All Categories

WEDDING TRENDS IN 2022

3/4/2022

Weddings didn’t go away during the pandemic, but many of them were put off or down scaled. But the masks are off and the marriage business is booming in 2022. A recent invitation tickled my interest in what kinds of changes have come about during and, as the result of, the almost two year shut down. In my humble opinion, having nothing at all to do with the industry, things don’t look all that different, but no one asked me.

WHAT’S IN
1. Putting Guests First
The Knot, experts in weddings, have some predictions based on being in the wedding planning business, the most all-encompassing is the trend to be more casual and to make the guests more comfortable… putting guests first. A more thoughtful, modern etiquette is replacing traditional pomp and circumstance, but often without loss of luxury.

2. The Ultra Formal Takes A Hit
“Formality of even the most lavish weddings will be slightly pared down in the year ahead.” Amy Shey Jacobs, owner and creative director of Chandelier Events in New York tells The Knots writers, “While the classic black-tie wedding will still be around, we will see more and more of a relaxed vibe coming into play at weddings. This means there's less fuss about the traditions and more fun."

3. The More Local Destination Wedding
Planners say couples have found the many out-of-this-world destinations in the US where the travel isn’t so far or as costly, and travel requirements are less. Some are still going on longer trips, but passport problems and Covid regulations make keep that off the table for a while.

4. The Multi-Generational and Multi-Day Wedding
Taking added measures to tailor multi-generational experiences for their loved ones is appreciated by guests after the events of separation during the pandemic. Often the events in a multiple-day wedding are planned for different sets of guests. Whether it's a pool party or a Sunday family brunch, there's an event for the grandparents all the way to the nieces and nephews.

5. The Outdoor Wedding
Outdoor weddings have always been around but the green sustainability movement is showing up full force in outdoor venues. Tents and no-walls locations may be left overs from not gathering so closely together, and hanging florals are in great demand.

Source of images: New Wedding Dresses, Simple Lace Wedding Dresses On Sale & Come Buy (firstdresss.com)

6. Themed Weddings and big blowouts
Themed weddings are more popular than usual. That, also, might be the result of people proceeding with very small or city hall weddings during the shutdown who now, a couple of years later, want a big blowout party for the friends they couldn’t invite for the actual nuptials.

7. Breaking Tradition
“With the forced changes to events these past two years (e.g. micro weddings followed by bigger parties), I have seen more couples decide to do things in a more nontraditional way, and I welcome the change," shares Tzo Ai Ang of Ang Weddings and Events. From reception-only celebrations to elopements to bold design, weddings are much more individualized to the couple.

Planner Tory Smith of Smith + James Events adds, “We love the ‘anti-trend’ trend. The whole industry is moving away from cookie-cutter weddings and we’re here for it. Out-of-the-box destinations, culinary surprises, and crescendo moments really do it for us.”

Image source: brides.com/wedding-trends-2022-:

WHAT’S OUT
Vogue also fills us in on what kinds of wedding events and traditions are out this year. This is what prominent wedding planners told their writers not to do anymore. https://www.vogue.com/article/the-wedding-trends-that-are-in-and-out-for-2022

1. Family Style Meals
“Goodbye, family-style dinner service. Leave this casual supper for summer BBQs. Our clients want formality, ritual and elegance...and lots of room on the table for flowers.” -Rebecca Gardner
While some may be doing blowout events, others have come to embrace the intimacy of a micro-wedding. It doesn't have to be with a home cooked meal.

Image Source: brides.com/wedding-trends-in-2022

2. Twinkle Light Ceilings
“They were beautiful in time, but rather than drawing design upward, we’re metaphorically in the moment, drawing attention to the tables and dance floors—to the present!” -Mindy Weiss

3. Multiple Toasts at the Reception
“Toasting is happening the night before or for the smaller group at the rehearsal dinner. At receptions, brides are saying, ‘Let’s dance!’ and dispensing with long, formal dinners. Getting the speeches done the night before (except for the groom, best man, and father of the bride’s) turns the reception into a dinner party, letting the guests get onto the dance floor much earlier in the night.” -Bronson van Wyck

4. Monogrammed Dance Floors
“We’ll always love a monogram, but the statement dance floor monogram we can leave with the trends of the 2010s. If branding the dance floor is for you, think further with artistic touches and graphics to create a statement, pattern, or color that represents your overall wedding style and personality.” -Mindy Weiss

5. Muted Color Schemes
“We're seeing less white/ivory/green this upcoming year as couples gear up for a vibrant 2022.” -Stefanie Cove
“As lovely as white is, couples want to pick a color and go for it. As the saying goes, go big or go home!” -Tara Fay

6. Overly Packed Welcome Bags
“As we all try to be more sustainably conscious, couples are now offering a simple yet thoughtful treat or gift for guests to enjoy, perhaps a nod to the wedding location. This also means less 'stuff' for guests to travel home with.” -Stefanie Cove

WHAT’S ON [THE BRIDES]
Every year you can find wedding all styles of wedding gowns, and plenty of variations among each style. Nothing is ever new, but the way the elements of gowns are put together can be fresh and innovative… and, in some cases, terrifying. I’ll leave those out this year.
I read that the trends are the following:

1.Short Dresses
These looks are short on hemline but big on personality. They make it possible to show off you killer shoes. If you want a long dress for the ceremony, how about short for the reception?

Courtesy of Oscar De La Renta Courtesy of PatBO Courtesy of Houghton
Source of Images: brides.com/bridal-fashion-trends-2022

2. Ruffles
The first example brings on the maximalist gown with plenty of ruffles and unapologetically extra detail. A ruffled skirt adds airy dimension to a streamlined silhouette, while a full skirt of cascading ruffles is perfect for the bride looking to make a serious fashion statement. They can go from frothy to understated sophistication.

Courtesy of Elie Saab Courtesy of Theia Courtesy of Kim Kassas Couture
Source of Images: brides.com/bridal-fashion-trends-2022

3. Colorful Florals
While florals are always in the mix for wedding dresses, this year be prepared for gowns with bold blooms everywhere. Colorful prints and splashy embroidery give this established trend a gorgeous refresh. To pull off this fashion-forward look in real life, keep your accessories simple and let your gown do all the talking.

Courtesy of Monique Lhuillier Courtesy of Romona Keveza
Source of Images: brides.com/bridal-fashion-trends-2022

4. Puff Sleeves
The idea of puff sleeves may awake visions of outdated '80s dresses, but today’s more subtle versions are all about tasteful romance. This detail can be adapted to almost any wedding gown silhouette, and may show up combined with some different styles. They always make a regal statement.

Courtesy of Lazaro Courtesy of Romona Keveza Courtesy of Hermione d Paula
Source of Images: brides.com/bridal-fashion-trends-2022

5. Pants
With more and more non-traditional couples, pants are always in demand. No problem. These sleek dress alternatives are comfortable, figure flattering and totally of the moment. For the 2022 bridal trends, crop tops, one shoulder necklines and shorts gave the classic wedding pantsuit and jumpsuit a fun and festive vibe.

Courtesy of Retrofete Courtesy of Ines di Santo
Source of Images: brides.com/bridal-fashion-trends-2022

6. Square Necklines
The sharply angled flatters the decollete and is a true throwback. Popular in the Renaissance and then Regency eras, square necklines have since made a major comeback. Again, this detail also works with almost every wedding gown style. Go classic with heavy satin, romantic with floral lace or boho with crepe.

Courtesy of Sareh Nouri Courtesy of Alison Webb Courtesy of Theia
Source of Images: brides.com/bridal-fashion-trends-2022

7. High Slits
High slits brought the sex appeal to Bridal Fashion Week. If you're looking to show some skin, and you’ve got the legs for it, you can go full femme fatale with a curve-skimming silhouette that shows lots of leg or go timeless with a twist and opt for a formal ball gown with a thigh high slit.

Courtesy of Retrofete Courtesy of Ines di Santo
Source of Images: brides.com/bridal-fashion-trends-2022

8. Corsets
Similar to square necklines, lingerie-inspired bodices are about as old world as you can get. Invented in the 1500s, this structured bodice supports the bust and cinches the waist. And while this style is nothing new, restyled bustier tops and corsets with exposed boning, sheer panels and cutouts are easy to find in the new 2022 collections, with a silhouette that's equal parts functional and sultry.

Courtesy of Galia Lahav Courtesy of Alyne by Rita Vinieris Courtesy of La Premiere Ibal Dror
Source of Images: brides.com/bridal-fashion-trends-2022

CONCLUSIONS
First, from the Wedding ceremony, venue, and party to the gowns, nothing is new. What is new every year is how the designers put it all together. One gown could meet all the requirements of something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue.

Second, I am so grateful I don’t personally have anyone getting married in the family.

JUST SAYIN.
□
Sources:
https://www.theknot.com/content/new-wedding-trends#:~:text=The%20Top%20Wedding%20Trends%20of%202022%201%20Relaxed,...%2010%20Weekday%20Weddings.%20...%20More%20items...%20

https://www.vogue.com/article/the-wedding-trends-that-are-in-and-out-for-2022 https://www.brides.com/wedding-trends-to-expect-in-2022-5094228

https://theunion.kay.com/post/wedding-trends-in-2022-61ce15f0454b211254219bdc?cid=SEM-bing-DYNAMIC+SEARCH+ADS-NB+-+DSAs&gclid=177e8c1404ab1c2587d1ee350d6bdc55&gclsrc=3p.ds&

https://welcome.zola.com/weddingplanning_paidsearch_desktop_5reasons_bragbar1/?pkey=wed_bingsem_desktop_researchexact_np_&orderkey=wed_bingsem_desktop_researchexact_np_&msclkid=df5d8fde66bd182b60dfedfc05b3b5d9&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=We

https://www.brides.com/fall-2022-bridal-fashion-week-wedding-dress-trends-5205222
https://www.hebeos.com/new-wedding-dresses?ref=googleads&msclkid=555ec1e203211098fa24a3c2fa62691a
https://www.brides.com/bridal-fashion-trends-to-expect-in-2022-5213864

0 Comments

POLAR BEARS

2/18/2022

1 Comment

THE MOSTEST TO SAY THE LEASTEST
Polar bears are BIG. Urusus Maritimus, as it is called in scientific palaver, is a hypercarnivorous bear whose natural habitat is primarily within the Artic Circle, encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses.
◄ Image Source: animalfactguide.com/polar-bear/

The Polar Bear is the largest extant bear species, as well as the largest living land carnivore. Only the Kodiak bear nears this size.

The average boar (adult male) weighs around 770 to 1,540 lb and reaches 7’10” to 9’10” in total length. Their are about 2’8” to 5’ in length. Adult females (sows) are about half that size but still big enough to do some major damage, particularly if you threaten her babies. They are very good mothers.
Image Source: researchgate.net/World-distribution-polar-bear ►

Guide Polar Bear Brown Grisly American Black Bear Polar Bear measures 9'10 "
Source of Images: zooologist.com/how-tall-is-a-polar-bear/ ▲ ▲

The Ursus maritimus, or Marine Bear, evolved to survive nicely in a narrow ecological niche, which today means big bears, the need for lots of food and, now, shrinking habitat, making it an endangered species in this era of climate change. There are an estimated 21,000 to 33,000 polar bears left in the wild.

The Ursus maritimus, or Marine Bear, evolved to survive nicely in a narrow ecological niche, which today means big bears, the need for lots of food and, now, shrinking habitat, making it an endangered species in this era of climate change. There are an estimated 21,000 to 33,000 polar bears left in the wild.

Polar bears are born on land, but spend much of their life on sea ice. Their big bodies have adapted to cold temperatures and moving across snow, ice, and open water, and for hunting seals, their main source of food. Seals live at the edge of sea ice. When there is little sea ice, and no seals; the polar bears can live off body fat (for a while). Because of their dependence on the sea ice and seals, polar bears are classified as marine mammals.

Researchers believe the bear family, Ursidae, split off from the run-of-the-mill carnivore about 38 million years ago. A sister to the brown bear, recent research establishes the divergence of polar and brown bears at about 400,000 years ago. However, there is evidence that the species have mated intermittently for all that time. The oldest known polar bear fossil is a 130,000 to 110,000-year-old jaw bone found in 2004. More recent fossils demonstrate that the polar bears molars changed, between 10,000 and 20,000 years ago, significantly from those of the brown bear.

ADAPTATION TO HABITAT
The Polar Bear leads a solitary life. The animal’s preferred habitat is where annual sea ice covers the ocean over the continental shelf and the Arctic inter-island archipelagos. These areas, known as the "Arctic ring of life", have high biological productivity in comparison to the deep waters of the high Arctic. The bears sometimes range as far south as James Bay in Canada, but tend to stay along the periphery of the ice packs where the seals live.
Within that habitat, fresh water is limited. Thus, polar bears have evolved with the ability to produce water through the metabolism of fats found in seal blubber.
Their legs are stocky and the ears and tail are small. However, the feet are very large to distribute load when walking on snow or thin ice and to provide propulsion when swimming.

Polar bear jumping on fast ice in Spitsbergen Island, In the water
Svalbard Archipelago, Norway Image Source: animalia.bio/polar-bear ▲
Image Source: en.wikipedia.org/Polar_bear ▲

Claws are deeply scooped on the underside to assist in digging in the ice of the natural habitat. Research of injury patterns in polar bear forelimbs found injuries to the right forelimb to be more frequent than those to the left, suggesting, perhaps, right-handedness. They have 42 teeth adapted to a carnivorous diet with large, sharp canines, and a blue tongue.

Blue? Sounds strange. It’s because they have black skin. Also they regulate their heat balance by panting like a dog. The tongue is so blue because it is well supplied with blood.

Polar bears are insulated by up to four inches of adipose tissue (fat), hide and fur, keeping body temperature at a steady 98.6° F. Polar bear fur consists of a layer of dense underfur and an outer layer of guard hairs which appear white to tan or yellowish but are actually clear and hallow. Their skin is black. Polar bear insulation - Image Source: researchgate.net/Polar-bears-fur

Actually, polar bears are not white, as they often appear. Thanks to evolution. the bear’s guard hair has some rather novel features. Firstly, each hair is hollow, like a straw. When the sun shines on a polar bear’s fur, light gets trapped in the hollow section of each individual hair. With nowhere else to go, the trapped light bounces around inside the hairs and the energy produced creates a reaction called luminescence. This even helps the black skin to absorb the heat.

So, polar bears aren’t actually white. Their color is determined by the lighting and climate of their surroundings; they can appear: yellow, gray, orange, and even green. Green occurs when the hairs get algae inside them.

Let’s not forget their great pair of sniffers. Wikipedia claims “They can smell a seal’s breathing hole, or aglu, up to one mile away. Once located, a polar bear will wait patiently by the hole and attack the seal’s head when it comes up for air.”

On the left are some characteristic postures you may recognize from photos:
1.At rest
2.Assessing a situation;
3.When feeding
◄ Image credit: Волков Владислав Петрович - сделано мной, CC0
Image Source: commons.wikimedia.org/w/13907826
Image Credit: AWeith /Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0
▼ Image Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/51515270

When food is plentiful, the bear will just eat the seal fat, leaving the carcass for other animals. However, when food is scarce, polar bears will eat just about anything; walruses, short-legged reindeer, birds, bird eggs, kelp, and beached whales.

REPRODUCTION
Polar Bears are active year-round, although they have a vestigial hibernation induction trigger in their blood. Pregnant females do enter a dormant stage after mating in the spring. They spend the summer eating a lot and building a den in a snow drift. As winter approaches the female goes into her den and assumes the dormant state until she gives birth. Litters are usually two cubs who stay with their mother for two years to learn how to survive. Another source indicates that cubs nurse for 2 ½ years. Seems a little inconsistent, but whatever.

▲ Source of Image: animalia.bio/polar-bear ▲

Image Source: worldwildlife.org/polar-bear ▲ Image Credit: US Fish and Wildlife ▲
Image Source: en. wikipedia.org/wiki/Polar_bear#

In the springtime, April and May, the polar bears congregate in the best hunting areas and the courting begins. This is when males fight for mating rights. Polar bears have a polygynous mating system. Partners stay together for an entire week, mating repeatedly. After mating, the fertilized egg remains in a suspended state until August or September. Based on what I read, the male takes off and is out of the story.

Polar bears are not territorial, so mating season is the only time males fight with each other. Otherwise they can comingle peacefully, although this doesn’t happen often.

During the summer, the pregnant female eats a lot (she may gain over 400 pounds or double her body weight). During these four months she finds a suitable place for a den and begins preparing it. When the hunting season is over and the ice flows are at minimum, she builds a den with a narrow entrance and one to three chambers within. Most of them are in snow drifts but some are actually underground in permafrost, located a few kilometers from the coast. The female enters her dormant state and her heart beat lowers, but her body temperature does not drop as it would in true hibernation. Image Source: en.wikipedia.org//Polar_bear ▲

Between November and February, cubs are born blind, covered with a light down fur, and weighing less than two pounds. They remain in the den until around April, then the mother digs a way out. They remain in the area of the den for a week or two, then head off toward the coast for hunting, since Mom has been fasting for months.
Cubs stay with the mother for two and a half years. Then she chases them away or simply leaves, and they are on their own.

LIFE CYCLE
Females breed at between four and five years. Males are six years old before they are able to breed. Reproductive success and the maternal weight of females peaked in their teens. In the wild, these animals live on average twenty-five years.

Not a lot is known about “old age” of Polar bears. They appear affected by infectious diseases and parasites than most terrestrial mammals, and they have no predators, except an occasional whale while swimming. They generally avoid going in the water of a pod of whales is detected.

The major belief is that if they are not killed by hunters, the most likely lose the ability to find food and die of starvation and old age. But over hunting has been a problem for years, and finally the countries in the range area took measures in the mid-to-late 20th century to control hunting.

According to the World Wildlife Fund, the polar bear is important as an indicator of Arctic ecosystem health. Polar bears are studied to gain understanding of what is happening throughout the Arctic, because at-risk polar bears are often a sign of something wrong with the Arctic marine ecosystem.

JUST SAYIN!

FACT SHEET
KINGDOM - Animalia
PHYLUM - Chordata
SUBPHYLUM - Vertebrata
CLASS - Mammalia
ORDER - Carnivora
SUBORDER - Caniformia
FAMILY - Ursidae
GENUS - Ursus
SPECIES - Ursus maritimus

Scientific Name - Ursus maritimus (Sea Bears)
Name – male = boar, female = sow; baby = cub
Population – 21,000 to 33,000 worldwide
Life span - 25-30 yrs
Top speed - 40 km/h
On land, gait is lumbering. Average speed 3 ½ mph. Sprinting can reach 25 mph.
In water, they are buoyant and swim in dog-paddle fashion using forepaws. Swim at about 6 mph but can reach 40 mph. They can swim for days.

Weight – male – 770 to 1,540 pounds; female 400 to 800 pounds
Height – 7’10” to 9’10”
length – 6 to 9 feet
Teeth – 42 razor sharp teeth: with jagged back teeth and canines larger than grizzly teeth, they pack quite the bite
Paws - 30 cm wide paws: the size of a dinner plate! a natural snowshoe that helps the bear trek across treacherous ice and deep snow,

Eyelids - 3 eyelids: the third helps protect the bear's eyes from the elements.
Eye Sight – as acute as that of a human, bettert at long distance.
Hearing – as acute as that of a human.
Sense of Smell – Extremely well-developed sense of smell allows them to detect seals a mile away and buried under 3 feet of snow.

Insulation - 4 inches of fat: Under the bear's skin to keep it warm
Skin – Black; absorbs the heat
Fur – A layer of dense underfur and an outer layer of guard hairs which appear white to tan or yellowish but are actually clear and hallow.
Tongue - Blue
No. Offspring – 2 cubs; become independent at between 2 and 3 years.

Environmental Status – Vulnerable
Habitats - Arctic Ocean, sea ice, and adjacent coastal areas
Continents - North America, Europe, Asia
Countries - Canada, Norway, Russia, United States
Regions - Yukon, Greenland, Yakutiya, Alaska, Newfoundland, Labrador, Manitoba, Newfoundland, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Ontario, Québec

Oceans - Arctic Ocean
Group Name - sloth, sleuth
Lifestyle - Terrestrial, Altricial, Natatorial, Nomadic, Apex predator, Burrowing, Aquatic
Diet and Nutrition - Carnivore, Scavenger
Most of what polar bears eat is the blubber and skids of ringed seals. they often leave the rest of the carcass, which becomes an important food source for other animals. they also eat birds, fish, berries, reindeer and sometimes walrus. carcasses of walruses, seals and even whales can provide a regular source of food for polar bears. they sometimes break into underground seal dens to hunt the pups inside them.
Mating Behavior – Polygynous
Mating Season – April and May
□
SOURCES:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polar_bear
https://www.nps.gov/subjects/bears/polar-bears.htm
https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/polar-bear
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/canada/manitoba/churchill
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/polar-bear
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Churchill,_manitoba
https://animalfactguide.com/animal-facts/polar-bear/
https://animalia.bio/polar-bear
http://zooologist.com/how-tall-is-a-polar-bear/
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Polar-bears-fur-24_fig4_317219975
https://www.businessinsider.com/what-color-is-polar-bear-fur-2017-12

https://www.nathab.com/polar-bear-tours/tundra-lodge-adventure/?sclkid=3a91703132ce194b83ba11ee326a0ce6&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Search%20-%20Polar%20Bears&utm_term=polar%20bears%20canada%20churchill&utm_content=Churchill&utm_content=po

https://travel.quarkexpeditions.com/arctic/svalbard/?creative=&keyword=svalbard%20polar%20bear&matchtype=p&network=o&device=c&utm_medium=ppc&utm_source=bing&utm_campaign=ak-spitsbergen-priority&utm_term=svalbard%20polar%20bear&utm_content=search&msclkid=fa

https://support.worldwildlife.org/site/Donation2?df_id=14264&14264.donation=form1&s_src=AWE1800OQ18710A01688RX&msclkid=72137b9c1e721909d5191a431d6b60dd&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Wildlife%20Save%20-%20Species&utm_term=how%20to%20save%20pol

https://www.nathab.com/polar-bear-tours/classic-polar-bear-expedition/?utm_content=churchill%20canada&utm_source=Bing_Yahoo&utm_medium=cpc&msclkid=9f06fbaa79ee1ca6007b9a757a22bee6&utm_campaign=Search%20-%20Polar%20Bears%20-%20Churchill&utm_term=churchill%2

https://idairco.com/are-polar-bears-turning-green/#:~:text=Polar%20bears%20have%2C%20although%20we%20cannot%20see%20it,blue%20because%20it%20is%20well%20supplied%20with%20blood.

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/World-distribution-of-the-polar-bear-Ursus-maritimus-In-this-overlay-of-the-Arctic_fig1_31579076
□

1 Comment

IT’S NEVER WHAT YOU THINK: Saint Valentine’s Day Trivia Quiz

2/11/2022

0 Comments

When you’ve celebrated an event all your life, there is a tendency to believe you know everything about its origins and traditions. Take Valentine’s Day, for instance. I remember cutting out little red hearts from construction paper seventy-five years ago, then it was more complicated cupid forms. That alone should make me an expert, but life and traditions are never that simple.

TAKE THE VALENTINE’S DAY TRIVIA QUIZ

1. VALENTINE’S DAY ORIGINATED FROM:
a. The death of Saint Valentine, Bishop of Interamna (now Terni, Italy).
b. The birth of Saint Valentine of Rome.
c. The Roman fertility festival of Lupercalia
d. The fifth century AD when Pope Gelasius I created a religious day honoring Saint
Valentine.

ANSWER
The origins of Saint Valentine's day are rooted in the ancient Romans and their fertility festival of Lupercalia on the Ides of February (15th), dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture. It was a sensuous affair where young women put their names in a big pot and young men simply drew out a name. According to a 2008 article by Glenn Church, "The man did not need to ask for a date, plan a dinner setting or a movie. Just draw a name and off to fornicate."

In the fifth century Pope Gelasius I outlawed the pagan festival and superimposed a religious day honoring Saint Valentine. The Pope’s action toned down the festivities but, according to scholar Noel Lenski, University of Colorado, “It was a little more of a drunken revel, but the Christians put clothes back on. That didn’t stop it from being a day of fertility and love.”
Image Source: unsettlingthings.com/history-of-valentines-day/

2. WHO WAS ST. VALENTINE’S DAY NAMED AFTER?
a. Saint Valentine, bishop of Interamna (now Terni, Italy) – Executed February 14, between
430 and 440 AD
b. Saint Valentine, priest in Rome – Executed February 14, approximately 270 AD
c. Saint Valentine, a martyr in the Roman province of Africa. Executed February 14, Year
Unknown

ANSWER
Actually, no one knows for sure, but historians agree there was nothing romantic in any of the histories of the three possible early-Christian martyrs (Saints) named Valentine.

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia there were thirty saints named Valentine. “At least three different Saint Valentines, all of them martyrs, are mentioned in the early martyrologies under the date of 14 February.” The only thing known for sure about any of them ‒ and there could be errors in the Church’s early recordkeeping as well ‒ was that they were all martyred on February 14 of different years.

St. Valentine of Terni St. Valentine of Rome
Image Source: guernseydonkey.com/the-death-of-a-saint Image Source: albionfourthrome.blogspot.com/valentine

The most accepted of the three as the real “Saint Valentine” possibilities is the Roman priest, and his legend is based on disputable writings from many years later and word of mouth.

According to the legend, under the rule of Claudius the Cruel, Rome was involved in many unpopular and bloody campaigns. The emperor had to maintain a strong army, but was having a difficult time getting soldiers to join his military leagues. Claudius believed that Roman men were unwilling to join the army because of their strong attachment to their wives and families.”

The Emperor took care of this little problem by banning all marriages and engagements in Rome (or perhaps it was only those in the military). Valentine, reacting to the injustice of the decree, continued to perform marriages. When the news got back to the Emperor, Claudius ordered that Valentine be put to death. “Valentine was arrested and dragged before the Prefect of Rome, who condemned him to be beaten to death with clubs and to have his head cut off. The sentence was carried out on February 14, on or about the year 270.” history.com/day-in-history/st-valentine.
There are a number of variations to the legend.

The first mention of St. Valentine’s Day as a romantic holiday appeared in the writings of Geoffrey Chaucer in 1382. With the Medieval period came a new focus on illicit but chaste courtly love,

3. WHERE DOES THE STYLIZED SHAPE OF THE VALENTINE HEART COME FROM?
a. It is shaped like a human heart.
b. Heart shape originated as the symbol of Dionysus, Greek god of grapes, wine, and
debauchery, and champion of sexual orgies.
c. It is the shape of Silphium, a well-known, but now extinct, herb widely used in the
Mediterranean area for spicing food and widely used as an abortive agent for women.
d. The idea is from the 1250 French romance, The Romance of the Pear, written by Thibaut.
e. It is the shape of female body parts: buttocks, heart shaped baby bump, and (Oh, my!)
the full frontal whoo-hah
.
ANSWER
Chronologically speaking, the first theory is the heart shape originated as the symbol of Dionysus, Greek god of grapes, wine, and debauchery, and champion of sexual orgies. The god and the Cult of Dionysus are depicted among Mycenaean artifacts the end of the Bronze Age (1600-1100 BC).

By the seventh century BC, the city-state of Cyrene (in today’s Lybia), was known to trade in the rare, and now extinct, plant silphium. Silphium, a well-known herb widely use in the Mediterranean area for spicing food, grew only along the Libyan coast where the climate is now considerably drier. It was also widely used as an abortive agent for women. And guess what! Its seeds were shaped like hearts. The shape and plants were even commemorated on Cyrene coins.

Image Source: edenbrothers.com/?msclkid Image Source: bellabeat.com/uncategorized

The Greek philosopher Aristotle (384-322 BC) wrote that the human heart was the center of all human emotions. It is certainly one of the major body parts which sends visceral signals regarding our feelings and moods. If you've ever been in love, or heartbroken, you know you definitely feel it in your heart. That could support the connection between the heart and passion, bnut they don’t look much alike.

Image Source: heartattackfaq.com/what-is-heart-attack

The first verifiable association of the heart shape as a symbol of romantic love occurred in 1250 in a French romance (Le Roman de la Poire) by Thibaut. The illustration in this book is earliest known depiction of the human heart in a metaphorical context signifying romantic love.

Our last theory or the heart shape origin is the replication of certain female body parts. The Catholic Encyclopedia makes no reference to this matter, and all above are theories advanced by “experts”, but archeological research seems to fall on the side of #e... lady parts.

Image Source: demicblog.com/shape-of-butt Image Source: refinery29.com/heart-shaped-uterus

4. WHAT COLOR ROSES IS BEST TO SEND YOUR SIGNIFICANT OTHER ON
VALENTINE’S DAY?

a. Red b. Dark Crimson c. Lavender d. Yellow
e. White f. Coral/Peach g. Orange h. Blue i. Pink

ANSWER
The days of picking up a gift at random are gone, Romeo. That’s one of the problems with the internet. There’s too much information out there. Today’s modern woman is probably going to know – or find out – the meaning of each color of the flowers you might give her. While you are fairly safe, there are a few thorns. Read the meanings carefully before deciding what message you want to send.

Red – Symbolizes love and desire; the best because the color means love.
Dark crimson or Black – Symbolizes mourning.
Lavender – Symbolizes love at first sight.
Yellow – Symbolizes joy, friendship, the promise of a new beginning.
Blue – Symbolizes an unattainable dream.
White – Symbolizes purity, innocence, reverence, a new beginning, a fresh start.
Coral or Peach – Symbolizers friendship, modesty, sympathy.
Pink – Symbolizes grace, happiness, gentleness.
Orange – Symbolizes desire and enthusiasm.

Remember, any other color than red symbolizes the florist was our of red roses.

4. WHAT IS THE BEST NUMBER OF ROSES TO SEND YOUR SIGNIFICANT OTHER ON
VALENTINE’S DAY?
a. One   b. Three                        c. Five
d. Six   e. Ten                            f. Twelve
g. Fifteen                       h. Twenty                      i. Twenty-four

You’re getting close but not off the hook yet. If roses are your choice, you need to pay attention to what that the number means as well. Again the best answer depends on where you are in your relationship.

A single rose – Signifies a great compliment; it represents ‘love at first sight’ and is often given to the ladies during the first date. It shows a definite romantic interest.

Three roses – Expresses contentment from being with the other person. This bouquet is often reserved for couples with some mileage behind their backs.

Five roses – Being given five roses is the moment most women dream about. They symbolize true love. So, if you are on the receiving end of this gift, pinch yourself, it is really happening.

Six roses – Shows the person on the giving end that you want to take the relationship to the next level. This bouquet confesses unrevealed tinges of love and passion.

Ten roses – Symbolizes two lovers meant for each other; a perfect love.

Twelve roses – A dozen roses symbolizes wholeness; the desire of the gift-giver to spend their whole life with their beloved. It’s equivalent to a marriage proposal.

Fifteen roses – Symbolizes a feeling of regret such as one might harbor following an argument with their special someone.

Twenty roses – Signifies that your love it sincere.

Two dozen ‒ The mind-disarming message of eternal and unconditional love – a genuine gesture of appreciation for the other person. (It also may mean you are rich, considering the price of roses these days.)

5. WHO ORIGINATED THE MODERN DAY VALENTINE’S DAY GREETING CARD?
a. Charles, Duke of Orleans (1415)
b. Hallmark cards 1916
c. Esther Howland, American Business Woman (1840s)
d. King Henry V
e. American Greeting Cards

ANSWER
Charles, Duke of Orleans is credited for writing the first Valentine while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt (1415). The note still exists.

Not long after, King Henry V supposedly hired a writer named John Lydgate to compose a valentine note to Catherine of Valois.

References indicater written Valentines were popular in the middle ages, although there were, in those days, few others than some nobles and clerics who could read or write. It makes one wonder what “popular” means to the author of that reference.

By the 1800s, however, written and illustrated valentines abounded, but for sure they were all hand-made.  Tah Dah!

Esther Allen Howland, born in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1828, was the artist and businesswoman responsible for popular-izing Valentine's Day greeting card in America by being the first entrepreneur to mass produce them (thanks, perhaps, to her father Southworth Howland who operated S.A. Howland & Sons,the largest book and stationery store in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Esther Howland, Image Source: stampingmadly.com/who-is-esther-howland

Shortly after graduating from Mount Holyoke College in 1847, she received a handmade Valentine’s Day card from a colleague of her father’s. The nineteen-year-old was intrigued. She was convinced she could make a much nicer card, and proceeded to make a dozen samples for salesmen to include in her father’s inventory for that period of the year.

Image Source: victoriana.com/VictorianValentine/

They were very popular. Howland was hoping for at least $200 worth of orders. Instead the orders amounted to $5,000 worth of business. Not bad for the 1850s. She started her first assembly line in Howland family home, but soon had to move to a larger place… and the American Valentine’s greeting card was on its way into the history books.

Hallmark didn’t start mass producing Valentine’s Day cards until 1916.

JUST SAYIN

Sources
http://www.keytoumbria.com/Terni/St_Valentine.html
https://www.wrhistoricalsociety.com/a-history-of-st-valentines-day
https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/heart-shaped-uterus
https://www.al.com/living/2018/02/who_was_st_valentine_why_is_he.html
https://www.unsettlingthings.com/the-unsettling-history-of-valentines-day/
https://stampingmadly.com/2013/02/14/who-is-esther-howland-and-why-should-you-care/
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/st-valentine-beheaded
http://albionfourthrome.blogspot.com/2011/02/st-valentine-of-rome.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esther_Howland
https://guernseydonkey.com/the-death-of-a-saint-and-the-start-of-a-romantic-tradition-the-martyrdom-of-st-valentine/

https://www.biblestudy.org/basicart/what-is-true-origin-of-valentines-day.html#:~:text=It%20is%20unclear%20the%20origin%20of%20the%20familiar,like%20the%20heart%20shape%20used%20in%20modern%20times.

https://www.heartattackfaq.com/what-is-a-heart-attack?&msclkid=a96974b7bf4718e435b216b6e1c8718b&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=UNB_DTC_DSE_Awareness_General_BMM_5.23.2020&utm_term=%2Bheart%20%2Bhealth&utm_content=Heart%20Attack%20%26%20Health
Roses
https://www.lolaflora.com/blog/trend/
https://www.womansday.com/relationships/dating-marriage/g744/flower-meanings/
https://www.almanac.com/content/flower-meanings-language-flowers
https://www.odealarose.com/blog/what-is-the-most-romantic-flower/
https://www.goldflorist.com/pages/rose-color-meanings/Yellow-Rose-Meaning.html
https://www.goldflorist.com/pages/White-Rose-Meaning.html
http://www.homegrown.org/profiles/blogs/do-black-roses-actually-exist-in-nature

https://www.reference.com/world-view/meaning-black-rose-dfdacf5fc81d034a
roseforlove.com/the-meanings-of-black-roses-ezp-38

https://www.theflowerexpert.com/content/aboutflowers/flower-meanings
heart shape

https://hometech101360.wordpress.com/2016/06/11/say-it-with-single-rose-learn-its-meaning-too/
ck-https://steemit.com/blog/@sraj/rare-blarose-only-found-in-turkey

http://voices.yahoo.com/origins-valentines-day-heart-symbol-849689.html
http://www.kingdombaptist.org/the-origin-of-valentines-day-and-the-heart-symbol/
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/recycled/2007/02/the_shape_of_my_heart.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentine%27s_Day
https://bellabeat.com/uncategorized/opening-your-heart-to-change-never-goes-out-of-fashion/
https://www.thehairpin.com/2012/02/possible-origins-of-the-heart-shape/
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/recycled/2007/02/the_shape_of_my_heart.html
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1586252/posts
https://www.romancefromtheheart.com/articles/general/history-of-heart-shape.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galen
http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/Dionysos.html
http://scribol.com/anthropology-and-history/history/the-changing-symbolism-of-the-heart-shape-through-the-ages/
https://www.quora.com/Where-did-the-heart-symbol-(%E2%99%A5)-originate
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silphium

http://www.history.com/news/ask-history/what-is-the-origin-of-the-heart-symbol
www.iep.utm.edu/galen/

https://www.edenbrothers.com/?msclkid=4b452ac61fd311e4d61548c206c7a67a&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Seeds&utm_term=seeds%20for%20planting&utm_content=General

0 Comments

STORMY WEATHER: Impact Of Weather On Mood

2/4/2022

0 Comments

I sit here typing in 70° weather with sunshine pouring in my windows, and it is hard to believe that winter can produce a glum mood. But February weather, in many parts of the US and the world, is less than warm and sunny today. From the map you can guess I live in Southern California or Southern Texas.

Image Source: weather.com/maps/currentusweather

AND I QUOTE
“Researchers in Germany sought to find out whether day-to-day weather affects people's moods, but branched out beyond just sunny and cloudy and looked at temperature, wind, sunlight, rain and snow, air pressure, and how long the days were.” Study Sheds Light on Whether the Sun, Wind, Rain Sway Our Emotions By Kelley Colihan

Most people don’t need scientific reports or the latest news article to know how the weather affects moods. All we have to do is pay attention to what is going on around us … and inside us. But as human beings, we often make assumptions about the “obvious” which turn out to be incorrect or at least skewed. So it doesn’t hurt to check on the latest research to confirm or challenge what we’ve personally observed in our lifetimes.

In addition, our observations are constrained and biased by our life style, where we live and travel, and who we know. They don’t tell us how people feel in different locations, weather conditions, or life circumstances.

THE STUDY SHOWS….
The fact that there are at least a zillion studies about weather and how it affects people, should be enough to prove there is both interest and variation in weather impacts. This plethora of research often results in conflicting results, but the Journal of Psychological Science found these inconsistencies may be due to two important factors: the season and how much time is spent outside.

The inconsistencies didn’t put me back to square one, but forced me to comb through a lot of articles and studies on weather and mood to filter out those things which are “generally” accepted by most researchers.

WEATHER AFFECTS MOOD, HEALTH, SOCIAL WELL BEING
These are the common general “truths” or, at least, the consistent beliefs I found in most of the references I used and is the level playing field, so to speak.

● Weather does affect mood, health, and social well being; the strength and nature of that relationship varies from person to person;
● The impact of weather on you may depend on your personality type;
● Weather does not have to impact your mood;
● Even though the day-to-day weather can affect your mood, it doesn't define who you are as a person.
● If you're in a good mood, chances are, bad weather won't bring you down too much.
● Mood disorders can be susceptible to seasonal influences, with a typical worsening in the winter months.
● Sleep is affected by the weather. If it is cold, people are more likely to sleep more lightly and if it’s too hot, sometimes they can’t sleep at all.

“DAY-IN, DAY-OUT”
Song written and performed by David Bowie, Album “Never Let Me Down” - 1987

The study data implies to me a difference in the impacts between the day-in day-out climate of a location and/or extended periods of extreme weather conditions, and shorter periods of weather, like a rainy day or a foggy week.

“STORMY WEATHER”
Song by Harold Arlen; Lyrics by Ted Koehler; first performed by Ethel Waters at The Cotton Club, Harlem 1933

Image Source: https://www.pxfuel.com/en/free-photo-qicpk Image Source: wallpaperhi.com/Umbrella/rain_selective

Here are some of the common thoughts and findings about the effects of cold, inclement, rainy, or gloomy weather on moods.

● Wintertime can bring you down;
● Cold temperatures can lead to physical lethargy;
● Cold temperatures can cause physical pain related to other influences such as arthritis;
● Temperature can affect mood as a result of energy usage. In the winter our bodies have to work harder to maintain body temperature and our immune systems have to work harder to keep us healthy;
● Extreme rain brings out the worst in people;
● Rain can cause you to eat more;
● A lack of sunlight can make you sad;
● Rain makes everything more difficult and can affect your lifestyle in ways not conducive to a good mood.
● Drops in barometric pressure when wet weather is on its way, can cause a headache and achy and stiff feelings in general;
● Rain causes us to stay inside and socialize less. Socializing is actually one of the most powerful antidepressants of all, as are sunlight and exercise.

In other words, winter weather, cold temperatures, rainy and gloomy skies tend to put people in a less positive mood. They’re downers.

“I’M WALKIN’ ON SUNSHINE”
Song written by Kimberley Rew for Katrina and the Waves' 1983

Image Source: bing.com/images/opening+arms+to+sunshine&form Image Source: thebrightsideoflife.org.uk/happy-childhood/

Studies find warmer, more temperate weather/climates as affecting our moods in a positive manner.

● Higher temperatures can bring a depressed person up;
● Warm climates have a lower death rate;
● Pleasant weather (higher temperature or barometric pressure) is related to higher mood, better memory, and ‘‘broadened’’ cognitive style during the spring as time spent outside increased;
● Being outside can improve your memory, and boost creativity;
● Fresh air and sunshine may help relieve depression;
● When the sun comes out, you may alter your behavior without even realizing it. Studies suggest, for instance, that on sunny days people help each other more and leave more generous tips when eating at restaurants;
● A 50-minute nature walk improves mood and memory – even photos of green space improve mood.

If I am interpreting these findings correctly, the experts are saying when people experience warmer and more comfortable weather which lets them go outdoors and be active, mood improves and spirits rise.

“COME RAIN OR COME SHINE”
Music by Harold Arlen; Lyrics by Johnny Mercer; written for the musical St. Louis Woman, - 1946

Rain or shine, extreme weather conditions affect mood. Conditions which interfere with a person’s life and keep them from doing what they need or want to do, can become irritating and/or sources of anxiety or fright if the conditions are likely to have severe consequences.

Lightning storm Tornado Heavy snow /extreme cold High Wind
photostockeditor.com/thunderstorm-lightning misistemasolar.com/tornados/ shorenewsnetwork.com/cean-county-police-blotter/ wusfnews.wusf.usf.edu/winds

Overcast Skies Extreme Heat Heavy Rain Dark Nights
spartagroup.ca/wp-content/clouds pl.dreamstime.com/suchej-gliniane quotesgram.com/pouring-rain/ allposters.com/-sp/Sliver-of-the-Moon

Surprisingly, Strong wind has more of a negative effect on mood in spring and summer than in fall and winter. Also, when days become shorter, some people's moods mirror that, while others actually felt more positive feelings.

People are affected differently, and the human body can acclimate itself to fairly extreme differences – just look at the variety of climates in the world we inhabit. I believe how individuals are affected by weather depends a lot on what they have become used to. I went to New Zealand in the early spring. I was freezing the whole time, but I would see local people out running at five in the morning in shorts and sleeveless tops.

“ALL ABOUT CHEMISTRY”
The third and final album by rock band Semisonic; Song written by Dan Wilson – 2001

While the whole issue of the mood-weather relationship is undoubtedly complicated, on a simplistic level we’re looking at appetite, exercise, exposure to light and particularly sunlight, outdoor time, and sleep. All these factors impact several types of non-clinical, common depression: When life just gets you down.

In this case, much of the discussion centers around biochemistry. Sun shining on bare skin is necessary for the human body to produce Vitamin D, which plays a role in the production of the biochemical serotonin. (Some references called it a hormone.) This biochemical has several critical functions within the human body which we don’t need to go into.
After those functions are taken care of, the remainder is synthesized in “serotonergic neurons” which regulate mood, appetite, and sleep. Thus, it’s often considered a contributor to feelings of well being and happiness. In addition, the substance impacts cognitive functions including memory and learning. The more or less sunlight, the more the mood elevation rises or decreases.

Some of the most powerful depression fighters are socializing with others, plenty of restful sleep, eating right, exercise, sunlight, and outdoor activity ... which are some of the advantages of living in a moderate climate which allows outdoor activity and sunlight … and where weather conditions don’t inhibit these natural “antidepressants” as much as heavy weather.

“SAD”
Song by Bo Burnham from the album “Overexposed” (Maroon 5 song) 2018

I haven’t been talking about clinical forms of depression which not related at all to weather, location, length of days, and so on. That’s a different discussion. However, Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is very real and should be mentioned.

SAD is a depressive disorder with a seasonal pattern wherein a person’s major depressive episodes are connected to a specific season. While we most commonly think of SAD affecting only people in the fall or winter months, a minority of people also experience SAD during the spring and summer months.

For some, SAD can make living in colder or stormier climates a challenge. It's thought those who suffer from SAD may be particularly affected by the lack of light during the darker winter months -- studies have found when SAD sufferers are exposed to light (particularly sunlight during the morning hours), they tend to feel better.

SAD is a relatively uncommon condition, but even those who don't suffer from it may experience drops in mood levels and well-being during the winter months or in colder climates. But we also might be overestimating how much the cold weather affects our mood: Some research has found incidences of "wintertime blues" are widely exaggerated, and most people are not affected much by seasonal mood changes.

CONCLUSION
In my humble opinion, based on what I’ve read, most people’s moods are affected by weather but not for very long. If a person eats properly, exercises, and gets enough sleep and sunshine, he probably won’t be affected at all, or at least for only a short time.

Sources
https://psychcentral.com/blog/can-weather-affect-your-mood/
http://www.webmd.com/balance/news/20081016/how-the-weather-affects-our-moods
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=11150018
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/14/climate-health_n_4568505.html
https://www.bustle.com/articles/113278-6-scientific-ways-weather-affects-your-mood-so-you-can-adapt-your-mind-and-body-through
https://www.elitedaily.com/p/how-the-weather-affects-your-mood-your-personality-according-to-a-new-study-6745419
http://www.healthguidance.org/entry/15843/1/Effects-of-Weather-on-Human-Emotions.html
http://highlysensitiveperson.net/weather-affects-mood/
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2016/03/31/weather-affects-mood.aspx
http://sunlightinstitute.org/beware-the-anti-depressant-drugs-use-sunshine-instead/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3779905/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2908269/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serotonin
http://www.apa.org/monitor/2011/12/exercise.aspx
http://www.ulifeline.org/articles/433-benefits-of-exercise
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2651091/
https://www.everydayhealth.com/depression-pictures/different-types-of-depression.aspx
http://www.scienceoflight.org/depression_sad/
http://www.sciencefocus.com/qa/can-changes-atmospheric-pressure-affect-our-mood
http://www.catalogs.com/info/health/barometric-pressure-affect-mood.html

New Sources 2022
https://weather.com/maps/currentusweather

0 Comments

THE PERFECT ARYAN BABY

1/14/2022

0 Comments

HITLER'S IDEAL ARYAN BABY

How terrifying it must have been for Pauline Levinsons to learn that the photograph she and her husband had had taken of their 6 month old baby, Hessy, by photographer Hans Ballin, had been selected from hundreds, maybe thousands, of entries as the perfect Aryan baby as part of Hitler’s propaganda for white supremacy.

Jacob and Pauline Levinsons, a Jewish couple and both talented singers, came to Berlin in 1928 from Latvia, a few years before Hitler came to power, to pursue careers in classical music. Hessy was born May 17, 1934. Not long after that, Jacob lost his job with an opera company because he was Jewish, and had to earn a living as a door-to-door salesman. If anyone found out who the baby was on the posters and postcards, their lives would have been forfeit immediately.

You can imagine how distraught the Levinsons were to find the photo of their daughter being widely circulated on the front cover of Sonne ins Hause, a major Nazi family magazine and one of the few allowed to be published at the time.

Nearly hysterical, Pauline talked the photographer and demanded how he could do this when he knew they were Jewish? Ballin, no friend of the Nazis, replied “I wanted to allow myself the pleasure of this joke. I wanted to make the Nazis look ridiculous”.

Professor Hessy Levinson Taft and copy of Sonne ins Hause
Image Source: businessinsider.com/perfect-aryan-poster-child

Ballin went on to explain that apparently prominent photographers in Germany had been contacted by Hitler's propaganda people and been asked to submit their ten best baby photographs for a contest. No names were attached, fortunately.

A LONG TIME TO KEEP A SECRET
Ballin did indeed make the propaganda look foolish when he slipped in Hessy’s picture. The “ideal Aryan” was blond-haired and blue-eyed, and Hessy had brown hair and dark eyes. Yet she was selected as the winner, and it was believed her photo was chosen personally by the Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels himself. This remained a private joke until 2014, and the truth could have gotten them killed.

Not so funny.

Frightened she would be recognized on the streets and questions asked about her identity, Hessy’s parents keep her at home growing up. Her photograph appeared on widely available Nazi postcards, where she was identified by an aunt in distant Memel, now part of Lithuania. But the Nazis never discovered her true identity.

In 1938, her father was arrested by the Gestapo on a trumped up tax charge, but released when his accountant, a Nazi party member, came to his defense. After that, the family left Germany. They moved first to Latvia, before settling in Paris only for that city to fall to the Nazis. With the help of the French resistance, they escaped again, this time to Cuba, and in 1949 the family moved to the United States.

LIFE GOES ON
Hessy Levinsons went to Julia Richman High School in New York and later majored in chemistry at Barnard College, graduating in 1955. As a graduate student at Columbia University, Hessy met her future husband, mathematics professor Earl Taft. The couple joined the faculty at Rutgers University before she interrupted her career to raise a family.
Image Credit: USC Shoah Foundation
Image Source: huffpost.com/entry/nazi-aryan-baby-jewish_n_5551517

Professor Hessy Levinson Taft was eighty when she finally revealed publically, in 2014, that she was the Nazi propaganda baby. Prof Taft presented the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Israel with one of the three copies of the magazine her mother managed to save, and told the story of how she became an unlikely poster child for the Third Reich.

“I can laugh about it now,” the 80-year-old Professor of chemistry told Germany’s Bild newspaper in an interview. “But if the Nazis had known who I really was, I wouldn’t be alive…I feel a little revenge,” she said of presenting her photograph to Yad Vashem. “Something like satisfaction.”
Image Source: todayinhistory.blog/tag/hessy-levinsons-taft/

TAKE AWAY
If you think it’s an exaggeration to say Professor Taft played it close to the vest for eighty years, try to use conventional means on the internet to find about her life. The information is pretty much limited to what is in this blog. Give it a try.

Sources:
https://www.businessinsider.com/nazis-perfect-aryan-poster-child-was-jew-2014-7
https://sahistory.org.za/article/how-did-nazis-construct-aryan-identity
https://www.foxnews.com/world/ideal-aryan-baby-on-cover-of-nazi-magazine-revealed-to-be-jewish
https://todayinhistory.blog/2020/05/17/may-17-1934-a-most-perfect-aryan-baby/
https://www.rallypoint.com/
https://www.amusingplanet.com/2020/02/hessy-levinsons-taft-jewish-woman-who.htmlhttps:/www.amusingplanet.com/2020/02/hessy-levinsons-taft-jewish-woman-who.html
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/nazi-aryan-baby-jewish_n_5551517
https://www.descopera.ro/dnews/12872926-cel-mai-frumos-bebelus-arian-desemnat-de-nazisti-in-anul-1935-era-de-fapt-evreu-povestea-inedita-a-lui-hessy-levinson

0 Comments

SLEEPING WITH THE FISHES: Underwater Cities And Ruins

1/14/2022

0 Comments

SEARCHING FOR ATLANTIS
When the Greek philosopher Plato wrote Timaeus and Critias, an allegory on the hubris of nations, he set up many future generations for wasting a lot time.

Atlantis, the fictional island mentioned in the allegory, represents a hostile naval power that besieges "Ancient Athens", the pseudo-historic embodiment of Plato's ideal state in The Republic. In the story, Athens defeats the attack unlike any other nation of the known world, supposedly bearing witness to the superiority of Plato's concept of a nation state. The story concludes with Atlantis falling out of favor with the deities and submerging into the Atlantic Ocean, leaving the world plagued with another mystery.

For the last 2,300 years people have been searching for the ruins of the lost city of Atlantis. Seems like a lot of time ill spent when there are real cities and ruins underwater throughout the world, some of which have only been recently discovered, and some which pre-date Plato himself.

DISCOVERING UNDERWATER CITIES AND RUINS
The thought of discovering underwater ruins and treasures sparks the imagination of the history or adventure enthusiasts like nothing else. Underwater discoveries, ranging from sunken cities to the millions of shipwrecks still unexplored on the seabed, are still being found. The bottom of the seas and oceans of the world have been described as the biggest museum of the world, with less than 1% of the ocean floor having been surveyed to date.

In fact many important discoveries were made in the last century, presumably because the kind of diving and scientific equipment became available for that kind of underwater exploration and excavation. Let’s look at some of oldest of the ruins.

● Atlit-Yam, Haifa, Israel (9000 years old)
Perhaps the oldest city discovered in an underwater grave is Atlit-Yam, Israel. The submerged ruins of the Neolithic site, which dates between 6900 and 6300 BC, lies around 30 to 40 feet beneath the current sea level and covers an area of 10 acres. The site is located in the Haifa region of Israel, in the Mediterranean Sea, in the Bay of Atlit, at the mouth of the Oren River on the Carmel coast.

Image Credit: freeworldmaps.net/europe/mediterranean
Image source: researchgate.net/figure/MapMediterranean

Image Source:guideoftheworld.com/israel

Discovered by marine archaeologist Ehud Galilibv in 1984. The subsequent years of underwater excavations have unearthed houses, altars, and numerous intact tombs containing dozens of bodies, burial objects, the remains of nets, and an altar of cut stone. This makes it an exceptional site informing us about the way of life of the coastal peoples during the Neolithic period.

Although the scientific community has received regular reports on the excavations, the discovery was largely unknown to the general public until 2008 when a film entitled The Mystery of Atlit Yam revealed its existence to a wider audience as the oldest known submerged stone-age settlement.
◄ Image source: lexiline.blogspot.com/atlit-yam-israel

Stone Circle ▲ and Planisphere by Andia Kaulins (2008) ►
Source of Images: blogs.timesofisrael.com/atlit-yam

At the center of the settlement seven megaliths are arranged in a stone semicircle around a freshwater spring, which may once have been the site of water rituals.

The ritual megaliths consist of seven stones (approximately three to eight and a half feet long), six of which are still standing upright, form a circle open to the northwest. The bases of the standing stones are covered with gray travertine attesting to the presence of fresh water in the past. Close to the standing stones to the west, a few flat stone slabs were found lying horizontally, some of them with shallow cup-marks. Some scientists conclude the monoliths are laid out as a planisphere of the heavens.

Among the intact tombs, archaeologists discovered the inhabitants were buried in a flexed position on their sides or backs, sometimes in group graves. The discovery of two skeletons, a woman and a child, of particular interest to scientists, revealed the earliest known cases of tuberculosis.

Image credit:. Wikimedia CC BY-SA 3.0
Image Source: blogs.timesofisrael.com/atlit-yam

The site was covered by the eustatic rise of sea levels after the end of the Ice Age. Scientists believe the current coastline of Israel is roughly half a mile of where it was before the water rose.
Researchers found piles of fish ready for trade or storage, leading them to conclude that the village was abandoned suddenly. According to Wikipedia, “An Italian study….indicates that a volcanic collapse of the eastern flank of Mount Etna 8,500 years ago would likely have caused a 10-storey (130 ft) tsunami to engulf some Mediterranean coastal cities within hours. Some scientists point to the apparent abandonment of Atlit Yam around the same time as further evidence that such a tsunami did indeed occur.”

● Yonaguni Ruins, Japan (10,000 to 5,000 years old)
The Island of Yonaguni is just miles away from Taiwan and is the last of the Ryukyu islands. It is the westernmost inhabited Japanese island. During the ice age, Yonaguni Island was part of the Chinese mainland. Then due to rising oceans and land shifts, it became one of the many islands that were spread out in between China and Japan. It was once part of the Ryukyu Kingdom until it was overtaken by Japan.

▲ImageSource: periergaa.blogspot.com/2014/09/yonaguni.html
Image Source: joshuaproject.net/people_groups/ ►

The Yonaguni Ruins were accidently discovered by a local fisherman, Kihachiro Aratake, in 1986 while scuba diving off the coast of Yonaguni Jima, searching for a new spot to view hammerhead sharks.

There was, and may still be, controversy regarding whether or not these ruins are actually manmade. "The largest structure looks like a complicated, monolithic, stepped pyramid that rises from a depth of 25 meters [82 feet]," said Masaaki Kimura, a marine geologist at the University of the Ryukyus in Japan who has been diving at the site to measure and map its formations for more than 15 years.
▼ Image Source: herbeauty.co/en/mysteries-deep/

But like other stories of sunken cities, Kimura's claims have attracted controversy. "I'm not convinced that any of the major features or structures are manmade steps or terraces, but that they're all natural," said Robert Schoch, a professor of science and mathematics at Boston University who has dived to visit the site. [Is he kidding? In my opinion, those stones look far too sharply cut and stacked to be the result of natural forces, but no one asked me.]
However, Toru Ouchi, an associate professor of seismology at Kobe University, supports Kimura's hypothesis, and says “I've dived there as well and touched the pyramid… What Professor Kimura says is not exaggerated at all. It's easy to tell that those relics were not caused by earthquakes."

▲ Source of Images: nationalgeographic.cm/yonaguni-jima-japan ▲

▲ Source of Images: weirdasianews.com/2008/04/japans-underwater-pyramid ▲

Unfortunately there has been inadequate study of the ruins. Having never been properly research, there are many varying claims surrounding origins and dating. These vary from between 10,000 to 5,000 years old. According to some scientists, Yonaguni was once home to the legendary Jomon civilization that flourished in ancient Japan from around 12,000 to 300BC. It was this civilization that has some of the oldest found forms of pottery.

Regardless of their validity, the ruins have been submerged for at least two thousand years, perhaps much longer, meaning whatever was once there, would be extremely degraded.

● Dwarka, India (7000 and 9500 years old)
Dwarka is one of the best-studied underwater sites because it is one of the four Dhamas (sacred place for pilgrimage) of the Hindu religion. According to ancient Sanskrit literature, the Lord Krishna founded the holy city of Dwarka, which subsequently was submerged under the sea. Dwarka has been the Karma land of Lord Krishna, the 8th avatar of Lord Vishnu. He was born in Mathura but moved to Dwarka after killing his uncle Kansa because of the many atrocities he committed.

The location of the mythical city of Lord Krishna was thought to be a legend, such as Atlantis, until a marine scientist discovered the remains of an underwater civilization near the coast of Dwarka, in the 1970s. Since then the city has been intensely studied. Experts believe that a tsunami stuck 3500 years ago, causing numerous cities, including Dwarka, to submerge.

In 2002, an ancient advanced civilization was discovered not far away, under 120 feet underwater in the Gulf of Cambhat off the western coast of India. The old city is almost five miles long by two and a quarter miles wide. Carbon testing indicates the ruins are between 7000 and 9500 years old.

Image Source: countryreports.org/country/India Image Source: rafalreyzer.com/-ruins-of-dwarka/

▼ Recreation of the City Plan - Image Source: rafalreyzer.com/-ruins-of-dwarka/

The town was connected by an elaborate system of boulevards, roads, market squares, assembly houses and temples. The debris recovered from the site includes construction material, pottery, sections of walls, beads, sculpture, human bones and teeth which corroborate the carbon testing indicating the city was older than the Egyptian and Chinese civilizations.

▲ Source of Images: valorealm.com/warka-underwater ▲

Source of Images: ▲ ►
traveltriangle.com/lost-cities-in-india/
Image Source: earthismysterious.com/dwarka-mythical-city far right►

● Pavlopetri, Greece
Identified originally by geologist Folkion Negris, in 1904, as the Bronze Age port of Pavlopetri, these Greek ruins remained unstudied until 1960 when it was rediscovered by Nic Flemming, from the Institute of Oceanography at the University of Southampton.

In 1968, the site was surveyed by archaeologists from the University of Cambridge. Then in 2009, under the direction of John C. Henderson, the University of Nottingham began a five-year project with the Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research to study the town at Pavlopetri.

This underwater archaeological site is located in the Peloponnesus region of southern Greece near a small village called Pavlopetri. The archaeological ruins lie 4 meters (thirteen and a half feet) underwater. We can refer to the same location map of the Mediterranean as we did for Atlit-Yam.

Image Source: freeworldmaps.net/europe/mediterranean Image Source: theglobalgrid.org/pavlopetri-reece/

Excavations and study of this city gives archeologists a good idea of what life was like about 3000 BC. It sank around 1100 BC, most likely due to earthquakes that are common in the region, erosion, rising sea levels, or even a tsunami caused by volcanic eruption.
However, this is not the lost Atlantis. The remains found predate Plato’s story. References say it is now believed to be the oldest known planned underwater town in the world, even though Atlit-Yam is the claimed to be 9000 years old. I have no idea how scientists decide because the dating process only gives a age range. Just sayin.

Image shows the sunken city under clear water Schematic shows where the shoreline was in 1100 BC
Source of images: secret-greece.com/pavlopetri/

▼Source of Images: medium.com/@humanoriginproject/underwater-ruins ▼

Image Source:
lolwot.com/submerged-ruins

Image source: secret-greece.com/pavlopetri-city-beneath-the-waves/

Image Source:
lolwot.com/submerged-ruins

Despite earthquakes in the area shifting the land, even after 5,000 years, the arrangement of the city is still clearly visible and at least 15 buildings have been found.

Dr. Jon Henderson, from the University of Nottingham team, manager of the Pavlopetri Underwater Archaeology Project, says, “Pavlopetri was incredibly well designed with roads, two storey houses with gardens, temples, a cemetery, and a complex water management system including channels and water pipes. In the center of the city, there was even a square or plaza measuring about 40 by 20 meters (131 x 65 ft) and most of the buildings had up to 12 rooms inside. “There are older sunken sites in the world but none can be considered to be planned towns such as this, which is why it is unique.”

● Heracleion and Canopus
Thonis-Heracleion (also spelled Herakleion and called Pe-Guti by the Egyptians) were Egyptian cities located on the north coast of the Mediterranean sea near the western-most branch of the Nile River, about 32 miles from Alexandria.
Image Source: historyplex.com/ancient-egypt

When it was founded is unknown but scientists believe it was at during the 12th century BC. By the 8th century BC, Heracleion had become an important trade hub between Egypt and other civilizations with access to the Mediterranean. It was the home to a major temple where new pharaohs came to be legitimized by the gods.

Nearby, the city of Canopus housed the shrine to Serapus, and the City was a significant religious center during the Ptolemaic rule. Pilgrims thronged to the site seeking miraculous healing.

By the second century BC, Heracleion was superseded by Alexandria as Egypt’s main port. According to Wikipedia, “Over time the city was weakened by a combination of earthquakes, tsunamis, and rising sea levels. After the end of the second century BC, probably after a severe flood, the ground on which the central island of Heracleion was built succumbed to soil liquefaction. The hard clay turned rapidly into a liquid and the buildings collapsed into the water. A few residents stayed on during the Roman era and the beginning of Arab rule, but by the end of the eighth century AD what was left of Thonis had sunk beneath the sea.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heracleion

Although the city had been important, after it sank completely people simply forgot about it, and until recently it was known only through literary references. In 1933, an RAF commander flying over Abu Qir Bay saw ruins under the water. At that time, most historians believed that Thonis and Heracleion were two separate cities, both located on what is now the Egyptian mainland.

In l996 The European Institute for Underwater Archaeology began to explore in the bay of Abukir. Finally, in 1999, after a five year search for the ruins, French underwater archaeologist Franck Goddio located and explored the site. Inscriptions confirmed that they were, indeed, the remains of the two lost cities of Thonis-Heracleion and Canopus, now resting with the fishes at The ruins now lay at depths of around 20 to 23 feet. Image Source: ► elmundo.es/la- aventura-de-la-historia/

king Nkatabanu of granodorit Statue of a Ptolemaic queen Head of Diorite
ImageSource: herbeauty.co/mysteries-deep/ Source Images: egymonuments.gov.eg/sunken-monuments/

In searching for photographs of building ruins or street plans, it appears there are none available. This would make sense based on the way in which the city sank, due to soil liquefaction and subsidence.
Example of soil liquefaction – Nigerian Earthquake, 1964
Image source:image1.slideserve.com/2053130/slide2-l.jpg

TAKE AWAY
The three sunken cities located on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea were affected by geologic occurrences over the millennia in that area of the world. Some of the disasters might have been caused by the same events, although none of the research I saw included a time line comparing the inundations.

There are quite a few other sunken cities in surprising places, and many in lakes. Most of those are not as old, with a few exceptions, and fodder for another blog. Lakes are more vulnerable to changing water levels and local geological events.

The raising of the water level of the oceans can make a big difference. Hopefully, our modern cities on the shores of oceans, seas, and lakes are engineered to account for what humans know about natural disasters, water, and structural design.

Finally, I found it interesting and puzzling that whole cities, some of which were prominent in the past, were so easily forgotten and so difficult to find, particularly when most of them are not really that far underwater.

JUST SAYIN!

Sources:
.https://www.thetravel.com/underwater-cities-that-look-straight-out-of-aquaman/
https://medium.com/@humanoriginproject/8-mysterious-underwater-ruins-of-lost-civilizations-8f83aee6b117
http://descy.50megs.com/Emankato/under.html
https://www.rainforestcruises.com/guides/lake-titicaca-puno-attractions
https://medium.com/@humanoriginproject/8-mysterious-underwater-ruins-of-lost-civilizations-8f83aee6b117
https://www.addtobucketlist.com/these-7-underwater-cities-are-open-to-all/
https://www.lolwot.com/10-truly-incredible-submerged-ruins-to-explore/
https://kalkanholidayproperty.com/the-sunken-city-of-kekova/
https://listverse.com/2013/03/28/10-incredible-submerged-ruins/
https://www.addtobucketlist.com/most-amazing-underwater-sights/
https://www.crystalinks.com/laketiticacaruins.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiwanaku
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Titicaca
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-guatemala-archaeology-idUSTRE59T4P120091030
https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2011/11/guatemala-reveals-treasures-from.html
https://www.marineinsight.com/maritime-history/top-10-amazing-facts-about-the-lost-city-of-atlantis/
https://mwwollacott.com/what-did-plato-say-about-atlantis/
https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/sinking-cities-not-just-at-sea-level-60014/
https://www.ancientpages.com/2019/08/13/10-enigmatic-ancient-underwater-ruins-our-oceans-are-full-of-secrets/

https://www.earthismysterious.com/underwater-ruins-of-lost-Cities/#:~:text=Here%20are%2014%20underwater%20ruins%20of%20lost%20civilizations,spot%20for%20the%20wealthy%20and%20prestigious%20of%20Rome.
https://www.earthismysterious.com/underwater-ruins-of-lost-Cities/#:~:text=Here%20are%2014%20underwater%20ruins%20of%20lost%20civilizations,spot%20for%20the%20wealthy%2and%20prestigious%20of%20Rome.https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=Jo0noGWC&id=074AA5EA23ED7234CA0B8502847272CD000B9ECD&thid=OIP.Jo0noGWCFXnwK4lfPJwOSAHaEK&mediaurl=https%3a%2f%2fi.ytimg.com%2fvi%2ffDwkdyG-HPE%2fmaxresdefault.jpg&cdnurl=https%3a%2f%2fth.bing.com%2fth%2
Yonaguni ,Japan
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/yonaguni-jima-japan-underwater-city#:~:text=Ruins%20Point%20Yonaguni%20Jima%20is%20an%20island%20that,was%20unofficially%20renamed%20Iseki%20Hanto%2C%20or%20Ruins%20Point.
https://joshuaproject.net/people_groups/16052/JA (Map)
https://jpninfo.com/65889
https://www.weirdasianews.com/2008/04/13/japans-underwater-pyramid/#:~:text=Underwater%20rock%20formations%20resembling%20a%20pyramid%20found%20off,at%20the%20University%20of%20the%20Ryukyus%20in%20Japan.
Dwarka, India
https://www.earthismysterious.com/dwarka-mythical-city-found-under-water/#:~:text=According%20to%20ancient%20Sanskrit%20literature%2C%20the%20Lord%20Krishna,%28sacred%20place%20for%20pilgrimage%29%20of%20the%20Hindu%20religion.
https://tabooya.com/blog/2015/03/30/these-mindblowing-underwater-cities-have-scientists-reconsidering-the-bibles-big-flood/
https://www.gujaratexpert.com/dwarka-history/#:~:text=Dwarka%20is%20one%20of%20the%20most%20significant%20Hindu,Puris%E2%80%99%3B%20i.e.%207%20holy%20pilgrimage%20spots%20for%20Hindus.
https://www.themysteriousindia.net/dwarka-mythical-city-found-under-water/
https://www.ba-bamail.com/content.aspx?emailid=34323
https://valorealm.com/spirituality/dwarka-underwater-history-discovery/
https://rafalreyzer.com/the-underwater-ruins-of-dwarka/   (also location map)
https://traveltriangle.com/blog/lost-cities-in-india/
https://www.ba-bamail.com/content.aspx?emailid=34323
Pavlopetri, Greece
https://theglobalgrid.org/video-of-submerged-port-city-in-pavlopetri-greece/
http://www.pavlopetri.org/2014/12/mmmmmmmmmm.html
https://www.reddit.com/r/ArtefactPorn/comments/25qrxp/ruins_of_ancient_city_of_pavlopetri_laconia/
https://www.secret-greece.com/pavlopetri-city-beneath-the-waves/
https://www.nexusnewsfeed.com/article/ancient-origins/pavlopetri-5-000-year-old-town-discovered-underwater-in-greece/
Atlit Yam – Haifa, Israel
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/atlit-yam
https://www.elitereaders.com/top-10-mind-blowing-underwater-discoveries/
https://israelbehindthenews.com/2014/10/13/israels-challenges-eastern-mediterranean/   (Map 1)
https://www.quora.com/Does-Britain-have-the-military-capability-to-invade-Turkey   (map 2)
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/atlit-yam-a-journey-into-israels-sunken-past/
https://www.gd.tt/docubox-tv-mystery-of-atlit-yam/
https://lexiline.blogspot.com/2008/12/atlit-yam-israel-underwater-megaliths.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlit_Yam
https://www.guideoftheworld.com/israel-map.html
Herakleion and Canopus, Egypt
https://herbeauty.co/en/foodtravel/mysteries-deep/
https://www.lolwot.com/10-truly-incredible-submerged-ruins-to-explore/
https://www.slam.org/press/sunken-cities-backgrounder-thonis-heracleion-and-canopus/
https://historyplex.com/ancient-egypt-facts-for-kids
https://antinousgaygod.blogspot.com/2
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heracleion
https://www.elmundo.es/la-aventura-de-la-historia/2016/06/01/574daab446163f31358b459c.html014/08/in-egypt-antinous-and-hadrian-visited.html
https://www.slam.org/press/sunken-cities-backgrounder-thonis-heracleion-and-canopus/#:~:text=Experts%20believe%20soil%20liquefaction%20and%20a%20gradual%20rise,the%20cities%20were%20unknown%20until%20Goddio%E2%80%99s%20discoveries.%20Thonis-Heracleion
https://egymonuments.gov.eg/en/sunken-monuments/abu-qir-bay/#:~:text=Canopus%20and%20Herakleion%20were%20extremely%20prosperous%2C%20deriving%20their,Soter%20%28305%E2%80%93285%20BC%29%20after%20the%20death%20of%20Alexander.
■

0 Comments

IO SATURNALIA: THE FESTIVAL OF MISRULE. What the Romans Contributed to Christmas

12/24/2021

0 Comments

Similar to many facets of life in today’s western civilization, the Romans had a profound influence on the way Christians celebrate Christmas. We just can’t get away from those guys.

ROMAN INFLUENCE OVER THE WORLD
Saturnalia began as a one-day farming ritual related at the end of harvest and the winter solstice. On that day, the agrarian population under Rome’s rule honored Saturn, the Roman god of agriculture by offering gifts and sacrifices to him. The time of origin of the festival, Saturnalia, is unknown, but it predates the birth of Christ.

The tradition of honoring Saturn in relation to the harvest and the winter solstice (around December 21 by our calendar today) followed the Romans throughout conquest of their empire. The map below indicates the breadth of Roman influence on the rest of the world.

Expanse of the Roman Empire by 117 AD – over 19 million sq. miles
Image Source: allthatsinteresting.comt-roman-empire

THE BIRTH OF SATURNALIA
The celebration may have taken on the name Saturnalia when the Temple of Saturn was dedicated in Rome in around 498 BC. The anniversary of the dedication was commemorated on December 17, and is believed to be the source of many of the current Christmas traditions.

Temple of Saturn Temple of Saturn – 3D Reconstruction of Forum
Source of Images: colosseumrometickets.com/temple-saturn/

Whenever the festival began, by 133-31 B.C. this public holiday ‒ a time for feasting, goodwill, and generosity to the poor and for drinking, dancing, nudity, and general bacchanal ‒ had become the most popular holiday on the Roman (Julian) calendar. The gala had been expanded into a week-long event beginning December 17 and ending on December 23. The date of winter solstice on the Julian calendar was December 25.

Augustus Caesar, who ruled from 27 BC – 14 AD, reduced the festivities to three days because it interfered with the working days. Later, Emperor Caligula (37 to 41AD) extended it to five days. By the early fifth century the gala was two weeks long.

Image Source: jeremyvarner.com/blog/saturnalia/

According to Macrobius, a well-known Roman author (370-430 AD), Saturnalia represented the merging of three winter festivals over several centuries.

● The Day of Saturn (Saturnalia) originally December 17;
● Festival of Opalia, goddess of abundance and fruits of the earth (who was also Saturn's
wife and sister); and
● A feast day celebrating the shortest day, called Brumalia by the Romans, which
coincided with the solstice.

THE MOST POPULAR HOLIDAY
There were plenty of reasons why the holiday was so popular with the Romans.
Image Source: dreamstime.com/stock-photo-chiuso-closed

● Nobody worked for the entire week of Saturnalia. Courts, shops, schools, public offices were all closed and no one did business during the holiday.

● Most of the Roman’s strict rules went out the window and it was a time of role reversal in terms of the aristocracy and the common Romans, servants, and slaves. The festival reflects the contradictory nature of the deity Saturn himself; joyful and carefree, but also threatening and dangerous.

● Slaves, servants, and commoners were allowed to participate, which was not the case on other Roman holidays. They received gifts from their masters and were seated at a great feast served by the masters themselves. The UKs Boxing Day is said to have derived from this tradition.

● People would also wear a cap of freedom – the pilleum – which was usually worn by slaves who had been awarded their freedom, to symbolize that they were ‘free’ during the Saturnalia.
Image Source: somathread.ning.com/saturnalian-pileus ►

●It was the Romans’ mid-winter holiday of feasting, drinking, singing in the street naked, dancing, clapping hands, making noise, and debauchery. An orgy, so to speak.

● Activities forbidden to the plebeians were permitted such as gambling in public, bobbing for corks in ice water, trivia games, chariot racing, wearing weird or colorful clothing, and so on.

Dice players fresco from the Osteria della Via di Mercurio (VI 10,1.19, room b), in situ wall fresco, Pompeii
Image Source: etc.worldhistory.org/saturnalia-festival/

● Even the conservatively clothed aristocracy dressed in brightly colored fabrics such as red, purple and gold. This outfit was called the synthesis, meaning they put together whatever clothes they wanted. And no togas. This was a time for relaxation.

● People would feast in their homes. According to the historian Livy, by 217 BC there was also a huge public feast at the oldest temple in Rome, the Temple of Saturn.

Macrobius confirms this, and says that the rowdy participants would spill out onto the street, with the participants shouting, “Lo, lo, lo!" [“Io” is pronounced like yō.] Image Source: reason.com/happy-saturnalia-2019/
THE LORD OF MISRULE
A part of the festivities that was particularly popular in many households was the selection of a mock king. The mock king, or Saturnalicius princeps, got to run around the house for a week, giving everyone commands and a hard time. The mock king was also called "The Lord of Misrule" and his job was to make mischief during the week.

The person who received this honor was selected by chance. A small coin was baked into a cake and whomever was served the piece of cake with the coin inside was deemed the Lord of Misrule. Image Source: solascendans.com/lord-of-misrule/ ▼

Once chosen, this person would:
●Insult guests!
●Wear crazy clothing!
●Chase people around the house!
●Plan scandalous party entertainment!

I found no indication that the household Lord of Misrule took his antics outside of the household. However, because of the general atmosphere, I imagine it happened often.

GIFT GIVING
The Christmas tradition of giving gifts arises, in part, from Saturnalia. December 19 was the Sigillaria, the Roman day of giving gifts. Saturnalia was more about a change in attitudes rather than giving gifts. Because the whole spirit of the celebration was generosity and equality in the eyes of Saturn, the god, the value of the gifts was also reversed in terms of social status. Pottery and wax figurines called sigillaria were made for this day.

▲Pottery and bronze figurines 3rd century Clay mask from Lipari, Sicily
BC & 1st century AD (British Museum) Image Source: latinata.com/kRomanSaturnalia
Image Source: alison-morton.com/saturnalia

In truth, the gifts given were both very expensive (like furniture or jewels) or in the nature of gag-gifts, but the original spirit of the day was that token gifts of low intrinsic value inversely meant the giver considered the friendship as being very dear and high quality. Children received toys as gifts. People gave food items, fruit, cutlery and kitchen items and practical gifts as well a decorative. Other types of gifts might include white candles, named cerei, which signified the increase of light after the solstice. This practice of gift giving can also be looked at like sending greeting cards.

It was also the custom to compose an epigram to go along with the Saturnalia gift. Although gifts were given at any time during the festival, it was customary to give your dinner guests, which included servants and slaves, a present. Since the Romans ate stuffed dormice, they were often given as a gift. This is an English translation example example of an epigram that went goes with a dormouse. latinata.com/kRomanSaturnaliaGifts.html

DORMICE
I snooze the whole winter long and am fatter at that
time, when nothing except sleep nourishes me.

DECORATIONS
The colors of Saturnalia were green and gold, and the Romans decorated their homes with evergreen wreaths, garlands made of pine branches, mistletoe, and holly. Gold decorations in the traditional shapes of the sun and stars, pinecones, nuts, acorns, or animals, were added.
Photo source: biblepaedia.wordpress.com/saturnalia
CANDLES
The Romans had a long tradition of lighting candles (wax tapers) and torches as part of their ceremonies. Whether or not this practice derived from an old prophecy which bade the earliest inhabitants of Latium to “send heads to Hades and to Saturn.” The ancient Latins interpreted this to mean human sacrifices, but according to legend, Hercules advised using lights (phos means “light” or “man” according to accent) and not human heads.

Apparently they accepted that mythical advice and instead lit candles to honor Saturn.

From the beginning of Christianity, fire and light serve as symbols of the divine nature and the divine presence. Christ is the true Light. Light represents the purifying presence of god.
It would not seem a stretch for the new Christians to adopt the idea of candles in their services, but according to Wikipedia, “There is no evidence of any ceremonial use of lights in Christian worship during its first two centuries."

HOW DID SATURNALIA BECOME CHRISTMAS?
Obviously, that didn't happen. One didn't become the other, but the process of religious syncretism blended the old pagan rituals from the celebration of Saturn with the religious beliefs of the new Christianity, resulting in a new religious tradition.

December 25 is celebrated by the Christian religions as the day Jesus Christ was born. In English, the word Christmas is derived from old English Christ Mass. The actual date of the Christ child’s birth is unknown, and many historians and theologians believe his birth more likely occurred in the spring. Some people use that fact to make strange arguments about the holiday, but that is all rhetoric.

Whether or not Christ was born on December 25, this is the date the Christian religion has chosen to celebrate the birthday. It’s similar to having your birthday party on Saturday, when your real birthday is Thursday.

Image source: https://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/301-600/the-1st-recorded-celebration-of-christmas-11629658.html

During the first 300 or so years of Christianity, the Baptism of Christ, not his birth, was considered more important and was celebrated on January 6, the Epiphany. The first known celebration of Christmas on December 25 was in 336 AD during the time of the Roman Emperor Constantine, the first Christian Roman Emperor. At that time the day had no official status. About fifteen years later (350 AD), Pope Julius I declared December 25 as the official date of Christmas. It wasn’t until 529 AD that Emperor Justinian made Christmas a civic holiday.

December 25 obviously coincides with the pagan festival of Saturnalia. One popular interpretation is that by selecting this date, religious leaders hoped to convert the pagan masses to Christianity by promising them that they could continue to celebrate the Saturnalia more or less the way it had always been, as Christians. Thus, early Christmas holidays were celebrated by drinking, sexual indulgence, singing naked in the streets, a precursor of modern caroling.

Another major consideration was the “concept in Judaism that link the time of the deaths of prophets being linked to their conception or birth. From this, early ecclesiastical number-crunchers extrapolated that the nine months of Mary’s pregnancy following the Annunciation on March 25th would produce a December 25th date for the birth of Christ.”
https://www.historytoday.com

Over time the celebrations took on a Christian theme and theology but maintained the same spirit as a time of year for peace on earth, equality for all, good will towards man, and generosity for all. Thus, Saturnalia eventually evolved into Christmas.

If you are Christian - MERRY CHRISTMAS!
If you are not - HAPPY HOLIDAYS, GOOD WILL, and HONOR TO YOUR REGILGIOUS DAYS.

2021 Sources
https://allthatsinteresting.com/height-roman-empire-map
https://colosseumrometickets.com/temple-saturn/
https://guernseydonkey.com/did-the-romans-invent-christmas/
https://www.historyextra.com/period/roman/how-did-the-romans-celebrate-christmas/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_ancient_Rome
http://jeremyvarner.com/blog/2016/12/history-of-the-holidays-saturnalia/
https://etc.worldhistory.org/education/saturnalia-festival/
https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/saturnalia-what-controversial-mythology-behind-roman-drinking-festival-1482726
https://www.learnreligions.com/about-celebrating-saturnalia-2562994
https://reason.com/volokh/2019/12/17/happy-saturnalia-2019/
https://www.elixirofknowledge.com/2014/08/saturnalia-ancient-roman-festival.html
https://www.flickr.com/photos/crawfda/15438379997
https://reason.com/2019/12/17/happy-saturnalia-2019/
https://solascendans.com/2013/12/17/jesus-christ-lord-of-misrule/
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Saturnalia-Roman-festival
https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photo-chiuso-closed-sign-italian-language-wooden-rustic-text-hanging-rope-rock-image70738731
https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/28093/#:~:text=Saturalia%20-%20Christmas%20in%20Skyrim%20Saturalia%20is%20traditionally,parties%2C%20and%20parading.%20Visitors%20are%20encouraged%20to%20participate.
https://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/301-600/the-1st-recorded-celebration-of-christmas-11629658.html
https://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/301-600/the-1st-recorded-celebration-of-christmas-11629658.html
Older Sources
https://www.wikihow.com/Celebrate-Saturnalia
https://www.naturalnavigator.com/news/2008/11/saturnalia-christmas-and-common-sense/
https://museumhack.com/saturnalia-christmas/
https://www.historyextra.com/period/roman/how-did-the-romans-celebrate-christmas/
https://www.creativejeffrey.com/creative/innovative_christmas.phphttps:/www.britannica.com/topic/feast-religion/Types-and-kinds-of-feasts-and-festivals
https://www.historytoday.com/archive/did-romans-invent-christmas
https://www.simpletoremember.com/vitals/Christmas_TheRealStory.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5uG6zaDaIM
https://theluminessence.wordpress.com/2017/12/19/a-saturnalia-ritual/
/mahttps://www.lnstar.com/mallin-areas/xmas-not-first-choice.htm
https://travelingboy.com/travel/saturnalia-history-christmas/
https://alison-morton.com/2018/12/16/saturnalia-serious-roman-festival-or-free-for-all/

0 Comments

Part 2 - CHRISTMAS PLANS GONE AWRY: A Harriet Ruby Christmas Fantasy

12/17/2021

0 Comments

A Christmas Fantasy
Copyright R. Ann Siracusa
Rated R

Chapter Three

At about one o'clock that afternoon, my group and I straggled into the hotel after our walking tour to St. Peter's and the Vatican.
"Well, that was a life-altering experience," Woodie announced as we stumbled our way back to the meeting room.
Behind him, Mavis dragged Basil along with a firm grip on his earlobe. "I've never been so embarrassed."
I didn't see Will but felt his presence the instant I walked through the door. The zing, snap, crackle of our incredible emotional connection hit me like a bolt of lightning.
When I spotted him standing near the entrance to our meeting lounge, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest, my temperature soared and perspiration beaded on my skin. My breath caught, and it was all I could do to keep from ripping off my clothes and jumping his bones. Well, we hadn't seen each other for more than three weeks.
I smiled at him and did a finger wave.
Woodie chortled. "That your hunk, Inspector Harriet?"
"He's not my..." Well, actually, he did fit the description, along with a number of others like gorgeous and horny. When I made a feeble attempt to look indignant, Mavis whacked me on the butt.
"Don't even bother. Both of you are drooling."
Yeah, well. What could I say? I'd already explained the situation.
Will pulled away from the wall and closed the distance. "Hi, Harriet. How'd the morning tour go?" He ran a finger around the inside of his collar.
I wanted to throw myself into his arms and slobber kisses all over him, but being on the job, I restrained myself and smiled chastely. "Hello, Will. It wasn't exactly an auspicious beginning."
"I can't wait." He rolled his eyes at me and extended his hand to Woodie. "Will Talbot."
The men shook, although Will had to bend a little, and Woodie stood on tip toes.
"I'm Elwood. Woodie for short. The master carver."
"Elwood ELF," I murmured, watching for some sign of amazement or incredulity from Will. No dice!
Mavis let go of Basil's ear and, batting her eyelashes, sidled up to Will, brushing against him like a cat rubbing the master's legs. Sort of a physical mismatch.
"Hi, handsome, you must be Will. Harriet's told us al-ll about you. I'm Mavis, public relations."
"Mavis ELF." And I hadn't told her al-ll about him. Mostly, I don't share with anyone, at least intentionally. Like I said, sometimes I speak without my brain in gear.
"Nice to meet you both." Will glanced at me and raised one eyebrow languidly, a sign of amusement. "So, what happened?"
"It was absolutely humiliating," Mavis answered for me. "We were in St. Peter's Square looking at the beautiful crèche, when Basil, who paints nativity scenes on candles and decorator soaps, climbed inside and ended up in the baby Jesus' cradle."
"I only wanted to find the baby figure so I could study the face," Basil, the youngest and smallest of the elves, cut in defensively. "When it wasn't there, I thought maybe it had slipped to the bottom."
"You be quiet!" Mavis snapped. "You shouldn't have popped up in the cradle in front of a group of tourists."
"How was I supposed to know they were there? I couldn't see. It wasn't my fault that fat lady fainted and broke her arm."
As the group gathered around us and gawked at Will―he looked gigantic next to the elves―I put my hand on Woodie's shoulder and murmured, "I really don't think he could be related to Won't."
Spitting his ubiquitous cigar onto the carpet, Woodie nodded. "Nah, as much as it hurts, I've got to agree with you, sweet cakes."
My eye twitched.
As Mavis introduced Will to everyone, I watched him smile at each upturned face, shake hands, and make appropriate small talk. He never blinked an eye, looked a look, or spoke a word to imply these folks might be different than any anyone else. He is good!
Finally, he eased away from the others and stepped close to me. Grinning, he murmured, "This tour group isn't what you expected, is it?"
Frustrated, I fisted my hands. "In case you haven't noticed, they are elves, not children."
My sarcasm fell on deaf ears. Of course, he'd noticed, and he seemed content to accept the situation for what it appeared to be. Could I be the only person on earth with reality conflicts?
The two chaperone elves exchanged glances, then Woodie rounded up the others. "Okay, it's time for lunch. Everyone go to the café. It's buffet style."
Mavis cornered Happy. "Don't let Basil sneak back into the bar again. That Dragon Blood is too strong for the kid. We don't want a repeat of this morning."
Happy nodded and looked, well, happy. "Don't worry. We'll be back in an hour."
Mavis planted herself in front of Will and me. "Do you two have a few minutes? We have something to discuss."
Discuss? Reluctantly, I wrenched my thoughts away from all the things I wanted to do as soon as Will and I were alone. Right! Find the baker. I ground my teeth, unsure how he might take the request to play detective for Mr. Claus...Saint Nicholas...the big fella. Whomever.
Will shot me a puzzled frown, and I nodded. "Sure, we can stay for a while."
I led the way to the sofas, hoping Will would follow and not stomp out the front door heading for the nearest cold shower. We could fight later. It always made for good makeup sex.
We sat. My superspy extraordinaire draped his arm over my shoulder, pulling me close. As I leaned into his warmth, all my girly parts sizzled. Oh, man. I hoped this wouldn't take long. The heat between us flared so fast we might have to book a room, if we could even make it upstairs.
Once we settled, Woodie busied himself by stuffing cookies in his face in place of the putrid cigar, and Mavis quickly laid out the problem of finding Geppetto with only an e-mail address.
"Harriet said since you're both...ah...stuck with us for the week, you might be willing to help us find him. What's your take?"
Will's forehead crinkled into a frown. From the lecherous grin flickering at the corners of his mouth, I surmised his only desire to play detective related to me under the sheets. But being the master of self-control, he focused on the problem to please me...well, actually to get us out of there so we could get naked.
"Hmm." He hums when he's thinking or doesn't want to answer. "If you have the e-mail address, it shouldn't be too hard for me to locate him."
He had all kinds of incredible spy―and, well, personal―equipment.
Woodie stopped munching and pushed Will's hand away to tap me on the shoulder. "Oh, let me guess? He's a hacker, maybe?"
My eye twitched again. Woodie had a real attitude problem.
I reach up and plopped Will's hand back where it had been, although maybe not quite as close to the boob as before, and gave the elf a squinty-eyed glare. "Law enforcement."
Will put on his most ferocious frown and assumed command. "Settle down, you two."
Mavis giggled. Woodie looked chagrined. "You have another tour this afternoon, don't you?" He didn't look entirely pleased about that.
Mavis, Woodie, and I nodded.
"Okay," he continued. "Mavis, if you'll write down the information, I'll see what I can find out before you get back. We can investigate all kinds of venues under the auspices of sightseeing, depending on what I can find out about Geppetto while you're out."

Chapter Four

An hour into our jaunt through the Roman Coliseum, Will called me on my cell phone.
"Ciao, Harriet. I've located an address for the baker. Write this down."
I scrambled for my pad and pencil. "That was fast."
"I'm highly motivated to get you here as quickly as possible."
"Right. I'll give it to them. Thanks." I scribbled the name and address on my itinerary, then on a piece of empty paper, and told him I'd be at the apartment no later than five.
"Here's the address you're looking for." I handed the note it to Woodie. "It's not that far from here."
"Thanks, Inspector Sweet Cakes. Mavis, shake your booty. Let's blow this Roman Gladiator show and find the cook. We'll skip the rest of the tour."
Oh, man. If my boss found out I'd cancelled part of a tour, I would be so-o in trouble.
Mavis nodded sympathetically. "It's okay, Harriet. It's our tour, and we want to take the afternoon off. Go meet your...ahem...friend, and we'll take a taxi to Geppetto's. Give me your phone number, and we'll let you know what happens."
On my pad, I scribbled down my cell phone number and the address of the place Will and I share when he's in Rome, shoved it into her hands, and raced out of there.
When I entered the apartment, Will rose from the couch where he'd been watching television.
"Hi. I'm home." Before he could answer, I threw down my backpack and launched a full frontal attack that landed us both on the sofa, knocking pillows and newspapers onto the floor. After a few minutes of hot and sweaty foreplay, I murmured, "Not here."
By the time we rolled onto the floor, the sofa upholstery was damp with perspiration. Leaving a pile of pillows and magazines on the floor along with my shirt and bra, we stumbled, laughing and touching, down the hall. A trail of discarded clothing followed us into the bedroom. With my head start, I undressed first. As Will kicked off his shorts, I tackled him around the legs and knocked him backward onto the bed.
"Oof!"
The surprise attack gave me a chance to scramble astride his perfect body and plant my rear on his abdomen. With arms rigid, I pressed his shoulders into the mattress.
"What?" A broad grin spread across his handsome face.
"Okay, pal. Before you touch anything else, you have to explain what's going on with these...ah...little people."
All bravado. My strategic advantage would only last as long as his tolerance, and that wasn't likely to endure more than a sentence or two. We were both anxious to make up for lost time.
"Why are you asking me? They're your group, not mine."
He leered at me and my pulse rate skyrocketed. My blood burned with desire, sending tingles from the roots of my hair to my toes.
"C'mon Will, they insist they're elves...Santa's elves, no less...and you're acting like this is no big surprise. Ho hum."
He shrugged, his muscles rippling against the pressure of my hands. "A lot of things in this life are unexplainable."
"I'm losing it, aren't I? I've been run over by the Popemobile in St. Peter's Square, right?" I shook his shoulders. "Tell me that at this very moment I'm really lying half dead in San Camillo hospital, hallucinating, while a normal husband and wife with eleven children stand around my bed crying."
"It's Christmas time, Harriet. Miracles happen. Who am I to question?"
Okay. This is getting nowhere.
Putting aside my state of dazed bafflement—I wanted to get on to other things―I redirected the conversation. "Speaking of that, what do you want for Christmas?"
"Hmm." He rolled me underneath him and straddled me. "You―as much time with you as possible."
Oh, man. The one thing he wants, and I can't deliver. Frustrated, I sucked in oxygen then blew out a long disappointed breath. I wanted the same thing he did.
Sitting back on his heels, his hands rested on the thick ropes of muscles along his thighs as they pinned my arms loosely to my sides. His favorite position.
My tight nipples ached for his touch. My temperature rose in anticipation.
Ohmigod, what a package! I really didn't mind being underneath. The view, already hard and hot, inspired me.
Leaning over me, his lips brushed mine, then he buried his face against my heaving chest and took one taut nipple into his mouth, his teeth nibbling lightly, his tongue flicking over the hardened peak and drawing it deeper.
With a cry of delight, I arched my back, pressing closer to his hot mouth, my fingernails biting into his biceps.
His hands spanned my waist and ran up and down the length of my torso, thumbs skimming my rib cage, my abdomen and--gulp—my thighs. My pulse pounded in my ears.
Molten heat spread out from every place he touched, melting my insides. The texture of his hands brought every nerve ending to the surface in waves of tension. The scent of aftershave and Will Talbot maleness made my mouth water for the slightly salty taste of his skin.
He spread my legs and positioned one over his shoulder. His tongue raked along the inside of my thigh. My belly contracted, and I arched my body to meet his mouth. He nibbled, sucked, and licked until I writhed and begged for release.
Well, maybe I screamed a little, too.
He rolled us over again. On top, I sank down on him. My flesh welcomed his full length inside, tightening around him. He groaned with pleasure. "Jesus, Harriet."
At first, I moved my hips slowly, but our need drove us harder, faster, deeper. His strong fingers pressed into my buttocks, guiding me, setting the pace. His body rippled with tremors.
"Ahhh, Tiger."
He exploded in me. Reality shattered into a million tiny lights around us and together we shot off into space riding wave after wave of ecstasy, a long, long trip.
Hot and sweaty, I collapsed on top of him as we drifted back to earth.
When I could breathe again, I rose on arms so weak they trembled. I looked into his hypnotic blue eyes, quaking with emotions I couldn't even put words to. Connected. Filled. Powerful. Joyful and yet fearful. Whole. Drained and limp. Contented and wanted.
Too much to begin to comprehend.
And already the tension built inside me again.
"Wow!" I managed finally. "When the paramedics leave, let's do that again."
"If you're going to fibrillate every time, we'd better set them up in the extra bedroom." He hooked a strand of sweaty hair behind my ear. "You have no idea what you do to me."
Warmth spread through me, touching me in a way I'd never experienced before. "Show me."
That's when my cell phone rang.
Our gazes locked, and we both uttered desperate sighs.
No! No! No! Not now. My girly parts were still smoking and demanding more of his attention. This is not a good time!
The phone chirped again.
He rolled me off him. "You're supposed to be working, remember? You'd better answer it."
I threw myself off the bed, scrambled around to find my pants and retrieved my phone. "Hello, this is Harriet."
"Hello, Inspector Clouseau," Woodie's voice grated on my ear. "We just wanted to let you two love birds know we found Geppetto. He couldn't make the delivery 'cause his oven blew up and replacement parts aren't available till after the New Year. Without the bakery, he couldn't pay his bills, so his Internet service was disconnected."
"Let me talk to her." I heard Mavis in the background, then, "Harriet, I've made arrangements for Geppetto to use the kitchen at the Hotel Foletto for the baking. If the staff and the rest of us help, we should be able to make three or four deliveries before the deadline. And to thank you for your help, our Christmas present to Will is your undivided attention for the rest of the week. We'll take care of ourselves."
I sucked in a surprised breath. "Do you mean that?"
Woodie must have snatched the phone. "Don't you speak English? I'm against this, but Mavis insists. This is gonna be a long week. More fun than being offed on Christmas day."
"I might arrange that event myself. Give me that phone." Mavis came back on the line. "Harriet, you can get back to your hunk and give him his present."
"I...don't know what to say..." I murmured, overwhelmed.
"Try thank you, and Merry Christmas. We'll be in touch in a few days."
"Thank you, and Merry Christmas."
I clicked off, explained the plan to Will, and by eleven o'clock we were well into the fourth installment of his Christmas present when the doorbell rang.
"Now what?" I moaned. "Let's pretend we're not here."
Grunting his displeasure, he untangled his limbs from mine and slipped into his jeans. "I'll get it." He headed bare-chested to the door. After a few seconds, he yelled, "Jesus, Harriet! Get in here!"
I threw myself off the bed, grabbed a throw from the chair, and scampered down the hall wrapping the blanket around me just as Will opened the front door.
Woodie pushed his way into the room, cigar hanging from his lips. "Nice rags, Inspector Sweet Cakes. Okay, Happy, let's get them in here and settled." The elf waved Happy into the room with the rest of the excited and chattering elves behind him."
"But...but..." I sputtered, half raising one arm. "What about your promise?"
Oblivious to our state of shock and bewilderment, Woodie directed elves to all corners of the apartment. "You two, move the furniture against the wall, then put the tables in here. Happy and Basil, you can bring in the baked goodies. I'll―"
I grabbed his arm. "What do you think you're doing? You can't―"
"Better hold on to that blanket." Woodie sprinkled cigar ashes on the tile floor. "We got a little problem working here."
"What problem?" I cried, waving my hands. Oops!
Eyes bugged and major gasps erupted as the blanket dropped to my waist. As I struggled to pull the corner out from under my foot and cover my heaving bosom, Will pushed my semi-nakedness behind him.
"Hi, guys." Mavis entered, one arm around the hunched shoulders of a short man in white wearing a burned chef's hat above black stubs of eyebrows. Tendrils of smoke rose from his singed gray beard. Tears streaked the soot-covered face.
Geppetto Elf, I presume.
"Sorry about this, but we have to renege on your Christmas present," Mavis hurried on. "We were almost finished with the baking until Geppetto here had a smidgen of an accident in the hotel kitchen."
Both my eyes twitched.
"Reindeer poop!" Woodie clapped the man on the back hard enough to send him stumbling forward. "The asshole burned down the whole freakin' hotel. We're going to have to finish the job packaging the goodies here."
Will and I gaped at him with our mouths in fly-catcher mode as Happy, Basil, and another elf began to carry arms loads of Christmas breads into our apartment.
"Why here?" I murmured, more for something to say than anything. My brain was on overload again.
Woodie shot us a mischievous smile. "Geppetto's place is too small, plus he hasn't been able to pay his light bill. It'd be perfect for you two, though—in the dark and all—but the bed is a little short."
"I have a better idea," Mavis piped up, grinning at us. "You need to lighten up. What you two need is a Christmas tree."
"A what?" Will almost shouted, the first indication I'd seen that he wasn't, after all, taking the situation in stride. He jerked forward as though he intended to whop her upside the head...or maybe it was downside, under the circumstances.
I grabbed his arm and held him back, whispering, "What happened to 'Miracles happen' and 'Who am I to question?'?" At the time, I'd had a sneaking suspicion he was pulling my chain.
Santa's public relations elf extraordinaire put her arms around us...our legs, anyway. "You know. A tall pointy tree with pine needles. Green. You hang shiny gadgets and ornaments on it."
"Mavis, that is not funny." My usually good humor had begun to fade, and I was getting angry as well as cold. Maybe I shouldn't have restrained him. "Besides, there isn't a Christmas tree lot anywhere near here."
She shrugged. "Sure there is. Right around the corner from here. The guy who runs it has a cozy little house at the back of the lot with a big fire place and a bear skin rug. He'll be over here helping, so I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you stay all week. Whatever it takes."
Will smirked. "Who knew packaging baked goods could take so long?" With a twinkle in his eye, he winked at me. "Maybe miracles do happen. Are you coming, Harriet?"
Hmm. Well, I wasn't exactly sure what Will had in mind, but one place we'd never done it was a Christmas tree lot. Titillated with the idea, I winked back and smiled. "Sure. Should I get dressed first, or just wear the blanket?"
He raised one eyebrow. "You'd better put something on...but not too much. But bring the blanket and a bottle of Bailey's with you. I'm not sure I believe the part about the bear skin rug."
All the elves tittered and wished us a merry Christmas when we headed for the door. Just outside, Woodie stopped us and sprinkled ashes on the mat.
"You're not so bad after all, Inspector Sweet Cakes. I'll put in a good word for you with the Big Guy. We should be gone by the time you get back with your tree." He raised his voice for that last part. Laughter came from inside. "Thanks. Merry Christmas, and enjoy your Christmas present."
We fully intended to do just that.
□
JUST SAYIN! MERRY CHRISTMAS!

0 Comments

SINGLES’ DAY: The World’s Biggest Shopping Day

12/3/2021

0 Comments

TODAY IS DECEMBER 3
The most significant but uninteresting event occurring on December 3 ‒ for all times, it appears ‒ was when Sir Thomas Herriot introduced potatoes to England from Columbia in 1586. This actually proved to be the most significant factor for population expansion and agricultural enhancement across Europe. These benefits ultimately allowed for the rapid industrialization and military conquest launched by select European nations.

Be that as it may, this blog does not have anything to do with December 3. The subject is about the biggest worldwide shopping day.

SINGLES’ DAY
What? You’re a shopping aficionado and you’ve never heard of it? Well, let me tell you… I hadn’t either, until I did research for my blog Black Friday Around The World. I’m just a regular dinosaur these days.

According to Wikipedia (but no other source I found) Singles' Day was originally called Bachelors' Day. It is an unofficial Chinese holiday to celebrate people who are not in relationships.

Singles’ Day originated in China in 1993. A group of lonely, yet positive, students at Nanjing University came up with the idea. These male students conceived the idea of celebrating the fact they were all single and without a girlfriend. The four roommates were tired of the day to day life as ‘single dogs’ as they are called in China and wanted to change this. They decided that instead of lamenting their lack of a significant other, they would instead celebrate being single, and selected November 11, 1993 as the debut date.

Initially there was no commercial aspect or intent. Subsequent to November 11, 1993, the date became a kind of anti-Valentine’s Day celebration of singledom which caught on and spread across universities throughout China and Southeat Asia, generally characterized by fun, harmless events.

Image source: millionairedating.onluxy.com/china-singles-day

One student, for example, reserved every other seat in a movie theater, prohibiting couples from sitting next to each other during a screening of Beijing Love Story, an aptly named romantic film. Image Source: telegraph.co.uk/chinas-singles-day ▼

The Singles’ Day has also been adopted by the Chinese as sort of a Valentine’s Day for couples. In Beijing, 4,000 couples got married on November 11, compared to the average of 700 per day.

WHAT’S IN A NAME?
The date for the observation of singledom was not selected at random. There are number of reasons. First, 11/11 looks like four, single sticks, strung together trying to make the most out of their time, and the date has become the symbol of the holiday.

Second, the date, November 11 (11/11), was chosen because the numeral 1 resembles a bare stick which apparently is Chinese Internet slang for an unmarried man who does not add 'branches' to the family tree.

Now, Singles’ Day, is the busiest and most lucrative shopping day in the world, enjoyed by single men and women, and married ones, too.
How did that happen?

IT IS ALWAYS ABOUT MONEY
The holiday in China went along for about a decade as a day for fun, planks, and shopping, a day with single folks celebrating their freedom, until the CEO of one of the largest online purchasing companies in the world, Alibaba, based in China, recognized the commercial potential.

Singles’ Day was kicked into high gear in 2009 when Alibaba created and heavily promoted the first Singles’ Day shopping festival from November 1 thru 11 that year, sparking a trend that has now surpassed Cyber Monday in single-day transactions.

Alibaba has turned the day into a festival week of performances and activities. Stars appearing at the gala performance the night before the 11/11 shopping sales start, include Nicole Kidman and Jesse Alba 2017, Taylor Swift at Alibaba's Shanghai event in 2019, and Katy Perry performing in a livestream in 2020. Not merely a shopping event, the holiday is also a day when people can party to socialize and meet other people, as well as practicing traditions that celebrate the single life. Jesse Alba stars at 2017 Alibaba Singles’ Day Festivities ▼
Image Source: adweek.com/performance-marketing/singles-day

Worldwide in 2019, shoppers spent $7.4 billion US dollars during the Black Friday weekend and an additional $9.4 billion on Cyber Monday. Even when combined, these numbers come nowhere close to Singles’ Day spending of $38 billion dollars. Source: techradar.com/news/singles-day-officially-bigger

There has been a slow down in the Chinese market in the past couple of years for certain political reasons, but the phenomenon of “Single’s Day” shopping has spread worldwide, supported heavily in Southeast Asia.

WHAT MORE COULD A GIRL WANT?
Exactly! Another day to legitimately spend two or three days shopping… and, hopefully, enough money to do it right.

China - Image Credit: Alibaba Shoppers in Poland
Image Source: techradar.com/news/singles-day Image Source: polki.pl/praca-i-finanse/pieniadze,udane-zakup

In a sense, it is not so much which countries acknowledge the day as it is which online retailers promote the event with sales and promotions, similar to Cyber Monday. In the United Kingdom it is called National Singles Day, but it is celebrated on March 11. Indonesia celebrates on 11/11 and has dubbed it “Harbolnas” or National Online Shopping Day.
▲ On of the problems in China is the leftover trash from Singles Day
Image Source: wlz-online.de/verbraucher/singles-day

MediaMarkt, a German company, promotes Singles' Day in their stores in Germany and throughout Europe. In Belgium public reaction has been somewhat negative since November 11 is the anniversary of the Armistice that ended WWI and a day of commemoration of the war dead in Belgium.

In 2016, Swedish electronics retailer Elgiganten promoted a Singles’ Day campaign in Norway before implementing it in the other Nordic countries in 2017. Singles’ Day has yet to reach the Western and Southern Hemispheres, but who knows?

USA - HOME SWEET HOME
The American public is unlikely to embrace November 11 as a national shopping day. In part because we have our own frenzied holiday shopping days, but primarily that is because that date is Veterans Day which, hopefully, is far more important to US citizens than holiday shopping. Singles Awareness Day is the US was created primarily from the same feelings of isolation that started Singles’ Day in China.

“Around 2001, Dustin Barnes decided to create a day for his group of friends to enjoy their singleness rather than drown in their sorrows. This group of high school boys not only chose February 15 as a protest of Valentine’s Day but also realized they could score candy and love-themed items at a huge discount." Dustin carried the tradition from his high school on to Mississippi State University, where the holiday gained popularity.
nationaltoday.com/singles-awareness-day/

Singles Awareness Day was copyrighted in 2005 and continued to grow from there. Not surprising! The Census Bureau indicates that about one third of the adult population in the US reports themselves as single or not in an ongoing relationship.

Adults of all ages celebrate the day as a reminder that you don’t need a relationship to celebrate love. You can love yourself, your family, and your friends. There’s no reason to feel lonely around Valentine’s Day when love is all around you. And it doesn’t cost you a penny.

JUST SAYIN
□
Sources:
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/singles-day.asp
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alibaba_Group
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/singles%27_day
https://nationaltoday.com/singles-day/
https://www.techradar.com/news/singles-day-officially-bigger-than-black-friday-and-cyber-monday-combined
https://www.adweek.com/commerce/americans-shopping-more-nov-11-dont-call-singles-day/
https://millionairedating.onluxy.com/china-singles-day-alibaba-online-shopping.html
http://www.polki.pl/praca-i-finanse/pieniadze,udane-zakup
https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/10/business/china-singles-day-intl-hnk/index.html
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/black-friday/0/what-is-chinas-singles-day-and-how-does-it-compare-to-black-frid/
https://www.k-international.com/blog/shopping-holidays-around-the-world/
https://www.marketing91.com/top-10-alibaba-competitors/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singles_Awareness_Day
https://nationaltoday.com/singles-awareness-day/
https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2020/estimates-families-living-arrangements.html
https://theopinionator.com/its-singles-day-the-most-ginormous-shopping-day-of-the-year/

https://news.yahoo.com/singles-day-alibabas-annual-event-054530003.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmluZy5jb20v&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAEqviMSHGHA6tM4wHXNDRT-2J3DXhhDohXlWcsPP-7EmjTtIEp7fMolLjY_nZAqfPj_G6F30t0qTrFkzYvyUJnaAe1S4uF5n15OZDU6__M

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/economics/chinas-singles-day-and-the-war-of-ideas/news-story/8badd70feceabb08c27ccae9bad0b49b

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/singles%27_day#:~:text=the%20holiday%20has%20now%20become%20the%20largest%20physical,usd%20%2444.5%20billion%20total%20sales%20volume%20in%202017.

https://www.wlz-online.de/verbraucher/singles-day-black-friday-china-usa-amazon-alibaba-einkaufen-shoppen-rabatte-angebote-cyber-monday-umsatz-zr-90096077.html

0 Comments

Black Friday Around The World

11/26/2021

0 Comments

THE CHALLENGE
You may know all about Black Friday, but here’s the challenge. Ask anyone born after 1990 if they know the origin of the term “Black Friday”.

Chances are none of them will have a clue, other than it's a Friday for special sales. Not even as the day after Thanksgiving or Holiday Sales, since many retailers now advertise Black Friday sales throughout the year.

WILL THE REAL BLACK FRIDAY STAND UP?
The first use of the term came about in relation to a specific financial crisis in the United State: the collapse of the Gold Market on September 24, 1869.

This collapse occurred when two stock brokers, Jay Gould and Jim Frisk ‒ who had already engaged in stock fraud and bribery ‒ collaborated in a scheme to cheat Wall Street investors by manipulating the Gold Market. The subsequent crash was called “Black Friday” by the financial world, the press, and those who lost money. Note: a good description of the event can be found by clicking here.

Scene in the New York Gold room during the excitement of September 24th, 1869
Image credit:. Library of Congress
Image Source: pbs.org/wgbh/black-friday/

Until the 1950s and ‘60s, “Black Friday” and “Black any-other-day” had been associated with financial disasters.

BLACK FRIDAY REBORN
Any number of stories exist about the rebirth of the “Black Friday” phenomenon we experience today, and each year I find a new version.

Some believe the term found new life in the 1950’s when factory managers referred to the day after Thanksgiving as "Black Friday" because so many workers called in sick.

However, the most direct trail leads back to the Philadelphia Police Department in 1966 when the police began using the term to mean the day after Thanksgiving, the official opening of the Christmas shopping season, which brought massive traffic jams, over-crowded sidewalks, a rash of shoplifting, and general chaos. In addition, the annual Army-Navy football game was played on the last weekend of November and brought its own crowd, traffic, and problems.

Image Credit: Shopify Black Friday Philadelphia
Image Source: usupdates.com/black-friday-history Image Source: philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/police

Needless to say, the police hated that day ‒ no day off for them ‒ and the nomicker was applied in an uncomplimentary way. The people in Philadelphia didn't like the negative connotation and tried to change the term to "Big Friday" but it didn't stick. Gradually the name “Black Friday” for the first day after Thanksgiving came to mean the beginning of holiday shopping.

AMERICAN INGENUITY SAVES THE ECONOMY
Popularity and common usage grew, and by the 1970s and 80s retailers throughout the US aborted the dreaded name and complained about the negative connotations. I doubt that at that point the general public even remembered the tie to financial disaster, but apparently the merchants had not.

So, being the innovative business people that we are, someone realized that this day was the point in the year when retail businesses ‒ which traditionally operated at a loss or “in the red” ‒ started making profits and operated “in the black”. Retail interests made sure that this positive spin was publicized and ‒ Ta-dah! ‒ then the merchants loved it, and the shoppers loved the sales.

RE-REBIRTH AS A GLOBAL EVENT
The internet and the 2020 pandemic can be thanked for the expansion of Black Friday Christmas sales morphing into year-round sales events and on-line purchasing, primarily to keep businesses alive during the shut-down. It certainly eased the stress a little by being able to purchase “without contact”. During the five-day Thanksgiving weekend of 2020, shoppers still spent an average of $311.75 on holiday purchases, only 1.7% down from 2019. blackfriday.com/news/black-friday-history

The other result was the almost sudden expansion of the phenomenon throughout the world. Of course, global expansion had been happening slowing with the accessibility of internet purchasing but the COVID virus gave it a kick in the butt… so to speak.

Now there are at least 195 countries which have a “Black Friday” which features pre-holiday or other sales (since some of these countries are not Christian, such as Saudi Arabia).
But alas, most of the 195 countries do not celebrate Thanksgiving, and for them there is no day after Thanksgiving. There is, however, a fourth Friday in November, which many countries have adopted as the day to begin the holiday sales. In some places, Black Friday falls on other dates.

Of course, it is not an official holiday anywhere and in most of these countries no one gets a day off as many do in the US, which was one of the main reasons for Americans to begin their holiday shopping. Note: I presume the photos below were all taken prior to 2020.

United Kingdom Saudi Arabia
Image Source: mirror.co.uk/news/black-friday-2014 Image Source: youtube.com/watch?v=_2LDvAJi7dI

Italy Japan
Image Credit: gettyimages.com.au/aeon-news-photo Image Credit: gettyimages.com.au/aeon-news-photo

I didn’t read anything or see any photos that implied that the residents of other countries are any more ‒ or less ‒ polite and civilized in their shopping behavior than Americans. It’s a zoo wherever you shop on Black Friday weekend.