Tag: contemplation

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Coffee and Contemplation: Saint Nicholas Day

Saint Nicholas Day is celebrated worldwide on December 6, the anniversary of the death of a third-century saint known as Saint Nicholas. He is the inspiration of the modern-day Santa Claus but don’t confuse this celebration with Christmas. Though they have similarities, the tradition of leaving gifts in stockings or shoes is believed to have been started by Saint Nicholas and later incorporated into Christmas. St. Nicholas is known for selling all his possessions and giving his money to the poor. Raised as a devout Christian, St. Nicholas dedicated his whole life to serving the sick and suffering. 

Sailors, travelers, clergy, school children, and thieves, to name a few, all claim Saint Nicholas as their patron saint. He was born in what is now modern-day Turkey. This holiday is sometimes called the Feast of Saint Nicholas. This is the day to offer small, meaningful gifts. These could be candy, chocolate, or even a note to someone special. It need not be something elaborate. Start the holidays early with little mini gifts tonight. I’m down for this idea of a feast. Thanksgiving was recent but I’m hungry again. Perhaps that’s what I’ll start calling Thanksgiving from now on. The US celebrates the Feast of Saint Nicholas a couple weeks early. That sounds like an easy way to explain to foreigners what Thanksgiving is all about.

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Coffee and Contemplation: Family Stories Month

Oral tradition has been part of society since humans could utter a string of sounds with different meanings. Family Stories Month is a continuation of that but focused on one’s family. I don’t have many fun stories of my family, but I did recently have my DNA tested by Ancestry.com. It started a little weird because it first said there was a lot of Spanish ancestry. There were many people like me who had Spanish or Portuguese ancestry who later did not. Some of those people like me then had Irish and Scottish ancestry. To sum it up, I think lots of people in Europe were having lots of sex in other countries.

The DNA results on Ancestry keep changing, not because of mistakes, but because their science keeps getting better. It’s possible the numbers I’m about to share will change in the future, but for now this is what it says. 41% English and Northwestern Europe. Most of that coming from North Yorkshire and Lincolnshire according to Ancestry. 27% Scottish. 13% European Jewish. 10% Irish. 8% Norwegian. 1% Swedish. Many of my ancestors settled in the Missouri Ozarks and East Tennessee. I knew I had family in East Tennessee, so this was no surprise. I still claim some Hispanic ancestry but it’s more likely I’d be called Black Irish.

It was fun getting my DNA tested and seeing what components make up who I am. I’ll call myself a Jewish Viking from Scotland. That’s got a nice ring to it. There are other websites that took the information from my Ancestry DNA and took it a step further and listed the ancestors from the time of the Dark Ages and before. That was a fun history lesson I don’t want to get into at the moment. Anyway, that’s some fun family history of mine. Tell me about yours if you know it.

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Coffee and Contemplation: I’m Tired

I had a different post planned for this weekend, but I’ve fallen behind on things. Mostly I’m tired. I’ve been getting extra work, which is good during the ongoing pandemic, but it leaves me exhausted by the end of the day. I’ve finished a few more chapters for my novel and hope to have the first draft finished by the end of the year. But I want a break. I need some time away from my blog and away from work. I don’t want to stop the momentum, but I need to relax too. Maybe I’ll feel better if I just sleep for two whole days.

This is only a rant about my exhaustion. There’s nothing exciting happening with the blog today. I’m drinking coffee and wishing I had fewer things to do. I’m working Thanksgiving. I’m getting paid time and a half which is the only reason I’m doing it. But a little time off to rest is needed. Perhaps I need a massage. I’ve never had one of those before. We’ll see where the week takes me.