What Would Jimmy Do?

Welcome to November. November is often referred to as a transitional month — say goodbye to fall, because winter is coming. Louisa May Alcott, who wrote Little Women, put a line in that book that November is the most disagreeable month in the whole year. That may be true, but we seem to have turned it into a social month with community suppers and feasts of thanksgiving — and — the “election” month. 

The month gets its name from the Latin word novem, which means “nine, because November was the ninth month of the early Roman calendar. 
November’s full Moon is traditionally called the Beaver Moon because in the Colonial Era, this was the month to set beaver traps, before the swamps froze and beavers retired to their lodges, so the colonists could ensure a supply of warm winter furs. 
This month’s full Moon occurs on Monday, November 27.

The Anglo-Saxons knew November by two names — the first was Wind Month because the wind would start to chill the bones. It was also known a Blood Month, because the cattle went to slaughter in November.
In Finland, the word for November is Marraskuu, meaning the month of the dead. But the name is misleading — the reason for the name is because all the seasonal trees and plants lose their leaves or die in the month of November.
November is the only month that Shakespeare never mentioned in all of his plays and sonnets…. I don’t know why.
November is the month when we turn the clocks back and we get an extra hour of sleep. A lot of people aren’t happy about this practice and there is a growing consensus that changing the clocks twice isn’t necessary.

A significant event happened in the month of November in 1957. The first living creature launched into space wasn’t a human, but a dog. On November 3rd, 1957 Russia launched Sputnik II into space with Laika, a dog, on board. The sad part about the mission — even sadder if you’re a dog lover — is that the trip was one way.
Another sad, or tragic, event that occurred in November was the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963.

November is probably best known, in the US at least, for Thanksgiving. Since 1621, the fourth Thursday in November has served as a holiday to gather with friends and family and give thanks for the blessings in our lives — and — eat turkey.
In addition to Thanksgiving, November has many special food days… November 3rd is Sandwich Day, November 6th is Nacho Day, the 14th is Pickle Day, the 28th is French Toast Day, and November 29th is Lemon Cream Pie Day.
November 11th is a very important day — we remember the veterans we have lost in past wars and thank the military of today for protecting out country.

In preparation for Christmas, I guess, two of the most popular toys were released in November — the board game Monopoly (1935) and the Easy-Bake Oven in 1963. 
And I should mention that the first x-ray machine was invented in Germany in November, 1895 and King Tut’s Tomb was discovered on November 4th, 1922.
As I mentioned earlier, November has become knows as election month in the US. Why November? The farmers. Not wanting to disturb the planting, growing, or harvest seasons, the month of November was chosen as the most logical month for everyone to be able to vote.

There’s no doubt that November is a special month — it ushers in the holiday season and encourages us to focus on our important core values….. and don’t forget to vote — it’s a privilege, not everyone has.
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Here it is Halloween already. Halloween, traditionally called “All Hallows Eve,” is celebrated on the evening before the  Christian holy day of All Hallows’ Day, or as most of us know it, All Saints Day. All Saints Day is November 1, so Halloween is always on October 31. In England, saints or holy people were called “Hallowed,” therefore the name “All Hallows Day.” 

The holiday was once tied to farming and astronomy. It marked the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter, or the “darker half” of the year. The origin of Halloween can be traced to an ancient festival called Samhain (pronounced Sow-in, that rhymes with cow-in,) meaning summer’s end. This was a sacred festival celebrated by the ancient Celts and Druids in the British Isles and it marked the end of the harvest and the start of a new year.

The ancient Celts believed that the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead was at its thinnest during Samhain. That had positive benefits — it was an ideal time to consider the dead, communicate with the deceased, and also divine the future. Since Samhain was considered the death-night of the old year, it came to be associated with ghosts and graveyards. 

Halloween has lots of customs and practices associated with it — some are just innocent fun, but some deal with reminders of death and concepts of good and evil. 
Halloween was once known as “Nutcracker Night” in England — it was a time when the family gathered around the hearth to enjoy cider and nuts and apples.

You see Jack-O- Lanterns all over the place this time of the year — a tradition that comes from Ireland. The Irish used hollowed-out candlelit turnips carved with a demon’s face to frighten away evil spirits. The name “Jack-O-Lantern” comes from an Irish folktale about a man named Stingy Jack who invited the Devil to have a drink with him but wouldn’t pay. Jack tricked the devil and made a deal in which the devil couldn’t claim his soul — but God didn’t want Jack in Heaven either. Now Jack is stuck roaming the Earth as an evil spirit with his lantern shining the way. 

The Irish carved scary faces into turnips or potatoes and placed them near doors or windows during Halloween Eve to frighten away Stingy Jack and evil spirits. When the Irish immigrants couldn’t find many turnips in the United States, they used pumpkins instead.

So get all that candy ready and be sure your doorbell is working — there’ll probably be lots of witches and goblins out tonight…..
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Check your doorbell and be sure it’s working — it’ll get a workout tomorrow night. It’s Halloween and, of course, the night for trick or treaters. 

Trick or treating has been around since the time of the Celts 2,000 years ago. Halloween was then known as Samhain, or the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter — the darker part of the year. Trick or treating began as what was called “mumming” or dressing up as a ghost or demon and acting like a fool for food and drinks. That tradition lasted until the ninth century. 

After Christianity arrived in the Celtic lands, Christian customs mixed with old Pagan ones. November 2nd was known as “All Souls Day” back then and people would honor the dead with masquerades and bonfires. Some practiced “souling,” an early form trick or treating, where those without much money would visit the homes of the wealthy. The poor would ask for food in exchange for the promise they would pray for the wealthy family’s dead loved ones. 

In Scotland, children would go door to door just like children do today, only they would perform some kind of an act or trick in exchange for food. This was a practice known as “guising” — a trick for a treat.
The tradition that most resembled modern day trick or treating, originated in the UK in the early 1800s. Children would walk around their neighborhoods wearing masks and carrying effigies, or small sculptures. 

In the US, trick or treating was an annual tradition until World War II (it was suspended during the war because of sugar rations.) After the war, it became popular again, when lots of children came along during the “baby boom.”
The term “trick-or treat” was first referenced in print in 1927 in Canada.
A survey taken in 2006, found that over half of British homeowners turned off their lights and pretended not to be home on Halloween.
Store bought Halloween costumes were first sold in the 1930s, and Halloween is the third best known party holiday on the western calendar — behind New Year’s Eve and Super Bowl parties.
So from the Celtics to Shepherdstown, trick or treating has its origins in multiple cultures and the custom has had many contributing factors to make it what it is today.
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Claire came down this morning wearing a shirt that said “MABUHAY” over a picture and “Philippines” under the picture. That shirt is probably 50 years old. I hadn’t seen it in a long time…
I also hadn’t though about Mabuhay in a long time either. Mabuhay is an official Filipino word, and it’s probably one of the first words you’ll hear if you visit the Philippines. 

It’s one of those words like aloha, when you visit Hawaii — it can have multiple meanings….
The literal meaning, in English, is “live.” But in Tagalog, the national language of the Philippines, mabuhay can mean many different things — like, “welcome,” “ to life,” “ live great,” or “hello.” And to the modern Filipino generation, it probably now means “live long and prosper,” “ have a great life,” or even “may the force be with you.”
Mabuhay is also used as a toast during celebrations — in which case it means “cheers!”
So Mabuhay is a pretty cool word — I’m sorry I forgot about it. I think I’ll start using it more….
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This month’s full Moon occurs tonight, October 28 — peak illumination will be at 4:24 p.m., Eastern time. This month’s full Moon is usually called the Hunter’s Moon and the name makes sense because game animals, especially deer, turkeys and pheasants, are traditionally hunted in mid to late autumn when the animals are fattened on late summer bounty. I mentioned a few blogs ago that while Hunter’s Moon  is the most common name for October’s full Moon, if it appears early in the month and is the closest full Moon to the fall equinox, it is referred to as the Harvest Moon. But this year, it’s the Hunter’s Moon.

Of course these Moon names apply to the full Moon in the Northern Hemisphere — since the seasons are reversed in the Southern Hemisphere, it’s reasonable that the October full Moon would be called something more spring-like. And that’s true — depending on the location and culture of the region, southern names for the October full Moon include Egg Moon, Fish Moon, Pink Moon, Seed Moon, and Waking Moon.
This year, with the full Moon being so close to Halloween, it’s even more special. The first full Moon on or before October 31st is known as the Witches Moon. On this night the veil between the worlds is the thinnest and you can receive prophecy if you are of a lineaged bloodline. If you live in a place or area that is haunted, or if you work in a place where someone has passed, if a ghost wants to materialize, this night will be when it will happen.
So enjoy the full Hunter’s Moon tonight, and if you see any ghosts, they may not be trick or treaters.
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Tonight is the first game of this year’s World Series. I can’t say I’m particularly excited about it, but I’ll probably watch at least some of it — after all, it is the World Series.

The Arizona Diamondbacks vs. the Texas Rangers isn’t a matchup very many people would ever have expected. The Texas Rangers won 90 games and were the fifth seed in the AL. The Diamondbacks won 84 games and were the last team in the playoff field. 

The Rangers are making their third trip to the World Series. They played the Giants in 2010 and the  Cardinals in 2011. The Diamondbacks have only been in the World Series once before — that was in 2001, but they won, beating the Yankees in seven games.

I mentioned that rangers have never won a World Series. How many other teams can claim that honor? The list is pretty short — the Mariners, Rockies, Brewers, Rays, Padres, and of course, the Rangers. 
So this year, the Rangers have a chance to get their name off that “never-champs” list.
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Well, it’s that time of year again — time for the World Series! As I’ve mentioned before, when I was a kid, the World Series was a big deal. Most everybody talked about it and all the radios were tuned to the World Series — there was no TV back then. Most people had a favorite team, and even if their favorite team didn’t make it to the World Series, they picked a favorite of the two teams that were playing. 
Baseball was the sport back then — I never heard of the NFL when I was young. Even high school and college football wasn’t all that popular…. sports was all about baseball.

Now, in 2013, baseball has lost a lot of its popularity — football and basketball and maybe even soccer are more popular spectator sports these days.
But tomorrow night’s first game of the World Series will be played between Texas and Arizona. Yea, you heard me right — Texas and Arizona. 
So how many people — even baseball fans — would have picked these two teams to be in this year’s World Series? Somehow, it just doesn’t seem right — World Series teams should have names like the New York Yankees, Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, Cleveland Indians, Chicago Cubs — or White Sox. Not the Arizona Diamondbacks or the Texas Rangers. 
I guess if you’re from Arizona or Texas, you may be excited…. for the rest of us, not so much.
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Watching TV a few nights ago, we saw someone wearing an áo dài (“owzeye”) — the native dress of Vietnamese women. It caught our eye because it had flowers, or some design on it — we both remembered them  usually being a solid color. Claire has an áo dài — as a souvenir of Vietnam. So I thought that it might be a good day to talk about the áo dài and how it came to be…..

The story starts in 1744, when Vietnam was divided into two territories, the Inner Land (Dàng Trong) and Outer Land (Dàng Ngoài.) To distinguish his people, Lord Nguyēn Phúc Khoát of the Inner Land asked his subjects to wear a front-buttoned gown, with trousers. This five-part dress (áo ngū thãn) was the inspiration for the modern áo dài. Royals and elites made their dresses from the finest silk, with intricate details and vibrant colors to represent rankings in court.

In the 1930s, the dress was simplified into two parts by Vietnamese artist Le Mur Nguyēn Cát Turòng. The front flap was extended to reach the ankle, and the form became more fitted. Like many “westernized” ideas, the style was only reluctantly received at first. But after Le Mur designed an áo dài collection for Queen Nam Phuróng, wife of Vietnam’s last Emperor Båo Dai, urban women started to embrace and popularize the more contemporary style.

After the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, Hō Chi Minh wrote an essay, in 1947, noting that the áo dài was not fit for the fields or the factory, asking Vietnamese to adapt their attire to be more efficient for work. As a result, the áo dài became a dress saved for professional appearances and special occasions. 

When choosing an áo dài, each color has meaning. In Imperial times, gold was a royal color and reserved for kings and queens. Red áo dài are worn during Tét for luck and prosperity. Brides may also wear red on their wedding day, so it’s a good idea to wear a different color if you’re a guest. White symbolizes purity and innocence, and black is most often worn at funerals. Some Vietnamese women also choose áo dài colors based on their zodiac sign element (metal, wood, water, fire, or earth) taken from their year of birth.
Today, Vietnamese usually wear the áo dài for culturally significant events including lunar new year ceremonies/celebrations, weddings and other special occasions. 

I always thought the áo dài was attractive, refined and a bit elegant looking — one of the more attractive native costumes from the places I’ve visited….
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United Nations Day, on October 24, marks the anniversary of the day — in 1945 — that the UN Charter went into force. The charter was ratified by the majority of its signatories, including the five permanent members of the Security Council. So, on October 14, 1945, the United Nations officially came into being. The aim of the organization was to encourage co-operation between all the governments of the world after the failure of the League of Nations. It was a consolidated effort to prevent another war, like World War II from breaking out.

There are six official languages for the United Nations: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish. Why these six? Besides Spanish, all of these languages can be matched directly to permanent members of the Security Council with veto power — the U.S., Britain, China, Russia and France. So the languages that became official were the languages of the the most politically influential nations in the Post World War II period. They are also probably the most widely spoken languages in the world.

Today isn’t a public holiday, but people come together and celebrate the day in various cities in different countries. National costumes, flags, speeches, slogans and parades are organized to mark the day and promote the idea of diversity and unity. 

United Nations Day is an official day to appreciate the diversity of cultures, religions, and languages all over the world, and today the urgency for all countries to come together, to fulfill the promise of the nations united has never been greater.
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The subject of weddings has come up recently, and I got to wondering about wedding rings. I’ve worn mine for more than 50 years — Caire lost hers a number of years ago, and it was replaced with other rings, so I guess she has multiple wedding rings. She didn’t get an official engagement ring until a couple of years after we were married.

But anyhow, wedding rings are a tradition that historians have dated back to Egypt almost 5,000 years ago. In a lot of cultures, rings have been, and are, used to symbolize love because the ring is a symbol of eternity. It has no beginning and no end and is a symbol of love and dedication usually exchanged during a wedding ceremony.

An engagement ring is a fairly new development that is a means for a couple to showcase their commitment to each other. It used to be a tradition that the male in the couple would propose to the female, with the woman wearing the engagement ring. But today, it seems that sometimes women propose to men and with the same sex marriages, I’m not sure what the correct procedure is, or if there even is one.

When we got married, it was traditional to place the wedding ring on the ring finger of the left hand. That tradition goes all the way back to the days of Ancient Rome — the Romans believed that a vein ran directly from the fourth finger on the left hand to the heart. The vein was called Vena Amoris, which translated to “vein of love” because of the belief that the heart is the center of our emotions. 

Even though wearing the wedding ring on the left hand is traditional in America, many countries traditionally wear their rings on their right hand — countries like Russia, Germany, Norway and India, as examples. This tradition comes from the Latin adjective “sinister” which originally meant “left” before it came to be defined by evil. And —the majority of the population of the world is right-handed and the Christian cross is made using the right hand, so the left came to be understood as anti-christian, and the right-handed engagement/wedding ring gained popularity. 

So I guess not matter what hand you wear your ring, the symbol pretty much remains the same. Times and customs have changed, but rings still seem to a part of all of them…..
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