Holidays and Events

Archive for November, 2009

Retirement is the point where a person stops employment completely. A person may also semi-retire and keep some sort of retirement job, out of choice rather than necessity. This usually happens upon reaching a determined age, when physical conditions don’t allow the person to work any more (by illness or accident), or even for personal choice (usually in the presence of an adequate pension or personal savings).

The retirement age varies from country to country but it is generally between 55 and 70. In some countries this age is different for males and females. Sometimes certain jobs, the most dangerous or fatiguing ones in particular, have an earlier retirement age.

Many politicians, doctors, scientists, lawyers, television anchors, and professors still work well into their 70s, however some actors, models, athletes, and musicians only work until their 30s.

Germany was the first country to retire in the 1880s when life expectancy averaged around 40 years.

Confirmation is in many Christian Churches a rite of initiation normally by laying on of hands and/or anointing for the purpose of bestowing the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. In some denominations, confirmation bestows full membership in the church upon the recipient. In others, such as the Roman Catholic Church, confirmation “renders the bond with the Church more perfect”, but a baptized person is already a full member.

Another celebration known as “Confirmation” is used in Reform and Conservative Jewish synagogues as a rite of passage for young Jewish men and woman around the age of 16.

Are you in the mist of planning a Thanksgiving Dinner? When it comes to Thanksgiving parties, a large amount of focus is placed on the planning and the preparation. While it is always advised that you plan and prepare for your party in advance, there are some things that just cannot be done until the last minute or, at least, the day of your party. That is why it may be a good idea to familiarize yourself with the last minute party preparations that you will have to make.

Depending on the size of your event, you may need to make additional accommodations for your guests. These accommodations may likely include seating arrangements. If you need to set up additional tables and chairs, it may be a good idea to save that task until the day of your Thanksgiving party. This will prevent your home from being cluttered with additional tables and chairs; tables and chairs that may very well be in your way.

Since a Thanksgiving party is not complete without Thanksgiving decorations, there is a good chance that you will be decorating your home. If you do choose to decorate your home, for your Thanksgiving party, you may want to leave the decorations until the last minute.

Of course, you can always put your decorations up early, if you want to, but there are a number of benefits to leaving them down until the day of your party. Those benefits include the lack of dust that will accumulate on those decorations and the less likelihood of them getting damaged before your party even begins.

While you can prepare a number of dished in advance, there are some that need to be made at the last minute. Whether you are cooking a turkey or preparing a fresh salad, you may need to do your cooking on the day of, likely the morning of, your dinner. Even if you are just serving snacks and drinks at your party, you will want to wait until that day to start setting them out.

Another task that you may want to leave until the day of your party is the cleaning of your home. While you can also start to prepare your home a few days before your dinner is set to take place, there are some cleaning tasks that you may want to leave until the last few hours. These tasks may include a quick dusting, as well as a quick vacuum. Waiting until the day of your Thanksgiving Dinner to sweep or vacuum your home will help to ensure that your home is as clean as it could possibly be.

In addition to the above mentioned tasks, you will likely find that there are number of other tasks that you may like to complete on the day of your Thanksgiving Dinner. If you are currently in the planning stages, it may be a good idea to develop a party checklist or a party planning schedule. This may make it easier to decide what you should and shouldn’t save until the day of your Thanksgiving party. In addition to giving you a set schedule to follow, you will also likely find that planning your party ahead of time, even at the last minute, will make it easier for you to enjoy yourself, even before your Thanksgiving party begins.

by Bob Moran
This was originally written in January, 2007. It was published on litmocracy.com and on BobMoran.com on May 31, 2009.

A young woman waits for the two young men who are running toward her. As they approach, she pulls up the hem of her toga past the thigh. She closes her eyes and feels a rush of lustful grace as one of the boys pelts her skin with a thong made from the skin of a recently sacrificed goat.

Gratefully, she drops her gown and basks in the knowledge that she has been purified, and she hopes that someday soon, a similar young man will make use of the blessing of fertility she has just received.

That might have been a story in Rome 2000 years ago. Today, it’s just a part of the history of the month called February.

The Festival of Lupercalia was celebrated in Rome on February 15. The festival was based on the story of the founding of Rome by Romulus and Remus, two boys nursed by a wolf. Because Romans considered themselves descendants of the famous twins, they were friends with wolfs, so their goats and sheep were safe from attack.

To show their gratitude to the wolfs, the Romans would sacrifice a goat. Whips made from the goat’s skin were called Februa, or tools of purification. Two boys, representing Romulus and Remus, ran through the streets of the city hitting willing females with the whips.

On the same day, the entire Roman Empire celebrated the festival of Juno Februata or Juno the Purifier. Juno, the wife of the King of the Gods, Jupiter, was the goddess of marriage and fertility (among other things).

The coming of Spring was the inspiration for these events. Pregnant livestock and longer days were signs that warmer weather was coming. It was a time to think of changes you could make before the world renewed itself. Hmmm, seems a lot like New Year resolutions and Lent.

One of the party games played on the feast of Juno Februata involved the pairing of young men and women. The virgins would place their names in a jar, and the young men would each pull out a name. The couples were than obligated to spend the rest of the festival together. Often, the young men would wear the girls names on their arms. Because the theme of the day was fertility and the coming of Spring, the young couples would often end up… well, you get the idea.

When the Catholic Church gained power, it had to eliminate these pagan (and very sinful) festivals and replace them with its own.

The feast of the Purification of the Virgin was thus created and slated for the fourteenth (due to lunar versus solar celebrations and such). However, by Jewish law, Mary’s purification had to happen 40 days after the birth of Jesus, so it was moved to February 2nd when the Church decided to celebrate the Nativity on December 25th rather than January 6th. The Church then dedicated the day to Saint Valentine. Couples still seem to like the day.

February 2nd certainly gained some needed holiness when the feast of the Purification was assigned to it. It was already an important pagan holiday as it was the day midway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox.

Many Romans and other Europeans believed that it was on February 2nd that the hedgehog would come out of its hibernation and decide whether Spring would come early. The rodent did this by coming out of its den and looking around. If it saw its shadow and ran back into its hole, Spring would not come for another six weeks. When Europeans moved to America, there were no hedgehogs, so the groundhog accepted the honor.

While the Irish waited for the badgers and hedgehogs to tell them if Spring would arrive early, they celebrated the feast of Imbolc, dedicated to the goddess Brighid. This feast was also related to the midway point between solstice and equinox, and started at sunset on February 1st. Of course, when the Church reached Ireland, they just had to erase any sign of the pagan tradition and replaced Brighid with Saint Brigit.

It just so happens that February 2nd is also the feast of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple, another Jewish ritual required 40 days after the birth of a male child. The priest at the Temple called Jesus “a light for revelation to the Gentiles.” The day was celebrated with processions and the blessing of candles. Christians called the day Candlemas.

As you celebrate the holidays of February, perhaps you will light a candle while thinking of the coming Spring. You could participate in a rite of purification. Or you could plan something really big for Valentine’s Day. Wear your heart on your sleeve and bear some flesh. Maybe someone will come along and whip you.

by Bob Moran
(Originally posted on February 2, 2008 on BobMoran.com)

Several men in top hats surround the tree stump at Gobbler’s Knob. Just after sunrise, one of the tuxedo-clad men reaches into the stump and Punxsutawney Phil, Seer of Seers, Sage of Sages, Prognosticator of Prognosticators, and Weather Prophet Extraordinary, is pulled out and presented to the crowd.

The President of the Inner Circle consults with Phil. They speak in a language no one seems to understand. After some time, the President translates Phil’s predictions to the crowd. Will there be an early spring, or has Phil foreseen six more weeks of winter?

Phil is a groundhog, and this ceremony is held every February 2nd in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. It is said that if a groundhog sees his shadow on Groundhog Day, there will be six more weeks of winter. If on the other hand, the day is overcast, and there is no shadow, Spring will come early.

In early to mid February, the days in the Northern Hemisphere become longer. Many animals are pregnant at this time of year, preparing to deliver when the warmer weather arrives. This is the time when the groundhog and other animals that hibernate begin to wake, if only for a short time to check on the climate.

The belief that groundhogs, hedgehogs, badgers and other burrowing mammals have the ability to tell if spring will come early goes back to Roman times. When Europeans came to America, they brought this belief with them. By that time, February 2nd was already known as the day that the groundhog would make his prediction.

The date is also known as Candlemas, a special day in some religions. It is also a cross quarter day, one of the days that mark the midpoint between a solstice and an equinox. Therefore, it is not very surprising that Groundhog Day was assigned to the day marking the midpoint between the beginning of Winter and the coming of Spring.