Category: Nonfiction

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Coffee and Contemplation: Yule/Yuletide

December 21 is the first day of Winter or the Winter Solstice. This is also celebrated as Yule. Yule is the final celebration for the Wheel of the Year and the cycle ends and begins again. This is also when the Holly King is celebrated during the peak of his power and reign over half the year. He will lose the battle to the Oak King who reigns over the other half of the year in the Spring. Yule celebrations involve bonfires, decorating with holly, mistletoe and the boughs of evergreen trees, ritual sacrifices, feasts, and gift-giving. I don’t recommend you participate in the sacrifices because I don’t recommend killing anything.

Many of the traditions of Yule were carried over into Christmas celebrations. The midwinter feast usually lasted 12 days (the 12 days of Christmas). Vikings decorated evergreen trees with gifts, food, and carvings (Christmas tree). In Norse tradition, Old Man Winter visited homes to join the festivities. Odin was described as a wanderer with a long white beard and is considered the first Father Christmas. These are a few examples and chances are many of you already celebrate Yule believing it’s Christmas. I think it’s time for the world to admit that Christmas has never been about Jesus. Also, let’s just call it Yule from now on.

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National Human Rights Month

December is National Human Rights Month. The goal is for everyone in the United States, and the world, to stand up for equality, justice, and the dignity of all humans. I would argue we do this for all living creatures too. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is an international document which states the rights and freedoms entitled to all human beings of any race, age, gender, sex, creed, religion, or ethnicity. It features a preamble and 30 articles of rights and freedoms. It was proclaimed on December 10, 1948 by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris.

This is a reminded to stand up against white supremacy and other organizations like them. This is a reminder to stop dehumanizing people. If you can’t care for others, at least don’t hurt them. This is a reminder to follow the golden rule. Treat others the way you want to be treated. This is also the main guideline for the Charter for Compassion. I recommend everyone read through these documents, the charter and the declaration. It’s the first step in changing the way most humans treat each other and other living things.

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Wacky Wednesday: December 16

The wackiness is a little light this week just as it was last week. Perhaps it’s all the holiday cheer making things less wacky. We have a couple interesting words to add to our arsenal of old English insults. Frist, we have Gowpenful-o’-anything. That’s a mouthful. This term refers to someone who is a medley of everything absurd. A gowpen is the bowl made when cupping one’s hands together. Our next word is Klazomaniac. It’s someone who is only capable of shouting. Some people are loud for no apparent reason. 

Our token food holiday today is a good one. National Chocolate Covered Anything Day means you can cover all your favorite things in chocolate. If you could cover anything in chocolate, what would it be? I recommend only covering food in chocolate for now. Some suggestions include bananas, orange wedges, and ice cream to name a few. Our final holiday is one parents will love. Barbie and Barney Backlash Day is a day for parents to say no to annoying children shows and sing-a-longs or choose to read a different story at bedtime.

The day gets its name from the Barbie Doll and from the show “Barney and Friends” about a purple dinosaur. Often children will want to watch the same show over and over again and this day is for parents to take a break from the many different kids shows out there. I worked in a movie theater for a few years. When I’d clean the auditorium after a children’s film rated G or PG, sometimes I’d find small empty liquor bottles. Parents, this is your day to stop the madness if only for one day. Good luck out there and eat lots of chocolate things today.