All Hallows Eve
At it's core, it is a _______ celebration
Harvest
When is Thanksgiving?
Why is it that day/date?
4th Thursday in Nov.
President Lincoln declared it, originally. Intent on Thursday so as to not interfere with Shabbat/Sabbath/other holidays
What Does X-Mas mark?
Is this date a good date?
Jesus' Birth, Not at all!
(in Swahili) 'First Fruits'
'Asanta Sana - Tutu Anana'
Kwanzaa
'Thank you very much' Response: 'we will see each other again' Or 'You are a baboon.. and I am not!' (ref: The Lion King)
Another Easy One:
Tell me about the colors
Yellows, Oranges & Reds are colors of the season
Why Turkey?
- easy, cheap to raise (pig too - but not for Thanksgiving)
- no milk (cows), or eggs (chickens)
- cost, community, 'feasting', became a bigger element with the incorporation of literature (ie; Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol')
Does Hanukkah and/or Kwanzaa have anything to do with X-Mas?
Not A Bit!
Not Even The Gifts of Hanukkah! That's because of jealous, petty, immature, Jewish children whining that their friends were getting gifts
- Symbolism is similar; like Candles, a Warm Light to Guide You Through the Cold, Dark, Winter Months
Participants make an 'offering' (an Ofrenda) which include foods, flowers, smells, pictures and other memories of their passed loved ones
Dia De Los Muertos
Little Tougher:
What's with the Sheets as Ghosts thing!?
The Universe has moments of alignment - things seems to happen
It's timing - The Veil - long ago was seen as a creepy time of year; one which could signal your end [if your harvest failed, for instance] and such, myth became acted upon to remember long-lost family members. It was believed that they 'walked among us' as a warning and more. So, to hide from the Ghosts, people started dressing as Ghosts ... wearing sheets in the streets to mingle with the dead who had risen, to maybe catch a long-lost relative and more ...
Did Thanksgiving ever happen between Columbus & Natives?
Bonus: What was his designation? What do we call Columbus (not explorer)?
Haha! Nope!
- Conquistador; Conquerer
The Grinch's Origin ...
Dr. Seuss
- Grumpy, lonely, anti-commercialism or anti-[insert] ... around X-Mas but who grows or learns to love [it]
- Krampus: Pagan, pre-christian, devil-ish, scare-tactics towards children to 'be good' and more ...
Humans Do This. What is it?
- Expose their most vulnerable parts - the portions of their bodies which, if struck (hit), that person would be mortally wounded (killed)
Where from? Associated with All Hallows Eve?
- Hamlet, Shakespeare
- Nope!
...but we get our myths of young ladies, dancing around a large cauldron of soup [or something] and often the ladies are naked and in the woods...
Blah! Teens breaking with their normal, boring lives, by trying something new with their teen friends. Not even witches!
Benjamin Franklin suggested a different bird - NOT the Eagle - to be our National Bird. What bird did he suggest?
Turkey
Bonus: Why?
- Eagles are Hunters & Scavengers. They will hunt live food and eat already dead food (called 'Carion')
- Have you ever seen an Eagle's claw/talons? It is designated as a member of the Raptor family (Bird of Prey)
- Eagles are nasty! They will steal young from their nest; they will pick up a dog or cat; they will steal an egg from another's nest; they will scare away and dominate other animals while they pick at dead carcasses
St. Nicholas?
Patron Saint of Children, Sailor, Bakers, Students, Wrongfully-Accused and more . . .
... but, The Bishop Nicholas after-whom it is named (Sainthood comes after death, usually) was renowned for giving, charity, gifts, wealth, food, especially to children and children who were poor ...
...Hence modern Santa Clause
- English would give 'Boxes' of leftovers to their servants and give them the day off
- (unconfirmed) Some federal workers in England - even the Army - has the tradition of Trading Positions/Ranks for the day. It is meant to teach responsibility vs. entitlement
- Also called St. Stephens' Day
The Day After X-mas is referred to as Boxing Day, in England (different traditions, but traced to 1100s)
What is the Jewish Celebration?
What is the significance of [Insert Harvest Festival Here]?
No! It's Not Death! Don't Give Me That Answer!
Life! L'Chaim!
- Sukkot
- This is the time to celebrate your amazing, life-preserving harvest of starchy vegetables, fatty meats and oils, salt, belly-filling and sustaining foods.
Columbus:
- Where was he from?
- Who financed his journey?
- What year?
- Something else is happening in [____&____] at this time - in fact, historical records show the date he and his 3 ships left was the date that (HINT) THAT JEWS WERE FORCED TO CONVERT OR LEAVE!!
- Italy
- Queen Isabella & King Ferdinand (Spain)
- 1492
- Spanish Inquisition
There is an old Germanic Folk Tale about Frau/Mother Hulda
She wears a white dress, as she flies around during the fall season. She slides down sooty chimneys and punishes children via a lump of coal Or rewards them by eating their offering of Sausage & Broccoli. She gained the reputation of being a witch by her dirtied dress but she really is the etymology for ....... ?
This is a version of Santa [St. Nicholas] but older. Santa is a new mythology character. That dude's sleigh is just barely 100 years old! C'mon Rudolph! You got more years in you!
'Kick Me'
- Is a joke, which has come from a different game of trying to pin THIS to somebody's back
1500s - French Poem
'April Fish' refers to a young fish, just hatched, which does not know any better, so it gets caught swiftly and therefore is a 'Fool' so to pin a cut-out Fish onto somebody's back would be to call them out as a Fool or a [young, naive] Fish