Celebrate...the Poinsettia

 

December 12 is National Poinsettia Day.

The Poinsettia is indigenous to Mexico and Central America.  The plant is named after Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first United States Minister to Mexico, who introduced the plant into the US in 1828.

It isn’t the flowering plant we think it is.  Actually the bright red, orange, pale green, cream, pink, white or marbled parts are actually leaves.  The “flowers” are the small yellow pieces in the center of each leaf bunch.

The plant's association with Christmas began in 16th century Mexico, where legend tells of a young girl who was too poor to provide a gift for the celebration of Jesus' birthday. The story is that the child was inspired by an angel to gather weeds from the roadside and place them in front of the church altar. Red "blossoms" sprouted from the weeds and became beautiful poinsettias. In the 17th century, Franciscan friars in Mexico introduced the plants in their Christmas celebrations. They introduced the idea of the star-shaped leaf symbolizing the Star of Bethlehem, and the red color representing the blood of Jesus.

There is a common misconception that the poinsettia is highly poisonous. That is because most plants of this genus are toxic.  It is mildly irritating to the skin or stomach.  It could cause diarrhea and vomiting if eaten.  If sap got into a person’s eyes it could cause temporary blindness. An American Journal of Emergency Medicine study of 22,793 cases reported to the American Association of Poison Control Centers showed no fatalities, and that most were accidental, involved children, and did not result in any type of medical treatment. POISINDEX, a major source for poison control centers, says a 50-pound child would have to eat 500 bracts to be toxic. An Ohio State University study showed no problems even with extremely large doses.  So, it is not poisonous, but is still mildy toxic and probably should be kept out of reach of small children or pets or anyone sensitive to latex or other irritations.

So, go ahead, enjoy the beauty of the plant and the season.

St. Nicholas Day

Tonight (December 05), we’re celebrating Saint Nicholas Eve. The tradition of Saint Nicholas Day is a festival for children related to surviving legends of the saint, and particularly his reputation as a bringer of gifts.

 

Sinterklaas

Sint-Nicolass

De Goedheiligman

Saint Nicolas

Sinte Klaas

Kris Kringle

Father Christmas

Santa Claus

Whatever you want to call him, his day of celebration is December 6, or St. Nicholas Day.  It is a feast day for the saint who inspired the legend of Santa Claus The historical Saint Nicholas is remembered and revered among Catholic and Orthodox Christians. He is also honored by various Anglican and Lutheran churches. Saint Nicholas is the patron saint of sailors, merchants, archers, thieves, and of course children.

Although he was the patron saint of Russia, Nicholas of Myra was Greek. He was the only son of wealthy Christian parents and was very religious from an early age. His wealthy parents died in an epidemic, while Nicholas was still young, and he was raised by his uncle who was a bishop. Nicholas spent time at a monastery and led a devout life which is full of tales of his exploits.  Perhaps the most famous is about a poor man who had three daughters but could not afford a proper dowry for them. This meant that they would remain unmarried and probably end up as prostitutes. Hearing of the man's situation, Nicholas decided to help him but wanted to do so anonymously.  Version one of the story has Nicholas going to the man’s house at night and throwing three purses (one for each daughter) filled with gold coins through the window. Another version has him throwing one purse for three consecutive nights. A third rendition has him throw the purses over a period of three years, each time the night before one of the daughters comes "of age". Invariably, the third time the father hides, trying to discover the identity of their benefactor. In yet another version, the father confronts the saint, only to have Saint Nicholas say it is not him he should thank, but God alone. In one last story, Nicholas learns of the poor man's plan to discover his identity and drops the third bag down the chimney instead, but this variant says that the daughter had washed her stockings that evening and hung them over the embers to dry, and that the bag of gold fell into the stocking.

It’s easy to see how that story created the traditions that vary somewhat from country to country.  For some, like the Netherlands, Saint Nicholas’ Eve is the chief occasion for gift-giving. Children open presents that night. But most countries have some form of children putting out their shoes either in front of the fireplace, or outside the front door before they go to bed and then waking up to find presents, typically small trinkets and sweets around the shoes on the morning of the 6th. The story says Sinterklaas brings presents to every child that has behaved his or herself in the past year but in practice, just like with Santa Claus, all children receive gifts without distinction.

In recent years, Christmas (along with Santa Claus) has been pushed by shopkeepers as another gift-giving festival, with some success; although, especially for young children, Saint Nicholas' Eve is still much more important than Christmas. The rise of Father Christmas is often cited as an example of globalisation and Americanisation.

As a rather sad footnote, the metamorphosis of Saint Nicholas into the more commercially lucrative Santa Claus, which took several centuries in Europe and America, has recently been re-enacted in the saint's home town: the city of Demre. This modern Turkish town is built near the ruins of ancient Myra. As St. Nicholas is a very popular Orthodox saint, the city attracts many Russian tourists. A solemn bronze statue of the Saint by the Russian sculptor Gregory Pototsky, donated by the Russian government in 2000, was given a prominent place on the square in front of the medieval church of St. Nicholas. In 2005, the city’s mayor had the statue replaced by a red-suited plastic Santa Claus statue, because he wanted the central statue to be more recognizable to visitors from all over the world. Protests from the Russian government against this action were successful only to the extent that the Russian statue was returned, without its original high pedestal, to a corner near the church.

While feasts of Saint Nicholas are not observed nationally, cities with strong German influences like Milwaukee, and St. Louis celebrate St. Nick's Day on a scale similar to the German.  Gifts often include chocolate gold coins to represent the gold St. Nick gave to the poor and small trinkets.  In these areas the tradition of St. Nick's Day is firmly established with parents often continuing to observe the day with their adult children.

I, for one, will be celebrating in whatever small manner, the life and memories of someone with true compassion and love of children.

Happy St. Nicholas Day to you.

Tis the season for compassion...

I've been having a lot of fun with the Block Lotto the last few months.  It's an online group and we make quilt blocks and then there is a drawing, and you might "win" blocks from others so you have enough for a quilt, and if not, you mail the blocks you made off to one of the winners.  I started this when I stumbled upon the site and they were making these blocks that I really liked, that were a technique I had never tried.  While all the blocks were following the same instructions, they were different and unique.  I joined as an opportunity to push my skills, both technically and creatively.

I was so excited the month I won the blocks.  Some were so incredibly perfect, way beyond my current capabilities.  Others were like mine.  Some were design-wise gorgeous, and others not as interesting, but true to the directions of the block.  I have put off finishing my quilt as I didn't want to disrespect the effort of all the different people who made these blocks for me.  I consider myself so grateful to have won a month and want to make sure the finished project is as special as it can be.

Well, in an effort to establish the plan for the Block Lotto next year, a lot of discussion has been turned to "problem" blocks.  Really?  I am probably naive, but I assumed that everyone was doing their very best to make these blocks.  The skill level on the site ranges from beginners to people who have been quilting since the beginning of time...(well maybe less than that, but a long time anyway). 

Now, I'm doubting myself and my contributions.  Have my blocks not been up to the winners' standards?  I wouldn't have ever thought to complain about any of the blocks I received, no matter what they were like, as I know that someone spent time to make the block, using their own fabric, and then mail it to me.  I have the option of putting the blocks together anyway I want.  If I really didn't like one, I could leave it out, or I could try to fix it to my satisfaction.  Even the discussion of "problem" blocks has taken some of the "fun" out of the Block Lotto for me.
 

In this Christmas season, I truly want to be compassionate of the feelings and efforts of others.  I want everyone to know that I appreciate what they do.  May we all head into 2011 with a little less criticism and a little more gratitude. That would apply to all aspects of our lives....home, work...and even online.

Advent Candles

 It's no big surprise that I love to celebrate and I love traditions.  Some "holidays" I find are rather silly and bizarre, others are more traditional and a few are down right sacred.  That last category is where I put the Advent candles.


Advent begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas and counts down the days until the arrival of Christmas. The term Advent comes from the Latin “adventur”, meaning arrival. Advent wreaths  are an old Protestant custom, which originated in Eastern Germany. The traditional Advent wreath is made from evergreen branches to symbolize God's ever-lasting presence. In the wreath are four candles -- three purple or royal blue candles that represent penance and one pink one to represent the hope of the coming joy. (Some call it Mary's candle)  Each candle represents one of the four weeks before Christmas. (I could never understand why the pink one was the third Sunday.  I always thought it should be last, but  oh well, I don't make-up these traditions.)

I started having Advent wreaths when I was a kid.  I was a regular church-goer in a very traditional Episcopal church.  I went to church, but my mom didn't.  She worked and wanted a true day off, but her religion didn't seem to waver, so she appreciated the touch of symbolism I brought home with the candles.  I grew up using the purple candles that are more common in these wreaths.

When my girls were young, we went to an Episcopal church that was kind of a mix of old traditions and new thinking.  It had a guitar playing priest who really  tried to bring the kids into the service at every opportunity.  One thing he did, however, was revert to the apparently older version of the Advent candles and use royal blue instead of purple.  I don't really remember his theology behind the decision, but I do remember the hub bub it caused with some of the older members of the congregation.

Today, I don't go to church.  Partly because I work a lot of Sundays and partly because I haven't found a church that suits me, and partly because while I consider myself a Christian, I'm not sold on the "organization" of churches anymore.  That has a lot to do with working with a holy roller televangelist for a while, but that's another story.

Anyway, my daughter is going to church regularly and so I really wanted to carry my love of the meanings of the Advent candles to her home.  So I went off in search of candles. I thought it would be easy to find a ready packaged set of Advent candles, but I was wrong. (Of course, I didn't actually try a religious store since I was shopping on Black Friday.  I could have thought of this earlier, I suppose.)  I actually had a hard time finding any taper style candles that were colors other than red and white.  I finally found some though and she will have 3 royal blue and 1 pink candle to light starting tonight.

In all the hustle and bustle of the start of the Christmas season, we will slow down, and have a little joy with the beauty and grace of a burning candle to remind us there's more to the season than shopping and gift-giving.

May you have a wonderful, peaceful first Sunday in Advent, with candles or without. 

Thanksgiving musings

I do...issue this my proclamation, hereby appointing Thursday...a day of public and solemn thanksgiving and prayer to Almighty God, earnestly recommending to all the good people...to set apart the said day for those purposes. -Thomas Jefferson, 1776.

Do you really think Thanksgiving gets lost in all the Christmas stuff?  I don't think so.  I know it seems Christmas comes to retail earlier and earlier each year.  We even had a small display up before Halloween, but we held off on most things until after that sacred of scary holidays.  Other stores were a little more aggressive with their Christmas fare, but you can't really blame them.  People were shopping for the stuff, and stores want to sell things, that's how they stay in business.

I do think Thanksgiving has been washed into a huge winter holiday season that starts with Halloween and extends all the way to Valentine's day. But celebrating is a way to make people smile.  I would celebrate a holiday every day if I could and the dreary winter weather seems to make the need for celebrations more pressing.

 The bigger question is that have the meanings of these holidays been lost in the glitz and food and gifts?  What does Thanksgiving mean to you?  If it's just eating turkey and pumpkin pie, you're missing out on something.  If football is the all-encompassing goal of the day, you're missing out on something.  Yes, it's a time of family, but if you're all stressed out about the gas prices, the lines at the airports, or holiday travel in general, you're missing out on something.

Now don't get me wrong.  I plan on food, football, and family on Thanksgiving day too.  Some of my family will be traveling to the "other" family and won't be with us.  But it's the thought and feelings that make it a holiday. It isn't really necessary to have your family close in body, if they're close in spirit.

I wonder why we need a holiday to make us stop and appreciate what we have.  It seems that we are so busy with our day to day craziness, that we don't really look at the big picture.  I feel very fortunate to have kids I love, grandkids I adore, pets that give me unconditional love, great people to work with,  a roof over my head complete with some special sentimental comforts, food in my refrigerator, etc etc.

I think that when we are evaluating our lives,  we always seem to compare ourselves with the wrong people.  We're looking at celebrities, and wealthy neighbors and people who have "stuff".  We should be looking at the people around us who don't have what we have, in terms of "stuff" or family and friends.  Thanksgiving is a time for giving thanks....for what you do have....for whatever your circumstances, I guarantee you are better off than someone else.

Have a blessed day.

Ahh....

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, join in over at Soule Mama

Round 5

I'm always a little surprised and excited when Kate posts the next round of this Stay-At-Home Robin.  I don't know why.  It comes around very promptly at the first of each month.  I guess it's just that I'm able to tuckk the whole project away once the round is done and completely forget about it.  That's especially true this time of year because I have so many projects in the works for the holidays.

Anyway, round 5 is actually 2 pieces...a 4x6 and a 4x7 that fit across the top of what I have so far.  Interesting that it is in two pieces and not just one long piece.  It really made me think about where I might be going, since I don't really know what other steps will bring.  Anyway.

I decided to do an adaption of the Prairie Queen traditional quilt pattern for my 4x6.  Now, the first problem was adapting a square design into a rectangle.  The second problem is this is really small for me.  I have traditionally used the width of one of the sewing machine feet as my 1/4 inch sewing gauge.  Well, guess what?  It's not exactly a quarter of an inch, but a little bit wider.  That small difference doesn't seem to matter when I'm making a regular size quilt, but on this tiny scale it's huge.  So I've got tape down on my machine and am trying to be very careful with my seems.  Not quite careful enough however as I ended up about 1/4 inch short on my 4x6 so I cheated slightly and my 4x7 is a quarter inch bigger.  That's the beauty of doing your own piece, I guess.  It was especially easy since my 4x7 is just one piece of material.  Whew!

There you have my little wall hanging so far.  It's really pushing my brain, but I love it. I still have my prairie theme going, and I still have ideas for down the road, if the directions take me to them.