Saint Valentine

The first representation of Saint Valentine appeared in a The Nuremberg Chronicle, a great illustrated book printed in 1493. [Additional evidence that Valentine was a real person: archaeologists have unearthed a Roman catacomb and an ancient church dedicated to Saint Valentine.] Alongside a woodcut portrait of him, text states that Valentinus was a Roman priest martyred during the reign of Claudius the Goth [Claudius II]. Since he was caught marrying Christian couples and aiding any Christians who were being persecuted under Emperor Claudius in Rome [when helping them was considered a crime], Valentinus was arrested and imprisoned. Claudius took a liking to this prisoner — until Valentinus made a strategic error: he tried to convert the Emperor — whereupon this priest was condemned to death. He was beaten with clubs and stoned; when that didn’t do it, he was beheaded outside the Flaminian Gate [circa 269].

Saints are not supposed to rest in peace; they’re expected to keep busy: to perform miracles, to intercede. Being in jail or dead is no excuse for non-performance of the supernatural. One legend says, while awaiting his execution, Valentinus restored the sight of his jailer’s blind daughter. Another legend says, on the eve of his death, he penned a farewell note to the jailer’s daughter, signing it, “From your Valentine.”

… He is the Patron Saint of affianced couples, bee keepers, engaged couples, epilepsy, fainting, greetings, happy marriages, love, lovers, plague, travellers, young people. He is represented in pictures with birds and roses.

Saints & Angels – Catholic Online

Bracketed material in original.

Roman Holiday

The roots of St. Valentine’s Day lie in the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia, which was celebrated on Feb. 15. For 800 years the Romans had dedicated this day to the god Lupercus. On Lupercalia, a young man would draw the name of a young woman in a lottery and would then keep the woman as a sexual companion for the year.

Pope Gelasius I [492-496] was, understandably, less than thrilled with this custom. So he changed the lottery to have both young men and women draw the names of saints whom they would then emulate for the year (a change that no doubt disappointed a few young men). Instead of Lupercus, the patron of the feast became Valentine. For Roman men, the day continued to be an occasion to seek the affections of women, and it became a tradition to give out handwritten messages of admiration that included Valentine’s name.

American Catholic

February

… from the Roman republican calendar month Februarius, named for Februa, the festival of purification held on the 15th. The name is taken from a Latin word, februare, meaning “to make pure”.

Planning for February 14th

From the mental_floss Blog, “10 Venn and Not-quite-Venn Diagrams”

Martin Luther King Jr.

… was born 81 years ago today.

Many may question some of King’s choices and perhaps even some of his motives, but no one can question his unparalleled leadership in a great cause, or his abilities with both the spoken and written word.

There are 10 federal holidays, but only four of them are dedicated to one man: one for Jesus, one for the man given credit for discovering our continent, one for the military and political founder George Washington, and one for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

“I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality.”

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech
December 10, 1964
Library of Congress

The Gift of the Magi

This is a Christmas season perennial here at NewMexiKen. Go ahead, read it again. It makes everything about the season seem simpler yet more precious.

Merry Christmas!

The Gift of the Magi
by O. Henry (William Sydney Porter), 1906.

One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all. And
sixty cents of it was in pennies. Pennies saved one and two
at a time by bulldozing the grocer and the vegetable man and
the butcher until one’s cheeks burned with the silent
imputation of parsimony that such close dealing implied.
Three times Della counted it. One dollar and eighty-seven
cents. And the next day would be Christmas.

Read the rest of this entry.

I did it

Seventeen days ago I told how I had made a playlist of all my Christmas music (468 tracks). The list was designed so that once a song was played, it dropped off. Sometimes while I was blogging, sometimes while I was reading, sometimes while just listening, the playlist dwindled down, like a musical Advent calendar.

It’s on the next-to-last song right now, “White Christmas” by Bing Crosby. Really, the best-selling Christmas song ever.

[To be fair, there were two copies of "White Christmas" by Crosby among the 468 tracks, so the odds were a little less. The very last song was something I'd never heard of or care to hear again, a new-age kind of composition.]

O Tannenbaum

From the best Christmas album ever, Vince Guaraldi, A Charlie Brown Christmas.

Why didn't they choose a time of the year when stores weren't so crowded?

The date of Easter is determined according to the lunar calendar, while the date of Christmas is fixed on the solar calendar. Before 325, there was no official celebration of the birth of Christ, and Easter was celebrated by some Christians on Passover (a lunar holiday) and by others the following Sunday. The rationale: Christ’s last supper took place on or around Passover, he was crucified on a Friday, and the festival of Easter celebrates his resurrection two days later.

In 325, church officials at the First Council of Nicaea formalized the date of Easter in an effort to get everyone to celebrate on the same day (and also, possibly, to dissociate it from the Jewish Passover feast). From then on, the holiday was celebrated on the Sunday following the first full moon after March 21, the start of spring.

At the same time, the council inaugurated Christmas by making Dec. 25 the Feast of the Nativity. Because Christmas was not directly related to a lunar holiday, and because it had never been celebrated before—the date of Christ’s birth is not mentioned in the Bible, and questions about it had been settled by a proclamation from the pope just five years earlier—the council was able to establish an unambiguous date for the celebration.

Daniel Engber – Slate Magazine

The name of the person we call Jesus was Yeshua. Jesus is the English version of the Greek version of Yeshua.

BTW, its Joshua at the battle of Jericho and Jesus who was born on Christmas because the Old Testament was written in Hebrew and the New Testament was written in Greek. There is no sh sound in Greek, hence Iesous. It was still Iesus in the original King James Bible (1611).

Source for information on name, Brian Palmer – Slate Magazine.

Seems like only yesterday

But it was 1951.

That’s me on the left, my sister Martha, our dog Lenny, my Uncle Richard (partner on my recent road trip from Michigan to Colorado), and Mom, pregnant with Debby. Mom was 26.

Check out that big screen Hallicrafters TV. That 17-inch B&W TV retailed for $299.95 in 1951 (when a new car was around $1500).

Christmas in Santa Fe

I have been enjoying tunes from the CD Christmas in Santa Fe by Ruben Romero and Robert Notkoff.

Spanish guitarist Romero and violinist Notkoff provide the perfect Christmas fireside mood.

Ho Ho Ho

This story gets me into the Christmas mood about as well as anything can — my preferred Christmas mood being grumpy, but with an underlying sense of Christmas wonderment. Anyway, it’s worth telling again. It was first posted here three years ago when Sofie was three.

Veronica writes about one of the Christmas season’s most cherished traditions — taking the little one to see Santa.

We were at the mall early to do some Christmas shopping yesterday when we saw a mom and her two young kids standing outside the door to Santa’s workshop. We asked her what the deal was, and she pointed to the sign about the extra holiday hours. We were in luck. It was 9:45, and Santa was going to be there at 10am. So, we got in line.

Sofie was excited and remarkably well-behaved. At 10, the line had grown behind us, but there was still no sign of Santa. At about 10:15, the kids started whining. At about 10:30, the parents started to wonder if maybe Santa had had a few too many the night before. At about 10:45, someone in line reported seeing “an old guy with a beard” in the parking lot heading toward the Santa house, but he wasn’t in costume yet. Finally, at 11, the doors to Santa’s workshop opened. A pissed-off elf informed us that “corporate” didn’t tell them about the early holiday hours. By this point, the mom in front of us had left, dragging her disappointed and crying kids through the mall – they’d apparently “lost” Santa privileges because they were misbehaving.

Sofie was first in line. She goes in and won’t even look at Santa. Not for a second. Santa was more than happy, however, to have mom sit next to him. Um, gross. So the picture…(which cost us about $700 give or take a few bucks) pretty much sums up our perfect Santa experience:

(1) A long wait in line
(2) Screaming kids
(3) Problems at “corporate”
(4) Our own kid didn’t want to sit on Santa’s lap (or look at him or talk to him)
(5) A lecherous Santa
(6) Ridiculously overpriced photos of the experience

The Four Stages of Christmas

1. You believe in Santa
2. You don’t believe in Santa
3. You are Santa
4. You look like Santa

Farolitos

Those bags with sand and candles that are a New Mexico Christmas Eve tradition; the correct name for them is farolitos.

Often farolitos are called luminarias. Lumanarias traditionally were actually small bonfires.

Farolitos (literally “little lanterns”) replaced lumanarias (actual meaning is altar lamps) as towns became more densely populated. The purpose of both was to light the path to midnight mass.

Farolitos are the coolest Christmas decoration ever, especially when whole neighborhoods line their sidewalks, driveways and even roof-lines with them.

Buy some sand (for ballast), some votive candles and some lunch bags and bring a beautiful New Mexico tradition to your neighborhood this year. Get your neighbors to join you. You could become famous if it’s never been done in your area. And the kids love it.

[This one is for you, Anthony.]

Guitar Hero and Christmas Lights

Is this a great country, or what?

The Brief and Strangely Interesting History of Christmas Lights

The tradition of stringing electric lights may have started as a Christmas thing in America, but now it’s a global phenomenon used for all kinds winter festivuses (festivi?). It’s a practice we take for granted—come December, they’re everywhere. The evolution of the Christmas light parallels that of the light bulb, with some remarkably ornate—OK, tacky—variations. But regardless of how they look, one thing’s for certain: They’re a much better option than sticking a candle in a tree.

Gizmodo has the story.

Idle thought

If you woke up tomorrow and Rip Van Winkle-like it was January 12th instead of December 12th, would you be sad you missed Christmas?

Or just relieved?

O Tannenbaum

How you can fight the War on Christmas. Trust me, just go look.

Up a Tree.

Which reminds me, what would be the symbol for Christianity if Christ had been executed by a firing squad or a lethal injection? Just sayin’.

There's Christmas Music and then

I’ve made a playlist with all my Christmas music and have it on shuffle play — all 465 tracks, though they drop out for a week after they play.

It’s not working. The only Christmas music that works for me really is “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch.”

So that’s my new ringtone.

You’re a mean one, Mr. Grinch.
You really are a heel.
You’re as cuddly as a cactus,
You’re as charming as an eel.
Mr. Grinch.

You’re a bad banana
With a greasy black peel.

I’m beginning to feel the spirit already. (Scrooge was right to begin with, you know?)

Jolly Ole Saint Nicholas

Today is St. Nicholas Day. St. Nicholas lived in the fourth century, and he was the archbishop of Myra in Lycia (which is now Turkey). There are all kinds of stories about him, but one of the most famous is that there was a poor man who could not afford a dowry for his three daughters, which meant they would have to be abandoned to prostitution. St. Nicholas didn’t want to humiliate the man by giving him charity in public, so he left purses of gold in the man’s house at night — according to one version of the story, he dropped them down the chimney, and in another, one of the daughters had set out her stockings to dry and the gold was put in them. And so St. Nicholas, the bringer of anonymous gifts, inspired Jolly Old St. Nick, Father Christmas, and Santa Claus.

The Writer’s Almanac with Garrison Keillor

The True Meaning of Christmas

I love nativity sets because of all the Christmas decorations they express most closely the true meaning of the season.

This one with penguins is particularly rich in religious symbolism.

Back to the Land

And the Pursuit of Happiness Blog

Not to be missed! Click. Now.

Best Thanksgiving lines of the day, so far

The turkey-pardoning is supposed to be a long-running national tradition, but it officially only goes back to George (the Good One) Bush and 1989. Since Thanksgiving is a holiday that’s particularly rich in long-running traditions, 20 years barely counts as an impulsive gesture.

If we want a political tradition, we can do better. Let’s all just gather around the family computer and watch that video of Sarah Palin discussing Thanksgiving in front of a bloody turkey abattoir.

Gail Collins

Best line of Thanksgiving Eve

“Today, I am pleased to announce that thanks to the interventions of Malia and Sasha — because I was planning to eat this sucker — ‘Courage’ will also be spared this terrible and delicious fate.”

President Obama, who went on:

“You know, there are certain days that remind me of why I ran for this office. And then there are moments like this where I pardon a turkey and send it to Disneyland.”

Question and answer of the day

“On Thanksgiving, most of us will sit down to feast on a turkey dinner. The bird also shows up on the table at Christmas. How did we end up with the tradition of eating turkeys during the holidays?

“They were fresh, affordable, and big enough to feed a crowd.”

Michelle Tsai – Slate Magazine has more.