Thread:61Storm/@comment-29709319-20181110010804/@comment-29709319-20181212015539

December 12: National Ambrosia Day, National Ding-a-Ling Day, Gingerbread House Day, Poinsettia Day, and Chanukah Begins.

🥗National Ambrosia Day! Ambrosia, according to Greek mythology, is the nectar of the gods, endowing strength and immortality to those who eat it. A simple ambrosia salad from the late 1800s, when the earliest recipes are found, was made with citrus fruit, coconut and sugar. There are those who abhor coconut and would leave it out. Should this occur, a forceful objection would be heard from a true southerner! A genuine ambrosia salad should be served the same day it is prepared, though more modern recipes suggest overnight refrigeration of the dish. Other ingredients often added to the salad are pineapple, nuts, cherries, apples, bananas, whipped cream or yogurt.

🔔National Ding-a-Ling Day! The idea for National Ding-A-Ling Day came in 1971 when Franky Hyle of the Chicago area was at home with friends. "Some husbands and wives were sitting around my house, talking and drinking and thinking people ought to be friendlier to one another," he said. They looked up what "ding-a-ling" meant in a dictionary, and they found one of the definitions said it was "one who hears bells in his head." Hyle decided to create a day where celebrants would call people they haven't seen in years, in order to rekindle old friendships. He wanted to encourage people to be natural and let their guard down. Perhaps the idea of having a phone be involved in the day had to do with the fact that it rings, just like a ding-a-ling is associated with ringing. In 1972, Hyle began placing an advertisement in Chase's Calendar of Annual Events saying December 12 was National Ding-A-Ling Day, and that a ding-a-ling was a "wonderful, friendly, intelligent, loving, responsible and desirable person." By 1975, almost 900 people had answered the ad and joined the Ding-A-Ling Club. They paid one dollar to become members, and received a bumper sticker which said: "Be a Bell Ringer."

🍞🍪🏠Gingerbread House Day! A favorite food of an Armenian monk, Gregory of Nicopolis, brought gingerbread to Europe around 992 AD and taught French Christians to bake it. Gingerbread was often used in religious ceremonies and was baked to be sturdy as it was often molded into images of saints. We can thank the Brothers’ Grimm for the idea of a gingerbread house through their tale of Hansel and Gretel. It didn’t take long for the German gingerbread guilds to pick up the idea and put it to a more festive use making snowy cottages from the spicy-sweet treat.

🌺National Poinsettia Day! The poinsettia plant’s connection to the Christmas season dates back to 16th-century Mexico. Legend tells of a girl who worried she had no gift to celebrate Jesus’s birthday because she was too poor. An angel tells her to give any gift with love. The young girl gathered weeds from alongside the road and placed them in the manger. Miraculously the weeds bloomed into beautiful red stars. The poinsettia first came to the United States by way of Joel Roberts Poinsett, an American botanist and the first United States Minister to Mexico. In 1825, he sent cuttings home to Charleston, South Carolina. It wasn’t until the early 1920s when Paul Ecke, a second-generation farmer in California, discovered a grafting technique which caused the seedlings to branch, that the poinsettia started to take root in American culture. The family hawked their Christmas flower at roadside stands. Paul Ecke Jr. advanced the sales of the poinsettia through shipping and marketing. The House of Representatives in 2002 created Poinsettia Day to honor the father of the poinsettia industry, Paul Ecke. The date of December 12 marks the death of Joel Roberts Poinsett, the man responsible for bringing the plan to the United States.

🍁CHANUKAH! Hanukkah also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the re-dedication of the Holy Temple (the Second Temple) in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt of the 2nd century BCE. Hanukkah is observed for eight nights and days, starting on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar, which may occur at any time from late November to late December in the Gregorian calendar. Hanukkah is not considered a significant religious holiday when compared to other Jewish holidays. The menorah holds nine candles. The center candle is the shamus or servant. It is used to light the 8 Hanukkah candles. The Hanukkah candles are strictly for pleasure. They are not to be utilized for any useful or productive purpose. The shamus is available, so the Hanukkah candles aren’t accidentally used to light a fire in the fireplace or another useful purpose. Gift giving is not traditionally a part of the Hanukkah holiday. Playing dreidel is a gambling game popular during the Hanukkah holiday. Fried foods are traditional during the holiday, representing the oil used to light the lamps. During the time of Alexander the Great, Jewish culture began to blend with the Greek culture. Jews who accepted Greek culture at the expense of their religion became known as Hellenists. Alexander and the Jews had a mostly peaceful relationship; the Jews were loyal to his rule, and Alexander didn’t destroy and abuse them. Around 190 BCE when Alexander left Israel, and Antiochus IV took over, most Jews had assimilated to Greek culture but continued to practice their faith. This was not sufficient for Antiochus. He began to force the Greek culture on the devout Jewish people by placing Hellenistic priests in the Temple and desecrating it by sacrificing pigs at the altar, prohibiting Jews from practicing their faith, killing their faithful and levying heavy taxes upon them. A rebel force of Jews formed around the year 166 BCE. They revolted against Antiochus’ government and took back the Temple. In order to rededicate the Temple, oil was needed for the menorah, but there was only enough undefiled oil to last one night. It miraculously lasted eight days. Hanukkah is the eight-day Festival of Lights commemorating this miracle of the oil.

Dropping this off. Just went through a bout of coughing now I'm wore out. Going to rest a little then try playing later.

Sending hugs!😷🐶💕🎄💕