WWBC – Winter Traditions

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I have lots of comfy cozy winter habits that I consider somewhat of a tradition. I am and was raised Jewish for my formative years, then my mom married my dad and he was raised Christian so I’ve got a mix of traditions from those faiths.

Comfy Cozy Traditions:

• Now that we’ve consistenly had a fireplace, I love to sit near the fire and read and snuggle. At least one fire per winter season.
• Gotta have hot chocolate on chilly nights.
• Purchasing a new blanket or sweater; ’tis the season to need to stay warm.
• Black Friday shopping; we used to go in person, but the deals just aren’t as good as they used to be plus more and more sales are extended and available online. He will look for upgrades at a good price, and I keep an eye on deals for uprades or new purchases. (I’ve been eyeballing a plant growing hydroponic tower to be able to grow fresh veggies indoors.)
• Reading more. Call it a need to have more books checked off, or just a season that makes me want to snuggle and read, I just read more in the winter.
  • Make new book lists. Add to my full docket of books to read, update and make a new TBR and new On-Deck list.
• See how my goals for the past year went, make new goals. Goals work better than resolutions; resultions are “try to get *here*” then quit once you made it (Ex: run a marathon). Goals are able to built upon (Run more marathons. Run X# of marathons a year).

Holiday Traditions:

• My dad had a fake, realistic, green, ten-foot tree that we loved putting up and decorating. Now that I have my own home, I have a pink tinsel tree that we decorate. I have an ornament to represent each branch or memeber of my family, and I’ve started collecting memory ornaments. (Fam Ex: a metal cutout of a (likely) Camero for my father-in-law) (Memory Ex: my sister-in-law bought me 3 flamingos standing together that said “girls trip” for the bachelorette cruise)
• We exchange gifts on Xmas and, when possible, spend it with family or friends.
• For Channukah (which starts tonight- 12/7/23) we (I) light the candles every night and say the prayers.
• The tradition for Channukah is one gift each night after the candles are lit. Since we do gifts for both holidays, we tend to do less expensive gifts for Channukah and a little more pricey gift(s) for Xmas. (Ex: graphic t-shirts for him, one at a time if I get him multiple vs. a new fitness watch or multiple small gifts at once)
• I love the lighted trees and houses. I’d like to decorate the exterior of the house. I like those projection lights; our neighbors set one up and it catches our house too, but think we’ll get our own for next year. When we have more money I think I’ll buy lights and have a company that puts them up and takes them down hang lights.
• I think next year we’re going to try to build those charcuterie houses (instead of gingerbread houses) that we keep seeing on social media. If it goes well, it’ll be a new tradition for us.

Thanks for reading a little bit about how I do winter. What are your winter traditions? How do you feel about winter? What do you review or make plans about around this time of year?

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Halloween

“Halloween’s origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in)-” History.com

“Halloween and Samhain are not the same, but two separate holidays that differ considerably in focus and practice.” – “Although observances may include merry-making, the honoring of the Dead that is central to Samhain is a serious religious practice rather than a light-hearted make-believe re-enactment. Today’s Pagan Samhain rites, while somber, are benevolent, and, although centered on death, do not involve human or animal sacrifices. Most Samhain rituals are held in private rather than in public.” – Circle Sanctuary

“Originally, Christians observed All Saints’ Day on May 13. But in the eighth century, Pope Gregory III moved it to November 1. Officially, the Church chose this new date to mark the papal dedication of a church honoring the saints. But many historians believe the Church really moved the observance to correspond with Samhain and other pagan fall festivals.” – How Stuff Works

“It is widely accepted that the early church missionaries chose to hold a festival at this time of year in order to absorb existing native Pagan practices into Christianity, thereby smoothing the conversion process.”- ” Either way, what we can be sure of is that the modern celebration of Hallowe’en is a complicated mix of evolved (and evolving) traditions and influences.” – BBC

But why 10/31?

“Halloween falls on October 31 because the ancient Gaelic festival of Samhain, considered the earliest known root of Halloween, occurred on this day. It marked a pivotal time of year when seasons changed, but (more importantly) observers also believed the boundary between this world and the next became especially thin at this time, enabling them to connect with the dead. This belief is shared by some other cultures; a similar idea is mentioned around the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, which also typically occurs in October and involves saying prayers for the dead. This is also where Halloween gains its ‘haunted” connotations.’ ” – Country Living

Traditions

All of the ways we celebrate Halloween are derivative.

“During Samhain, the Celts ‘offered food’ as a way to ward off evil spirits. In the Middle Ages on the eve of All Saints’ Day, the poor would go ‘souling’, visiting houses and offering prayers for the family’s dead in exchange for food, called ‘soul cakes.’ ” –

-“To protect themselves from the potentially evil spirits that may appear during Samhain, the Celts wore animal skin costumes to hide in plain sight. If they looked like a fellow spirit, they believed, it would be safe to go outside. Later, a variant of souling called ‘guising’ emerged in Scotland, in which children dressed up and asked neighbors for food or money in exchange for a song or poem.”-

-“According to the original Irish legend, ‘Stingy Jack’ tried to cheat the devil out of his soul. But when Jack died, heaven didn’t want him either, so the devil cursed him to roam the earth using a carved-out turnip as a lantern. A tradition began of carving scary faces into turnips, beets, or potatoes and putting them in the window to scare away “Jack of the Lantern” and other spirits.”-

-“As part of the ancient festival, a large bonfire would be lit to ward off spirits and lead them to the afterlife. The Celts would then light their hearth fires for the winter from the sacred bonfire. “- Reader’s Digest
The bonfires and hearth-lighting traditions evolved into candle-lighting in the home.

Dolla Dolla Bils Ya’all

National Retail Federation

Not Just For Youngins

“More than 30 million people will spend an estimated $480 million treating their pets to costumes this Halloween, more than double the $220 million spend on pet Halloween costumes in 2010 when the National Retail Federation began tracking pet costumes. ” – Market Watch (2018)

National Retail Federation

Happy Halloween!

*If you enjoyed any part of this post, please consider liking it. If you loved it, please consider following me on WordPress. I also love comments including questions, advice, or a review of the post itself. Thank you for reading and best of luck in your adventures.*