I am pretty glad it is Wednesday. Of course, there is the fact that I get to be home baking today, and of course doing other things that need to be done, but I have a long list of things I want to accomplish today so that by the weekend Hubby and I can tackle the things we need to do together without the distractions of chaos all over the house. The list is probably too long to accomplish everything on it, but I’m going to give it a good try. I’m a couple of days behind having my stuff done in time to have a calm and somewhat relaxing last week before Christmas, but it’s not as behind as it has been in previous years! Here’s to having a day where I can the super woman my to-do list says I need to be.
Verse of the Day
December 20, 2017
Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses.
Thoughts on the Verse of the Day
Law couldn’t do it. Sacrifices couldn’t do it. Piety couldn’t do it. Religious practices couldn’t do it. Only Jesus can bring full forgiveness of sins. Only Jesus can make us fully righteous and holy. Forgiveness and righteousness come through him.
Christmas Traditions
Depending on which country you are in, Santa Claus is known by different names, some of which most of us are probably away. There’s Santa Claus, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle, Saint Nicholas, and Pere Noel off the top of my head, but that’s not all of the names he is known by. I found a list on a great website called www.whychristmas.com and it’s pretty awesome to see all of these names! Take a look and if you know any that aren’t on this list to their website and let them know a new one. They were asking for people to do that and it would be a nice help to them. Personally, I don’t see how there could be more, but anything is possible.
- Afghanistan: Baba Chaghaloo
- Albania: Babadimri
- Armenia: Gaghant Baba / Kaghand Papa (Father Christmas or Father New Year)
- Austria: Christkind (a little angel like person)
- Azerbaijan: Şaxta baba (Grandfather Frost)
- Belgium: Sinterklaas/St. Niklaas (Flemish) or Saint Nicholas (Walloon) & Père Noël (Father Christmas)
- Bosnia and Herzegovina: Djeda Mraz (Grandfather Frost)
- Brazil: Papai Noel (Father Christmas) & Bom Velhinho (Good Old Man)
- Bulgaria: Дядо Коледа / Dyado Koleda (Grandfather Christmas)
- Chile: Viejito Pascuero (Christmas old man)
- China: Sheng dan lao ren (Traditional: 聖誕老人, Simplified: 圣诞老人; means Old Christmas Man)
- Columbia: Niño Dios (Baby Jesus)
- Costa Rica: Niño dios (Child God, meaning Jesus) & Colacho (another name for St. Nicholas)
- Croatia: Djed Božičnjak (Grandfather Christmas)
- Czech Republic: Svatý Mikuláš (St. Nicholas) and Ježíšek (the Christ child)
- Denmark: Julemanden (Christmas Man)
- Ecuador: Papa Noel
- Egypt: Baba Noël
- Estonia: Jõuluvana (Yule Elder)
- Ethiopia: Amharic: Yágena Abãt (Christmas Father)
- Finland: Santa Claus (well he does live in Lapland in Finland!) or Joulupukki
- France: Père Noël (Father Christmas)
- Georgia: თოვლის ბაბუა, თოვლის პაპა / Tovlis Babua, Tovlis Papa (Snow Grandfather)
- Germany: Weihnachtsmann (Christmas Man) & Christkind (a little angel like person)
- Greece: Aghios Vassilis / Άγιος Βασίλης (Saint Basil)
- Haiti: Tonton Nwèl
- Holland/Netherlands: Sinterklaas (St. Nicholas) & Kerstman (Christmas Man)
- Hungary: Mikulás (Nicholas) & Télapó (Old Man Winter)
- Iceland: Jólasveinn (Yule Man) & Jólasveinarnir (The Yule Lads)
- India: Hindi: Christmas Baba, Urdu: Baba Christmas (Father Christmas), Telugu: Thatha (Christmas old man), Tamil: Christmas Thaathaa, Marathi: Natal Bua (Christmas Elder Man)
- Indonesia: Sinterklas
- Iran: Baba Noel
- Iraq: Baba Noel / Vader Kersfees
- Ireland: San Nioclás’ (Saint Nicholas) & Daidí na Nollag (Father Christmas)
- Italy: Babbo Natale (Santa Claus) or La Befana (an old woman) or The THree Kings (parts of northern Italy)
- Japan: サンタさん、サンタクロース santa-san (Mr Santa) & Hoteiosho (A Japanese god of good fortune – not really related to Christmas)
- Latvia: Ziemassvētku vecītis (Christmas old man)
- Lithuania: Senis Šaltis (Old Man Frost) & Kalėdų Senelis (Christmas Grandfather)
- Lebanon: Baba Noël
- Macedonia: Дедо Мраз / Dedo Mraz
- Malta: San Niklaw (St. Nicholas)
- Mexico: El Niñito Dios (baby Jesus), Los Reyes Magos (The Three Wise Men) & Santo Clós (Santa Claus)
- Mongolia: Uvliin Uvuu or Uvliin Uvgun (Winter Grandpa or Winter Old Man)
- Norway: Julenissen (Santa Claus) or ‘Nisse’ (Small Gnomes)
- Pakistan: Christmas Baba
- Peru: Papá Noel
- Philippines: Santa Klaus
- Poland: Swiety Mikolaj (St. Nicholas)
- Portugal: Pai Natal (Father Christmas)
- Puerto Rico: The Three Kings / Magi
- Romania: Sfantul Nicolae (St Nicholas), Moş Nicolae (Old Man Nicholas), Moş Crăciun (Old Man Christmas), Moş Gerilă (Old Man Frost)
- Russia: Дед Мороз / Ded Morez (Grandfather Frost) / Dedoushka (Grandfather in Russian) or Babushka (an old woman – although this is ‘western’ than actually Russian!)
- Serbia: Дедa Мрaз / Deda Mraz (Grandfather Frost), Божић Бата / Božić Bata (Christmas Brother)
- Slovakia: Svätý Mikuláš (Saint Nicholas) / Ježíško (the Christ child)
- Slovenia: Sveti Miklavž or Sveti Nikolaj (Saint Nicholas) / Božiček or Dedek Mraz (Grandfather Winter); Božiček on December 24 and Dedek Mraz on December 31!
- South Africa: Sinterklaas / Kersvader
- South Korea: 산타 클로스 (santa kullosu), 산타 할아버지 (Santa Grandfather)
- Spain: Los tres Reyes Mages (The Three Magic King / Magi) & Papá Noel (Father Christmas); in Catalonia the gift bringer is Tió de Nadal, a Christmas log with a face on it!; In the Basque country, the gift bringer is Olentzero, a big man who wears a beret and smokes a pipe.
- Sri Lanka: Naththal Seeya
- Sweden: Jultomten (Santa) & Nissar / Tomte (Christmas Gnomes/Elves)
- Switzerland: Samichlaus (St. Nicholas) or the baby Jesus or Befana (South Switzerland) or the Three Kings
- Syria: Baba Noël
- Turkey: Noel Baba (Father Christmas)
- Ukraine: Svyatyy Mykolay (St. Nicholas) & Дід Мороз / Did Moroz
- United Kingdom: Father Christmas (inter-changeable with Santa Claus), Wales: Siôn Corn (Chimney John)
- USA: Santa Claus, Hawaii: Kanakaloka
- Uzbekistan: Qor bobo (Grandfather Snow – more related to New Year’s Eve than Christmas)
- Venezuela: San Nicolás (St. Nicholas) & Niño Jesús (Baby Jesus)
- Vietnam: Ông già Noel (Christmas old man)
Food for Thought
Have you ever noticed how difficult it is to keep kind thoughts in your head when the urge to smack someone sideways keeps coming upon you? I am trying though – with everything in me!
Go Caroling – I’ve only been Christmas caroling a couple of times, and both of those times were back in high school with my youth group from church. It was wonderful, fun and so rewarding as we wandered from house to house in a neighborhood with a lot of retired people, to see their happy faces as they stood in their doorways to listen to the classic carols we were singing for them. It really filled my heart with a major case of the warm fuzzies! Caroling was far more popular decades ago than it is now, but that doesn’t it mean it is a forgotten activity. You still see it in all of the Christmas movies. Makes me wonder how it is that I’ve never had carolers go by my house EVER? Isn’t that sad? I know that school choirs and church youth groups go caroling more often than other groups, but that isn’t keeping other folks from trying it out in their neighborhoods. Come on! Give it a try! Today is the day for it! Liven up your street, put a smile on people’s faces, grab a group of friends and go caroling, followed by a nice, hot cup of cocoa. I’m betting you’ll be happy you did! Interesting fact: Caroling dates to the founder of the Catholic church’s Franciscan Order, Francis of Assisi. He started the tradition of public singing of merry songs, instead of solemn ones.
Mudd Day – Have you ever heard someone say “Your name is MUDD!”? I have. I had no clue what it meant. One, I had no idea it was an actual name! The whole name that gave this saying its start was Samuel A. Mudd (Dec 20,1833 to Jan 10, 1883). And two, what could he possibly have done that was so bad that even now, more than a century after his death it is still a saying with negative connotations? Well, helping out a guy who assassinated Abraham Lincoln would be the thing that started this one. Samuel Mudd was imprisoned for life for medically treating John Wilkes Booth. He was later pardoned by President Andrew Johnson, but his name had been pretty trampled ever since his sentencing. Calling someone “mud” was already happening before Mudd’s error in judgment, but his actions did give the phrase “Your name is mud” a whole new low.
Food Celebration of the Day –
National Sangria Day – For years I would hear about Sangria from people who loved it, but had never taken the time to make any so we could give it a try. Until this past summer. Oh, my goodness, it’s delicious! In 1964 the World’s Fair introduced New Yorkers to many things, but one thing that was imported was pretty unforgettable. Spain’s boozy punch made with red wine, brandy and chunks of fruit was pretty popular. Here are a few recipes to try out to see if you like it. It became a summer favorite for us on our camping trips this past year.
Limoncello Sangria
Sangria Con Tequila
Sangria Barcelona
White Sangria
Sangria
Well, I’m not going to be enjoying any Sangria today, but it does sound tasty. That is more of a lazy day beverage for me and today is anything but that! I’ll probably keep the coffee and water going instead. Have a wonderful day! God bless you and I’ll see you tomorrow.