This humbling exercise made me realize that I had become so accustomed to our own holidays that I had forgotten that the rest of the non-Christian world celebrates other holidays that could compare with our Christmas in importance and meaning.
Dec. 21 – In the countries in the Northern Hemisphere, this is the beginning of winter solstice, a time when the sun and earth’s positioning give them fewer hours of daylight. The hardest part is getting up from bed when it is still pitch black outside or driving with headlights on even when your watch reads 4:30 in the afternoon.
Dec. 13-20 – Hannukkah (pronounce Ha-na-ka) is the Jewish Festival of Lights that started 2,000 years ago when a Jewish group won back the sacred temple from invading Syrian Greeks. The temple was lighted in celebration and since the flame remained aflame for eight days, the Jews kept the tradition of lighting one candle every evening for eight nights.
Dec. 19 – The start of Ramadan. This Muslim holiday follows the Islamic calendar. (This year, it was in November.) During this period, the Muslims do not eat or drink from sunrise to sunset as a way of feeling the hunger and thirst of the less fortunate. Each evening, families gather for a feast, prayer and reading from the Koran.
Dec. 25 – Christmas Day – the happiest (and costliest) and most celebrated holiday for all Christians to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.
Dec. 26-Jan. 1 – The Kwanzaa. This is the seven-day African holiday that honors family, community and culture. The central practice is the lighting of a candle daily to symbolize the seven principles of Kwanzaa. Kwanzaa is part of the phrase "matunda ya kwanza," which means first fruits of the harvest in Swahili, an African language.
Jan/Feb – The Chinese New Year. Our daughter could not believe all the red envelopes that were handed to her by generous neighbors. Calamansi trees or kum quat are distributed, while Chinese houses have dishes of oranges and apples for good luck, flowers for beauty, hot plates of crab and fresh fish for abundance. Everyone thinks only the best thoughts and everything looks clean and new. Firecrackers are set off from morning ‘til night. Relatives get together to wish each other good luck.
Thaipusam. The Hindu festival of penance where kayad devotees make penance by carrying their offerings on their shoulders. They keep their balance by having large knives and pointed objects pierced through the body – usually the chest, the back and the mouth.
Here are some holidays trivia that will make us understand some of the time-honored traditions that we have attached to Christmas.
• Where did the x in X’mas come from? From the Greek alphabet. The letter x means chi representing k + s that sounds like Christ. It has therefore become a common abbreviation for Christmas.
• Who wrote Silent Night? An Austrian priest, Joseph Mohr, was saddened by the thought of Christmas without organ music since the organ in his church could not be fixed in time for Christmas Eve. In desperation, he wrote these stanzas of a carol that could be sung by the choir to guitar music – and Stille Nacht was born.
• What’s the significance of the Twelve Days of Christmas? The carol was primarily composed to share the spirit of the season in a secretive way. From the mid 1500s until early 1800s, the Roman Catholics in England were not allowed to practice their faith openly. During that time, the 12 Days of Christmas was written. The song made it possible for Catholics to share their faith in public without the risk of persecution. The song has been interpreted to mean the following:
• A partridge in a pear tree is Jesus Christ.
• The two turtledoves are the Old and New Testaments.
• The three French hens stand for faith, hope and charity.
• The four calling birds are the four Gospels.
• The five gold rings recall the Torah (Law), the first five books of the Old Testament.
• Six geese-a-laying stand for the six days of Creation.
• Seven swans a-swimming represent the seven-fold gifts of the Holy Spirit.
• Eight maids a-milking are the eight beatitudes.
• Nine ladies dancing are the nine fruits of the Spirit.
• 10 lords a-leaping are the Ten Commandments.
• 11 pipers piping stand for the eleven faithful disciples.
• 12 drummers drumming symbolize the 12 points of belief in the Apostle’s Creed.
Why are peppermint candy canes popular during Christmas? The candy maker from Indiana wanted a candy to celebrate Christ. He chose a hard candy to show that Christ is the rock of ages. He then shaped the candy to resemble a "J" for Jesus that when flipped resembled a shepherd’s staff. The candy was colored white to represent the purity of Christ and had red stripes to represent the blood of Christ shed for the sins of the world. The peppermint flavor is similar to "hyssop" a member of the mint family used in the Old Testament for purification and sacrifice.
It is also the time when the most abused organ of the body is the stomach as it is forcefully stretched beyond its capacity. It expands to make room for the influx of food, beverage and alcohol, which brings me to the penultimate question.
Is there any cure for a hangover? No. There’s no hangover pill because it might encourage more party hoppers to drink excessively. But there’s balm to ease the throbbing, spinning headache and the acidic stomach. When you’re reduced to shuffling sideways with the band heading for the bathroom, help will come in the form of:
• Water – drink lots of it the night before and morning after because it will help you empty your bladder eight to 10 times more than usual.
• Pain reliever – Aspirin can ease the pounding head but might not be good for your stomach. Don’t use drugs with acetaminophen, they can be toxic to the liver.
• Coffee (caffeine) – will help with hangover sleepiness and headache but remember that your body is already jittery and more unstable than normal.
• More alcohol –A hangover, experts say, is actually a miniature alcohol withdrawal so a little more alcohol will ease the symptoms. But if you’re already dead drunk, should you really take this option?
• Time – the only cure that really works, and
• That tall glass of tomato juice with a pinch of hot Tabasco.
Let me therefore wish our dear readers a tranquil, calm and peaceful spell. Have a blissful, stress-free New Year.