The first post of 2011

Hello Folks,

Today is my brother's "Bubba's" birthday---I'm not going to say how old he is but he is a little younger than me.

He doesn't want gifts and no time for birthday doin's, but I did swing by with a birthday card that I think will make him laugh.

Got to his house and he and the wife were taking down all the Christmas decorations---well of course it was time.

Traditionally one needs to take down the decorations by Epithany or the 12th day after Christmas. Some people call that Little Christmas or 3 Kings Day, according to myth (and I have to use the word "Myth") that is when the 3 wise guys came and honored baby Jesus.

Now of course if you look at the time line it seems that would have been a bit hard, because 3 days after Christmas is "Holy Innocents" Day to honor the slaughter of those children that were killed on the Order of King Herod. So you have Dec 25---Christmas, Dec.28---Holy Innoncents, then Jan 1---as when He was presented in the Temple, and then either Jan 6 or 7 when the 3 kings visited----so having Holy Innoncents day is out of sequence if Mary and Joseph had to get out of town to avoid having Jesus killed.

At least I use to think that was a bit wrong, but my Granny use to tell me that the Church choose that day to remind children and adults that not everyone and not every child has or had a wonderful life, so it was only right and fitting to remember the innocent who were slaughtered.

And considering how the world is going it makes even more sense now.

Well anyway it's Bubba's birthday, and he said that he and the wife were going to celebrate by taking down the decorations carefully and putting everything away carefully. Looking over what was still good and what had deterated, like the Christmas lights--those wires do get broken all the time.

To him it is more symbolic that the new year has started than New Year's Eve, which makes sense to me.

And as for new year's resolutions---I keep repeating the same one each year, to get better organized and try to enjoy myself, I'm getting there. Bit by Bit.

For some reason these Holidays, Christmas, New Years, Epithany, Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving are far more symbolic and important to me than Martin Luther King day, Presidents day, Memorial Day, 4th of July, Flag Day, Patriots Day, Cesar Chavez Day (has that one been created?).

Now why is that? Well look at the first set, those are days of getting together with family and friends of the celebration of life, and yeah religious in it's own way even if Thanksgiving was created by Presidential proclamation but it does have religious over tones.

But the other days are memorials for other reasons---and are more secular. I never remember any celebration that occured on those secular days, but I sure remember events that occured on the religious ones' because Family was involved.

And that's the difference.

Gotta go, paperwork to organize and bills to pay.

Mean Kitty signing off with pen and checkbook in hand.