 "The Holidays"
Michael Costin
When I was growing up we never actually referred to this time of year as "the holidays". We, sort of thought about Halloween…simply because it existed in its strange sort of way…but never really got all that worked up over it. Mainly, to us, Halloween meant that Thanksgiving was just around the corner and after Thanksgiving…came the big one… Christmas…followed by the one night of the year we could stay up for a real, valid reason…to watch the new year come in. (Of course most of the time I fell asleep long before the old year ended and the new one arrived. Funny thing about that…I could never tell the difference.)
Stores didn’t actually have a lot in stock regarding Halloween. You could find masks and a few, cheap children’s costumes at the local "five and dime". Of course, there are no more five and dimes around anymore. And today…Halloween retail sales approach gross revenues nearly equaling that of Christmas. Go figure!
Halloween has emerged from an obscure, little holiday…where you marched your kids from neighbor to neighbor gathering up candy (safe and without worry) to more of a holiday event for adults to head out and get plastered. And, of course to march the kids around from place to place…and then have the candy x-rayed to make sure there is nothing that will harm them. Sort of fits right in to the whole concept of the original "all hallows eve".
And then there is Thanksgiving, the origins of which has nothing to do with the Pilgrims. In fact, Thanksgiving wasn’t a holiday until the 19th century. Yet, when you get past the Pilgrim thing, it is a wonderful day to force the entire family to get together and stuff themselves with more food than possible. As for my family, Thanksgiving was always a most stressful holiday since I worked for the Dallas Cowboys for over twenty-five years…who always played on Thanksgiving Day. This meant that I got to eat Thanksgiving lunch prior to the football game…eat Thanksgiving dinner after the game…wait for the parking lot to empty and wind up pretending that I was starved and eat a third Thanksgiving meal somewhere around 8pm. And the family gave just as much effort trying to keep a happy face while they waited 14 hours to eat their Thanksgiving meal. Tiring isn’t it.
Then Christmas arrives in all its retail glory. In my lifetime, Christmas has gone from a simple holiday about the birth of Christ and night where Santa dropped off a few gifts for the family…to the biggest orgy of buying in the history of man kind. The name Christmas refers to Christ and as such currently many people wanting to call it "The Holiday Season" rather than Christmas. Which is the main point to all of this rambling in the first place.
Okay…so what if Thanksgiving really does not have anything to do with the Pilgrims. You don ‘t hear anybody all up in arms to change the name of this holiday! And yes, over the years, Santa has become a very primary figure in the Christmas event…even though the holiday is Christian in nature and celebrates the birth of Christ…even though we know that his birth was not in the middle of winter. But who really cares about any of that in the first place. It seems that a few people have decided that the name (Christmas) insults other people’s religious beliefs and feelings. I say, "Bah, humbug" to those people!
What we should care about is the fact that the ridiculous Halloween holiday…based on dead spirits rising and such hasn’t really stirred up too much in the overly politically correct American society of today. Hmmm? But have a holiday based on Christ’s name…and oh boy…we cannot have that…it might upset somebody!
I say…who cares if it does! I believe this is still the "land of the free and the home of the brave"…not…"the land of the free and the home of the brave just as long as nobody gets their feelings hurt and just as long as everybody living within our borders has an equal opportunity to be heard".
There are a lot of holidays, with their own names that refer to their own religions and such. You don’t hear anybody claiming politically correct snobbery about them.
So if you don’t like the name Christmas…who cares. It’s obviously not your "holiday"…and just because such…don’t try to change the name of my holiday….which is named Christmas!
And who is it that is responsible for all of this politically correct stuff to begin with? I think it is the same three or four people that used to come over to play and told the entire "gang", "play and do things my way or I am going home".
Know what… you can go home now. Ha!
Thanksgiving Holiday History
 The first Thanksgiving was observed in 1621 by a group English settlers.
Rather than suffer persecution for their religious beliefs, a small group of people escaped to Holland where they lived for twelve years. While in exile, they decided to emigrate to the new land. In July of 1620, forty six "Saints" started their journey to America. They stopped in their native land to pick up other English emigrants before embarking on their long journey aboard the Mayflower. On November 11, 1621, they arrived and settled an area of present day Massachusetts in an abandoned Indian village called Patuxet. The village had been abandoned three years earlier because of plague.
Their late arrival, harsh winter, and lack of food caused great hardship. Squanto, a previous inhabitant of Patuxet and former slave in Spain, quickly befriended them and lived with them until his death. His knowledge of agriculture, hunting, and construction was a Godsend to these humble people. The following November, they celebrated a Thanksgiving for their arrival and bounty in the new land. Other local native Americans, the Wampanoags, joined in the festivities by bringing additional food and playing games with the settlers.
On June 20, 1676, the governing council of Charlestown, Massachusetts, held a meeting to determine how best to express thanks for the good fortune that had seen their community securely established. By unamimous vote they instructed Edward Rawson, the clerk, to proclaim June 29 as a day of thanksgiving, our first.
Thanksgiving was erratically recognized until 1827 when Sarah Joseph Hale started a campaign to make it a national holiday. She was the editor of the Boston's Ladies Magazine at the time.
 Finally at her persistence, Abraham Lincoln proclaimed it a national holiday in on October 3, 1863. He set the date as the last Thursday in November.
Christmas History
 Okay…so I know it is no longer politically correct to really like Christmas.
But…if you have ever read anything I have written…then you know that never stopped me! I think Christmas is cool! Oh, I know other religions have holidays, and yes the Christian holiday of Christmas has become more of a retail holiday revolving around some type of weird Christ/Santa combination thing. (But we will not go into that)
Like I was saying, before I distracted myself…"I love everything about Christmas…the lights…the songs, the time of the year (even though we know it really wasn’t the time of the year that Christ was born…I don’t know…do you think Christmas would be as cool as it is if we celebrated it in spring? So much for Jingle Bells, dashing through the snow, North Pole and all that winter stuff.)
What I really miss about Christmas is being a kid! "Back in the day", when I was a kid….Department stores (something else we no longer have) would always have their sidewalk windows filled with magical scenes of Christmas motion (Joskeys in San Antonio always comes to mind). Inside the store would be an area where they had set up the Christmas scene room. This room, or area, almost always contained a massive train set that rambled through scaled mountains and scenes and cities and almost always lead you right into Santa’s room. Oh how I could stand there and stare at those miniature Christmas scenes and allow my mind to wander and explore.
When we got back home from doing the "Downtown Christmas Scene Tour" we would sit around a fire and drink drinks that I could never spell…and never saw again until next Christmas.
Today? Well we still get the Christmas lights on homes. But we no longer have retail stores that line busy downtown streets with windows filled with animated Christmas "magic" scenes. And as for Santa? Well, today they stick him out in the hall in the middle of a mall and hit you up for $50 dollars in photos. Some places (now) even charge just to let you sit on Santa’s lap.
Okay…admittedly Christmas isn’t what it used to be. But…it still kicks "holiday butt" (as holidays go)!
The following is an actual history about Christmas
Like many other ancient holidays, Christmas observance is a conglomeration of several other festivals. To early Christians, it commemorates the birth of the Christ Child. However, in scripture (The Gospel of Luke 2), there is no mention of a date but rather events that indicate his birth was most likely in another season. Among scholars, it is readily accepted that December 25 was not the birthday of Christ.
The Romans celebrated the Birthday of the Unconquerable Son (Natalis Solis Invicti) just after the winter solstice. This feast was in honor of Mithras, a Persian deity of the Sun. Furthermore the Romans had long celebrated the ancient feast of Saturnalia, a period of gaiety and jubilation. The Christians didn't want to participate in pagan practice and rejected Mithriasm. The Romans, in part to bring together the two factions, a compromise celebration was created on December 25.
In parts of western Europe, many celebrated a winter feast during which they decorated their houses with greenry and candles, exchanged gifts, and had large feasts. As Romans conquered other parts of Europe and propagated Christianity, they assimilated other local holiday practices into the Christmas celebration.
Today the practices associated with Christmas are likewise a conglomeration of different traditions from many different origins. Santa Claus, Carols, St. Nicholas, Yule Logs, Candles, Holly, Reindeer, Colored Lights, Christmas Cards, Christmas Trees, etc. all have different roots which are now blended into a single new tradition. Elements from just about every culture are represented in some way which is perhaps a reason for the holiday's popularity today.
In 1836, Alabama officially recognized Christmas as a holiday. By 1890, all other states had done likewise.
A Christmas Story
 It was back in the fifties, and I was just a kid.
We were up from San Antonio Texas visiting my father’s sister in Midlothian. At the time, a very sleepy little country town. The drive "up" took around six or seven hours. My mother and I would amuse ourselves with such "road games" as I spy and reading those funny little road signs that people would put up on fences about a mile apart….A week without food….equals…..one weak.
The travel up from San Antonio was much more visual than it is today on Hiway 35…one of the busiest thoroughfares in America. Hiway 35 was a two lane road. My father always refereed to it as the "only road in Texas with good concrete. And back before the days of power brakes and power steering…good roads were something to be desired.
The Christmas drive up of 1958 was unusual because of the never ending frost and patches of snow on the ground from about Austin on up. If you have grown up in Texas or lived there very long…then you know how odd it is to see snow and ice in south Texas. As a five year old boy…this was magical. It was the first time I had ever seen snow or ice. I wanted to lay down in the back seat and take a nap, but was afraid that if I did such, and woke back up, that the magical scenery would have vanished.
We arrived at my Aunt and Uncle’s house late that evening, well after dark. I was ushered off to the extra bed in my cousin Sam’s room. The next morning, Christmas Eve, we all sat down at the dining table for a wonderful breakfast of scrambled eggs, fresh cut bacon, buttered grits, oatmeal, homemade jam and bread. Even as a kid I loved breakfast. I think it was because of the wonderful smells that journey through the house that you awaken to.
As soon as we finished eating, my cousin Kim (Sam’s big sister…who was my age) and I grabbed our coats and headed outside to play in the snow which was a whopping "2 inches deep". To us…it was like living in one of the Christmas books our mothers read to us…it was wonderful. "Gee…let’s make a snowman". Well…about an hour went by and our "snowman" looked pretty worthless. But, we stuck a stick and a couple of acorns on it face…and it was our pathetic snowman nonetheless.
We took a walk up to the city park, which was only a block or two from their house. The special thing about the park was the huge gazebo. (I went back to that gazebo many years later. Funny how things seem to big when you’re a kid) We loved to play on that old gazebo. It was a fort…or a castle…maybe even a sailing ship. It was Christmas…we were children…it could be anything we wanted it to be!
As we walked back to house, Kim asked me what I had "asked Santa for Christmas". Asked Santa I replied…what do you mean "asked Santa"….mother just leaves a note for him under the Christmas tree and…well you know". "Oh", Kim replied, "Up here we go and see Santa in person and tell him what we want for Christmas".
Go and see Santa in person! You could actually go and see Santa in person! Such a thought had never occurred to me. I began running back to the house…"Hey, wait up", yelled Kim, "What’s the hurry"?
The front door of the house burst open…"Mom…dad…we have to go and see Santa…now". "Now wait a moment there son", replied my father, "I am afraid that Santa is back at the North Pole getting ready for his long ride tonight all around the world". My heart sank. It was indeed the lowest point in my five whole years of life. How on earth would Santa know what I wanted?
Then, like a voice from an angel, "Well I hear that there is a Santa’s helper at the shopping center in Dallas…all day today", said my aunt. My father knew when he was "whipped"…so my mother and father and Kim and Sam and my aunt and I loaded into the car and headed off to Dallas…which in those days was a bit of a trip from Midlothian.
Kim and I could hardly believe it…we were going to get to see Santa…well at least Santa’s helper…on Christmas Eve. This was truly a magical Christmas after all.
The trip to Dallas took about an hour. When we arrived at the shopping center, surprisingly there was little to no line. Who would have figured such. Certainly not me! We entered the store…walked past merchandise…turned a corner…and there he was…Santa Clause! Funny how Santa’s helper looked just like Santa Clause?
As we got closer, one of the elves asked my mother if she wanted a picture taken of me with Santa? Oh my head reeled…what(?)…a photo of me with Santa(?)…who would have thought it! My mother replied, "Well I guess a photo with Santa will be just fine". (Truly a magical Christmas)
The moment came when we had approached the entrance to Santa’s gate…"Come on over here" he stated (curious how Santa’s helper had a country, Texas accent). I sat on his knee…my world was turning with excitement. Sitting on Santa’s knee…on Christmas Eve…with snow on the ground outside. Man!
I want a red fire truck with a hook and ladder on it…(my list seemed endless…but you had to go for the gusto…after all…I was sitting on Santa’s knee) I suppose that Kim got to sit on Santa’s knee too…but honestly the rest of that day was just a blur to me. Santa’s knee…man!
It was, now, later that evening. We had gotten back to my aunt and uncle’s house and finished dinner. We had sat around the fireplace and sang Christmas songs for about an hour. I my father had a wonderful singing voice, as did my aunt. But, Kim and I were getting sleepy. I had been a very long day indeed.
So we slipped into our jammies, gave everybody a kiss goodnight…and were ushered off to bed. Shortly after the lights were turned off…I heard the bedroom door open. It was Kim…she (like me) was too excited to go to sleep. So we sat there and talked about what we had asked Santa for Christmas. She told me that she was glad we had gone…since she had thought of a few more things to ask him since the first time she visited him.
Christmas morning arrived. I threw of the bed covers and got Kim out of her bed…we ran through the house and there it was...Christmas under the tree. Christmas lights all lit up…reflecting off the shiny bows and ribbons and wrapping papers. It was almost too much for a person to bare!
We ran to open our loot. Hmmm….did I get that red fire truck with a hook and ladder on it? What do you think?
Fruit Cakes
 Fruit Cakes
Here is a brief history of the fruitcake. I have no idea why we give away these horrible cakes filled with "fruits" that (frankly) most of us have never seen before. Manmade fruits that are horrible tasting, gummy in texture and colored in ways that (honestly) are the primary reason each year that I actually start a new "diet season" and cut back on my food consumption.
Whenever I get a fruitcake from somebody ….I generally know that I have been placed on their "crap list of friends". Sort of their way of saying, "Here is something horrible….you ticked me off…I think you are a stinker…you need to make up with me or I will send you another fruit cake".
Hey…I get your point…I will be right over….please forgive me…just don’t send me another fruit cake! PLEASE!
Well, everybody needs a good doorstop don’t they. Anyway, I thought you might like to know where the fruitcake came from…this would be because you have nothing going on in your life and such questions pop into your head late at night and weekends when you have nothing to do and nobody to do them with.
History
Fruitcakes are holiday and wedding cakes which have a very heavy fruit content. They require special handling and baking to obtain successful results. The name "fruitcake" can be traced back only as far as the Middle Ages. It is formed from a combination of the Latin fructus, and French frui or frug.
The oldest reference that can be found regarding a fruitcake dates back to Roman times. The recipe included pomegranate seeds. Pine nuts, and raisins that were mixed into barley mash. Honey, spices, and preserved fruits were added during the Middle Ages. Crusaders and hunters were reported to have carried this type of cake to sustain themselves over long periods of time away from home.
1400s - The British began their love affair with fruitcake when dried fruits from the Mediterranean first arrived.
1700s - In Europe, a ceremonial type of fruitcake was baked at the end of the nut harvest and saved and eaten the next year to celebrate the beginning of the next harvest, hoping it will bring them another successful harvest. After the harvest, nuts were mixed and made into a fruitcake that was saved until the following year. At that time, previous year's fruitcakes were consumed in the hope that its symbolism would bring the blessing of another successful harvest. Okay...was that "the previous year's fruitcakes"? So these horrible little cakes are so wacked that they could survive a year (no frig or freezer back then) and still be eaten? So what they are saying here is that you could not tell the difference between a freshly cooked fruitcake and one that was a year old!
In the early 18th century, fruitcake (called plum cakes) was outlawed entirely throughout Continental Europe. These cakes were considered as "sinfully rich." By the end of the 18th century there were laws restricting the use of plum cake. Lord...what happened to that law?
Between 1837 and 1901, fruitcake was extremely popular. A Victorian "Tea" would not have been complete without the addition of the fruitcake to the sweet and savory spread. Queen Victoria is said to have waited a year to eat a fruitcake she received for her birthday because she felt it showed restraint, moderation and good taste. Now we know the real reason why the British Empire came to an end.
It was the custom in England for unmarried wedding guests to put a slice of the cake, traditionally a dark fruitcake, under their pillow at night so they will dream of the person they will marry.
Okay...now you guys have a real reason to not get married...or at the very least stay away from weddings while you are single!
Yummy, Yummy!
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