The Story of Saint Nicholas

Here are ten things you may not know about Saint Nicholas whom the Dutch called Sinterklaas and we call Santa Claus.

1.  Saint Nicholas was born in Turkey, part of the Roman Empire, in 270.

2.  He was born to wealthy parents who later died in an epidemic, leaving his uncle to raise him.

3.  Saint Nicholas was known for secret giving, leaving coins in people's shoes.

4.  He is the Patron Saint of Children.

5,  Saint Nicholas worked in his family's fishing fleet.

6.  During his lifetime, Christians were persecuted by the Roman Emperor.  Saint Nicholas stood up for many of these Christians.

7.  As Bishop of Myrna, Saint Nicholas spoke out against those who worshipped the Roman pagan gods.

8.  He initiated the destruction of the Temple of Artemis.

9.  The grey-haired and grey-bearded Nicholas died on December 6, 343.

10.  During the Middle Ages, French Nuns started giving gifts on December 6 in the name of Saint Nicholas.



                                                            

Image courtesy www.2heartsnetwork.org. 

Date Pinwheels

In honour of National Swap a Cookie Recipe Day, I am sharing a recipe for Date Pinwheels, one of the thirteen kinds of Christmas cookies my Grandma used to bake every year.

FILLING

1 lb dates, chopped
half cup granulated sugar
third cup water
two-thirds cup finely chopped walnuts

COOKIE DOUGH

1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
3 and a half cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
half tsp salt

Filling:  Simmer dates, sugar and water together until mushy and thickened.  Add a bit more water if too dry. Stir in nuts.  Cool

Cookie dough:  Cream butter with sugars in mixing bowl.  Beat in eggs one at a time.  Add vanilla.  Stir flour, baking soda and salt.  Divide dough into four parts.  Roll each part a quarter inch thick, in rectangluar shape. Spread with date filling.  Roll.  Chill overnight.  Slice a quarter inch thick.  Place on greased cookie sheet.  Bake in 375 degree Fahrenheit oven for 8 to 10 minutes.  Makes about 8 dozen cookies.



                            

Image courtesy southernliving.timeinc.net. 

It`s Like Riding a Bike

                             

Image courtesy cse.buf.edu.

I remember when my son Thomas learned how to ride a bike.  He tried and tried.  He was on the ground more than he was on the bike.  And then one day it all clicked.  And he road off into the sunset.

I remember when my daughter learned how to read.  I read her story after story.  I tried to get her to read me a story one night.  She protested fervently.  And then one day, it all clicked.  And she couldn`t get enough of books.  She was reading everything in sight.  And not just reading fluently, but with the right intonation.  There was no stopping her.

I have had the same clicking experience in the past two weeks.  For over two years I have been writing my picture book I`m Just a Home Child.  Although I`ve always felt like I was progressing as a children`s book author, I never felt like I was quite there.  And then something happened:  I sat down to write the 27th version of my book, and it all flowed.  For the first time, I felt like it clicked.  For the first time, the editing process wasn`t so painful.  For the first time, I wasn`t stuck for ideas.  For the first time, I felt like I had an inner voice guiding me every step of the way.

I have never enjoyed the writing process as much as I have in the past two weeks.  I think it`s time to bite the bullet and send my manuscript to the editor.  It`s time to send my baby out into the world.  It`s time to get on that bicycle and feel the breeze in my hair, just like Thomas did.




                                             

Image courtesy www.picturesof.net. 

Jackie`s Gift

                                                     
                                                        

Image courtesy wordpress.com. 

A Jewish boy befriends the new black family in his neighbourhood of Brooklyn.  He helps them put up their Christmas tree and in return the neighbour surprises him with a tree, not knowing that he celebrates Hanakkah.  In the end his family graciously accepts the tree, a gift from the all time great second baseman, Jackie Robinson.

Jackie, the son of Georgia sharecroppers, was the fifth of five children.  Raised in poverty, his father left the family in 1920 and they moved to California.  Jackie strayed for a short time, even joining a gang.  But it was sports which helped get him back on track.  Part of an athletic family, Jackie`s brother had received a silver medal at the Berlin Olympics in 1936.  Jackie showed promise in baseball, basketball, football and track, all of which he lettered in at U.C.L.A.

The Second World War put Jackie`s football career on hold.  When the war ended, he signed up with the Montreal Royals minor league franchise.  Then, in 1946, Jackie was the first black player to sign with a major league team since the 1880`s, when he joined the Brooklyn Dodgers.  All black players had been relegated to the Negro leagues during this period.

As a newcomer to New York City, his family moved into the white neighbourhood of Brooklyn.  Many residents did not want a black family on the block, but one boy, an avid fan of Jackie`s, befriended him.  The boy helped the Robinson`s put up their Christmas tree that first year.  And Jackie returned the favour by purchasing a Christmas tree for the family, not knowing they were Jewish.  But the Satlow family, keeping in mind that their grandparents had emigrated from Russia to escape religious persecution, accepted the kind gesture.

In the meantime, with number 42 on his jersey as a Brooklyn Dodgers, Jackie received the Most Valuable Player award in 1949.  He played in six World Series and he helped win the 1955 World Championships.  The second baseman retired in 1956 and went on to be the first black T.V. analyst as well as the first black Vice President of a major corporation.

And to think that Jackie`s Dodger days started in a humble house in Brooklyn with a Christmas tree and a kind boy who just wanted to welcome him to the neighbourhood.


                               

Image courtesy www.biography.com.

Vintage Christmas Postcards

                              

Image courtesy barnaclebill.hubpages.com. 

I borrowed a book from the library recently called Aunt Olga`s Christmas Postcards.  It`s based on a little girl whose great- great aunt collected Christmas postcards.  Over tea and gingerbread cookies, the aunt and niece studied her collection one day.  It turns out that Aunt Olga`s first job was writing ditties for Christmas cards. The two decide to write each other poems for Christmas.

I was amazed at the beautiful artwork adorned on these postcards and decided to google the topic.  It turns out that the first postcards were produced in 1870.  They were sent out not only at Christmas but also St. Patrick`s Day, Halloween, birthdays, etc.  In a day and age where people didn`t have telephones, mail was the primary form of communication.  The majority of the early Christmas postcards were printed in Britain and Germany.  They included photographs, illustrations, sketches and embossings.

Christmas postcards enjoyed their heyday between 1900 and the First World War, during which time soldiers and nurses exchanged them with loved ones.  However, since many of them were printed in Germany, the war interrupted their sales.  Eventually, full-size cards took the place of postcards. But Christmas cards did not have the quaint simplicity of the postcards.  Today, people like Aunt Olga can collect vintage Christmas postcards online.  Frohliche Weihnachten!

Note:  Read Aunt Olga`s Christmas Postcards (Kevin Major).




                          

Image courtesy 2.bp.blogspot.com. 

The Christmas Box

Richard Paul Evans, the father of two young daughters, wanted to show them how much he loved them by writing a story called The Christmas Box.  Originally, he only had 20 copies printed for family and friends.  But within two years, his book reached #1 on the New York Times bestseller list, the first self-published book to do so.

The Christmas Box is a short story based on a young couple, Richard and Keri, who have a four year old child.  A lonely widow hires them to care for her in her Victorian mansion.  The widow soon discovers that Richard is more obsessed with success than with his wife and young child.  She urges him to spend more time with his family but to no avail.  Finally, when the widow is on the verge of dying, she shares the contents of a Christmas box with Richard.  The box contains a series of letters written by a mother who loses her child and mourns at the base of an angel statue.  That woman is the lonely widow.  Now Richard finally understands how precious his child is.  The widow also points out that just as she lost her child, God sacrificed his child, Jesus, who paid the price for our sins.

After sharing The Christmas Box with his family and friends, the author had more copies made, placing them in local bookstores.  The story was so well received that it caught the attention of big publishers who vied for its publishing rights.  The author signed with one of the well-known publishers.  In 1995 it was published in hardcover and hit number 1 on the New York Times bestseller list.  And it all started with a father's love for his daughters.

The Battle of the Bulge

1.  Don't skip meals, especially breakfast, as the practice makes us crave higher calorie foods.

2.  Use smaller plates to control portion sizes.  Today's plates are significantly bigger than those made a generation or two ago.

3.  Count calories and measure portions.

4.  Don't blame your metabolism.

5.  Protein staves off hunger.  Have a few almonds an hour before a meal.

6.  Soup keeps you full longer.  The homemade kind of course is thicker and more satisfying and healthier than the canned variety.

7.  The wider the choice, the more you eat.  That's why buffets are deadly.

8.  Ingesting low fat diary helps us excrete more fat.

9.  Exercise helps us continue to burn fat even when we are sleeping.

10.  Keep moving.  Stay active.  Previous generations walked more often and were thinner.

Source:  www.naturalfoodfinder.com.