Wild Geese Chasing

Are six geese a-laying different from other geese?  Samantha Johnson says this about geese a-laying. "Geese have a limited laying season - just a few months in the spring, and  most birds lay only about 40 eggs per year".   Suzanne Hugo writes:  "Geese with their exceptional eyesight and wide field of vision, combined with their strident voices, make excellent guards against approaching strangers or predators since outsiders cannot calm them into silence. This was shown in 390 BC, when Rome was attacked by Gallic troops. It was the alertness of the holy geese (Juno's sacred geese) housed in the temple of the city's fort that allowed the defenders to wake in time to resist the attacking enemy. Today, in the high Andes, Southeast Asia and many other places, geese replace guard dogs. In Europe, they are used to guard whiskey warehouses and sensitive military installations (National Research Council, 1991)". And in later times geese were considered holy: "the ancient Celtic people saw the Holy Spirit not as a hovering white dove but as a “wild goose.” The meaning behind this peculiar choice is because they saw how the Holy Spirit has a tendency to disrupt and surprise. The Holy Spirit moves in our lives in an unexpected fashion, similar to the actions of a wild goose". So how does the expression "wild goose chase" come about when geese are so smart? Mentalfloss.com comes to our assistance with its article on the expression here. Where is the reference most famous?  It is in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. "Nay, if our wits run the wild-goose chase, I am done, for thou hast more of the wild-goose in one of thy wits than, I am sure, I have in my whole five. Was I with you there for the goose?" The expression has made a great journey from "a pursuit of something as unlikely to be caught as the wild goose" to a futile search, so it seems to me that six geese a-laying is quite an expression in our Christmas song.

Tracking Santa

Did you follow Santa on his journey around the world? NORAD tracks Santa on Christmas Eve. Tracking began by accident in 1955.   Before NORAD was formed, when it was still the Continental Air Defence Command (Conad), a newspaper misprinted a Sears Roebuck & Co. advertisement containing the phone number for children to call in to talk to Santa. Instead of reaching Santa, children reached Conad operations in Colorado.  "A colonel by the name of Harry Shoup picked up the phone and assured children who called in that Santa was safe and CONAD, at the time, would be tracking Santa on his progress through North America," she said. The tradition continues and NORAD trackers are finished for this year - he was spotted over the great wall of China, over Christmas Island, Vietnam, India, Afghanistan, Moscow, London, South America, and then Canada and finished in the U.S. There are many articles identifying Santa's workload, speed, and route.  The Atlantic narrows it to "Christian kids" - 526,000,000 of them under the age of 14 in the world.  So he delivers presents to 22 million an hour. That's about 365,000 kids a minute, about 6,100 a second. The dailymail.co.uk also has an article on the science of Santa -  Mr. Claus will eat 150 billion calories in milk and mince pies.  He will need to walk 1.3 billion miles, which is 54,000 times around the circumference of the earth, to work off the extra weight.  More at dailymail.co.uk Enjoy Christmas Day!

The Twelve Days Before

How many days before Christmas are there?  The twelve days of Christmas?  No, not at all.  The twelve days start on December 25th and complete on the feast of the Epiphany, on January 6th. The song that we all know so well is an English Christmas carol, published in 1780.  It has been with us for hundreds of years.  The version we have today comes from the English composer Frederic Austin, in 1909, when he introduced the prolongation of the verse "five gold rings". Go to the wikipedia entry and see the table that shows the differences, variations and developments  over time.  The columns have the source, then the giver, and then 1 to 12 for the 12 days of gifts.  There are many rows with all the changes over time.  For example, it wasn't until 1966 that "My true love sent to me"  became "My true love gave to me". The song is considered to originate from a children's memory and forfeit game.  Each person repeats the gifts and when he/she misses one, he pays a forfeit (a kiss or sweetmeat) for the mistake. Does this song have a secret religious meaning?  History Myths Debunked website says no, and a resounding no.   Are there some notable parodies?  Yes - a long list in the Wikipedia entry. Still featured on the radio today is Irish actor Frank Kelly's recording "Christmas Countdown" in 1982 in which a man named Gobnait O’Lunacy receives 12 different Christmas gifts from a lady named Nuala. As each gift is received, the man gets increasingly upset with the person who sent them.  And did you know this song gave rise to a Christmas Price Index?  It started in 1984.  There is a total of 364 items, assuming they are repeated in full in each round of the song.  The total cost for all goods and services for the 2015 Christmas Price Index is US$34,130.99 or $155,407.18 for all 364 items.  In 1984, the cost was $12,623.10. We see Charles Daley park yesterday - full of snow and tobogganing fun.

Taking Christmas to the Max

Yesterday we found out about the oldest Christmas trees.  The Guinness Book of Records bears witness to the striving nature of humanity on the delivery of results with creativity and inventiveness. Here are examples for the Christmas tree: The most expensive decorated Christmas tree remains a holiday tree from 2010 - decorated with $11,026,900 worth of jewellery - 181 items in all. The largest artificial Christmas tree was 180.4 feet tall and created in China in 2015.  It was covered in green synthetic foliage and decorated with ornaments and lamps. The largest human Christmas tree was done in Chengannur, India in December 2015.  There were 4,030 people involved in that tree.  This is a record that continues to grow. The largest display of illuminated Christmas Trees was accomplished by Hallmark, USA in Heralds Square, NY, NY where 449 trees were on parade. The most lights on an artificial Christmas tree is a regular record at Universal Studios in Japan in Osaka.  They do this every year, and have beaten their records over six times in the past.   I hadn't thought about other Christmas traditions.  The largest gingerbread house for charity has a new record.  While the size of the structure is the measure, but they also reported the calorie count at 35,823,400 calories. The array of Christmas records can be found here at the Guinness site. Our flower of the day is the Amaryllis - this name comes from the legend of a shy, timid nymph. Amaryllis fell deeply in love with Alteo, a shepherd with Hercules' strength and Apollo's beauty, but her affections were unrequited.

Christmas Weaths

The wreath has been a sign of honour or victory from Greek times.  Bay Laurel Leaves date from Greek mythology.  Other leaves that made wreaths included oak leaves - symbolizing wisdom, and were associated with Zeus.  We also think of wreaths as arrangements for funerals.   The Etruscan's made wreaths - they were stamped in thin metal and attached to an ornamental band.  They included ivy, oak, olive, myrtle, laurel, wheat and vines. In Christianity, the Christmas wreath was used to symbolize Christ. The circular shape, with no beginning or end, represents eternity or life never ending. The evergreen, most frequently used in making Christmas wreaths, symbolizes growth and everlasting life.  The wreaths were typically decorated with four candles, three on the exterior and one in the middle. The middle candle was lit on Christmas Eve to symbolize the arrival of the Light of the World - Jesus Christ. A tradition began in the early 19th century to lay evergreens shaped into wreaths or crosses on graves to honour the dead. Family members would bring them home to use as part of their Christmas decorations during the holiday season. So there is our wreath tradition.  Our first snow fall was yesterday, and I took pictures of the orchards across from the United Mennonite Home and on John Street.   This summer the Cherry Lane orchards got signs with their orchard names. I've included a picture from the spring - what a contrast with those soft colours in the last image.

The Twoth of December is here

he oddest prime number is the number two.  It is the smallest and first prime number and the only even prime number.  There is a real word "twoth."  When I typed in the subject line, I understood completely why we don't say oneth and twoth.   Considering the number two, there are many variations of jokes and references: Two cats called ‘1,2,3’ & ‘un,deux,trois’ had a swimming race across the channel. 1,2,3 cat won because un, deux, trois cat sank! Q. What is the explanation of this puzzle: 2 + 2 = Fish, 3 + 3 = 8, 7 + 7 = Triangle? A.  X (Normal) + X (Mirror Image) = Answer So 2 + Mirror Image of 2 will look like a fish, 3 + Mirror Image of 3 will look like a 8, 7 + Mirror Image of 7 will look like a Triangle How did 2+2=5 come about? 2+2=5 comes from the book "1984", where the Government had so deeply trained society to instantly, without thought, accept any official statement as true and instantly erase the past (2+2=4). Harkens to the Marxist belief that the State is the ultimate truth and individuals with an alternate "truth" are dissidents. Some employers and leaders also fall into this belief that reality is nothing but paradigms despite empiric facts offered by "not a team player" people.  2 + 2 = 5 because that is the party line. Our pictures come from December archives - our first picture was taken last year at this time in Charles Daley Park.  There will be more Poinsettia pictures to come as we look forward to beautiful Poinsettia displays in our public greenhouses.

The Mad Rush...For Christmas Greens

It was the mad rush.  And what were they in pursuit of? Winter Greens - yes winter greens.  The frenzy must be created by the sight and scent of pine and cedar. This is part of the Canadian experience, deep in our psyche, in our collective unconscious. I was at one of Niagara's best garden and floral centres  3 successive days - on Thursday, Friday  and Saturday.  I was there purchasing urn inserts and wreaths for the Fantasy of Trees.  It will open this week in the Grimsby Museum.  These will be silent auction and raffle items, along with 42 trees decorated in creative and fun themes. Each one will go to a new home after the raffle. On Thursday, as far as you could see there were mosaiculture designs, Christmas plants, and decorations - everything artful.  I saw a few people there purchasing, with the majority in the back doing an urn workshop.  Friday was a little busier with the Cheesy Guys and others giving out samples of food and beverages.  There was a festivity on Friday. Saturday's event was a different experience.  There was the necessity for overflow parking in the church next door.  And that lot was full too.  Then there were the hundreds of people purchasing - comparing urn inserts, deciding on wreaths, and enjoying the beautiful designs.  Some people were loaded up with carts and others had just a few items.  No one seemed worried to be in line. And consider this:  this wasn't a sale.  There were no reductions.  This was pure excitement to be in the Watering Can's Christmas experience.  The visual impact of this winter beauty was heightened by the scent of pine and cedar.  This is the adult wonderland experience of Christmas where Niagara's farm theme and traditional Christmas is on display.  Where plants rule the day and not mass production of consumer goods. Earl, the creator and owner of the Watering Can, posed for me in the last picture. I am among those who are  grateful for the wealth of Niagara artistic garden centres. We purchase our plants at the Watering Can and Cole's - we support their combination of artfulness and business sense.

Lilycrest Lilies in Review 2016

Christmas isn't finished till its over for the Orthodox Christians.  How do they live the rest of the year if they use the Julian calendar and not the Gregorian calendar?  There are 13 days difference. Many Soviet Union and Middle Eastern churches tend towards the "Old Calendar" while most of those in the United States have made the switch.  It appears more of a country-wide choice rather than a church choice as the public holiday falls on the chosen date for Christmas. It seems interesting that Easter isn't impacted but celebrated on the same day by everyone. This is the week that we look back at the closing year and decide on the top news, events, photos, etc. What area do you look for highlights?  I went to the Oxford Dictionary for the Word of the Year.   "After much discussion, debate, and research, the Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year 2016 is post-truth – an adjective defined as ‘relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief’." Wikipedia has the words of the year from 1990 - 2015 listed.  The source is the American Dialect Society.  They are so slow in deciding for 2016 that they are still in the process of accepting nominations.  Their meeting is January 5 - 8 2017 if they announce it then, it would be in time for Orthodox Christians to celebrate the birth of Christ and the birth of a new word. Our 2016 review starts with Lilycrest Gardens.

Magical

The Magical World of Harry Potter is the most popular children's series of all time and this tree appealed to everyone.  It won the Popular Vote award in the Grimsby Fantasy of Trees.  The story is told in decorations and ornaments created and made by Jill Linkert and Judy Meldrum, pictured here.  Under the tree were all the Harry Potter books, and beside the tree was a scroll of clues to the decorations on the tree. We may wonder about this magic and  ask where does magic come from. The World of Harry Potter answers: "In humans, magic or the lack thereof is an inborn attribute.  It is inherited, carried on "dominant resilient genes". Magic is the norm in the children of magical couples and less common in those of muggles. Exceptions exist: those unable to do magic who are born to magical parents are known as squibs, whereas a witch or wizard born to muggle parents is known as a muggle-born, or by the pejorative "mudblood". While muggle-borns are quite common, squibs are extremely rare." The project of creating tree ornaments occurred throughout 2016.  The tree came alive on Decorators' Day when all was complete.  I could see Jill and Judy's satisfaction of a great creation, and a little sadness that this tree would be leaving them.   The Fantasy of Trees is a yearly fund-raiser for Grimsby Rotary.  The trees, wreaths, urns, and other prizes are in a raffle.  So the 40 trees went to homes. Grimsby Rotary raised $12,000 in the Raffle and $3,000 in the Silent Auction, with proceeds going to local charities, scholarships and for the work of Rotary in communities at home and around the world.

Christmas is its own Season

What makes Christmas its own season?  We are well into the Christmas season, with lots of shopping, decorations,  and lights. The weather seasons are what first come to mind. There are four seasons defined as divisions of the year marked by changes in weather, ecology and hours of daylight in our Northern Hemisphere.  In tropical climates there are two or three - rainy and dry are the common ones.   Some calendars in south Asia have a six-season method where there are from one to three seasons between summer and winter.  The two polar regions have two seasons - all sun and no sun. Wikipedia helps us understand  our current experience of the "Christmas season".  Also known as the festive season,the holiday season (mainly in the U.S. and Canada), or simply the holidays - an annually recurring period recognized in many Western and Western-influenced countries that is generally considered to run from late November to early January, defined as incorporating at least Christmas, and usually New Year, and sometimes various other holidays and festivals. Christmastide started as a season of the liturgical year in Christian religions. As you would intuitively know, it changed in the twentieth century with the rise of retail shopping.  The transition to the term 'holiday season' is a North American expression that has come about with increasing secularization.   We're looking at abstracts of birch bark today.  This one is at the Vineland Research Station where there is a little arboretum. We think of the birch as a smooth bark, like the first photo, but a close-up look reveals many different landscapes.

There's Only One Santa Suit

esterday I met an acquaintance who told me that Dutch Santa was at the Dutch Shop to greet the kids.  I took Dezi the dog to The Dog Spot to see the Dog Santa (I got my free bag of dog food, she got scared). At the Fantasy of Trees there was another Santa for children to visit with.  They are all the white-haired, portly, red-suited Santas, with a generous smile and hearty laugh.  Santa is so beloved.  How did we get such a wonderful icon? Santa started out as a legendary figure of Western culture. The tradition started with the historical Saint Nicholas, a fourth-century Greek bishop.   The first moment of our notion of Santa really came in 1823 with a poem "A Visit From St. Nicholas" - now titled  "The Night Before Christmas". And the 'Santa' creation happened with Thomas Nast, caricaturist and political cartoonist.  He  created the famous image of Santa as the portly, white-haired, jolly man in 1881 and associated it with the poem.  This image has been maintained and reinforced ever since.  So take a look at  "pictures of Santa Claus" that come up from a google search.  You will be presented with an unending sea of red suits and white beards all smiling, waving, gift-giving. They are happy and generous. It is one of the few searches where the results are on track for the search terms - to me it is a testament to how much the Santa icon is respected. Take a look at 'biker santa claus' or 'tropical santa claus' or 'australian santa claus' or 'garden santa claus' or 'train santa claus'.  It is hilarious.

Poinsettias in Niagara

Justin Trudeau's eulogy to Castro as a 'remarkable leader' has given rise to responses that raise our national reputation for satire to new heights.  Here are two replies: 'Though not universally liked by his compatriots, Mr. Ceausescu was a leader in urban design and affordable housing' 'Today we mourn the loss of Norman Bates, a family man who was truly defined by his devotion to his mother. ' Read more responses "here" at #TrudeauEulogies. Today we have a few more close-ups of the wonderful Poinsettia.