A Christmas Thought December 24, 2010

So, This is Christmas: This time of year, Christmas becomes a focus of attention. Sometimes, we hear about the scrooges out there. Sometimes we hear about the sad stories. Other times, we hear of heartlifting stories of people serving their fellow man, giving others a hand or stories of families making long overdue reunions. It used to be heard more often on public airwaves, but still we do hear the Christmas story of which the entire holiday has been based. Oh….there are the fights about communities and their “holiday parades” and the politically correct argument about saying “happy holidays” as opposed to “Merry Christmas,” or the annual fight about public displays. But, still the majority of Americans accept the basis of the holiday.

Does Snoopy Have it Right?

Now, some naysayers like to get to the root of the holiday saying that Christmas was really derived from pagan rituals and the ancient celebration of Winter. And you know what? There is some truth to that. If you read the biblical account of the birth of Jesus, you also find that the shepherds were in their fields tending their sheep, which suggests that it was not winter. So, it seems likely that the actual birth was not on December 25th, but since no one knows exactly when the birth occured, the early Church determined that December 25th was a good time. Perhaps it was an effort by the early Church to quash the pagan winter celebrations. But, to me, that is a poor excuse to dismiss the story of Christ’s birth as false. It is simply a history of the celebratory day.

Take a look at this.

Isaiah 7:14
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

Now, there is talk that this passage from Isaiah is flawed in that the Hebrew word used in the original text is “almah” and that literally means “young woman” and not “virgin.” However, the bible never refers to an “almah” in connection with a married woman and the bible is clear that an unmarried woman is to be a virgin. Therefore, the use of “virgin” as opposed to “young woman” is completely logical.

But, all of that is semantics. Let’s get to the bottom line. Ultimately, this comes down to Faith and I fully accept that my Faith is not necessarily that of others and there is no reason for people to call each other names. But, consider that the words from Isaiah were written some 700 years before the birth of Jesus. Some people are more likely to believe in the words of Nostradomus but not Isaiah even though it takes a little more imagination to create truths about the Frenchman.

As I can attest, things don’t always go the way we want them to go and we have set backs, obstacles and difficulties in life. Christmas time is not immune from that. For the past two years Snow White were in a bit of and unpleasant, unexpected circumstance.  It was tough (especially the second year) but were thankful for what we had and for each other. We feel blessed with our circumstance whether it be tough times or the many friends we have, our families and the fond memories we have and the memories still left to make. Christmas is a time of love and hope for the future.  Two years ago,  there is no way that I could ever have imagined that we would be where are we are today.  And yet,  here we are.  While I have many people to thank, I know that Providence was at work.  Nothing lasts forever and you never know what happens when you try.  Christmas is a time of gift giving.  It is ultimately the story of the ultimate gift to all who will receive.  I have found that, if I get out of the way and stop grabbing at gifts and instead let my heart be open to accept them and to give to others, then all of the issues and problems of our world suddenly aren’t so difficult.  Everything is not perfect right now but for the first time in 12 years, I get to spend 4 days in a row with just my wife and my kitty cat, and that is a gift in itself.  Snow White and I wish to extend to you and your families a very Merry Christmas and a blessed, happy new year.

Weather Bottom Line:  You know, for the majority of the dozen or so years I’ve been in Louisville, we had a White Christmas, if one considers a White Christmas as being one with snow on the ground.  Even if it has to snow on Christmas to fit the definition of the term methinks arose from the Bing Crosby movie and song, we had a number of those over the years.  This year will be no exception regardless of how you look at it. I don’t think you get snowed in on Christmas Eve but several inches will provide an opportunity for a snow angel or a snowman and then on Christmas Day look for flurries or maybe a snow shower.  Be careful on the roads and I’ll leave you with a weather Christmas story.  Whenever it snows, Snow White and I like to go out stomping about in it at about 3 AM.  We did that one time when there was about 10 inches.  When we returned to our driveway, we noticed two snow angels had been made.  By this time it was about 4 AM and we could not imagine who could have been out and about to make them.  So, I looked for footprints that might give a clue.    There were none.  I have no idea how those two snow angels got on our driveway…but I bet that it was not Nostradamus.

Merry Christmas and Things to Consider December 25, 2008

So, This is Christmas: This time of year, Christmas becomes a focus of attention.  Sometimes, we hear about the scrooges out there.  Sometimes we hear about the sad stories.  Other times, we hear of heartlifting stories of people serving their fellow man, giving others a hand or stories of families making long overdue reunions.  It used to be heard more often on public airwaves, but still we do hear the Christmas story of which the entire holiday has been based.  Oh….there are the fights about communities and their “holiday parades” and the politically correct argument about saying “happy holidays” as opposed to “Merry Christmas,” or the annual fight about public displays.  But, still the majority of Americans accept the basis of the holiday.

Now, some naysayers like to get to the root of the holiday saying that Christmas was really derived from pagan rituals

Does Snoopy Have it Right?

and the ancient celebration of Winter.  And you know what?  There is some truth to that.   If you read the biblical account of the birth of Jesus, you also find that the shepherds were in their fields tending their sheep, which suggests that it was not winter.  So, it seems likely that the actual birth was not on December 25th, but since no one knows exactly when the birth occured, the early Church determined that December 25th was a good time.  Perhaps it was an effort by the early Church to quash the pagan winter celebrations.  But, to me, that is a poor excuse to dismiss the story of Christ’s birth as false.  It is simply a history of the celebratory day.

Consider this.

Isaiah 7:14
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

Now, there is talk that this passage from Isaiah is flawed in that the Hebrew word used in the original text is “almah” and that literally means “young woman” and not “virgin.”  However, the bible never refers to an “almah” in connection with a married woman and the bible is clear that an unmarried woman is to be a virgin.  Therefore, the use of “virgin” as opposed to “young woman” is completely logical.

But, all of that is semantics.  Let’s  get to the bottom line.  Ultimately, this comes down to Faith and I fully accept that my Faith is not necessarily that of others and there is no reason for people to call each other names.  But, consider that the words from Isaiah were written some 700 years before the birth of Jesus.  Some people are more likely to believe in the words of Nostradomus but not Isaiah even though it takes a little more imagination to create truths about the Frenchman.

As I can attest, things don’t always go the way we want them to go and we have set backs, obstacles and difficulties  in life.  Christmas time is not immune from that.  And while Snow White and I have come upon a bit of unexpected circumstance, we are thankful for what we have and for each other.  We feel blessed with our circumstance whether it be tough times or the many friends we have, our families and the fond memories we have and the memories still left to make.  Christmas is a time of love and hope for the future.  And Snow White and I wish to extend to you and your families a very Merry Christmas and a blessed, happy new year.

“Christmas” Parade Name Change OK For Christians? What About Evacuation Day? November 25, 2008

And Take Your King With You!!

As expected, we had our rain on Monday. Most places got between a half inch and an 8th of an inch. A shade more than I had thought but my plants are happy. Its gong to be chilly on Tuesday then the sun breaks out on Wednesday and Thursday. Not out of the question that we have consecutive days in the 50′s on Wednesday and Thanksgiving. That’s a nice change. Last week, we averaged a low of 27 and a high of 44. The average high and low for February 7th are 44 and 27. Yes, it’s too cold so enjoy Thanksgiving while it lasts because chillier air returns at the end of the week and holds through the weekend into next week. We had rain in the forecast for Friday but this weekend the models were coming around to advertise a low coming out from the west would stay to our south so we took the chances out. Early Tuesday morning, that data continues to be coming more in the form of a consensus so Light Up Louisville still looks to be dry.

Christmas tales: We watched a story on TV Monday night regarding Patchogue, New York that changed the name of their Christmas Parade from the Christmas Boat Parade to the Holiday Boat Parade. Of

Patchogue Holiday Boat Parade?

course, the interviews were all of people who objected for a variety of reasons. Most of the reasons had to do with the religious aspects of the day though some were more into the tradition angle. But, Snow White came up with an observation that I had never thought of before. The origin of the term comes from what was celebrated in the church, which was the Mass of Christ. Now, over the years, people have long complained about the commercialization of Christmas. It took Linus to explain the true meaning of Christmas to Charlie Brown. So, people didn’t like the Santa Claus and presents and decorations and stuff because it was overwhelming the meaning of the day, as

Linus Talks to Chuck

Charlie Brown found out. So, the question then arises, shouldn’t these folks be happy that they have taken Christmas off the title of these events? I mean, in doing so, they don’t take the commercialization of the season out of it but instead, takes out the religious reference involved in the commercialization. It seems to be a plausible discussion point that the term Christmas should be disconnected from the secular aspects of the season, thereby elevating the day back to one of Holy reverence. By insisting that the reference be included in parades that generally are filled with elves, candy canes and winter scenes but are generally absent of religious symbols it can be argued that doing so merely perpetuates the distraction of the meaning of Christmas. It could be considered wanting things both ways. Just some things to consider…

From Left To Right: John Jay, John Adams, Ben Franklin, Henry Laurens, William T. Franklin...the rest were too Chicken to Show up

On This Date In History: On September 3, 1783 the Treaty of Paris was signed by Ben Franklin and his

Van Arsdale Raises The Stars and Stripes

delegation as well as representatives of the English Crown. The Revolutionary War was officially over. On November 25 1783, the last of the British forces left the US on what is known as “Evacuation Day.” The Brits thought they’d get the last laugh by nailing the Union Jack atop a greased flag pole in New York. Much to their chagrin though, an American Patriot named John Van Arsdale put on spiked boots and climbed the pole, replacing the British Flag with an American Flag. The Brits on the ships leaving New York Harbor must have been very disappointed when they looked through their spy glass and saw old glory flapping in the breeze.

Apparently, there was a lady named Mrs. Day who got a little overzealous and whipped out the American flag on her flag pole before the redcoats had left. A British officer yelled at her so she pummeled his face with a broom stick.

Gen. Washington Entered New York After the Redcoats Left

There were really a bunch of Evacuation Days as various towns celebrated the day that the British troops left their particular town. I believe that there are still some towns that have holidays marking the day. But, in New York, after celebrating big time on the centennial of Evacuation Day in 1883, the celebratory atmosphere began to wind down. By the turn of the century, many New Yorkers didn’t even know what was evacuated or by whom. Following World War I, the day sorta fell by the wayside…I mean the English were our allies during that conflict.

Regardless of the public memories, the British memories at the time were quite scarred. They were sore losers. Prior to the shenanigans of the flag episode, a painter asked that the members of the peace delegations at the Treaty of Paris to pose for a painting of posterity to commemorate the occasion. Note that painting above by a man named Benjamin West. It is incomplete because the British delegation refused to pose like the sore losers they were.