Holiday Gifts & Gift Baskets Blog

Archive for the ‘Holiday Sentiments’ Category

A homemade gift is a great way to let someone know you are thinking of them. My favorite homemade gift is a jar mix – from cookies to soups – the possibilities are endless! Jar Mixes make great gifts for teachers, your child’s bus driver, the postal worker who delivers your mail . . . anyone!

The most common jar to use is a canning jar (also called a Mason jar). Before filling your jars, wash them thoroughly and make sure they are completely dry before adding ingredients. Each jar will be filled with only the dry ingredients. Using a small funnel or a rolled up piece of paper can help with getting the layers to lay just right (don’t tip the jar while filling). To pack down your layers, a great item to use is a tart tamper. Other things that may work is a small ladle, a spoon, mallet or spatula.

You may want to decorate your jar before filling. If the jar is filled to the top so that the contents don’t move much, then decorating afterward is fine too. One of most important parts of your jar is the Mixing/Baking instructions. You can attach this with a ribbon to your lid or glue it to the jar itself. You can have fun with this too! Use stamps or stencils to create a one-of-a-kind label. You can also use your computer to personalize your instruction labels and print them on sticker paper.

Here is one recipe to get you started!

Decadent Brownie Jar Mix Instructions

Jar Ingredients:

* 1 cup all-purpose flour
* 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1-1/2 cups sugar
* 1/3 cup HERSHEY’S SPECIAL DARK Cocoa
* 1 cup REESE’S Peanut Butter Chips or HERSHEY’S Premier White Chips
* 1/2 cup HERSHEY’S Mini Chips Semi-Sweet Chocolate

Filling the Jar:
First stir together flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Layer the ingredients in a 1-quart glass canister or jar in the following order (from bottom to top): sugar, cocoa, flour mixture, peanut butter chips and small chocolate chips. Tap jar gently on the counter to settle each layer before adding the next one.

Instructions to attach to jar:

1. Heat oven to 350 F.
2. Grease and flour an 8×8x2-inch baking pan.
3. Combine 1/2 cup (1 stick) melted and cooled butter and 2 slightly beaten eggs in a large bowl.
4. Gently stir in jar contents.
5. Spread in prepared pan.
6. Bake for 35 minutes.
7. Cool in pan. Cut into bars.

Makes 16 Bars

So most of us know what happens during Valentine’s Day in the United States – sending cards, Valentine chocolates and candlelit dinners.  But what does the rest of the world do during Valentine’s Day?  Below are just a few examples of festivities going on around the world.

Wales – A long-held tradition of giving Welsh Love spoons to ones lover still occurs on Valentine’s Day. The wooden spoons are intricately  carved with symbols representing a wide range of emotions intended to convey the givers feelings. Some of the symbol meanings are: Heart – Love, Horseshoe – Good Luck, Celtic Knot – Eternal Love, Twisted Stem – Two Lives Become One and
Birds – Love Birds or Let’s Go Away Together.

Japan – The traditional gift given on Valentine’s Day in Japan is chocolate, but great care is taken to make sure that the correct type of chocolate is given because there are two types – one suitable for friends and one for lovers.  Giri choco or obligatory chocolate is given by women to their male friends, co-workers and superiors. Honmei choco is chocolate given to the man that a girl is truly interested in or serious about.

Brazil - Brazil does not celebrate Valentine’s Day on the 14th of February. Brazilians celebrate the Dia dos Namorados (Day of the Enamored) on June 12th.  The day is is celebrated in colorful style with festivals and dancing. It is also on this day that couples exchange gifts or give flowers and cards to one another.

Mexico – The most prevalent Valentine’s Day tradition in Mexico is to exchange gifts in a secret way. The men of Mexico have another special way of showing their affection to the one they love. In the evening, they show up at the home of their girlfriend with a mariachi band or trio of singers who serenade the girl with 2 or 3 romantic songs while standing beneath her window.

10 Ways To Say I Love You

In common languages of the world!

Arabic – Ana behibak (to male)
Arabic – Ana behibek (to female)
Chinese Cantonese – Ngo oiy ney a
Chinese Mandarin – Wo ai ni
French – Je t’aime, Je t’adore
German – Ich liebe dich
Italian – Ti amo
Japanese – Aishiteru or Anata ga daisuki desu
Russian – Ya tebya liubliu
Spanish – Te quiero / Te amo

My family has a long history of participation in the armed forces – my dad, grandpa, great-grandpas and countless uncles and cousins served in the Army, Navy and Marines.  My dad’s best friend is currently being cared for at a VA hospital because of injuries he sustained while serving as a Green Beret in Vietnam.  I’m very proud of the military heritage in my family, and I’m grateful for the soldiers that defend my freedom every day.

Although it’s not a widely celebrated holiday (except for those who are lucky enough to have the day off from work), Veterans Day holds great meaning for me.  It’s a day where I reflect on family memories (Grandpa loves to tell the story of how he celebrated the end of WWII at the top of the Eiffel Tower), I stop to say a short prayer for those who are fighting overseas, and I explain to my children why there are some soldiers away from their families in order for us to keep the luxuries that we have.

To cheer up my dad’s friend in the hospital, and to thank him for his dedicated service that came with life-altering results, I’m sending him this patriotic mug filled with sugar-free cookies.  The cookies are acceptable for his restricted diet, and the mug will be great for his morning coffee!  I’m having the gift shipped to me since dad and I will be visiting Jerry on Veterans Day – I’ll be able to hand deliver the gift and see his reaction!  That will be a perfect addition to my personal Veterans Day ritual.

When I was a boy, Christmas was a time of great rejoicing and hilarity. It was kept up for twelve days, during which there was ball-playing, wrestling matches and games of various kinds. In every house was placed on the table a decanter of rum with a very large sweet cake, baked in a Dutch oven or a large iron bake-pot. Those who could afford it, in addition to rum, had also gin, brandy and wine placed on the table. All visitors were expected to help themselves.

Then there were the mummers – those who went around by day and those who went around by night. The day mummers – the men had white shirts over their clothes, trimmed with ribbons, with fanciful hats. Each man had a partner – a man dressed in women’s clothes. Into whatever house they entered they recited their lessons, ate and drank, had a dance, their own fiddler playing the tunes. The night mummers were dressed in the most grotesque manner: some with humpbacks, cow hides and horns projecting, with hobby-horses, small bags of flour, which they used to throw over their followers. Then there were the boy mummers, who went around day and night. On two Christmases I had John Bemister as a partner. He acted as the Duke of Wellington, and I personated Oliver Cromwell.  

Isis was creatrix, protectress, healer, and deliverer from suffering. She also offered the promise and hope of rebirth and rejuvenation, and this seems to be at the core of her rituals. Initiation into the cult of Isis in antiquity was a mysterious process, and we know very little since the steps to conversion were private and guarded, rarely spoken about, just as the Eleusinian rites to Ceres were. Apuleius does give us a glimmer of the magic moment in which he was reborn: “I underwent a near death experience as I descended to the underworld ruled by Persephone. Yet I returned. It was midnight, yet I saw the sun shining in all of its majesty. I touched the gods below and the gods above. I stood next to them. I worshiped them…. I was born again”.

Indeed, this is a very powerful statement describing a very personal moment of enlightenment and union with the divine. Isis promised rebirth and salvation to those who believed. During the Isia, on a special day called the “Finding of Osiris,” worshipers reenacted the myth of Isis and Osiris, sharing the grief and the joy of Isis searching for the body of Osiris and finally finding it and embalming it. They shouted in unison, “Heurekamen, synchairomen,” “We have found! We rejoice together!” It is also said that in one rite during the Isia worshipers gathered in a darkened room and mourned over a prone statue of Osiris. During the ritual, a light was carried into the room; a priest then anointed the throats of the mourners with oil and whispered, “Take heart, 0 Initiates, for the god is saved, and we shall have salvation”.

Hope and salvation from all of our troubles and suffering, overcoming our fear of death, and living a blessed life on earth are promises that resonate in all religions throughout the ages. These words of
Isis can find meaning for each of us especially during the dark and doubt-filled days of October, when the end of the year and darkness looms in the path ahead.

Modern Ritual of Promise and Hope: The Ship of
Isis

In antiquity, a yearly ritual to Isis was carried out on a beach or near water. A model ship was prepared. It was painted with sacred words and text, bearing a special message for the year’s prosperous journey. Worshipers gathered around the boat, first purifying it with flame, egg, and sulfur and chanting solemn prayers. They then piled it with small gifts, winnowing fans, perfumes, and incense and threw libations of milk mixed with grain into the water. The small ship was set adrift and allowed to sail away on its own, following its own course. Thus, the rite ended.

• Adapt this rite, adding your own very personal prayers and messages.
• Give a small offering to the goddess. remembering that she does not ask for riches or wealth, but commitment. In return she offers faith, hope, and love.
• Set your ship adrift upon the water to be guided by the goddess.

The Promise of
Isis

Behold. I come to you in your time of trouble. I come with solace and aid. Put an end to your crying and tears, send your sorrows away. Soon through my benevolence will the sun of salvation rise up. Listen to what I say with great care.

You will live a blessed life. You will have a glorious life under my care and guidance. When you have traveled your full length of time and go down unto death, there also. I will be beside you. You will see me shining on amidst the darkness.

Through your religious devotion and constant faith, you may learn that I have it within my power to prolong your life beyond the limits set to it by Fate. Through me, you may be reborn.

On October 17, 1878, Sir John A. Macdonald became prime minister of
Canada for the second time. In 1838 or 1839, Sir John served as the second in a duel and was dissuaded from fighting a duel of his own in 1849. Dueling has a long history:

• Judicial duels began in 6th-century
  Burgundy, as trial by combat to learn the “judgment of God.” As recently as 1817, an accused murderer in
  Britain had to be acquitted because he chose the right to “wage his battle” over trial by jury, and no one wanted to fight him.
• On the European continent, the challenger in a personal duel had the right to choose the weapons, usually swords or pistols. In English-speaking countries, the challenged party had this right. In r843, billiard balls were the weapons in a fatal duel fought in
  France.
• Duels were fought in New France as early as r646. The last recorded fight in what is now known as Canada took place in St. John’s in r873′ The death toll in the years between: at least nine in New France, two in Lower Canada, five in Upper Canada, two each in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, and one in Newfoundland.
• The last legal duel in Canada was fought on the campus of Dalhousie University in r8r6. Although such encounters were consiered a crime, Canadian juries consistently refused to convict duelists if they thought the fights had been fair.

My parents have been married for over forty years. I cannot judge whether it has been a satisfying marriage, but it has endured through moments of crisis and great pain and so, on some level, it has been a success. In trying to come to terms with my own marriage, I find myself looking back.

From my own observations (and without the benefit of statistically significant sampling or scientific inquiry), it seems that marriages of long duration have rituals that form the fabric of the relationship. As in my parents’ case, arguing is an important one.

I often think about the scene repeated year after year in my home during the Jewish holidays. On each holiday my mother and grandmother would spend a frenzied day completing the preparations for the evening meal – cooking and baking, seasoning and tasting, and seasoning yet again. Each holiday morning, as my father left for work, my mother would admonish him to come home early. That evening my father would invariably return an hour late with wilted flowers in hand, muttering about the terrible holiday traffic (which he seemed to regard as a completely unexpected development even though holiday traffic was bad every year).

My mother, of course, would be waiting at the door and, upon my father’s arrival, burst into a litany of angry complaints about the ruined meal-how she had worked all day to prepare a wonderful dinner and now the pot roast was overcooked and the vegetables were limp and, worst of all, the family would have to rush through the meal so my father could get to synagogue on time. He would invariably throw up his hands and, in turn, complain about how hard he worked and how my mother always gave him a hard time regardless of what he did. A few minutes later we would sit down to dinner, all the while assuring my mother that the food tasted just fine.

After watching this scene year after year, I finally asked why she just did not prepare a simpler meal or start cooking later in the day, since she knew my father always came home late on the holidays. (And on every other occasion, since my father, as optimistic about travel times as he is about every other aspect of his life, always assumed there would be clear roads and strong tailwinds.) She rebuked me for interfering in an area that was none of my concern and then pointedly informed me that she and my father enjoyed having this argument.

At the time I was puzzled by her response. After all, it did not look like they were enjoying themselves. Now, after more than a decade of being married, I think I understand. The Jewish holiday fight was a safety valve for them, an opportunity to vent their frustrations safely. Since it was, after all, a holiday, they had to make up quickly. Moreover, it had become a ritual for them and gave them a sense of continuity and comfort.

In my own marriage, our arguments have essentially the same theme, which, come to think of it, is not so different from my parents’. Wife to husband: “If you really loved me, you would be more sensitive to my needs (that is, share more of the household burden, give me more emotional support, and value what is important to me).” Husband to wife: “If you really loved me, you would appreciate me for who I am, stop expecting me to change, and stop nagging me.”

With a high degree of accuracy I can predict we will have this fight (in one variation or another) not on the Jewish holidays but on the first day of any vacation, on Mother’s Day (the unnatural reversal of roles creates tension in our house), and before we go out (my husband puts on his oldest clothes, I express outrage, he tells me I am a nag and then changes into something acceptable, something he probably intended to wear all along).

Not only do our arguments have the same theme, but like many other couples, I suspect, our arguments have certain parameters. Fighting is unacceptable in front of certain people-professional associates, in-laws, acquaintances, and even certain friends-and is certainly restrained (but, for better or worse, not avoided) in front of the children.

More important, although we have never acknowledged this to each other, there are certain things we will never say, even in the heat of battle, because we know instinctively that, once said, these words can never be forgiven. The forbidden words relate to those areas the other person is most acutely and painfully sensitive about, the words that, dagger-like, quickly and sharply pierce the heart.

Reflecting on thee highly structured, repetitive nature of our arguments, it seems that they actually strengthen our marriage, rather than weaken it. We can let off steam within accepted boundaries; in ways we know will not “rend us asunder.” We can secretly mouth the other’s expected rejoinders when we begin to argue, and we know when it is time to stop.

In the end, I suppose, what makes a marriage last is not how much you love the other person but how the marriage provides structure, comfort, and predictability in a world that is chaotic, uncontrollable, and profoundly indifferent.

On May 3, 1915, about 7 A.M., it was a bright spring morning near Poperinghe, Belgium – the first spring of the First World War. The sky was deep blue, the larks were singing and circling, and a gentle east wind was blowing the poppies about. Maj. John McCrae, a 42-year-old doctor/soldier with the Canadian Field Artillery, was sitting on the rear step of an ambulance, composing poetry. In about 20 minutes, he wrote “In Flanders Fields.” Some notes:

• The previous night, Major McCrae had buried his best friend, 25-year-old Lt. Alexis Helmer, who had been a medical student at McGill University when the poet was a professor of pathology. The young man, one of the brigade’s best-liked officers, had been blown to bits by an artillery shell the previous day. (He was buried under cover of darkness for fear of attracting more enemy fire.) The barrage of The Second Battle of Ypres was in its ninth day.
• As the poet wrote, Sgt. Maj. Cyril Allinson arrived on horseback, bringing mail and supplies from the rear. “I saw (Major McCrae) sitting on the ambulance step, a pad on his knee. He looked up as I approached but continued to write,” recalled Mr. Allinson, who was the first to read the work. “His face was very tired but calm as he wrote …. The poem was almost an exact description of the scene in front of us both.”
• Major McCrae (who had been promoted to lieutenantcolonel in 1914, though the news did not reach him until June I, 1915) made several copies of “In Flanders Fields,” with slight variations, and gave them to friends. He sent a copy to Punch magazine, which ran the poem on December 18, 1915, with no byline.
• The verses were reprinted around the world, but the author’s name was not known. By the time it was, Colonel .McCrae’s “perfect war poem” was famous. It has been called the bestknown Canadian poem.
• Colonel McCrae, who had been at the front from the beginning, was made consultant physician to the British 1^st Army in January 1918. Five days later, he was dead from pneumonia and a cerebral infection.
• “In Flanders Fields” was used in the first observance of Armistice Day in 1918, and this poem and poppies have been part of the November I I ceremonies since. “It never occurred to me at the time that it would ever be published,” Mr. Allinson admitted. “It seemed to me to be just an exact description of the scene.”

The older woman is respected in many cultures as the wise woman, the one to be revered whose advice and opinion is sought out by younger women. With the emphasis on youth in our own culture, this vital dimension of the older woman is often disregarded and ignored. As we each age, we must be mindful of the gifts that an older woman can offer. She can counsel with sage advice, she can lead and guide, and she can teach many of life’s lessons. It is equally important for the older woman herself, the crone, to feel valued, appreciated and powerful.

Hold up a mirror and look closely at your face. Take your time, and take a careful look. Come to see the inner strength that you possess. Acknowledge your wisdom, your love and your beauty. You have earned this respect, from others and from yourself.

The Agony of Struggle

The word “agony” connotes extreme pain and long suffering; mortal agony is the futile struggle that comes before death. The word agony stems from the ancient Greek word meaning “struggle.” The Greek word, however, also contained the sense of competition at philosophical debates, public issues, beauty contests, literary and musical events, and especially the athletic games. These contests pitting rival against rival were called agones - fights or struggles for supremacy, for survival and conquest. The most ancient agones were sacred competitions following funerals, especially of heroes or leaders, as Homer describes in the Iliad to honor the death of Patroc1es, friend of Achilles.

November 4-17, Plebeian Games

The Plebeian Games, or “Games of the People,” were held in
Rome. They were first mentioned in 216BC and firmly established as an annual event by 220BC. The central event was the Feast of Jupiter on November 15, or the Ides.

Funeral games following religious services at the grave site were customarily held by the Etruscans, the early settlers of the
Tuscany region of
Italy, who passed on the custom to the Romans. Contest and rivalry for the prize in such events as the foot race, boxing, wrestling, long jump, javelin throwing, and chariot racing may have been a way to express and channel the strong emotions of anger, rage, and grief among the friends of the deceased. Though the origin of the games, the “Agones,” or Ludi as the Romans called them, was funereal, they grew in size and popularity as
Rome itself grew. Annual games to honor deceased heroes were instituted and even added to the religious calendars combining athletic events with competitions in poetry, drama, and music. Eventually, games were established to celebrate events not associated with a funeral, yet they always maintained their religious character, including sacrifice to a deity During November, the Plebeian Games, the “Games of the People,” offered Roman citizens two weeks of clever theatrical presentations juxtaposed with athletic competition. These games were a tribute to the best minds and bodies of the times; they were a religious ritual in November.

The Games of the People were established in the third century BC and held for several weeks in the first part of November. They marked the second most popular and impressive games held during the Roman year, the first being the Roman Games in September. The focal point of these games was the Feast of Jupiter, held on the Ides.

The first week, November 4-12, was set aside for theatrical and scenic performances. The last three days, November 15-17, were given over to the athletic games held in the Circus Maximus. The two-week event began with a solemn procession led by
Rome’s magistrates and high priests from the Capitol through the Forum along the

to the Circus Maximus.

The eight days of theatrical events were a busy time for art patrons in ancient
Rome. Plays, both drama and comedy, were important aspects of Roman religion. A number of religious rites that we have already discussed were always accompanied by games: the festival of Dea Dia in May, Magna Mater in April, Apollo in July, and Jupiter in September. Both the Greeks and Etruscans held funereal games in honor of the deceased, while the regular Greek games such as those held every four years at Olympia (actually there were four or more pan-Hellenic games) were in honor of a deity. At the New Age, or saeculum, of Augustus in 17BC, very special Saecular Games were only part of the ritual for the New Order of Ages and the millennium.

November 13, Jupiter

The Feast of Jupiter was held on November 13, marking a transition point in the Games of the People from the theatrical to the athletic. There was a solemn rite to Jupiter and a banquet.

November 13, Feronia

Feronia is a most ancient goddess associated with agriculture, for she received the first fruits as her offering. Feronia was especially popular throughout central
Italy, yet she also had a sacred grove and temple in
Rome. Feronia was also seen as a patroness of freed slaves, the “Goddess of Freedom” she was called. An inscription on her temple at Terracina, where slaves were freed and given the symbolic cap of the freedman, read, “Let the deserving sit down as slaves and rise as freemen.”

November 13, Pietas

Pietas was a goddess who embodied the quality of respect and duty to the gods,
Rome, and one’s parents. The quality of devotion exemplified by a child’s piety and respect for the mother or father was honored by the Romans. Pietas was depicted as a young women often accompanied by a stork representing the loyalty of child to parent Pietas warns us to be dutiful to parents, country, and the gods.

November 14 is the birthday of the anti-communist U.S senator Joseph McCarthy (1908-57). From February 1950 until December 1954, he was a powerful force in Washington:

• In 1939, McCarthy began his political career as a judge in
  Wisconsin, after inflating his opponent’s age to 89 (from 66) and reducing his own to 29 (from 31). His campaign slogan was Justice is Truth in Action.
• McCarthy was a marine from 1942 to 1944. He said he was known in the Pacific as Tail-Gunner Joe – serving on 14, then 17, then 30 missions. In 1951, he applied for, and was given, the Distinguished Flying Cross. He had only flown on a few air strikes, as a passenger when resistance was light.
• In 1946, he was elected to the Senate; his campaign slogan was Congress Needs a Tail-Gunner.
• In 1950, looking for a dramatic issue for the 1952 election, he was advised that communism was a hot topic. He made a radio speech, claiming to have a list of 205 Communists in the State Department. Surprised by the stir he caused, McCarthy later tried to get a copy of that speech to check what he had said. Ultimately, he was unable to produce a single name – this led to his downfall.
• Postwar events created sympathy for McCarthyism: Canada’s Gouzenko case, the fall of China, the first Soviet atomic test, the treachery of Julius and Ethel Rosenburg, the perjury of Alger Hiss, the Korean War, Republican frustration at being out of power for two decades, and the belief Hollywood was influenced by Communists.
• It is unlikely that McCarthy had deep feelings about what he did. In 1956, at a party, he met a civil servant and former drinking companion he had ruined and said to the man his wife was “talking about you the other night. How come we never see you? What the hell are you trying to do – avoid us?”