A lazy day yesterday was just what we needed, and we were lazy to the best of our abilities. Was there a lot of stuff to do? Why, yes, there was. However, when rest is required, it’s a good idea to take some time to re-group and let the system recover from being tired. In this go-go-go world we don’t get enough of that, and since we are heading into the busy holiday season, there won’t be as much down time as we’d like. I am hoping and praying that somehow the carpet installers will be able to get our carpet put in before the weekend which will mean our evenings will be crazy busy all week long, but we can put the house back together and start in on our holiday preparations on the weekend. Yes, I know. I’m an optimist, but I can’t help myself.
Verse of the Day
October 22, 2018
Carry each other’s burdens and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
Thoughts on the Verse of the Day
I feel so burdened myself, that sometimes I can’t even see other’s burdens. But Jesus reminds me that if I am to be like him, I will be a burden carrier. This is why he came, why he died, and why his resurrection is so important — to lift from us the burdens of sin, death, and depravity. He has blessed us by carrying our heaviest burdens so that we might lighten the load of those around us.
www.verseoftheday.com
Food for Thought
Once in awhile before any major holiday, I do a bit of a historical research to find out what it is that is being celebrated, what brought us to the current state of the celebration, and why we continue to celebrate it. As we lead up to Halloween, I figured it is time to do a little walk through history and see what it’s all about, besides candy and costumes. So here we go, Day 1 of the History of Halloween:
Halloween is celebrated by more people around the world than ever before, which makes sense, since it is one of the world’s oldest holidays, dating back to pagan times. In the mainstream way of thinking, it is a holiday for children and filled with good, clean fun. But is that how it always was, or what it means underneath of the candy and costumes? Let’s find out what it is all about, and why we celebrate it the way we do.
Since much of the history from the time period in which this holiday originated wasn’t written down for centuries, some of the details are hazy and up for debate. This is the most commonly accepted theory about how Halloween started. We go back to the British Isles and the Pagan Celtic celebration of Samhain (pronounced Sow-win), going back as far as 5 B.C. It was believed that spirits rose from the dead, mingling with the living. Because there were both good and bad spirits rising from the dead, the Celts put food at their doors to encourage the good spirits to visit and wore masks to scare off the bad ones. It is thought that celebrating the end of harvest and honoring the dead was added by the Romans who invaded England, though there are some that say that the Romans never conquered the Celts (Ireland and Scotland) so there was no mingling the cultures, which meant that the Celts were already celebrating the end of harvest and honoring their dead. Centuries later, while doing what they always do/did, the Roman Catholic church attempted to do away with Samhain by setting up November 1st as All Saint’s Day, to celebrate all of the saints who didn’t have their own holy day. By doing this, they were hoping to distract from the pagan holiday from the day before, but it didn’t work. Instead the celebrations on the eve of All Saint’s Day just continued to grow and change. In the 1849s when there was a surge of Irish immigration into America, Halloween found its way to the United States, where it continued to be celebrated. As for how we got the name “Halloween”, well, it comes from All Hallows’ Evening, which in slang was “All Hallow’s Even”, or the eve of All Hallows’ Day. “Hallow” means holy person, So, All Hallow’s Day is just another name for All Saints’ Day, which was further abbreviated to Hallowe’en, and further to Halloween.
Caps Lock Day – I am sure that all of us have received emails, or seen posts on social networking sites, that are all in caps. And I’m sure that some of us are pretty aggravated by it because we have come to equate all caps as the written version of yelling. Right? I know that when I accidentally hit the Cap Lock on the keyboard and have to go back to change it, it annoys me – after all, I wouldn’t want anyone to think I was yelling! Antoinette LaFarge – a professor at the University of California-Irvine, says about writing in all caps: it makes your writing less effective, it’s interpreted as shouting, and more than a couple words in caps loses the reader’s attention. Keep in mind though that not everyone is proficient on the keyboard and for some reason they are unable to quickly and effectively utilize the shift key (I don’t personally get why that would be difficult, but apparently, it’s true!), so don’t be too hard on someone if they use all caps. If you happen to know they aren’t yelling and that’s just the way they communicate, then you can cut them a little slack. I did read that recently there has been a movement to remove the cap lock key from the keyboard, which would allow for only individual caps where necessary. Personally, I think that’s a terrible idea! When I’m making spreadsheets, I use all caps for the categories and having to individually shift each letter would make me more upset than thinking someone was yelling at me in caps! Leave well enough alone folks and grow a skin. Seriously, why do you care is someone is yelling at you in caps? It doesn’t hurt and it’s really a petty thing to get upset about when it comes right down to it.
International Stuttering Awareness Day – Since 1998, this day has been celebrated for people who stutter, as well as for the organizations that offer them support. They are encouraged to get together and bring the problem of stuttering out into the public eye. People who stutter suffer embarrassment and stress when speaking in front of others. Bringing this out into the open and educating people about it could ease the stress and bullying that result and make it better for people who stutter. Did you know that many sports stars and celebrities are stutterers? Here are just a few: * James Earl Jones * Nicole Kidman * Shaquille O’Neal * Tiger Woods Bottom line – be kind to everyone and do not tease anyone for something that may be different from you. It’s not nice for one thing, and you wouldn’t want others to tease you.
Smart is Cool Day – Today would be a good day to show off your IQ test results! After all, being Smart is Cool! I couldn’t find who actually started this celebration, but it’s a good one for encouraging kids to stay in school. If there’s ever a time to show off your IQ test results, Smart is Cool Day is probably it. Though it’s not clear where the tradition started, the egg headed individual’s idea was absolutely brilliant. For some reason, smart kids – or smart people in general – get treated badly and called nerds or geeks. I’m sure we all saw the Revenge of the Nerds movies, and we laughed, but the sad reality is that, though those characters were a gross exaggeration, it is true many times the popular kids treat the smart kids very badly – and there really isn’t any reason for it. It’s the smart kids that go on to do amazing things with their lives, while the ones who were really popular just relive those memories for their whole lives, as if their glory days in school were the only good things they ever had going for them. A great way to celebrate today would be to download the Mensa app and enroll to be a Mensa member. Or better yet, just know that smart is cool and enjoy your special day being the smart person you are.
Food Celebration of the Day –
National Nut Day – Fun facts: Pistachios are one of the biggest nut crops in the U.S. California is home to almost 99 percent of the country’s production, with Arizona and New Mexico supplying the rest. Peanuts are not really nuts. They are Legumes, a member of the “Pea” family. The center of seeds, like pumpkins and squash, is called a “nut”.
It is hard to believe that in less than 2 weeks we will be saying good-bye to October and hello to November. I already feel behind schedule since everything is on hold for my pre-holiday preparations while we wait for the carpet installers to call to schedule our new carpet! It is probably a little sad that I feel behind on Christmas when I can’t have the decorations up by Halloween. It works for us though. Well, speaking of work . . . I need to go. God bless you and I’ll see you tomorrow.
Affiliate Link Disclaimer
Some of my posts will contain links to products that I am an affiliate for. When you make a purchase through that link, I will receive a commission for the sale. I make this known to you so that you are aware of these links.
Celebration list sources:
www.verseoftheday.com www.brownielocks.com www.holidayinsights.com www.thenibble.com www.foodimentary.com