Wordless Wednesday: This is what turkey leftovers become.

A big pot of turkey gumbo!

Linking up with Wordless Wednesday.


Today is:

Bairns Day -- Scotland (Begins the runic half-month of Eoh, the yew tree, which signifies the dead, and is now associated with the Slaughter of the Innocents of Christian tradition, so today is considered by some the unluckiest day of the year, and no work should be undertaken today.)

Call a Friend Day -- just to catch up a bit

Card Playing Day -- internet generated, enjoy a fun game with friends and family; "Go fish!"

Childermas a/k/a Holy Innocents Day -- (Patrons of babies, children's choirs, foundlings)
     various Christian traditions celebrate under many names and in various ways
     Els Enfarinats -- Ibn, Valencia, Spain (flour fight, and if it's anything like the tomato throwing in other towns of Spain, it's probably lots of fun)
     French Childermas tradition interpreted what the Norse saw as evidence of the Wild Hunt of Odin as the spirits of the Holy Innocents running from King Herod
     Inocentes -- Mexico, and sometimes celebrated as Mexican December Fool's Day (Herod fooled himself into thinking he had gotten rid of his rival king born in Bethlehem.)

Dyzemas Day -- Northhamptonshire, UK (an unlucky day to begin any new undertaking, "what is begun on Dysemas Day will never be finished")
     origin unknown, but often translated as Tithe Day, being very close to the Portugese word for tithe

Eat A Vegetarian Day -- an internet generated joke; yes, the vegetarian in question can be a cow

Endangered Species Act Day -- US (act passed 1973; a day to mourn species already extinct)

Fairy Academy of Window-Frosting Winter Exhibition -- Fairy Calendar

Fourth Day of Christmas

Incwala Day -- Swaziland (the biggest day of the 8 week Ncwala Festival, which loosely translates as "first fruits", although today's tasting of the first of the harvest by the King is only a portion of the many days of ceremonies)
      always on 28th?

Kayin New Year -- Myanmar (The Kayin, or Karen, are the second largest ethnic minority in the country, and their New Year is an extra holiday with traditional costume and lots of celebrating)

King Taksin Memorial Day -- Thailand

Kwanzaa, Day 3, Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility)

National Chocolate Candy Day

Proclamation Day -- South Australia (trad.)

Return a Gift for the Cold Hard Cash Day -- and good luck, these days

Runic Half-month Eoh (yew) commences

Take a Drive and Enjoy the Christmas Lights Day -- before they are gone for another year

Unluckiest Day of the Year -- various traditions state no work should be started today, for whatever is started today will never be finished!  In Olde England, nothing of importance was ever undertaken on Childermas, because it would prove unlucky


Anniversaries Today:

Billy Ray Cyrus weds Leticia Finley, 1994
The US Pledge of Allegiance is formally adopted, 1945
Iowa becomes the 29th US State, 1846


Birthdays Today:

David Archuleta, 1990
Sienna Miller, 1981
John Legend, 1978
Joe Mangianello, 1976
Todd Richards, 1969
Malcolm Gets, 1964
Denzel Washington, 1954
Edgar Winter, 1946
Don Francisco, 1940
Maggie Smith, 1934
Nichelle Nichols, 1933
Martin Milner, 1931
Johnny Otis, 1921
Sam Levenson, 1911
Lew Ayres, 1908
Cliff Arquette, 1905
Earl "Fatha" Hines, 1905
Hendrik Meijer, 1883
Woodrow Wilson, 1856
John Molson, 1763


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"The Gulag Archipelago"(Publication date), 1973
"Last of the Red Hot Lovers"(Play), 1969
"Night of the Iguana"(Play), 1961
"On the Town"(Musical), 1944
"Tip-Toes"(Musical), 1925
"St. Joan"(Play), 1923
"Cyrano de Bergerac"(Play), 1897


Today in History:

The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, a/k/a Westminster Abbey, is consecrated, 1065
The reign of Emperor Hanazono of Japan begins, 1308
Galileo Galilei becomes the first astronomer to observe the planet Neptune, although he mistakenly catalogued it as a fixed star, 1612
King Taksin is crowned as king of Thailand and establishes Thonburi as a capital, 1768
Construction of Yonge Street, formerly recognized as the longest street in the world, begins in York, Upper Canada (present-day Toronto, Ontario), 1795
A magnitude 6.8 earthquake strikes Echigo, Japan, killing 30,000+, 1828
John Calhoun becomes the first US Vice President to resign (over differences with President Andrew Jackson), 1832
Spain recognizes independence of Mexico, 1836
South Australia and Adelaide are founded, 1836
Rangoon Burma, destroyed by fire, 1841
The United States claims Midway Island, the first territory annexed outside Continental limits, 1867
The LumiËre brothers perform for their first paying audience at the Grand Cafe in Boulevard des Capucines, marking the debut of the cinema, 1895
The first municipally owned streetcars take to the streets in San Francisco, California, 1912
The Peak District becomes the United Kingdom's first National Park, 1950
Alexander Solzhenitsyn publishes "Gulag Archipelago", 1973
Winnie Mandela is banished from South Africa, 1976
The first American "test-tube baby", Elizabeth Jordan Carr, is born in Norfolk, Virginia, 1981
U.S. retail giant Montgomery Ward announces it is going out of business after 128 years, 2000
At 115 years old and 266 days, Jiroemon Kimura of Japan becomes the world's oldest living person, 2012

By any other non-prescription name...

Every few years, my youngest brother, the kids' Uncle J, ends up with his birthday being on the same day as Thanksgiving.

It happened this year, so we had an extra reason to celebrate.

He had already celebrated, though.  The night before, his friends had taken him out for the evening.  As he described it later, it started as table service at one place, which means a whole bottle for the table and at that point just him and one friend, and ended up being several friends and shots with the band, and anyway, for these people, there's no such thing as enough.

Despite his pleas to his friends that he couldn't show up at Grandma and Grandpa's for Thanksgiving hung over, we could certainly tell he wasn't at his best.

A few minutes after arriving, he said, "I wish Ms. Sheryl was here!  When I'd get like this, she'd give me Anaprox and it always helped.  It was fast, too!"

"Anaprox?" Grandpa had overheard.  "That's nothing but naproxen, and I have some."

 

"Anaprox is naproxen?" Uncle J said incredulously.

"It's the same medicine, just prescription strength," Grandpa said.

"So a prescription dose would be four?" Uncle J asked.

"Yes, but you take two first, and if it doesn't help, a bit later you take two more," the always cautious Grandpa noted, at which Uncle J flashed the rest of us a look that said he would down four of the suckers faster than you could say "I drank too much last night!"

"Oh, Anaprox!  This is wonderful!  Just give me ten minutes and I'll be a new man!" Uncle J said after Grandpa left the room.

Indeed he was, and i think he had a happy birthday.  Although i still think of him as our turkey born on Turkey Day, especially for going out with those friends.  He's known them since they were all young teens, and they are now nearer 50 than 40, and they may have families and jobs and responsibilities, but they really haven't changed much.

Happy Birthday, Uncle J.  Remember your friends don't mean any harm, but they might do some anyway.

Today is:

Ascension of 'Abdu'l-Baha -- Baha'i

Banquet for Monkeys / Monkey Buffet Festival -- Khmer Ruins of Lop Buri, Thailand (about 3,000 monkeys are served lunch while humans get to watch; some describe it as a riot but without the police) 

ClauWau: Santa Claus World Championship -- Samnaun, Switzerland (Santa Claus aspirants compete in in such things as the chimney climb with toys, a geography bee, and the sledge race with timed gift giving to be crowned the world champion Santa)

Decorate Your Dog Day -- supposedly to get him/her into the holiday spirit; but please, don't

Feast of the Holy Sovereigns -- Episcopal Diocese of Hawaii (in honor of King Kamehama IV and Queen Emma, the founders of the Anglican Church of Hawaii

Flag Day -- Kosovo

Guadalajara International Book Fair -- Guadalajara, Mexico (through Dec. 6)

Holodomor Remembrance Day -- international commemoration of the Death By Hunger Genocide in Ukraine

Independence Day -- Albania(1912); East Timor(1975); Mauritania(1960)

Independencia de Panama de Espana -- Panama(Independence from Spain Day, 1821)

International Aura Awareness Day -- to increase the awareness of the human energy body, or aura 
 
Lantern Light Tours begin -- Mystic Seaport, CT, US (walking tour of performances showing Christmas past, on various dates through the month)

Light of the World Christmas Pageant -- Minden, DE, US (pageant and lighting up the downtown square; also tomorrow and next Sunday)

Make Your Own Head Day -- meaning an art project model or drawing, in any medium; have fun with this one!

Mungabareena Ngan-Girra Festival -- Albury area, NSW, Australia (formerly called the Bogong Moth Festival, now an indigenous cultural showcase)

National French Toast Day

Red Planet Day -- on the anniversary of the 1964 liftoff of Mariner 4, the first successful mission to Mars

Republic Day -- Chad; Republic of the Congo

Royal Society Day -- one of the world's oldest scientific academies, established this day in 1660

Runic Half Month of Is begins (stasis)

Small Business Saturday -- encouraging everyone to patronize local businesses for your holiday shopping

St. Catherine Laboure's Day -- promulgator of the Miraculous Medal

St. Stephen the Younger's Day` (Patron of coin collectors, numismatists, smelters)

Swine Time Festival --  Climax, Georgia, US (Come on out and join the fun, the first Saturday after Thanksgiving.  Contests & Events include best dressed pig, corn shucking, hog calling, eating chitterlings, pig racing, syrup making, baby crawling and the greased pig chase!)

Territorial Christmas Celebrations -- Guthrie, OK, US (old time fun this weekend and through Dec. 19)



Birthdays Today:

Ryan Kwanten, 1976
Anna Nicole Smith, 1967
Jon Stewart, 1962
Judd Nelson, 1959
S. Epatha Merkerson, 1952
Ed Harris, 1950
Alexander Godunov, 1949
Paul Shaffer, 1949
Joe Dante, 1946
Randy Newman, 1943
Berry Gordy, Jr., 1929
Claude Lévi-Strauss, 1908
Charles H. Alston, 1907
Brooks Atkinson, 1894
William Blake, 1757
Jean Baptiste Lully, 1632
John Bunyan, 1628


Debuting/Prem'iering Today:
 
"Look Homeward, Angel"(Play), 1957
"The Grand Ole Opry"(Radio), 1925
Skywriting(as an advertising medium), 1922*



Today in History:

Skanderbeg and his forces liberate Kruja in Middle Albania and raise the Albanian flag, 1443
Ferdinand Magellan and his men become the first Europeans to sail from the Atlantic into the Pacific Ocean, 1520
The Times in London is for the first time printed by automatic, steam powered presses built by the German inventors Friedrich Koenig and Andreas Friedrich Bauer, signaling the beginning of the availability of newspapers to a mass audience, 1814
Ka Lahui: Hawaiian Independence Day - The Kingdom of Hawaii is officially recognized by the United Kingdom and France as an independent nation, 1843
Women vote in a national election for the first time in the New Zealand general election, 1893
US-born Lady Astor becomes the first female member of British Parliament, 1919
Capt Cyril Turner of the RAF gives 1st skywriting exhibition in NYC; Turner spelled out "Hello USA. Call Vanderbilt 7200." 47,000 called, 1922 
The first Polaroid Camera is sold, 1948
Chad, the Republic of the Congo, and Gabon become autonomous republics within the French Community, 1958
The first pulsar star is discovered by Jocelyn Bell Burnell and Antony Hewish, 1968
Norway votes against joining the European Union, 1994
Wikileaks releases 250,000 classified documents and sensitive national security information sent by U.S. embassies, 2010


*The ad men said it wouldn't work, but John Savage demonstrated it by skywriting "Hello USA call Vanderbilt 7200" over New York City and generating over 47,000 calls to that number!

You never know...

...when someone's generosity will surprise you.

There is a family in our neighborhood that we know well.  My kids grew up with some of their younger kids, and Little Girl considers their younger daughter to be one of her dearest friends.

This family has been hit by hard luck so many times, it makes you glad they don't believe in playing the lottery.  Besides lay-offs, bankruptcy, a son attacked by a dog a few years back, and various other miscellaneous difficulties, now their youngest daughter has had to have surgery for a serious ankle problem that couldn't be solved any other way.

When i think of families in need, this is the kind i think of; dad works hard, they make a lower-middle-class income, but it's never enough to go around, with always trying to catch up on deductibles and co-pays and car breakdowns and everything else that goes on in life.

They probably qualify for some type of help, as the kids do get free lunches at school, but they don't ask for it beyond said lunches.  People who know how little they actually have drop off gently used clothes there a lot, and offer them things like older appliances when purchasing new.  A few even drop off food now and then, and the mother volunteers with a local church garden that provides vegetables for the food bank.  They send some vegetables home with her, too.

That's why, each year, i make sure they have a turkey for Thanksgiving and for Christmas.  It's not much, but it's something i can do to show them how much their friendship over the years has meant to me, and to our family.

At Thanksgiving, turkeys were on special everywhere, so i bought two of them and dropped them over my friends' house, figuring they would use one for Thanksgiving and the other for Christmas.

What none of us knew at the time was that, because of unforeseen circumstances with relatives, they would end up with almost 20 people coming for Thanksgiving.  They needed both turkeys.

Yesterday, i remembered that they were now without a turkey, and realized that if a turkey is going to thaw in time, i needed to get it now, so i went to the store for milk and bananas and a turkey.  (They won't need two -- the husband's boss gives every employee a nice ham for Christmas, which means they can feed everyone if there's another bigger than expected group.)

While in line at the local MomAndPop Grocery Store, i got to talking with the cashier, Miss G, the way i usually do.  She asked how i fixed the turkey, if i had any particular ways i liked it, and i answered that we go to Grandma's house for Christmas.  Then i told her why i was buying the turkey.

She looked at me and said, "I like it when I hear about hard working people who don't sit around and wait for someone to give them handouts.  People who are willing to try to do for themselves as much as they can should be helped."  She then reached in her pocket, took out $10, and told me to give that to the family, too.

As i dropped off the turkey, and the unexpected money that will probably go to buy sweet potatoes and a few other items for their meal, i reflected that you never know when your actions might affect someone else, and you never know when you might be surprised by the generosity of others.



Today is:

Divalia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (part of Saturnalia; feast of Angerona, goddess of secret sorrows)

Flashlight Day -- what better day, at least in the Northern Hemisphere, when dark is with us longest, to make sure you have one in good working order

Forefathers' Day -- Plymouth, MA, US (celebrates the landing of the Pilgrims)

Homeless Persons' Memorial Day -- US

Humbug Day -- those frustrated with their holiday preparations are allowed up to 12 humbugs today, just to help vent their frustrations; sponsored by Wellcat Holidays

Icelandic Yuletide Lad of the Day, Gluggagaegir -- Peeper, who peeps through the windows and will come steal toys he likes the look of

Kiwi Fruit Day -- California, US (celebrate with them, these are good!)

Look At the Bright Side Day -- Northern Hemisphere, and why not; after all, each day after this will have more sun!

Magal de Touba -- Senegal (commemoration of the departure into exile of Ahmadou Bamba to Gabon, a Sufi religious festival)

National Hamburger Day

Pancha Ganapati -- India (through the 25th, a modern Hindu festival honoring of Lord Ganesha, Patron of Arts and Culture)

Phileas Fogg Wins A Wager Day (1872)

Poseidea -- Ancient Greek Calendar (festival to honor Poseidon; date approximate)

Solstice -- Northern Hemisphere Winter begins/Southern Hemisphere Summer begins
     Anne and Samantha Day -- celebrating the lives of Anne Frank and Samantha Smith, a day to work and pray for world peace
     Alban Arthuan -- Druid Festival, 4th Station; through the solstice
     Bruma -- Ancient Roman Calendar
     Dongzhi Festival -- East Asia (literal meaning, "Extreme of Winter")
     Festival of Isis -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (celebration of the seeking of Osiris by Isis and her resurrection of him)
     National Haiku Poetry Day -- US (because haiku is traditionally about the seasons, it's celebrated on the first day of winter)
     Wild Hunt reaches its peak -- various traditions
     Soyala New Year Festival -- Hopi and Zuni Native Americans (a festival of purification as well as celebration, with homes cleaned, fires doused, and personal restraint observed)
     Yalda -- Iran (Persian/Zoroastrian winter solstice festival; to celebrate the longest night of the year, many stay up for the fight against dark and evil.)
     Yule/Jul/Jol Festivals begin -- various calendars, religions, countries and observances, both ancient and modern
          Yule -- Wicca/Pagan, northern hemisphere
          Litha -- Wicca/Pagan, southern hemisphere
          from the Old Norse Hjol, meaning "wheel" to signify the year is at its lowest point and ready to rise again
     Ziemassvetki -- Ancient Latvian Calendar (birth of Dievs, highest of the gods; modern Latvians celebrate this on Christmas Eve/Christmas, but it was originally a three day solstice festival)

St. Peter Canisius' Day (Patron of Catholic press, Germany, writers of catechisms)

St. Thomas' Day, the Doubting Thomas (old date, now celebrated on July 3, but many of the superstitions related to it are still observed at this time)
     Mumping Day a/k/a Gooding Day -- UK (traditional day on which beggars beg for, or "mump", good things for Christmas, always on old St. Thomas' Day)
     Sao Tome Day -- Sao Tome e Principe (Dia de Sao Tome e Principe)


Birthdays Today:

Jackson Rathbone, 1984
Jack Noseworthy, 1969
Kiefer Sutherland, 1966
Andy Dick, 1965
Florence Griffith Joyner, 1959
Ray Romano, 1957
Jane Kaczmarek, 1955
Chris Evert, 1954
Tina Brown, 1953
Samuel L. Jackson, 1948
Michael Tilson Thomas, 1944
Frank Zappa, 1940
Jane Fonda, 1937
Phil Donahue, 1935
Joe Paterno, 1926
Paul Winchell, 1922
Heinrich Böll, 1917
Josh Gibson, 1911
Joseph Stalin, 1879
Henrietta Szold, 1860
Benjamin Disraeli, 1804


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Billion Dollar Baby"(Musical), 1945
"Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs"(Film), 1937
"Tillie's Punctured Romance"(Silent Film, first full length comedy), 1914
The Crossword Puzzle, 1913
Basketball, 1891 (first game under the direction of James Naismith, by the rules he had published)


Today in History:

A hurricane hits Holland/Friesland, destroying villages with widespread flooding, 1163
The Battle of Curalaba: The revolting Mapuche Native Americans, led by cacique Pelentaru, inflict a major defeat on Spanish troops in southern Chile; all Spanish cities south of the Biobio river are eventually taken by the Mapuches, and all conquest of Mapuche territories by Europeans practically ceases, until the 1870s "Pacification of Araucania", 1598
William Bradford and the Mayflower Pilgrims land on what is now known as Plymouth Rock in Plymouth, Massachusetts, 1620
Hue Tay Son becomes emperor Quang Trung of Vietnam, 1788
The Rochdale Pioneers commence business at their cooperative in Rochdale, England, starting the Cooperative movement, 1844
The first Permanent Force cavalry and infantry regiments of the Canadian Army are formed: The Royal Canadian Dragoons and The Royal Canadian Regiment, 1883
The first Word-Cross puzzle, which the printer mislabeled as a Cross-Word (the name that stuck), is published in the New York World, 1913
The first feature length color and sound cartoon, Disney's Snow White, premiers, 1937
Rondane National Park is established as Norway's first national park, 1962
Apollo 8, the first manned mission to the moon, is launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew performs the first ever manned Trans Lunar Injection and become the first humans to leave Earth's gravity, 1968
The United Nations adopts the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, 1969
Mexican volcano Popocatepetl, dormant for 47 years, erupts gases and ash, 1994
The city of Bethlehem passes from Israeli to Palestinian control, 1995
Scientists studying the Sutter's Mill Meteorite announce it contains the oldest material in the Solar System, 2012