Ready for the parties

The New Year's countdown has started. 2019 is almost in the history books. A new year is a good time for hopes, dreams, and plans. But meanwhile, are you ready for the parties?

Your local first responders are.

Looks like 4th of July, but these are New Year's fireworks, as seen from the side of a Branson, MO Fire Rescue truck. And while 4th of July is the busiest holiday for first responders, New Year's is right up there. (LION Gear/Branson MO Fire Rescue)

Perhaps surprisingly, New Year's Eve is not the busiest day for them. Those honors go to the 4th of July in much of the USA. Thanksgiving is another notably busy time, especially for fires and medical emergencies, followed by Christmas for most of the same reasons.

But even if they're not securing Times Square from terrorists, first responders everywhere are getting ready for the parties. Because where there are parties, there's drinking.

Dread running into a sobriety checkpoint on New Year's Eve? The police don't exactly love doing them, either. But cops would rather stop drunk drivers this way than scrape them off the pavement later. In the story from Tulsa, OK that this photo originally illustrated, one police chief advertised his willingness to give free rides home to anyone who'd had too much to drink. In fact, Chief Tracy Roles is doing it again this year. (Photo from KJRH/Scripps News Service)

Dangers on the road
We all know the drill. We've heard the lectures. We all know it's not safe to drink and drive. Or do we? From the declining numbers of alcohol-related accidents over recent decades, the message appears to be widely understood, but still today not everyone pays attention or thinks this applies to them. So, one more time: Alcohol can quickly impair your ability to drive safely.

Your size, weight, gender, what you have or haven't had to eat, and the amount of alcohol you drank all influence the amount of impairment your central nervous system suffers. That's why some people can drink and still think they're functioning just fine.

But the plain facts are that alcohol consumption slows your reaction time, impairs your coordination, reduces your concentration, decreases your ability to see, and impairs your judgment. That makes it a recipe for trouble if you drink too much, then get behind the wheel.

There are similar problems if you're high on any other drug, if you're texting while the car's in motion, you're overly tired, or you're distracted by raucous passengers. New Year's Eve is prime time for all of those things!

And please, be nice to first responders you do encounter. They're working on a holiday, to help keep you safe, and they'll do it whether you appreciate it or not. But I really hope you'll appreciate it, and tell them so.

And thank you for doing it between calls, Officer! A significant percentage of police officer deaths and injuries in traffic are the result of officers being distracted by all the tech and other things they're supposed to monitor. (Stopping the Stigma of PTSD in First Responders and High Stress Workers/Facebook)

Pre-party preparation
When you're getting ready for the parties, it pays to make plans. The Los Angeles Police Department has some tips to offer, and I've added a few of my own.

Party Hosts:
Be wary of anyone you don't know. Did they come as the guest of an invited guest, or are they crashing the party to case your house?

Make sure party decorations are secured so they can't be pulled over by accident, especially by pets, children, or unstable drinkers. Keep all flames (such as candles or fires in a fireplace or fire pit) far away from flammable clothing, decorations, or furnishings.

Keep potentially hazardous treats out of pets' reach, and keep an eye out for guests accidentally letting a pet outside into danger.

Even if you offer alcoholic drinks, also have non-alcoholic drinks available for party guests. Consider offering food that can help buffer the effects of alcohol consumption. Have a plan for helping intoxicated guests get home via alternative transportation, a quiet place where guests can rest and "sleep it off," or perhaps a designated driver for the party who doesn't drink any alcohol.

If you're ready for the parties, your parties will be lots more fun.

Partygoers:
If you're traveling anywhere, especially at night, don't travel alone if you can help it. And while you're forming a group, why not pick a designated driver?

Remember to lock doors and windows while you're gone, so the burglars can't get in! And surely it goes without saying that small children should always be left under competent, caring supervision--but I'll say it anyway.

If you know you'll be drinking, consider eating first. That'll make the evening last longer. You'll have more fun if you're not passed out in the corner somewhere.

Be sure you're ready for the parties, so you and your friends can stay safe while you're having fun. And HAPPY NEW YEAR to everyone!

I couldn't have said it better. Thanks, Calgary Fire Department!

IMAGE CREDITS: 
Many thanks to LION Gear and Branson Fire Rescue for the fireworks photo. I deeply appreciate the sobriety checkpoint photo from Tulsa's KJLA/Scripps News Service--and even more the willingness of Bartlesville, OK Police Chief Tracy Roles to go the literal extra miles to prevent drunk-driving accidents! 
Many thanks to Stopping the Stigma of PTSD in First Responders and High Stress Workers on Facebook, for the "Text 'Happy New Year!'" image--and also for your worthy mission! PTSD is near-endemic in these highly necessary, but high-stress jobs. Our first responders shouldn't have to suffer the results with no support!
Last but not least, thank you Calgary Fire Department and Jackie Long, via Jackie Long's Twitter feed, for the closing image with New Year's wishes.

Merry Christmas, and be careful out there

Not everyone gets to celebrate at home with their families today. With that in mind, today's post is a tribute to the first responders who have to work. Because heart attacks don't take a holiday. Neither do fires. Nor mental health emergencies. Nor crime. "Let's be careful out there" was an iconic line from the 1980s show Hill Street Blues, but it applies in all decades.

In the past I've written about ways to thank first responders, and I hope I've expressed my thanks and respect through other blog posts as well. But it's time to do it again. So to all first responders I'd just like to say, Merry Christmas, and be careful out there!

911 Dispatchers

The Dispatch Center at the Ada County Sheriff's Department in Ada County, Idaho is a busy place during the holidays, just like practically every other 911 Dispatch center.

It's a too-frequently-forgotten crucible of chaos that's often a center of frantic activity on holidays: the place where the calls come in. 9-1-1 dispatchers have a high-stress front row seat on the worst day in the life of practically everyone in town.

That goes double for busy winter holidays. Roads are often wet or icy. People are distracted, inebriated, or both. Stuff happens. And 9-1-1 dispatchers are expected to remain rock-steady through it all. No, they're not out in the weather, but never imagine they're not in the fight. And never imagine their job is easy.

I hope they'll accept my heartfelt thanks, for what they're worth!

Emergency Medical Service and Firefighters

EMS doesn't always get shoveled sidewalks or plowed streets when it snows, but it's nice when that happens. (Photo by Gold Cross Ambulance/Post Bulletin)

EMS is part of the local Fire Department in much of the United States, but not always or everywhere. However they're organized, when Dispatch calls they go. No matter what's on the ground. Shouldn't matter which neighborhood (although, sadly, sometimes it may). And it doesn't matter how gory or horrible the things they see when they arrive might be.

Winter is a difficult time to fight fires. Added to the usual dangers, cold weather can cause falls from slips on ice, frostbite, and related hazards. Add all of this to the strain of being away from one's family, and you can see that holiday duty comes with added stress.

Many thanks to all of you! Merry Christmas, and be careful out there!

Christmas cheer is where you make it at the fire station, when you have to work that day or night. (Photo: WJHG Channel 7, Panama City Beach, FL)

Sometimes it's a modest wreath . . . sometimes it's a bit more elaborate. (Photo: Ephraim325 on Reddit)

Police Officers

Many of the people who come into contact with police officers during the holidays are not happy to see them. Drunk drivers, domestic disturbances in stressed-out households, thieves from porch pirates to armed robbers, and many other criminals take no holidays. In fact, Christmas is "the most dangerous time of the year."

This makes police officers' Thanksgivings thankless, their Christmases critical, and their New Years nasty. Whatever holidays they celebrate, they know they'll receive more curses than holiday greetings on those days.

I know one blog post can't make up for all the abuse, but this blogger thanks you! Merry Christmas, and be careful out there!

I found a couple of cartoons by this unidentified artist, featuring an "Officer Santa" character. (If you know who the artist is, I'd love to know and give credit!) (Sidney Ohio City Government on Facebook)

Clearly the same artist, same character, same rousing thank-you message. (Police Benevolent Foundation)

IMAGE CREDITS: Many thanks to the Ada County (ID) Sheriff's Glassdoor listing, for this uncredited photo of their dispatch center. I'm grateful to The Rochester (MN) Post Bulletin and Gold Cross Ambulance (now called Mayo Clinic Ambulance). I also thank WJHG Channel 7, of Panama City Beach (FL), for their photo and story about first responders working on the holidays. I'm very grateful to Ephraim 325 on Reddit, via Pinterest. I'm grateful to the Sidney, Ohio City Government's Facebook Page for the first "Officer Santa" picture, and to the Police Benevolent Foundation, via the "Sh*t My Callers Say" Tumbler, written by an emergency response dispatcher. 

Seasonal K9 moments

The Artdog Images of Interest

It's the end of the week, and for many of us it's the start of a holiday break. I thought you might enjoy some seasonal K9 moments on a Friday-before-the-big-events!

The calendar says winter's not here till tomorrow, but that doesn't mean it hasn't been cold already in the Northern Hemisphere. Time to test out the new winter gear!




Home for the holidays

One inevitable problem every year is the struggle to travel. We Americans live in a far-flung nation, so we're always going to grapple with travel woes. But it's far from only an American problem.

Crowding, bad weather, and security bottlenecks create chaos wherever we are (or are trying to go). How to cope? Working K9s will have many "seasonal moments." They'll be busy patrolling, screening packages at airports, and doing all they can to keep us safe.

Maybe this could help facilitate holiday travel?

But "home for the holidays" doesn't only apply to humans. Here's a story that takes place a bit after New Year's, but it's still a winter homecoming, so it counts as a seasonal K9 moment. And I hope if warms your heart.



Learn more about American Humane's Service Dogs for Veterans initiative. If you're looking for a place to make a holiday or end-of-year donation and you believe every retired service dog deserves a good home, consider this program.

Encounters with Santa

Would the holidays have as much sparkle without the chance to give and receive? Certainly not. And there's all sorts of potential for seasonal K9 moments with Santa, in the run-up to Christmas.

Holiday gift-giving

Silly memes aside, I'd also like to highlight some more serious thoughts about seasonal K9 moments. Specifically, some very special, life-saving holiday presents for working police K9s.

"Vested in time for Christmas" - San Antonio K9 Rick (shown here with his human partner, Officer Robert Acosta of the VIA Transit Metro Police Department) received a bulletproof, stab-proof vest in mid-December 2018, from Vested Interest in K9s Inc. These vests are expensive, but through donations the organization provides them to working police dogs at no charge to the department.

Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. was at it again this year, with (among other gifts) a bulletproof, stab-proof vest for K9 Roman (with unidentified sidekick) of the Clinton, Iowa Police Department, paid for entirely through donations.

I hope your holiday traditions include charitable giving. If they do, consider a gift (perhaps on Boxing Day, especially if you missed Giving Tuesday) to one of the K9 good causes I featured in this post:

• American Humane's Service Dogs for Veterans initiative
• Vested Interest in K9s, Inc.

IMAGE CREDITS

The YouTube video of the K9 in his new winter booties is from The Weather Network. It featured a Rapid City, SD K9 who'll undoubtedly need those booties, but that doesn't mean he has to like them. The "Here's an Idea" image is courtesy of Imagur's Service Dog Memes. Many thanks to The Dodo on YouTube and American Humane's Service Dogs for Veterans, for the video about Bakk's reunion with his human, and the programs they support. 

Many thanks to the German Shepherd Dog Community (the GSDC) on Facebook via Sheryl Pessell's Pinterest Board, for the "I'll be Waiting" meme (she has other good ones on there, too!). And double thanks to CHEEZburger, via I Can Has CHEEZburger's "17 of the Best Animal Christmas Memes" page, for both the "You Are Not Leaving" (via I Love my German Shepherd Dog and Add Text) and the "Bark at Santa" (via Bella German Shepherds) images.

Finally, thanks to My San Antonio, for the "Vested in Time for Christmas" photo of K9 Rick and Officer Acosta (with accompanying story). Thanks also to KWQC of Clinton IA for the photo and story about K9 Roman (unfortunately, his uniformed sidekick wasn't identified). And thanks very much to Vested Interest in K9s Inc. for their work!

Freedom of religion

Monday's post was partially inspired by a column I saw in the newspaper. Today's post is, too. Same issue of the Kansas City Star, actually. But this one originated in The Times of Israel. Sorry to say, it has a pretty dark tone. I'm talking about freedom of religion.

Yes, I mean the clause in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that goes, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."

But I'm also talking about more than that. The need for--and the attacks against--individuals' freedom of religion is a worldwide issue. And 2019 was a challenging year for those who support the idea, because it was a pretty scary time to assemble for worship.

Fire in the holy places

I could approach this topic of attacks on places of worship from several directions. War, terrorism, hate crimes, shootings, bombings, arson (whether intentional or negligent) . . . Some took worshipers' lives. Some "only" took historic buildings, holy books, or other sacred objects.

But all took peace of mind. All took traditions and cherished ways of being. And all scarred people's lives.

St. Mary Baptist Church was the first of three historically black churches burned near Opelousas, Louisiana by an arsonist now charged with hate crimes. (photo by Natalie Obregon/NBC News).

Firefighters eye the smoldering remains of the Adas Israel Congregation's 118-year-old synagogue, which went up in flames this year. Although not the result of a hate crime, it was an example of irresponsible behavior that resulted in devastating loss. (Photo from MPR/Dan Kraker, via Jewish Telegraphic Agency).

Assailants burned statues and holy books in a southern Sindh Province Hindu temple. The brazen attack sparked censure from the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan on his Twitter feed. Police officials promised an independent investigation, while the advisor to a local Hindu council demanded greater security for Hindu temples. (Photo from Imran Khan/Times of India).

Without respect for others, we all live in peril from that third kind of fire.

Bullets, Bombs, and other Explosives

It isn't only fire that's been a threat to holy places this year. Even more destructive to the lives of worshipers is violent intent. People have fired hundreds of rounds, or lobbed bombs and grenades into sacred spaces. Into peaceful crowds of people just practicing their faith.

It's hard for me to grapple with the depth of dysfunction and twisted logic that makes such an act seem rational to anyone. But the evidence that it can be rationalized was overwhelming this year.

A soldier stares at the destruction of a Roman Catholic cathedral in Jolo, Philippines. Two suicide bombers detonated their explosives during Mass last January (photo from WESMINCOM Armed Forces of the Philippines Via AP/Times of Israel)

In a possible retaliation for the cathedral bombing, two Muslim scholars died and four others suffered injuries in a grenade attack on a mosque in Zamboanga. (Photo from Armed Forces of Philippines via AP/Al Jazeera)

Mourners outside the Al-Noor Mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, where a white supremacist gunned down 40 people on March 15 (Photo from Agence France-Presse/Reuters via VOA)

Bombs went off on Easter Sunday during services in several locations in Sri Lanka. Here's what was left of the sanctuary at St. Sebastian's Church, where 104 people died. (Photo from AP/Chamila Karunarathne via The Times of Israel)

On the final day of Passover, a gunman opened fire on congregants at the Chabad of Poway Synagogue (California). This picture shows a makeshift memorial set up across the street. (Photo from AP/Gregory Bull via The Times of Israel).

Can't we make it stop?

Are you exhausted by the carnage yet? We've only made it to the end of April 2019, with our latter set of photos above. There's been lots of violence since then, but I think we all more than get the point.

There are dangerous people out there. They have guns, bombs, grenades, and flames--and they're not afraid to use them. They're not ashamed to attack innocent people in worship services, although any such act is shameful and cowardly. They don't care if a place has historic significance, or if it means something to others, although that attitude is invariably brutish and self-serving. Nothing within themselves seems to hold them back, and no security system will stop them all. 

But we can and must do better than this.

We must support broader access to mental health care and social services--not only because it's the right thing to do, but because it can help defuse the human hatred that sets off all-too-literal bombs. Keep pushing back till commonsense curbs put access to deadly weapons of mass destruction out of unauthorized reach. Strive for greater educational and economic opportunity for all, since we know that inequity breeds resentment and hatred. Stay alert for problems festering in our midst, and fearlessly call them out.

Freedom of religion isn't only an American concept. It's a basic universal human right (see Article 18). If we don't uphold and defend it as a right for all, then it is secure for none of us.

IMAGE CREDITS: 
Many thanks to AZ Quotes for the wisdom from Thomas Jefferson. I am indebted to NBC News and Natalie Obregon for the photo of St. Mary Baptist Church in Louisiana; to Jewish Telegraphic Agency for the MPR/Dan Kraker photo of the burned remains of Adas Israel Congregation's synagogue; and to Imran Khan, via The Times of India for the photo from the temple in Kumb. I'm grateful for the quote about fear and fire by boxing coach Cus D'Amato, from Authentic Traveling with Andrew Scott. 
Many thanks to the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Associated Press, via Times of Israel and via Al Jazeera, for the photos of aftermaths from the two Philippine bombings. I'm also grateful to Agence France-Presse/Reuters via VOA for the photo from New Zealand, and to the AP and Chamila Karunarathne via The Times of India, for the photo from inside the sanctuary of St. Sebastian's. Thanks also to AP and Gregory Bull via The Times of Israel, for the photo from Poway, CA.
Finally, I deeply appreciate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s wisdom, and the image from The Peace Alliance that gives it a dramatic presentation.

Making sense of things

The Artdog Quotes of the Week

Life doesn't make sense. At least, not until we make sense of it. On this blog I've often written about art as a means of building bridges of understanding. I see "story" as a basic human need, because it's essential to our making sense of things.

An example from the Sunday paper

I recently saw an example of this. Kathleen Parker used The Wizard of Oz as a frame of reference for interpreting recent political events. This is story-as-meaning-making in its most elemental form.

Could she have done the same basic thing using a less-well-known story? Maybe. But not if she wanted her readers to instantly know what she meant when she referenced characters such as the Wizard, Dorothy, or others (identifying Conan the Hero Dog with Toto gave me a laugh. But I'm sorry--the Scarecrow was much smarter than Devin Nunes!).

The Wizard of Oz is a widely-understood cultural element in the United States. If Parker had tried to make a point using a less famous story, she would've needed to take precious column-inches to sketch the basics of the story. But it still could've been effective. Using a story to comment on contemporary events is simply humans making sense of things.

Using story as a framework for understanding

A few years ago someone told me that only if you "wrap an idea in a person" can you truly communicate the idea. I accepted this for consideration at the time, but I think it's off the mark. The way you communicate an idea is by wrapping it in a story. This is very much to Mycoski's point. Making sense of things depends on the story we use as a framework.

As you might imagine, this is inconvenient when we're trying to persuade someone, and the argument is grounded in facts (such as research about climate change or the safety of vaccinations, for instance), but the person we're trying to persuade sees things very differently.

It can be maddening when one person looks at a given set of facts and interprets them one way ("I want you to do us a favor, though" equals bribery and abuse of power), but another person looks at the same set of facts and sees something entirely else ("We do that all the time. Get over it!"). Clearly, they aren't using the same stories to form their frames of reference when they're making sense of things.

Our stories about ourselves

Stories are even more important to us personally, when we're making sense of things in our own lives. Our stories--our frames of reference--profoundly affect our interactions with the world and our understandings of ourselves.

I am a female. When I was growing up in the late-middle of the 20th Century, that meant I had certain commonly-assumed limitations. Girls "couldn't" be athletes (not and remain "ladylike"--and of course, to be "unladylike" was a horrifying state of decadence). Girls "didn't" do well at math (my own dear mother, who was usually all about encouraging my dreams, told me this as a straight-out). Girls had only three "respectable" career paths: secretary, nurse, or teacher (you'll note I chose one of those opt).

Even more ominously, men had a right to leer at us, to touch us, to demand that we looked a certain way, and and to claim us as being "under their protection."

That's just the way it was, we were told. By everyone in the society around us.

Recovering from destructive stories

Not everyone in my generation has managed to shake off those oppressive, omnipresent stories. Not all of us are even yet free of patriarchal frames of reference. And all of us most certainly were marked by them. In many of us they persist, even when we repeatedly stomp them down if they rise to the level of conscious thought.

This idea is probably top-of-mind for me right now because I've been working on a novelette whose theme addresses this. The stories that have always framed the POV character's understanding  of herself and her place in the world are challenged. Making sense of new facts and ideas forces her to change some of her frames of reference. And that makes a huge difference to her outcomes.

The stories we tell ourselves are powerful. Life-changing. They can be anything from life-threatening to empowering, but one thing is certain.

We need to be very careful what stories we accept, when we're making sense of things.

IMAGE CREDITS: 
Many thanks to Images and Voices of Hope (ivoh) via their "Storytelling Quotes" Pinterest Board, for the quote from Dr. Pamela Rutledge. Thanks also to Libquotes for the quote from Blake Mycoski, and to Self Narrate, again via Pinterest, on their "Quotes about the power of story" board, for the quote from Sharon Daloz Parks. 

A sustainability ethos

The Artdog Images of Interest
I have a thing for "green" architecture. I'm fascinated by how it works, and the potential to build things that actually improve the environment, rather than contribute to blighting or destroying it. All over the world, I'm seeing a sustainability ethos--a sense that we have a moral obligation to do better--begin to rise up.

All over the world, but not so much in the USA. I think most of my readers can figure out why, but it's a shame. That's not to say we have nothing of the sort here. Several local projects in the Kansas City metro have included a sustainability ethos in their planning. But the cutting edge projects too often are being built elsewhere.

I recently became aware of three different sustainable projects that could be part of a solution to our climate crisis. I've shared information about them on social media, but I also want to collect some thoughts about them here. Each demonstrates an admirable sustainability ethos.

Humanscapes of Auroville, India
This sustainable housing complex (in Auroville, which has a rather extraordinary visionary origin altogether)  has already been built (from locally-sourced materials). It is a net-positive energy project, which generates more energy than it uses.

It's also part of a long-term study of how built spaces can foster community among those who live or work there. Designed for young adults, students and faculty, it features common areas that are beautiful and flexible, among its array of innovations.

The complex was designed by the local-to-that-area firm of Auroville Design Consultants. Read more about it on Inhabitat and Arch Daily.

Humanscapes of Auroville, India, is part of an experiment in sustainable living and community-building. (Akshay Arora/Auroville Design Consultants)

The sustainability element in the economic and social picture is far too often overlooked by planners and designers I've encountered or read about. But when you fail to evaluate the complete "footprint" of a project, you can get into trouble fast.

Burwood Brickworks Shopping Centre of Melbourne, Australia
Trumpeted as the "World's most sustainable Shopping Centre," according to The Sydney Herald the Burwood Brickworks shopping center won't quite be a net-positive energy project like the Humanscapes. but it will "produce a large chunk of its energy needs."

However, according to Broadsheet Media of Melbourne, it will achieve the Living Building Challenge (LBC) certification standards. "LBC-certified buildings have zero carbon footprint; zero waste; produce more electricity and water than they use; grow agriculture on 20 per cent of the site; and are built using non-toxic and recycled materials," they said.

That sounds net-positive to me, but I'll let them sort it out. Considerably more eco-friendly than conventional shopping centers is a good bet, either way. And definitely informed by a sustainability ethos.

The Burwood Brickworks Shopping Centre in Melbourne, Australia is designed and built with a "rooftop farm" that calls to my mind the ubiquitous rooftop farming I extrapolate for the habitat wheels of my fictional Rana Station.

Smart Forest City of Cancun, Mexico
The architectural firm behind the Smart Forest City is familiar to anyone who follows the most interesting developments in the ongoing struggle to innovate sustainable structures. Stefano Boeri Architetti is based in Milan, Italy, where one of its earlier projects, the groundbreaking Bosco Verticale, looks a whole lot like the "White Space Tree" I blogged about last May (note that Bosco Verticale was built first).

Canals will run through much of Smart Forest City, primarily to provide water for the agriculture that is designed to make it food-self-sufficient. This visualization reminds me of a Solarpunk city design like those of Tyler Edlin or MissOliviaLouise.

Stefano Boeri's latest project, the still-in-the-process Smart Forest City, is intended to be "a model for resilient and sustainable urban planning." To that end, it will be "completely food and energy self-sufficient." In other words, not only net-positive (or at least net-neutral) energy but able to produce its own food.

I'm flashing on my fictional Rana Station again. Because Rana is an island in space that is 23 hours away from the nearest planet, its very survival depends on its self-sufficiency. Every available space is used for agriculture.

That creates parallels with Smart Forest City. Between green roofs, vertical gardens, and an agricultural belt that surrounds its perimeter, the plan is to make the Mexican project capable of feeding all 130,000 projected residents from its own agriculture. Talk about building with a sustainability ethos!

IMAGE CREDITS: Many thanks to TES and Sualci Quotes for the "Light of Mine" illustrated quote, to Inhabitat for the photos of Humanscapes in Auroville, India, and Smart Forest City in Cancun, Mexico, to QuoteFancy for the illustrated quotes from Phil Harding and William McDonough, and to Broadsheet Melbourne for the photo of the Burwood Brickworks Shopping Centre renovation project.

A month of holidays

December is a month of holidays. For several years, I've labored to create blog posts about the holidays that fall during this month. When I realized I was focusing exclusively on December holidays but no others, I started my "Holidays Project" last summer.

At this point I've done feature posts on nearly every major religious holiday that usually falls in December, as well as several more minor ones and at least two that are secular in nature. Why so many holidays in one month?

Blame it on the Solstice. 
The astronomical event of the Winter Solstice creates the shortest daylight of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. It falls on December 21, nearly every year. Combine that fact with the nature of humans, and a holiday of some sort is near-inevitable.

We humans have a psychological and spiritual need seek out hope and a cosmic picture of the Universe that makes sense. And we probably need it most of all when food is short and we're in danger of freezing to death. That's why December is a month of holidays.

I explored Solstice traditions in some depth, in a blog post from 2016 that still gets many hits every year. Get drunk, eat dumplings or fruit, and party down. It's traditional!

Festivals of light
Not surprisingly for holidays that originated during a month of long nights, a lot of December holidays feature candles or fires.

A Solstice festival of light/fire is Yuletide. In a 2013 post, I focused on the Yuletide legend of Krampus, but the tradition of burning the Yule Log (originally a whole tree, or most of one) is probably more well-known to those of us whose ancestors hail from the British Isles, where the related custom of Wassailing also originated. Of course, many people prefer their "Yule Logs" to be made of cake, rather than wood!

Winter Solstice bonfires are a feature of a celebration in Maine. (Bangor Daily News/Eric Michael Tollefson)

Last year, the first Sunday of Advent and the first day of Hanukkah both fell on the same day, December 2. This year Advent started on December 1, but Hanukkah doesn't begin till sunset on December 22.

Compared with Yom Kippur and several of the others, Hanukkah is a relatively minor holiday that has gained a greater following because of its proximity to the Christian holiday of Christmas, celebrated on December 25 each year.

Christmas originated as a religious holiday, and it still is one of the most important holidays of the Christian year, preceded by the Advent season and smaller holy or feast days such as St. Nicholas Day, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, and St. Stephen's Day.  If you think about it Christmas is a month of holidays, just by itself.

Secular observations
Especially in recent years, many individuals, cultures and traditions have embraced some of the more glamorous elements of Christmas, including Santa Claus, Christmas trees, holiday lights on buildings, and Christmas presents, without much interest in the Christian religious aspects.

There will likely always be people who decry a "war on Christmas" (meaning a minimization of the religious aspects), it seems unlikely that these exuberant and sometimes garish secular holiday traditions will go away anytime soon. They're too darn much fun.

The granddaddy of municipal Christmas light displays is the annual display in Kansas City's Country Club Plaza (unattributed photographer/KC Kids Fun)

One, somewhat peculiar spin-off of Christmas is Festivus, inspired by a TV show and celebrated with greater or lesser levels of devotion by aficionados.

A considerably more spiritual, but not religious, celebration is Kwanzaa. I explored the days of Kwanzaa in some detail, back in 2017. Although the first day had to share billing with Boxing Day, the second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth days got their own posts. The seventh day of Kwanzaa is also New Year's Day.

However you celebrate this month of holidays, I hope you find love, joy, and peace among the hectic pace and the welter of traditions!

IMAGES: I created the "Winter Solstice" composite with help from Ksenia Samorukova (Ukususha) and Rawpixel at 123RF. Many thanks to the Bangor Daily News and Eric Michael Tollefson, for the photo of the bonfires in Maine, and to KC Kids Fun (and their unsung photographer) for the photo of the Kansas City Country Club Plaza holiday lights.