Lots to celebrate in dreary days of December

Christmas shopping is in full swing this week. The birth of Christ isn't the only thing to celebrate, though. Did you know this week is Cookie Cutter Week? When was the last time you even used a cookie cutter? It has been years since I used one as most of the cookies I make are drop cookies. The closest thing to a shaped cookie I make are the ones that are rolled into balls before baking. Maybe I should dust off a new recipe or two in honor of Cookie Cutter Week.

December 4 is National Dice Day. Really, who comes up with these things? We used to spend hours playing Yahtzee and that is the only thing I have ever used dice for. But since there is an entire day dedicated to dice I probably should find some other uses for them.

According to Wikipedia, the oldest known dice were excavated as part of a 5,000-year-old backgammon set, at an archeological site in south-eastern Iran. I still don't know how to play backgammon. Do you? Most dice today are made of plastic but in the past they were frequently made of bone, ivory, wood, metal, and stone. I think I'll skip Dice Day this year.

December 7 is Pearl Harbor Day. There are still some who were around who remember the "Day That Will Live in Infamy." I just wish we could figure out how to live peacefully about things we would rather forget.

December 10 is my step-father's birthday. I miss having to buy presents for him. A flashy shirt or some strong cologne and he was happy. The last present I ever bought him was a box of chocolate covered cherries. That is what he asked for.

Hanukkah begins at sundown Friday, December 11, this year. It is also spelled Chanukah. It commemorates the Jewish Maccabees' military victory over the Greek-Syrians and the rededication of the Second Temple, which had been desecrated by the Greek-Syrians. Thus, Hanukkah is a celebration of Jewish national survival and religious freedom. It has been equated to Christmas but is, in reality, a different sort of holiday altogether even though presents are involved.

The day that intrigues me the most is December 15. It is ­­- I am not making this up - Cat Herders Day. This strikes me as an impossibility. I can't manage to catch our own cat without resorting to trickery. How in the world would anybody be able to heard more than one cat?

The shortest day of the year is December 21. Fittingly December 21 is also National Haiku Day. Short poem. Short day. It works for me even though I have never written a decent haiku in my life.

December 22 is the first day of winter. Funny, I always thought winter began on the winter solstice. Maybe the list I am consulting is wrong.

December 23 is my father-in-law's birthday. He was so frail before he died. I miss the angel stories he used to tell. He believed that angels had gotten him out of several difficult spots such as the time an angel led him to safety in the middle of a snowstorm. Now he is an angel himself.

Christmas is the day we celebrate a birth. Not just a birth of a baby; but of hope; of life; of forgiveness. The Jesus I know preached tolerance. He did not seem to adhere to ritual for the sake of ritual. He was a man who changed the world.

We celebrate all these holidays by doing what we think others expect us to do - we buy, buy, buy. We forget that in the midst of all the consumerism the important part is to be with family. The gifts are secondary. Even so, I have to go now. I have shopping to do.[[In-content Ad]]