God Bless Us, Everyone

If you read last week’s column, you now know the basic roots of our modern Christmas holiday. However, we now need to look at the influences that have made it into what it is today. In the 1600s (time of the Puritans), Christianity underwent many reforms. The basic viewpoints of religion became more strict and because of this, daily rituals were often reevaluated for their religious worth. Most anything that was fun, was discarded for its lack in the glorification of God . . . celebrations were no exception, and therefore, most were done away with . . . because of the Puritans, we had a time where Christmas was against the law. They, the Puritans, actually levied a 5-shilling fine for anyone who celebrated Christmas and was not working. For them, Christmas decor graced the town only if you happened to be wearing red or green while you were in the stocks. Imagine the chaos if someone actually tried to outlaw Christmas today . . . Oliver Cromwell did in 1645, and so did the city of Boston from 1659-1681—and we talk about the lack of reverence for the holiday. During the 19^th century there was an expanding divide between the social classes--sound familiar? New York actually had to institute a police force in response to Christmas riots since people were becoming so upset about the disparity between the social classes. Oh, and all the fine congressman we have today, who allegedly claim that there is a “war” on Christmas (check out the cable news channels for this one), and that Christmas has long standing traditions dating back to our forefathers? The old congresses met and legislated on Christmas day and did so for over 60 years—because it wasn’t important enough for them to spend it in reverence. Of course today many people’s biggest goals are to appear more filial, religious, and patriotic than everybody else. I’m a little surprised that it hasn’t been suggested to add “Christ” as a prefix to every holiday.

          It was during the 1800s that the holiday changed from the raucous celebration to a family oriented holiday. Families realized that strict discipline was not the best way of raising children, and instead opted for love and affection. The children took the forefront and the lavishing of gifts on the children was accepted during the holiday and was no longer considered “spoiling the child.” In my admiration for the power of literature, the Christmas card was born and contained these words: “A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you.” This greeting is still the number one sentiment on Christmas cards today. The soft glowing scenes of Christmas that are so familiar to us, are thanks, in part, of the Montgomery Ward Company and artists such as Norman Rockwell. We may as well give a thank you to Washington Irving and Charles Dickens too for the endearing descriptions that helped to shape our current form of Christmas (can you hear all the middle-school teachers saying, “I told you so,” under their breath?).
          Speaking of Dickens, I just attended Beef and Board’s “A Christmas Carol,” with North Clay Middle School. What an amazing trip. Aside from the opportunity for students to be part of an elegant cultural experience, they get to witness one of the best and truest moral lessons in literary history. It is so hard to not get choked up when you see the remorse and regret in Scrooge when he realizes that Tiny Tim isn’t going to survive. It isn’t the same as reading the book—it’s better; it’s real; it’s wonderful.
          I would like to point out that I may have made a mistake in my previous column: according to Snopes.com, the ‘X’ used commonly in Christmas is not an altered sign of the cross. They say that it stems from the Greek letter “chi” and this is represented by a symbol similar to the letter ‘X.’ According to them Xian is also sometimes used as an abbreviation of the word Christian. I have heard both explanations. A professor of mine at ISU, and he studied at IU, claimed that it was the mark of the cross; I prefer to believe him, but I apologize if I am wrong.

Taking the Christ out of Christmas

Taking Christ out of Christmas?

        For many years, I have heard people complain about the contemporary drive to take Christ out of Christmas. Many fear that the spiritual aspect of the holidays loses significance as time flies. Is it true that we have lost what makes Christmas truly great/ Has the holiday diminished in value? Is the spirit of giving wasting away as the world thirsts for more material and vanity?My next few columns will discuss the many legends, folklore and superstitions of Christmas. Here are a few facts about the coming holiday.
It helps to look at the roots of our Christmas tradition. The birth of Jesus was not celebrated, officially, until the fourth century. However, why is it celebrated in December? It is common knowledge that Jesus was not burn during the winter. After all, what would the shepherd herd in the winter? According to history.com, the Christian church adopted the tradition of the Pagan winter celebrations and insisted on the Pagans accepting the additional celebration of the birth of Christ along with their observed celebration of the winter solstice.
        Pretty much since time began, many cultures have celebrated the winter solstice. Traditionally, the worst of winter was over and the days gradually lengthened. Most of the cattle were slaughtered (no feeding in the winter), there was plenty of meat to eat, and the wine and mead reached fermentation.
        The combination of the old Pagan celebration and the new celebration of Jesus' birth, under Pope Julius I, made for a Mass service that then turned into a raucous celebration of eating and drinking ... a lot of eating and drinking. Actually, the Yule log of today is the remnant of a Nordic celebration, which had constant feasting while a huge log burned. It would sometimes take several days for the log to burn. In turn, this meant several days of feasting. During a celebration much like today's Mardi Gras, the people would party well into the night. Additionally, the poor would knock on the doors of the rich demanding the best food and drink. If they were ill received, mischief was sure to ensue.
       Every year, there is a new batch of malicious rumors meant to highlight all the powerful people who want to detach the holiday from its religious base. Just so you know, I am only pointing out the following facts because someone has made the mistake of telling me about the terrible evils that exist only to destroy the "true meaning of Christmas."
       One such fable is that the White House insists that the Christmas trees are Holiday trees. I see how this would upset anyone who knows how meaningful a fir tree is to Christianity. I mean, it was decreed that we should decorate our homes with the evergreenic symbol of endurance and renewed life in the New Testament, right? Oh, sorry, this too is another combination of Pagan and Christian beliefs. The greenery of the tree, the holly, and mistletoe, is a statement of the belief that vegetation will again grow at winter's end. Maybe we should call it the makes my house look pretty tree or possibly the look at how much more money I have than you tree?
        Don't get me wrong, my wife and I love everything about this holiday. We have two big trees and a few small trees in our house. My wife spends countless hours preparing, planning and decorating our home for the upcoming holiday, and our family tries to schedule time for watching "The Christmas Story," "Charlie Brown's Christmas," and "Rudolf The Red-Nosed Reindeer" movies. I am now (and always will be) the first one to wake up on Christmas morning. Just the thought of watching all the kids open their presents gives me goose bumps -- I love it. All of it.
Anyhow, the White House did not decree that Christmas trees would be renamed holiday trees (Snopes.com). Could you imagine? At a time when our country could hardly become more polarized than it already is, any deviation from the traditional for a person of power would mean doom and no chance of re-election. Sometimes, the absurdity alone of these rumors is amusing.
        Here is another one: "I hate it when they say or write X-mas."
This is a complaint I have heard since I was a kid. This legend is easy to debunk and makes perfect sense the more you think about it.
        Years ago, literacy was not common. If someone could not write their name, they often made the sign of the cross on important documents. The sign, or a person's mark, was a proper and binding signature recognized by institutions. As time went on, the cross turned a little and it resembled an X. So, X-mass is actually T-mass or (cross)mass. Using a cross in place of the word Christ is a far cry from sacrilegious. As a matter of fact, do you remember children crossing their fingers behind their backs while they lied? The inverted cross temporarily excused them from the rules of Christianity. For a brief moment, they were not Christians and therefore, could tell a lie.
        So, by comparison, the spiritual significance of our Christmas celebration today, is 10-fold more than it was in the past. Every year, the holiday, the giving, the buying and the folklorish untruths increase. Where it was once a single Mass or church service, it is now a multi-day celebration of services, passion plays and songs. Advertisement is a good reflection of pop-culture practice, showing that our Christmas holiday begins before Thanksgiving. I hope you have found some of this interesting or at least amusing. Watch for upcoming columns regarding some of the more endearing and sentimental aspects of this wonderful holiday.

Home Remedies

It’s flu season and I can’t help but to think of the many spells, concoctions, remedies (tortures) that my mother and grandmother subjected my cousins, siblings, and me to as we were growing up. Anything from a cough to the flu, a spider bite to a wasp sting to a case of head lice was readily cured by something that my grandmother believed would help.

            Many of these home-made cures were staples of the medicine cabinet and they doubled for multiple purposes. I hated to even mention that I felt anything less than the utmost of health and vitality. At the mere whisper that my stomach was upset, Grandma would serve me up a sweet but hideous looking glass of prune juice. It looked like the swill at the bottom of a tobacco chewer’s spit cup, and I must say that as a child, I thought it tasted that way too. The prune juice was meant as a stool softener; I guess it worked . . . eventually. If the prune juice didn’t quench grandma’s taste for inflicting torture, the Castor oil did; the oil, a taste I will never, ever, forget was like the oldest, biggest, and meanest brother of stool softeners/laxatives . . . it works beautifully.

Another surefire way to cure an ailment was with Vick’s Vapor Rub. Even if you tried to hide it, grandma could tell by your voice that you had a cold. The white container with a blue lid in her hand, she sat on the edge of the bed and had you sit up. I admit that it was nice and soothing when she would rub some on my chest and under my nose; it made my eyes water a little, but I actually could breathe a little better. However, was it really necessary, Grandma, to make me eat a finger full of this greasy salve? It coated my teeth as I choked it down making it impossible to sleep, for I then had to incessantly swallow for fifteen minutes straight trying to vacate my mouth of that impossible and detestable coating.

Sometimes I felt as if Grandma and my mother sat at the window waiting for one of us to fall down. Why else would they even consider putting what I considered battery acid on our cuts and scrapes? Walking in the house with a scraped knee, she would grab a bottle of mercurochrome or iodine and swab it into the open wound. Oh my God, how it burned. Back then I was sure that it would burn completely through my leg, “It burns Grandma!” any one of us would say as she fanned the burning with a magazine. “It’s ok. We used this stuff when I was a little girl and it healed right up,” she would say. I still cannot believe that they endured the same pain and in turn passed it on to their kids and grandchildren. I know, because they always told me, that people were tougher back then, but give me a break. It seems borderline insane. Now, how about the holidays?

Just like all kids, my cousins, siblings, and I loved Easter, Halloween, Christmas, and Valentine’s and all the sweet sugary goodies that our parents allowed us to stuff in our mouths. In the same way that kids think about the now and not the near future when they stand in place and spin in circles, we gorged and gobbled all the sweets we got our hands on. Mom, because of Grandma’s warning, worried about the worms that Grandma assured her would infest us from eating too much candy. A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down?—baloney! A spoonful of sugar masked the disgusting taste of turpentine like a smile masks a hungry shark. They actually had us eat a spoonful of sugar with a few drops of turpentine in it, and yes, it tastes exactly the how it smells.

Bug bites: I was gathering eggs for my Great Uncle Virgil when I was a teenager. Somewhere in the process I was bitten by a spider. A knot the size of a silver-dollar raised on my arm. Upon showing my uncle (who smoked a pipe), he put a big chaw of the pipe tobacco in his mouth and after it was real good and real slobbery, he splatted it onto my arm and wrapped a kerchief around it. I remember watching his spit seep out from underneath the cloth and drip off my arm—yuck!

Anyhow, I survived the stomach aches; the stopped up noses eventually cleared up; my knee did heal; I am never, and probably never will be, malnourished or wormy, and my arm never fell off from the spider bite. So that being said, maybe it worked?

Paul Harbour's first posting

This initial posting is regarding my use of technology in my career. I am an English teacher, and in 2011, I must learn to use (efficiently) as much technology as I have available to me. That being said, we have MIMIO, screen projectors, and computer labs available at my school. I dream of the day that each student will have a tablet to use during class. It is funny that teacher once complained that students would try to text during class; we then complained that students would use laptops during class; before we could even ask for those technologies, laptops are a thing of the old and tablets are the new--we didn't get to use any of them.

The biggest hurdle we have in public schools regarding technology is the lack of funding. It seems that when money is available (and in Indiana it isn't), it is more readily used in extra-curriculars instead of for new technologies that would enhance learning. I know that if the money were available, my school would do its best to make and use new technologies. Of course there would be the problem of training and teaching the teachers how to use the new stuff, but that would be a welcome problem.

"Fear not," is a philosophy that is rooted deep in my religious beliefs. Because of this, I must be willing to tackle any and all new obstacles that I may face in the task of education. I am beginning a new class that will enable me to embrace change and learn the many advantages to using technology. I hope to use my new knowledge to assist my students in their educational endeavors.