Celebration

World Literacy Day

There is virtually no power on earth, as powerful as the written word, which is why today we celebrate World Literacy Day. It's more important than ever, in a world of misunderstandings and mistrust, that children around the world are equipped with good reading skills so that by reading, they can learn about the issues that have become an integral part of their world.

Additionally, the ability to read can open so many doors to the world. Reading allows anyone to travel just about anywhere they want to go, past and present, and allows the mind to open up to the possibilities in life that could only be dreamed of. There is so much to learn that every day can become a journey beyond the confines of home, whether it's to another country or even beyond our own galaxy.

If you know someone who can not read, why not help them to reach out to a community organization that can offer them an alternative. To survive in our high-tech world where so much information is disseminated through print, it is a scary proposition when you can not read. If you are not sure how to  offer assistance to an adult without reading skills, contact the appropriate agencies yourself and ask for their advice. You'll be helping to open doors for anyone you may know in need of adult learning services.

To learn more or for more information about literacy visit the website for the National Institute of Literacy

National Bird Day

On January 5th, we celebrate National Bird Day.

Did you know that one of the fastest growing group of discarded pets in this country is the exotic bird?

And while we hear a great deal about displaced dogs and cats and the protection and anti-cruelty laws that have been enacted for their protection,  birds are often ignored or short-changed when in comes to protection under anti-cruelty and pet shop laws.

In the 1990's, exotic birds became the fastest-growing pet of choice. Since 2000, there are well over 100 bird rescues or sanctuaries across the country, caring for hundreds of unwanted and abused birds in need of rescue and lifelong new homes. It is also believed that potentially untold thousands more exotic birds languish, ignored and most likely in a state of deprivation, in their cages.

Why has this happened to these magnificent birds?

Because in many cases the bird owner or, their family members, are rarely educated or understand the total commitment necessary for the care and special needs of the exotic bird. The bird may exhibit behaviors like biting, aggression or self-mutilation. The birds are prone to making loud noises and the area around the cage of one of these birds will always be a mess. It doesn't take long before the novelty of owning an exotic bird becomes a nuisance and the birds is then often left alone in a cage without adequate socialization, medical care, food, water or clean living conditions. Countless other birds will be physically abused, given away to another person who has no idea how to care for it, released outside to fend for itself, simply abandoned in an empty house or apartment, or they simply perish.

National Bird Day, is an opportunity to learn how to work to protect these magnificent creatures through public education. It is also the time to raise awareness about the enormous global influence and the devastating effects on wild parrot populations because of the impact of exotic bird trade. The parrot species, more than almost any other major group of birds, is now globally threatened and could well become extinct if actions to reverse the current trends are not taken.

If you are interested in learning more about the plight of exotic birds, you could begin with the resources listed below.

Resources:

The Avian Welfare Coalition is a working alliance of veterinarians, conservationists, avian welfare and animal protection organizations dedicated to the ethical treatment of exotic birds. For more information about the AWC please visit their website.

The Animal Protection Institute is a national non-profit animal advocacy organization with 85,000 members, working to protect animals from cruelty and exploitation through legislation, litigation, and public education. For more information about API’s exotic bird campaign, please visit their site.

Crayola Activities for Kids  Fun and educational projects for kids for National Bird Day.

National Bird Day Website

Celebration of Kwanzaa Contextualized - Video -

As we taked about in the last article, the Kwanzaa is celebrated for seven days, starting the 26th of Devember. But very few people outside of the African-American community, know much about Kwanzaa, or understand the philosophy and symbolism of the celebration.

I hope that the following video helps to explain the origins of the celebration of Kwanzaa. This video presents some clarifications about what the first Kwanzaa celebrants had in mind, independent of the person of Ron Karenga, who was the driving force behind the celebration.

As always, feel free to leave any comments or ask questions.

 

Celebration of Kwanzaa

The African-American cultural holiday Kwanzaa, which means "first fruits," conceived and developed by Dr. Maulana Ron Karenga started yesterday, the 26th of December. Kwanzaa seeks to enforce a connectedness to African cultural identity, and to focus on, and reflect upon the seven principles.

The modern celebration of Kwanzaa, which was first celebrated in the year 1966, is celebrated by Africans and African-Americans in America, from the 26th of December, to January 1st. Each day of the celebration focuses on one of the seven principles, and each of them are celebrated through singing, speaking, dancing and reciting from the traditional African heritage. And for every day of Kwanzaa, one candle is lit that represents each principle.

The seven principle of Kwanzaa are:

• unity
• self-determination
• collective work and responsibility
• cooperative economics
• purpose
• creativity
• faith

Kwanzaa is rooted in the first harvest celebrations developed from elements of the African heritage and seeks to enforce a connectedness to African cultural identity, provide a focal point for the gathering of African peoples, and to reflect upon the the seven principles, (Nguzo Saba.)  The four elements that made up the original African meaning of Kwanzaa were unity, awareness of ancestry and heritage, recommitment to traditional values, and reverence for creator and the creation.

The main focus of Kwanzaa where cultural expression is encouraged, is called Karamu, and is celebrated on the evening of  December 31st. The program for the Karamu generally involves a welcome, a remembrance of ancestry, a reassessment of situations, a recommitment to values, a rejoicing, a farewell statement, and a call for greater unity. This is a celebration that is practiced to bring all participants closer to their African roots.

The honoring traditions and the reaffirming of self worth through gift giving, is the focus of the last day of Kwanzaa. And because Kwanzaa emphasizes creativity, which is one of the seven principles, gifts are often made rather than bought.

Unlike Christmas or even Boxing day, the point of Kwanzaa is neith one of gift giving nor religious celebration, but a commemoration of heritage and togetherness. The original ideas behind the seven principles were to bring forth the harvest, and the guiding principles teach the values from African heritage. Kwanzaa serves to bring people together and remind them just how important they are to each other.

Celebration of Chanukah (Part 2)

If you missed the first part of our introduction to Chanukah, which officially began on the evening of December 15, then you can quickly find part one through this link.

The Chanukah Menorah

Chanukah is a family feast that lasts eight days. The most important Chanukah tradition is the lighting of the menorah, known in Hebrew as the "hanukiya." A menorah is a candle-stand with nine branches. Eight candles, one for each day of Chanukah, are situated on each side of a taller candle in the middle. The taller candle, the shamash (“servant,”) is used to light the other candles.The menorah is lit after dusk, lighting the first candle on the right, then kindling an additional candle, moving from left to right each evening. As each candle is lit, special blessings are recited. Part of the Chanukah tradition also involves the giving small gifts each night of the festival.

The Dreidel

The Chanukah toy called a dreidel, has become a favorite toy of Jewish children. But throughout history, it used to have a very serious purpose. When the Syrians forbid the study of the Torah, the Jewish holy book, Jews who continued to study in secret, kept spinning tops called "sivivons," or dreidels. That way, if they were caught studying, they could quickly pretend that they had only been playing a game.

Outside of Israel, a dreidel has the Hebrew letters “nun,” “gimel,” “hay,” and “shin” on its four sides. These letters stand for “Nes gadol haya sham,” which means, “A great miracle happened there,” referring to Israel. An Israeli dreidel has the letter “pay” rather than “shin.” This stands for “poh,” meaning “here” .... “a great miracle happened here.”

The Hebrew letters also represent Yiddish words that tell how to play the dreidel game. Each player starts with the same amount of candies, chocolate coins called "gelt," (other tokens can be used,) and puts one token into a pot. Players take turns spinning the dreidel, waiting to see which letter lands face up.

Nun is for “nisht,” meaning, "nothing" ... "do nothing." Gimel is for “gants,” which means, "whole," .... "take the whole pot." Hay is for “halb,” which means, "half," .... "take half." Shin is for “shtel,” meaning, "to put in," .... "add to the pot." The game ends when a single player wins all the tokens.

Chanukah Foods

On of the most well-known of the Chanukah is the "latkes," or potato pancakes, that are cooked in oil. The serving of latkes during Chanukah is a custom that more than likely developed in Eastern Europe.  In Israel, the favorite Chanukah food is "sufganiya," a kind of jelly donut cooked in oil. In fact, many of the traditional foods served during Chanukah are cooked in oil, in remembrance of the oil that burned in the temple.

Another Chanukah tradition is the eating of dairy products, especially cheese delicacies. This custom signifies the remembrance of the Jewish heroine Judith, who according to legend, saved her village from Syrian attackers by feeding  wine and cheese to the Syrian general Holofernes. According to the story, when the general became drunk, she killed him, which caused his troops to flee.

To Learn More About the History, Customs and Traditions of Chanukah

Visit what is called the world's largest Chanukah website. This site has games, stories, recipes, Kabbalah Insights, and a lot more of interest. Visit the Chanukah site through this link. 

Christmas Greetings Around the World

When we talk about Christmas, we want to remember that Christmas is a time for sharing.

With that thought in mind, I have chosen to share with you a video that depicts the celebration of Christmas around the world. I sincerely hope that you enjoy it as much as I do.

Christmas Depression

As most of us try and make our way through the holiday season, shopping, baking, decorating and attending parties, there are those among us who have a much different experience.

For them, the holidays are a painful time, a sad time and a for so many, a very depressing time. They do not share in the holiday frenzy that greets them around every corner. And for so many of them, it becomes almost more than they can bear.

It's hard to say just what happened to them over the years. Once, they were children that saw the holidays through the eyes of innocence, and they became giddy with restless anticipation during that time of the year. As adults, expectations were high that this season would be as magical and perfect as it was in their childhood. They tried to recapture the wonderment they felt as children waiting for Santa, or waiting for a rush of emotion as they pondered the religious significance of Christmas or Chanukah.

But for reasons known only to them, they do not experience the holidays that way any more. And when those feelings don't automatically well up, they become disappointed and sad. And if they become depressed, the fact that they can't enjoy these things as they once did, makes them twice as miserable, and they berate themselves for not partaking fully in the joys of the season.

For me, the Christmas season can be particularly difficult at times because several years ago, I lost someone very dear to me. My beloved grandmother died, after a long battle with breast cancer, during the Christmas holidays. Not only was the wake and funeral two weeks before Christmas that year, but several of the organizations she had belonged to, had mass said in her honor for the entire month leading right up to Christmas day.

Our parish church was decorated with hundreds of poinsettia plants that adorned the alter. I spent so much time kneeling in church that month, just staring at those poinsettia plants and listening to somber organ music, that for many years after, I could not look at a poinsettia plant or hear mournful holiday songs without crying. (Even today, certain Christmas songs make me weepy.)

On a very personal level, Christmas changed for me the day my grandmother died. Not just because her death was so close to Christmas, but because my grandmother was such an integral part of my childhood experience. For many years, the sheer stress of the holidays was just too much for me to deal with. So I would make sure I was on the schedule to work on Christmas day, just so I wouldn't mope around alone feeling sorry for myself. That was how I coped with what had become a very stressful and painful day.

But let's face it. The holidays can often be a stressful and often a disappointing time for everyone (except the kids.) We run ourselves ragged buying the perfect gifts, baking holiday treats, planning the perfect Christmas dinner, getting a tree, decorating both inside and outside the home, sending out Christmas or Chanukah cards, entertaining and, all while trying to keep down a job and managing a family. Wow! Talk about stress!!

And to top it off, we often find ourselves dealing with family and relatives whom we see infrequently, and don't necessarily enjoy spending time with. 

The idea of doing all this holiday stuff while you're in pain, sad or depressed, is beyond overwhelming. Folks who suffer with depression, become unmotivated and have no desire to contribute to the Christmas festivities. It isn't their fault that the holiday festivities consumes them and takes control of their feelings and makes them feel worse. Thoughts of Christmas takes the emotions of a depressed person and sends them into a deeper turmoil. And then the frustration of their situation takes control and drags them deeper into their thoughts, and deeper into their depression.

We all want to believe that Christmas is all about having fun. That it is an exciting, warm and fuzzy, family orientated time of the year. Everyone you talk to or listen to (especially TV commercials) is telling you how much you should be enjoying this time of year. And it sure is for those with family and friends to share it with. For most people, Christmas is filled with the excitement of sharing quality time with loved ones, looking forward to warm welcomes, cheerful smiles, presents and food galore.

But not for everyone. Especially not for those unfortunate enough to be debilitated with the illness of depression. They dread Christmas with every inch of their being. Often, they are filled with anxiety and self-doubt and their emotions become distorted. Instead of feeling  joy and excitement, they feel out of control. Depressed individuals not only dread Christmas, but they wish that the day would magically disappear as if in their world, they could just delete from their calendar.

In another article, we will look at some things you can do for yourself or a depressed love one this Christmas. Many of the thoughts we will present, can also be applied to anyone who is just feeling totally stressed and at the end of their rope.

Celebrating Freedom: Remembering Pearl Harbor

In the mist of our preparations for holiday celebration, it is important that all Americans stop to acknowledge this day and it's significance in the history of our country.

On a Sunday morning, December 7th, 1941, the Japanese launched a surprise attack against the U.S. Forces stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. When it was over, a total of 2,403 were dead, including 68 civilians. Another 1,143 servicemen and 35 civilians were wounded.

When I remember this infamous day, I can only pause to celebrate the freedoms that so many have died to preserve. It is because of the sacrifice of the many who died on that day, and the many more who continued to sacrifice and die in battles fought so far away, that I can celebrate my freedom.

And to the thousands of men and women that were a part of the Greatest Generation of Americans, who served our nation in the wake of Pearl Harbor, including the members of my family, please accept my heartfelt thanks.

(Click on the photos below to see a larger image.)

The first photo, National Archives #80G32574, shows the USS Shaw in floating dry dock, after being hit during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

One of a series of four photographs showing the exact moments that magazine of the USS Shaw exploded. National Archives #80G32573

Planning A Christmas Party (Part 1)

If you've thought about hosting or arranging some sort of a Christmas party this year, then it's about that time to finalize some plans. And to help you get started, I'll give you some party ideas and planning tips to help make your life a little bit easier. We'll start today by talking about the Christmas decorations.

First, regardless of where you are in your party planning preparations, one of the first things you will need to think about is the decorations. Christmas decorations are an important part of the holiday season, but they are an even bigger part of a Christmas party. They help to set a festive tone.

Your choice of Christmas decorations will probably vary depending on whether you are decorating your home, self-owned business or decorating the office.

When decorating your home, your options are wide-open. Things like personal decorating preferences, color combinations, style or era of decorating, amount of decorations, and choice between hand-made or store-bought decorations, just to name a few, are totally up to you and other interested family members.

But if you are arranging a party for the office, then your choices may not be that many. When planning a Christmas party for a work setting, the amount and type of decorations will usually be at the discretion of the management. And because the work setting may be comprised of individuals from varied ethnic and religious backgrounds, it is usually the "Holiday party" rather than a Christmas party that you will volunteer, or be asked, to organize.

Keeping that in mind then, when planning decorations for an office setting,  it's best to decide on planning a seasonal holiday party, with seasonal themes and decorations. The first thing you will want to do is set up a holiday planning group, comprised of a diverse group of employees. Then as a group, decide on what decorations are appropriate for the office. That way, all decisions about the holiday party, including decorating, will be generic and less offensive to anyone. Employees can recognize the holidays in the month of December that are meaningful to them with a variety of decorations, including a Menorah and a Kwanzaa Kinara and a Christmas tree.

The same will generally hold true for a small business. The important thing is to follow the lead of your employees. Ask them for ideas about how they might want to celebrate the holidays at work.

And if all else fails, and you find youself responsible for the decorating, keep in mind that there are many non-Christmas decorations that are generally acceptable when decorating an office or small business site.

Instead of the traditional Christmas decorations, seasonal themed decorations, things like snowflakes and snowmen, reindeer, pinecones, decorative glass ornaments displayed in a bowl, red and green floral arrangements, and poinsettia plants, will add an air of celebration to any setting without screaming "Merry Christmas" to everyone present.

When shopping for your decorations, you should be able to find all your generic holiday decorations wherever Christmas decorations are sold. It's more about the individual decorating pieces you choose that will shift the theme from Christmas to the more generic holiday theme.

So there you have it. The first step in planning a Christmas party, deciding on the decorations. And I know that some of you are thinking ... "What about a guest list ... isn't that the first thing I need to do?"

Well absolutely you need a guest list (you do know who you're inviting don't you?) but here's my thinking.

If you are looking to find the largest selection of Christmas decorations or a particular type, you are advised to start your shopping early. And in reality, you should have started this in late October, as soon as the Christmas decorations hit the store shelves. But now ... it's early December. As Christmas approaches, you will find that many retail stores sell out of their Christmas decorations and very few replenish their stock. Therefore, if you are planning on decorating your home or place of business for your Christmas, or holiday party, you will want to get started now.

Next time, we'll look at some themes for your party.

National Adoption Month - What We Can Do To Celebrate (Part 2)

As promised yesterday, today we'll look at a couple of more suggestions for actions we can take to help the foster care systems in our communities, with their adoption efforts.

The foster care system is usually the first step in the adoption process for many kids, and so many of them have been waiting to be adopted for a long time. National Adoption Month is an excellent time to think about some of the things that we can all do, no matter where we live, to ease the burden of the system and help make a difference to a child.

We've also published a growing list of adoption resources. Feel free to let us know if you have any additional adoption web sites you would like us to add to the list.

• The foster care system is always in need of families that can provide respite care to other foster families, or to do emergency foster care. Emergency placement can mean having a foster child in your home for a short period of time, anywhere from 24 hours to 30 days. Contact your local child and family services organization to learn how to obtain a foster care license.
• Become a Court-Appointed Special Advocate/CASA worker. CASA workers are volunteers that work with the court and the foster homes to see that the children are not lost in the system and that their needs and wants are heard. For more information check out the CASA website.
• If you are affiliated with a group or organization, why not pool your resources and buy Christmas presents for  children in the group homes in your area. Make the gifts personal for each child. Call the home and ask staff for specific recommendations for the kids.
• Some churches and religious groups, sponsor collection drives for various causes, both locally and abroad. Why not ask your religious leaders about ways to support foster care kids at various times throughout the year.
• Share what you have learned with others. Let them know that in the US alone, there are an estimated 523,000 children in foster care, and  more than 119,000 of them are waiting to be adopted.

As we celebrate with our families this holiday season, remember that there are thousands of children in foster homes awaiting adoption. If there is any one thing that each of us can do, then together we will begin to make a difference.

Remember, even the smallest action we make is better than no action at all.