Give Thanks to Light

Growing up Episcopal with German and Irish lineage (4th generation American mutt), Christmas was a pretty special time of year. I remember playing with the delicate baby Jesus in my parent's nativity scene. Our house was decorated to the brim with trees and garland and Santas, my mom loved Santas; the outside trimmed with bright white lights.

At church, the mood was lifted as well. For, lo and behold, it's the birthday of our Savior Jesus Christ! Our love, our light! There were so many beautiful songs to belt out that were dedicated only to Christmas. Children play a natural role in the celebration and the story telling is enchanting. People were energized to be involved, to share cheer and good tidings.

I was deeply involved in the church at the time a popular phrase made its debut:

It's so catchy!

People started saying it and soon there were buttons and magnets and cross-stitch; Christians decided that there's only one thing to celebrate in December, all else be marginalized.

I jumped on that Jesus train! Of course, JESUS is the reason for the season! Why else would anyone celebrate in the month of December? That's all I knew. Christmas trees EVERYWHERE, Santa on every corner, decorations galore, Christmas songs for a month long!

And if they're not celebrating Jesus Christ, they're on the commercialized bandwagon of Santa Clause, Rudolf and twinkling lights. They probably didn't even understand the 12 days of Christmas let alone know about the three wise men. I wore my pin like a badge of honor, this was Jesus' holiday and no one else's.

And then I heard about something different... Around the age of 13, my best buddy was a Jewish boy around the corner. He told me about his traditions and I shared ours. So, here's this kid who also believes in God and he doesn't celebrate Christmas while his religion is that of Jesus himself. Say what?! He celebrates Hanukkah and it sometimes falls on Christmas? And it's been celebrated for a couple hundred years longer than Christmas? Say it ain't so, there is another reason for the season? And what about Kwanzaa? Americans with African heritage had been celebrating Kwanzaa since the 1960s!

And then I learned some more... the Mayan calendar was based on the moon. These people celebrated the change of the seasons: Spring Equinox, Summer Solstice, Autumn Equinox, Winter Solstice and 4 more, based on the rotation of the earth. They had studied the earth and pinpointed every movement and moment around the sun. They had celebrations for the Winter Solstice, which is the longest night of the year. Winter Solstice marks the birth of the sun, the welcoming of more light. Winter Solstice is always on December 21 or 22.

Say what?! There's ANOTHER holiday that falls right around Christmas? And then I found out that the date of Christmas is historically not Jesus' birthday. The date of December 25th was chosen by Christian leaders in the 4th century because it coincided with the long-standing Winter Solstice celebration. Jesus' birthday wasn't even celebrated until then! It was literally designed and placed as an alternative to the Pagan rituals. Christmas traditions, like the yule log, mistletoe, lights and evergreens are all rooted in Pagan tradition.

Um, 16 years old and world.up.side.down. This season we celebrate between Thanksgiving and New Year is not only about Jesus? There are other people celebrating other holidays that have existed longer than Christmas?  So why were all these people at church saying that Jesus was the only reason for the season?

All this knowledge expanded my tolerance and appreciation for other cultures. I realized that there are lots of reasons for celebrating in December and all have very special meanings. Most of my family celebrates Christmas and I love being able to expose my children to Christian celebrations. We celebrate Winter Solstice in our house and we talk nearly every day during the Season about different traditions, beliefs and celebrations. We enjoy sharing traditions with friends and family and we delight in giving gifts to our loved ones.

When someone smiles and says, "Merry Christmas", I take it as a loving gesture. I'm not offended. I am happy their heart is so full with the joy of the season. When I smile back and say, "Thank you. Happy holidays!", I hope they feel the love, too.

And for those ostracizing us who say, "Happy Holidays", those of us who celebrate for other reasons, please appreciate our differences. It's all about the reasons for the season: thankfulness and generosity. Don't be offended, instead, say from your heart, "Merry Christmas".

•••

It's taken a lot of soul searching and research to establish our own family traditions based on our roots in Christianity and our more Pagan-like beliefs. We accept, appreciate, celebrate and learn about other cultures and celebrations. Every holiday season in our house is built upon the last - we celebrate Winter Solstice with a fire, a yule log and a small ceremony; we buy gifts for our family members; we decorate with evergreen and hang special ornaments; we learn about St. Nicholas and Santa Clause; we enjoy special treats. Every year, our family learns something new as we learn and grow together.

My studies of holidays in the month of December has been narrowly focused on what effects other Americans and myself. I'm interested to learn about world-wide traditions that also fall in the month of December. Enlighten me!

•••

Finally, to celebrate Winter Solstice is not to reject Christianity, Judaism or any other religion. Rather it is to show respect to the earth, whether you believe god created it or not. Winter Solstice is an ancient celebration that applies today - the days still get longer after the Winter Solstice. We give thanks to the light, to longer days and new life on earth.

Pig - it's what's for dinner!

Geez, feel like I fell off the cyber-map!

Between the crazy election (I have not given up on America yet), my new interest in the Paleo Lifestyle and a couple projects I have in the steamer, time has flown by like nothing!

I'm inspired to share the dinner my family ate tonight. The hubby is really glad I've added meat back into our diet (only good meat - raised in their natural environment, eating what they'd naturally eat, no hormones) and he especially liked my twist on stir fry this evening.

First off, a girlfriend of mine who I met through Tabata Boot Camp (post on that coming shortly) gave me an electric roasting pan. This tool has inspired me to tackle whole meat products like chickens, beef brisket and a spiral ham. Everything turns out amazing!

So I bought a spiral cut, nitrate free, hormone free, free range ham from Trader Joe's the other day.

Roasted it in aluminum foil for 3 hours in the electric pan @ 350°; glazed it, left the foil open at the top and roasted another :30 at 450°.

After cutting the easy meat from the bone, I returned the fat, cartilage & bone to the roasting pan for another 12 hours of slow cookin' at 250° (overnight). Mmmm... that's pickin' ham! My mama would be proud.


HAM GLAZE: 

• 2 TBL honey
• 1 TBL garam masala or mustard powder
• 2 TBL orange juice
• pinch of cloves if using mustard powder
• few churns of fresh pepper
• combine ingredients in small sauce pan, simmer on low for :15 before basting ham with glaze; when basting, brush glaze between slices for added flavor 

The spiral ham masterpiece was complete about 24 hours ago and it's almost gone! Besides the pickin' meat, there are only two slices of spiral meat left... and that's because we've been makin' some serious meals with this pig!

BREAKFAST: cut ham into strips and fried for a side with eggs and oranges

LUNCH: picked ham from the bone and ate with raw red bell pepper and a few homemade Paleo nut crackers

DINNER: ham salad stir fry! Delish!!

HAM SALAD STIR FRY - here's how I made it; you can sub/add any veggies!! Carrots, celery, tomatoes, eggplant, baby corn... everything is optional! Include all but the kitchen sink.

• 1 lb of thick sliced ham, cut into thin inch-long chunks
• 4 cloves of garlic, sliced thin
• big chunk of turmeric root, sliced thin  {1tbl}  
• I've only found the root at Whole Foods; you can use powder, too, but the root is so yummy! 
• big chunk of ginger root, minced  {1tbl}
• powder ginger if you don't have fresh
• 1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
• 1/2 yellow bell pepper, chopped
• 1/4 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 small zucchini, sliced thick and cut in quarters
• romain lettuce, enough for each person
• bacon grease (or coconut oil or olive oil)
• salt, pepper, red pepper flakes
• chicken broth (or any broth or white wine)
• process:
• heat large skillet and add enough bacon grease to saute garlic, turmeric & ginger; season with salt, pepper & red pepper; saute about 5 minutes
• move spices to the side and add more bacon grease, bell peppers and sunflower seeds; sprinkle with salt & saute for another 5 minutes
• add zucchini and ham, cook until ham is browned
• deglaze pan with a bit of broth or wine
• serve ham stir fry atop chopped romain leaves, add dressing or hot sauce for tasty pleasure 
• Put lettuce on base and ham stir fry on top. 
• I used only Sriracha hot sauce on my dinner; hubby and boys topped theirs with a balsamic olive oil dressing. YUMM!!!

Copy and paste to word document to print. Enjoy!