumor untrue. My arguement though is why do we care? Shouldn't our faith and belief in Christ our saviour be seen in anything and everything? So despite snopes best efforts to poo poo the Candy Cane origin I for one choose to see;

• The letter “J” as in Jesus
• or, the staff of a Good Shepherd
• or, the white color to represent his purity and virgin birth
• or, the bold red stripe of God's love
• or, the 3 stripes defining our Holy Trinity
• or, anything else for that matter that continues to remind me of the joy he has brought to my life!

The stockings are hung by the chimney with care...

...in hopes that St. Nicholas would soon be there!

There is a story tied to this, about a poor and widowed nobleman with 3 daughters who he could not wed away due to financial woes. In the time of this story's origination (and in some customs today) fathers of the daughters were expected to provide huge dowries to their husbands. As a poor nobleman this was not possible. Soon though his prayers would be answered by a good man...Saint Nicholas! One night after the girls had finished washing their stockings and hung them by the fire to dry, he came and dropped 3 gold bags, one into each of the daughters stockings. This act of random kindness led to the nobleman's daughters to be wed and have families of their own.

True or Not the story exemplifies the good nature of what Christmas should be; after all haven't you always been told "it is better to give than to receive!"

Bah humbug!

First before I get to deep into this topic I need to state for the record that Alastair Sim was the best Scrooge (1951). Now to the topic at hand...bah humbug!

Is what Scrooge was saying all that bad? Perhaps some clarification is needed....was he directing his disgust toward people's general happiness to the holiday, or possibly the over indulgence or commercialization of Christmas? As a Christmas Carol devotee (viewed 50+ times) I think the message is simply to enjoy the holiday and cherish the relationships of those in your life. This is most apparent at the end of the story as Scrooge reaches out to Bob Cratchit and his family, specifically Tiny Tim.

True, Christmas has been capitalized on and the true meaning has been a little lost. So throughout this month I will create posts regarding symbolic references to Christmas. Stay tuned!

Cadillac Desert

My return to the Cadillac Desert (Arizona) this past weekend wasn't a trip done for some R & R, instead it was a 48 hour working binge!

To take you through the roller coaster of emotions here is what happened...
Our condo, and former home, was reported trashed and unfit for anyone to move into. So after receiving this disappointing news on Thursday morning, we quickly bought 2 flights to AZ leaving that same night. We landed about 8pm, and drove straight to the condo to assess the situation. It definitely wasn't fit to move in, but was far better than I had imagined. We painted, cleaned, fixed, and got it in tip-top shape just in time for our new tenant!

As we reflected on our trip we came to a few conclusions;

• Damn was that expensive
• Wow, I really miss the winters in Arizona
• It is tough being away from the kids
• Our family is amazing*

*I need to explain how amazing our family is...First, Grandma and Grandpa took the kids cancelling whatever else they had planned. Next, we arrived to open arms (and a very tasty Pumpkin Brew) for which the Brew Master and his wife (Tia) provided room, board, a car, supplies to fix the home, and always great conversation. Finally, we enjoyed a perfect meal; from conversation, to the people we were with, and yes the food too! This potentially disastrous trip was actually rather amazing, and I don't think I could have said that had it not been for our family. So in a weird twist of events and despite the expenses accrued, I am actually happy this all happened the way it did.

Thank you!

Mickey is 80...or is he!

Mickey Mouse turns 80, but his pancake head (picture) is only 47...dilemma??? (kidding)
In all seriousness though, Mickey first debuted on the screen in Plane Crazy on May 15, 1928, which bombed at the box office. However, the more notable date in history, November 18, 1928, is the "official" Mickey Mouse birthday due to his debut in Steamboat Willie. Here's to another 80!