A Scary Journey Inside My Life

As I always say (and write), people love getting handwritten letters and notes in the mail. It's always the first thing someone reads when they bring in the mail. I would rather read a letter from a friend or family member before diving into a pile of bills.

Sure, it's easy to send off an email or a quick text to thank Aunt Sally for the ~~ugly~~ Christmas sweater. Aunt Sally would much rather receive a nice handwritten Thank You note in the mail from you.

Today is National Thank You Note Day!

I'm unable to find out how or why this day was started. Some say it was created because of all the presents people received on Christmas Day. I, on the other hand, believe it was started by my mother, The Queen of Thank You Note writing.

I remember being called down to the kitchen a couple days after Christmas. On the table there were three place settings. At each spot there was a sheet of paper with list of names and gifts that they gave us, and a pen. In the center of the table there was a stack of Thank You note cards, stamps and an address book. You had to find your spot at the table. The rules? Write a Thank You note to everyone on the list, address and stamp the envelope. Oh, and you can't leave the table until you are finished.

My Mom never taught us how to write a Thank You note. My brothers would hurry up and scribble some stuff and leave the table. I would be stuck there for hours asking my relatives how their pet is doing and trying to figure out how to nicely thank someone for the gift they gave me (how do you thank someone for money?).

If you do participate today, and I hope you will, you can use #NationalThankYouNoteDay on social media.

If you need any tips on Thank You Note writing, I'd love to help, especially if you want to know how the family dog is getting along.

Don't worry, Mom, I already wrote my Thank You notes this year!

Sunday, December 25, 2022

Twelve Days of Christmas

This year I'm celebrating fun National weeks throughout the year. Here we are, the last national week for the year, the Twelve Days of Christmas.

This holiday is not the song about giving a bunch of birds to a loved one. This holiday starts with the birth of Jesus and ends when the three Magi arrived in Bethlehem. Each day celebrates the feast day of a saint. The following is

25th the birth of Christ

26th St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr

27th St. John the Apostle

28th the Feast of the Holy Innocents - the baby boys that King Harrod killed when trying to find Jesus

29th St. Thomas Beckett - archbishop of Canterbury. Killed when challenged the King's authority over the church

30th St. Egwin of Worcester - a Benedictine monk

31st Pope Sylvester I, one of the first Popes

1st Mary, the Mother of Jesus

2nd St. Basil the Great

3rd Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus - Celebrates naming Jesus in the Jewish Temple

4th St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, first American Saint

5th St. John Neumann the first Bishop in America

You know I can't continue without first adding what the twelve days are in the Greek Orthodox Church. So, here we go:

Dec 25 Jesus birth

26 Synaxis of the Virgin - praise to Mary for giving birth to our Lord

27 St. Stephen, a martyr who was stoned to death

28 Martyrs of Nicomedia - in 302 AD Emperor Maximian Hercules, while visiting Nicomedia heard of a large number of Christians living there and wanted to kill them. While they were all in church, his soldiers surrounded the church and they were asked to deny Christ and be free to go or burn. They chose to burn.

29 Feast of Holy Innocents - children that died because of King Herod

30 Deacon Timon

31 Martyr Zoticus, Protector of the Poor and Holy Mother Melanie of Rome

1 St. Basil the Great

2 St. Sylvester, Bishop of Rome

3 Prophet Malachi

4 Synaxis of the 70 Apostles - the men that followed the 12 apostles

5 Hieromartyr Theopemptos, Bishop of Nicomedia and also Martyr Theonas

The 6th is the Holy observance of Jesus' baptism.

Ways to celebrate the week:

Open one present every day (instead of all at once)

Volunteer at a soup kitchen or help someone in need

Read through the Gospel of Luke, which gives an entire account of Jesus birth

Thanks for celebrating the weird, fun, interesting national weeks with me!

Merry Christmas!

"Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger."

And suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth, Peace, goodwill toward men!" Luke 2:8-14

Saturday, December 17, 2022

Saturnalia

This year I'm celebrating interesting week celebrations throughout the year. The year is almost over but I still have a couple more holidays for us to celebrate.

Saturnalia is a mid December holiday (think December 17-23) that honors the Roman god, Saturn, the god of agriculture. Saturnalia was a Roman festival that offered sacrifices (or gifts) to the gods in the winter season. During this holiday, everything shut down. Businesses closed. No school. Homes were decorated and the people put on bright colored togas. Even the servants participated. In fact, the owners served them! The holiday was celebrated by singing, dancing, eating, gambling and of course, gift giving. It was known as "the best of times."

How to celebrate?

Invite friends and family over for a meal. Make sure you throw some music and games in there. Oh and don't forget to post on social media, #Saturnalia

Some important things to remember when celebrating:

Wear green and gold. These are the official colors of the holiday.

Decorate. Covering doorways, walls, staircases with lights and garland

Make some cookies in the shape of stars and moons

Give out small goodies to your friends and family as they leave

Oh, and don't forget to have a great time!

Now this sounds like a fun holiday to celebrate!

Wednesday, December 14, 2022

Halcyon Days

This year I am celebrating the interesting national weeks throughout the year. Today is the start of Halcyon Days.

Halcyon Days is observed for two weeks and coincides with unusually calm seas. I needed a little background on this celebration. This started from Greek mythology. The goddess Halcyone, the goddess of winds, married a mortal who drowned at sea during a bad storm. Halcyone loved her husband so much that she jumped into the sea after him. The other gods and goddesses saw this and turned them both into birds. For two weeks during the winter season (the week before and after the Winter Solstice), the winds are calm on the sea so the birds can build nests on the water and lay eggs peacefully.

How to observe #HalcyonDays or #HalcyonWeek

Halcyon Days describes a time of happiness and success. Other key words used: happy, golden, peaceful, blissful, carefree, joyful, idyllic and contented. The holiday season can become quite hectic. This is a great time to focus on having halcyon days with your family.

It's also a great time to brush up on your Greek Mythology and check out the full story on Halcyon.