Wearing Her Crown of Light

Today is the sacred day of one of my favourite "Undercover Goddesses" -- Sankta Lucia!

Back in the days when Europe was pagan, She was the Scandinavian Goddess of the Winter Solstice. Following the longest night of the year, She would bring back the light of the sun, not only to illuminate the darkness, but to ensure human survival.

When Northern Europe was Christianized, the Goddess went undercover (as so many did) and was transformed into a Saint of the Christian church. Her "conversion" to Christianity was entirely superficial, however. Her Feast Day remained on the Winter Solstice and Her rituals continued unchanged. Even Her new "saint name" -- Sankta Lucia -- means "Holy Light."

Later, when Renaissance Europe switched from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar, several days were lost in the process. Lucia's Feast Day under the new calendar ended up as December 13, a week before the Winter Solstice. It has remained there ever since.

At dawn on Sankta Lucia's Day, a Scandinavian daughter wearing the Crown of Light will go throughout the house to greet her family and serve them the bounty of the Goddess -- coffee and special yellow saffron buns which represent the returning light.

So ends the longest night

With light that She's bringing.

She is the Queen of Light

Joyfully singing!

Clad in Her garment white,

Wearing Her crown of light --

Sankta Lucia! Sankta Lucia!

Wishing you all joy and light today!

"Baby, Just Go Outside!"

Hey, have you seen this new satirical video with rewritten lyrics for "Baby, It's Cold Outside"? Hahahahaha, I love it and couldn't resist posting it here, given our discussion of this song last week!



Oh and by the way, the next time you hear some straight guy complaining that the concept of sexual consent is just overly complicated, too nuanced and difficult to apply, remind them that --

Oh yes, they do understand it when the shoe is on the other foot -- every subtle little nuance suddenly becomes crystal clear and obvious!

International Human Rights Day

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was signed on December 10, 1948, which is why today is always marked as International Human Rights Day. This year's anniversary is even more noteworthy by being the Declaration's 70th year. Signed shortly after the end of World War II and the creation of the United Nations, the Declaration was born out of the deep desire to never again repeat the appalling horrors of Nazi Germany.

Protecting and advancing human rights is even more important now that far-right nationalism, racism, bigotry and propaganda are on the rise again in most of our western democracies, seeking and winning handholds on power.

We must not be taken in and we must not repeat the past!

So more than ever, it's important for all of us to . . .

Get Your Grinch On!

The Old Lurker posted this quiz over at his blog so I've decided to channel my INNER GRINCH today to answer it --

What do you hate most about Christmas?

This is an EASY one -- going to any mall in December. Impossible to park, endless throngs of shoppers, too much noise, too much hassle, too much EVERYTHING.

What is your least favourite piece of Christmas music?

I'm one of those weirdos who LOVES Christmas music. I would gladly listen to, sing and/or whistle Christmas carols every day of the livelong year, were it not for the threats of bodily harm or death made by those around me. However, EVEN I have a handful of Christmas songs that simply DRIVE ME UP THE WALL if I hear them -- Jingle Bells, The Twelve Days of Christmas, Here Comes Santa Claus and Up on the Rooftop.

Plus I'm IMMENSELY pleased that some radio stations are FINALLY removing from their music rotations that UBER-CREEPY Christmas song about sexual harassment, Baby, It's Cold Outside. About goddamn time, too. That song has irritated me for YEARS.

What traditional Christmas food OTHER THAN FRUITCAKE (too easy) is being sent down the garbage disposal?

Now, I'm also one of those weirdos who LOVES fruitcake. Any kind -- light, dark, fruity, nutty, deliciously moist or hard as a rock -- I love it all! Plus I also love mince pie, which is probably #2 on most people's hit list. I can't think of ANY traditional Christmas food that I would not eat and, in fact, not eat to excess.

Which animated TV Christmas special leaves you wanting to rip the wallpaper off the walls?

That old stop-motion animation classic from the 1960s, Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer. I've ALWAYS despised it. However, LOVE the song -- one of my faves!

What was your least favourite Christmas gift ever?

An LP of Wayne Newton's Greatest Hits that someone gave me when I was a teenager -- a TEENAGER, for gawd's sake. Danke Shoen for NUTTIN, Santa.

Who on your Christmas list is the hardest to shop for?

I find it relatively easy to shop for people because I pay attention to them throughout the year, taking note of their interests, hobbies, expressed likes and dislikes. However, I'm told by everyone I know that it's ME for whom it's impossible to shop because I'm a -- wait for it -- WEIRDO. I solve this problem by handing out detailed Christmas lists of specific items that I want. No more Wayne Newton albums for me!

How would you spend this time of year if you weren't caught up in all the holiday madness?

You know, I actually quite LIKE Christmas. But I make a point of keeping things SIMPLE, precisely so I DON'T get caught up in the holiday madness. It's all the rushing about, overdoing things, overspending and unreasonable expectations that RUIN the season.

Anyone else want to do this quiz, either in the comments or on your own blog? I'd love to read your answers!

"Santa, What Have You Done?"

Found this hilarious Christmas commercial from Air New Zealand over at Infidel753's blog! Watch for the American kid!



However, excuse me, New Zealand, but the nicest place on earth is CANADA.

Sorry, eh?

Getting in the Christmas Spirit

My Rare One and I spent four days last week volunteering at the Festival of Trees here in Edmonton, which raises about a million bucks annually to buy extra medical equipment for our University Hospital. Many other Canadian cities also hold these Festivals for similar purposes and they are all a terrific way to get in the Christmas spirit!

The Festival of Trees is Christmas on steroids, full of beautiful and/or whimsically decorated trees, gingerbread houses, seasonal things to buy, seasonal things to eat, a non-stop entertainment stage featuring every kids' choir and dance school in the city, galas for the adults in the evening, activities galore for the kids. And of course Santa, Santa, SANTA!

I worked on the volunteer reception team, signing in volunteers for their shifts, handing out name tags, blinky pins, Santa hats and bottles of water, giving each volunteer a quick orientation and doing some of the paperwork necessary for them and the database to work smoothly. Approximately two thousand Edmonton volunteers are necessary to create and run the Festival every year.

My Rare One helped the team which wrangles the Festival mascot "Dr. Deer." No, she didn't have to wear the mascot suit. But I know she wanted to!

Inside the mascot suit is a succession of young, healthy teenagers. The wranglers have to make sure the teen is well hydrated beforehand by drinking lots of water, then get him or her into the suit (they cannot dress themselves), make sure the suit's interior head fan is working and put frozen ice-packs in strategically placed inner pockets. Wearing that suit is hot as hell. After each teen's short shift walking around the Festival, interacting with adoring kids, posing for photos, etc., they come out of the suit dripping with sweat. The wranglers then have to get the next volunteer in "the other suit" (the dry one kept in reserve) and then air out and dry the wet suit for the volunteer after that to wear. It's an endless cycle!

But I guess the discomfort is worth it for the volunteers -- Dr. Deer is the STAR of the Festival! Second only to Santa himself, of course. Being Dr. Deer is one of the most coveted volunteer positions.

If there's a Festival of Trees in your city, I urge you to go to it and spend a few bucks to support a worthy cause, all while having a megaton of Christmas fun!

[Photos taken by My Rare One, Nov 29 to Dec 2, 2018]

How Can Edmonton Compete With This?

It's an unwritten law that you cannot go to Hawaii without taking a gazillion photos of beautiful sunsets, so here's my favourite shot taken by My Rare One!

We had a wonderful time in Maui soaking up the sun, surf and sand of the island, as well as a hula concert, various unique shops and craft shows, an evening of slack key guitar Hawaiian music and some wonderful restaurant dining.

We also soaked up chocolate milkshakes in this 1950s diner. Gotta love that old timey rock 'n roll which *yikes* is the same vintage we are!

I don't often post photos of us on the blog so in case you haven't seen one before, that is me on the left and My Rare One on the right, looking particularly happy with that milkshake, I must say.

So now that we're back home in wintry Edmonton again, regular blogging resumes next week!