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Christmas Wishes For All

The following is from the film “The Man Who Invented Christmas,” a recent addition to the classic Christmas Movie canon here in the Brink household. I can think of little to add. So, I send this out to all my readers far and wide on this special day.

“I wish you all many Merry Christmases, friendships, great accumulations of cheerful recollections, and Heaven at last for all of us.

In the season of hope, we will shut out nothing from our firesides, and everyone will be welcome.

Welcome what has been and what is, and what we hope may be to this shelter underneath the holly. Happy, happy Christmas to one and all!”

See you next week.

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Merry Christmas, Ya Filthy Animal!

I don’t know about you, but one of my favorite Christmas activities is curling up on the couch with a big bowl of popcorn and watching Christmas movies. Christmas just wouldn’t be Christmas without spending some time with some of our old friends like Charlie Brown, Bob Cratchit, the Griswold family, Buddy the Elf, or Ralphie Parker just to name a few. Each year brings more new films, and, after a while some of them become our friends too. In recent years, Netflix has given us Jeronicus Jangle, and Kate and Teddy Pierce. I’m also a fan of Arthur Christmas and Fred Claus. The list goes on.

The problem though has become that there are far too many choices for holiday viewing, and most of us have pesky things like jobs and family commitments that seriously limit our available viewing time. Well, not to worry, I think I can help.

I have compiled some of my favorite quotes from Christmas movies (and a few TV specials) to hopefully remind you of their awesomeness, and give you some of the feels without having to carve out time to sit and watch them. These are not in any specific order, it’s not a ranking, just some quotes to help get you in the jingle mood. Here we go.

-“Christmas was on its way. Lovely, glorious, beautiful Christmas, upon which the entire kid year revolved.” A Christmas Story
-“The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.” Elf
-“Oh, Christmas isn’t just a day. It’s a frame of mind.” Miracle On 34th Street
-“I’ll just be hanging around the mistletoe, hoping to be kissed.” Love, Actually
-“There’s a certain magic that comes with the first snow. For when the first snow is also a Christmas snow, well, something wonderful is bound to happen.” Frosty The Snowman
-“Son of a nutcracker!” Elf
-“Never be afraid when people can’t see what you see. Only be afraid if you can no longer see it.” Jingle Jangle
-“A toy is never truly happy until it is loved by a child.” Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer
-“Careful of the icy patch!” A Muppet Family Christmas
-“Just because I cannot see it, doesn’t mean I can’t believe it.” The Nightmare Before Christmas
-“You can mess with a lot of things, but you can’t mess with kids on Christmas.” Home Alone 2
-“Nobody’s walking out on this fun, old-fashioned family Christmas! Oh no, no, we’re in this together!” Christmas Vacation
-“I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.” A Christmas Carol
-“You’ll shoot your eye out, kid.” A Christmas Story
-“Faith is believing in things when common sense tells you not to.” Miracle On 34th Street
-“Blast this Christmas music. It’s joyful and triumphant.” Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas
-“It’s Christmas Eve. It’s the one night of the year when we all act a little nicer, we smile a little easier, we cheer a little more.” Scrooged
-“Light the lamp, not the rat!” The Muppet Christmas Carol
-“This is extremely important. Will you please tell Santa that instead of presents this year I just want my family back.” Home Alone
-“It’s cold enough to freeze your Winnebago.” A Muppet Family Christmas
-“You Scrooge, you lose!” Fred Claus
-“What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store? What if Christmas…perhaps…means a little bit more!” How The Grinch Stole Christmas
-“I’m all livin’! I’m alive! What a neat thing to happen to a guy like me!” Frosty The Snowman
-“Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?” A Charlie Brown Christmas
-“I planned out our whole day. First we make snow angels for two hours, and then we’ll go ice skating, and then we’ll eat a whole roll of Tollhouse cookie dough as fast as we can, and then to finish, we’ll snuggle.” Elf
-“Just remember, the true spirit of Christmas lies in your heart.” The Polar Express
-“Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Bambi, Dave, you with the white ear, you…and you!” Arthur Christmas
-“Christmas spirit is more powerful than you could ever imagine. People need Christmas to remind themselves of how good they can be!” The Santa Chronicles
-“If you’re worried and you can’t sleep, count your blessings instead of sheep. Then you’ll fall asleep counting your blessings.” White Christmas
-“Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.” The Nightmare Before Christmas

There are, of course, many more, but these are some of my favorites. Hopefully some of yours are listed too. Keep up the Christmas spirit, and I’ll see you next week.

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Christmas Traditions from Around The World

Christmas will be here before you know it. While everyone has their favorite Christmas traditions, the holiday can look very different depending on your location. Here in the United States tradition changes not only family to family, but by state and region as well. Naturally, the same can be said for Christmases in other countries.

What follows is a list of traditions from around the world that I find interesting. From cute, to cool, to creepy, here’s a quick look into how Christmas is done throughout the globe.

-In Oaxaca, Mexico, December 23rd is celebrated as Noche de Los Rábanos, or “Night Of The Radishes”, which sounds like an awesome B-grade science fiction movie from the 1950’s, but it’s not. This tradition began hundreds of years ago when merchants would carve radishes into different designs as a way to sell their wares to shoppers on their way to Christmas church services. The most attractive and imaginative pieces were bought to be centerpieces for the holiday dinner table.

The holiday was made official in 1897, and it is now a huge festival, attracting tourists and artisans from near and far. Cash prizes are given out for the best radish carvings each year. This is followed by a parade on December 24th for Christmas Eve, and a large, city wide fiesta on Christmas Day.

-Have you heard about the the Christmas Spider in Ukraine? No, no, it’s actually kind of sweet, in an eww kind of way. According to local folklore, there was once a poor widow with children who watched a pine tree outside their home grow into a Christmas tree. This brought them happiness, yet they were sad that they couldn’t afford to decorate it. The widow hung fruit and nuts on the tree in hopes of making her children happy in the morning. Overnight, the local spiders decided to pitch in by weaving silver and gold webs all around the tree to decorate for the family. The next day, the widow and her family were amazed and delighted.

This whole thing reminds me of Charlotte’s Web without Templeton who, let’s face it, was the best part of that cartoon version from my childhood. Anyway…

While I’ll take a pass on this particular tradition, Ukrainians decorate their trees with ornaments that look like spiders and their webs, which are meant to bring good fortune. This year, the story and tradition are that much more important.

-In Japan it is estimated that at least 3.6 million families treat themselves to a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken for their Christmas dinner. While Japan is not a Christian country, KFC ran a (somewhat dubious) campaign advertising the idea that KFC for Christmas was a time honored Western tradition. It isn’t, of course, but since when does truth interfere with profits? Anyway, the whole thing took off, and it is now a time honored tradition in Japan. It is so popular that many families place their orders days in advance so as not to be left out.

I see you, Japan, and I’m here for this fine tradition. Save me a drumstick.

-Many people in the United States are familiar with the German tradition of hiding a pickle shaped ornament in the Christmas tree. The idea is that the green pickle ornament is buried deep within the branches and, being green, is difficult to find. The children are set the task of finding the pickle, and whoever finds the pickle first gets either a bonus present, or gets to be the first to open a present. Cute tradition, right?

Here’s the thing, though. This tradition is not German. Most Germans have never heard of it. No one seems to know exactly where this came from, but somebody came up with the Germany idea, and it just stuck.

-Most of the beloved Christmas characters in the U.S. are the positive, happy, loving kind. Even most of our villains have a little good in them, usually brought out by the end of the story. Mr. Grinch would be a case in point. Some European countries, especially in Central Europe, are a little different.

Sure, many countries have a version of Santa Claus, but many have his opposite as well. The most famous is Krampus, a half demon/half goat creature that goes around punishing naughty children around Christmastime by beating them with branches and sticks, or stuffing them into his sack to take them away to Hell. He often arrives in early December with St. Nicholas, who of course, rewards the good kids with candy. Obviously this is a story invented to scare kids into being good, but it doesn’t stop there. Krampusnacht (Krampus Night) is celebrated in many cities with grown men running through the streets dressed as Krampus, terrorizing the townsfolk in the name of tradition and, um, family fun (?). This gives me nightmares just thinking about it, I can’t imagine being a kid during that time. Although I suppose it’s probably no worse than what goes on in some neighborhoods for Halloween here in the States.

There are other evil or mischievous Christmastime characters throughout the world, such as goblins, witches, gnomes, etc. One I have just recently learned about that I am fascinated by is the Yule cat. In Iceland, the Yule cat is a huge, viscous cat that hides in the countryside and preys on people who don’t receive new clothes to wear before Christmas Eve. That’s right folks, if you don’t have some new duds to get you through the winter, the Yule cat will straight up eat you alive! Wow, and here I thought that the Grumpy Cat Christmas Special was the worst thing a cat could do to me during the holidays. Remind me to donate some parkas to the poor in Iceland this year-they’re going to need some!

-And finally, let’s talk about Christmas decorations, especially those found in Catalunya, Spain. Like most others who celebrate Christmas, the Catalonians decorate with Nativity scenes. All the usual figures are there of course, with Mary and Joseph, Baby Jesus, Shepherds, Wise Men, etc. However, there is one character that we don’t have-a caganer.

What’s a caganer? Well. I’m pretty sure he’s not biblical. A caganer is a character that is stuck in a Nativity scene, usually hidden in the back or a corner, who is caught quite literally with his pants down, answering nature’s call. Yup. It’s a pooping statue. Google it. Even I can’t make this up!

The caganer has traditionally been depicted wearing a white shirt and a traditional Catalan hat, but in modern times has been made to match the likeness of fictional characters like Darth Vader, or politicians like Vladimir Putin, and many other famous celebrities. The tradition of the caganer has been traced back to the 18th century, but historians aren’t quite sure of its meaning. Some claim the caganer to represent fertility and the fertilization of the Earth. Others say these little characters to be a reminder that God is coming on his own time table-whether we are ready or not! Still others believe he is in the Nativity scenes to represent the mischief and evil tendencies in mankind, balancing out the purity and wholesomeness of the traditional Nativity-and thereby proving the point as to why Jesus came in the first place.

Maybe it is a symbolic character, or maybe the Catalonians just have a top tier sense of humor. There have been multiple attempts to remove the character from public Nativity scenes in recent years, but they have been unsuccessful since most people see the caganer as part of their heritage. Well, whatever you think about all this, one thing is clear. The Catalonians absolutely win at Christmas decorating. Game, set, and match.

Well, that’s quite enough for this week, I think. Maybe you’ve learned about a Christmas tradition or two you hadn’t heard of before. Perhaps you’re inspired to seek out new traditions of your own…or maybe not. Wherever we are and however we celebrate, the traditions we hold dear are always a big part of every Christmas.

See you next week!

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Got A Story For You.

Accompany me, if you will, into the Wayback Machine as we set the controls for December of 1989. This was a time when youth culture was ruled by a few unique things. MTV was of course the biggest, bringing its three and a half minute blasts of awesomeness to fans of not only pop music, but also the emerging musical style of hip hop which was coming into its own, and the already over-saturated and doomed to be short lived genre we called “glam metal”, a true dichotomy of a genre if there ever was one. I’d liken it to a conundrum wrapped in an enigma, except for the fact that few involved with this particular style would understand what either of those words mean.

Another cultural achievement that ruled our young lives was the shopping mall, and particularly the food court. On weekends, malls would be awash with teenagers who had nothing better to do but to congregate in these special sections of malls while munching on any number of tasty yet wholly unhealthy foods, and then roaming the mall for hours, in and out of stores and the common areas until the mall closed and your parents picked you up, or if you were lucky, you got to o to the late show at the adjoining movie theater before being picked up from there.

The third in the late 80’s trinity of teenage culture was Professional Wrestling. Yes, I know, wrestling had been around long before we got hold of it (or it of us, more correctly), and it still brings in the fans today. The 1980s though, was a golden age when the… well, I hate to use the word “sport” but for lack of a better descriptor… sport went from just being popular to being absolutely huge. Professional wrestling permeated every possible corner of pop culture and made stars out of almost everyone who were featured. There were record albums, toys, movies, comic books, and even Saturday morning cartoons featuring wrestling stars. Even people who couldn’t stand to watch wrestling knew enough about it and were familiar with the wrestling stars of the day.

It is in this environment my story takes place. I was in my senior year of High School that year and quite active in the arts. This was my fourth year of being in Concert Choir, which I actually lettered in. Yeah, exactly, I didn’t know you could do that either, but there we are.

Anyway, one of the perks of being in the choir in December was that you got one day off each year for a field trip to go and sing. Sometimes we would be one of many schools featured in an all day Carol fest at our local mall. Other years, though, we went to Lambert international Airport, St. Louis, and roamed around dressed in our Choir robes, singing carols out for all to hear. I have always thought it was a nice gesture to spread some Christmas cheer to the weary traveler in the amazingly drab building that passes for an airport here in the Lou. Although in hind sight, this may have just been an excuse for our directors to get out of the classroom for the day. Either way, we were always happy to go.

So, 1989 was an airport year. We’d been dutifully roaming the halls en masse, singing carols and holiday themed songs from a small booklet we all carried with us. We would occasionally stop where we could all gather together and sing as the full Choir, and there were probably about 30 to 40 of us so this was kind of a big deal. We’d sing in several areas where people were waiting to board, in one of the many available lobbies, and especially to people who had recently departed their planes, heading for their luggage.

As I remember things, it was toward the end of the day when some passengers were coming into the terminal after just having landed. That’s when my friend James said, “Dude… that’s Flyin’ Brian.”

“What? No it’s not.” was the reply from someone else who’s name I forget at this point. Joe? Adam, maybe? Rob? I don’t remember.

“No, I think it is. WCW is in town tonight. that’s Flyin’ Brian!

“Holy crap (only he didn’t say “crap”), it is!”

Now, about this time our choir director who we’ll call Kevin, because that’s his name, was beginning to congregate the choir and move us on to our next point, which was probably to the bus home. That’s when he noticed that a small group of us were not congregating with the others and certainly not going anywhere. So he came over to hurry us along.

We were ready for him. We excitedly explained that the wrestlers were beginning to get off the plane and could we please go get some autographs, it’ll only be a minute. Being a responsible adult, he wasn’t so sure about our plan. Can’t blame him of course, since he was in charge of us numbskulls and we were about to accost total strangers who we believed to be wrestling stars.

I remember very specifically telling him that Flyin’ Brian Pillman was standing just twenty feet from us, a once in a lifetime event.

“I don’t know guys, are you sure it’s him?” asked our honorable director.

“Pretty sure it’s him…” said James, “and that THAT’S TERRY FUNK!!!”

With these words, Kevin straightened up, adjusted his tie, and walked over to Terry Funk with what can only be described as a “purpose”. One would have half expected him to go give a lecture about how he and his colleagues were ruining young minds. Then he spoke these words:

“Mr. Funk. I’d just like to say I’m a huge fan…”

And I have no idea what he said after that because IT WAS ON! We were all rushing around to talk to any wrestler getting off the plane and making them sign their autographs in our sheets of caroling music. Mr. Koontz had given us the okay, and it was the coolest thing one of my teachers had ever done (and I had a lot of cool teachers!). He only let us go for a few minutes but it was more than enough.

Remember now, we are all in our Choir robes and had just been singing about reindeers, Santa, and the baby Jesus. So as fun as this story is from our perspective, what must have it been like for these wrestlers who were just getting off the plane in yet-another-airport to go to yet-another-match in their schedule just like any other day? I can only imagine.

I don’t remember everyone who was there, I’m sure there were a few more wrestlers I am forgetting. But I do know that Flyin’ Brian was trying to hold back laughter while talking to us and signing our music sheets. I’m not sure if he thought we were the biggest dorks in the world, or if the situation was just too goofy and unexpected to be taken seriously, or both, but it was all he could do to keep it together.

We also met one of the Von Erich brothers, but I can’t for the life of me remember which one. I remember he was very nice, though a little taken aback and confused by all of this.

Pretty sure we blew Terry Funk’s mind. He kindly signed every piece of paper but seemingly couldn’t figure out what to make of these high school kids in weird black and red robes freaking out over wrestlers while others sang Christmas carols at them. It was too weird, he couldn’t process it. But he went with it, because what else could he do?

Oh yeah, that’s the other thing. There were only a handful of us doing the autograph thing. The rest of the choir continued to sing on. presumably in an effort to try and keep some decorum about all of this. Which only made it weirder.

Anyway, that’s the gist of it. The Carol sheets with the signatures are long gone now, unfortunately. They were either mistakenly thrown away when moving out of my parent’s house, or a victim of Amber, the cocker spaniel puppy who ate everything in my room from records to tee shirts to books, whatever she could get hold of. I do wish I still had it since it’s such a fun memory of a weirdo, once in a lifetime thing.

You may think it strange to be telling what is essentially a Christmas story now while it’s still Summer. Ordinarily, you would be correct, but it just so happens that Terry Funk passed away last week, so I thought this was a good time to share. While I haven’t watched wrestling on any sort of regular basis for about twenty years or so (WCW RIP) but Terry Funk was a constant back then and I remember watching several of his matches. Many of them made me happy, but none of them as much as the day I sang Christmas Carols for wrestlers.

Rest well, Mr. Funk. May the heavenly choirs sing you into the afterlife…without creepily asking for an autograph.

See you next week.

Holiday Hangover

Anybody else got ’em? The old “post holiday blues” are upon us again, friends.

I get them every year. The last few months has had so much going on that to hit January and be hit with all of this nothing can come as a bit of a letdown. No more parties to attend, family focused or otherwise. No more brightly colored lights all around the neighborhood. Well, except for that one neighbor’s house who leaves them up year round and doesn’t think to turn them off until February. You know the one.

No mound of presents to look forward to giving or receiving. No more singing old familiar carols in public. At least, not without getting some really weird looks, anyway. Also, no more huge feast type meals which admittedly is good for the waistline, but it makes normal day to day food seem extra boring. Especially if you are dieting.

When I was a child, I had a record from the Sesame Street television show all about Christmas. The only thing I really remember about it is a song sung by Gordon, Bob, and probably a few others, but those are the voices I remember. The lyrics were as follows:

“Keep Christmas with you all through the year,
When Christmas time is over save some Christmas cheer,
These precious moments, hold them very dear,
And keep Christmas with you all through the year.”

Sappy, I know, but through the magic of Christmas it becomes sentimental and charming.

Okay, so the question is, how do you do that? How are you supposed to keep Christmas all the year long? Besides keeping love in your heart for your fellow man, celebrating the life and lessons of Christ, and treating everyone with love, honor, dignity and respect, I mean.

Look, just because the calendar has changed over and the decorations have all been put away, it doesn’t mean you have to stop. If you are committed enough, and don’t mind keeping things a little bit on the down-low, you can keep Christmas going.

First of all, nobody can actually stop you from listening to Christmas music. If you want to keep bumpin’ jingle jams in your car or around the house, that’s your own business. Nobody has to know that your windows are up, the A/C is on and you’re hearing those sleigh bells jingling, ring ting tingling too on May 4th.

Plus, there’s like, literally hours of Christmas stuff on YouTube and the streaming services. If you want to watch Rudolph, Buddy the Elf , or that Hershey Kisses commercial while in bed waiting to drift off, that’s cool. You do you.

Here’s another idea. A lot of touristy places have a year round Christmas shop. Convince your family that it’d be a silly bit of fun to go to the Christmas shop in July. And if you find some new décor you just have to have, well, it never hurts to be prepared, does it?

Let’s face facts. The next few months are going to be cold, grey, and miserable. If you need to hold on to the holiday season a little longer for your state of mental health then that is what you should do. Also, if Christmas makes you happy and you need that little Christmassy pick me up on and off during the rest of the year, go for it. Don’t let anybody poop on your parade. A lot of people will think you’re a little kooky if they find out you’re vibing on Christmas all year round, but so what? If they can’t be happy that you are happy then they are probably in line for a big ol’ lump of coal next Dec. 24th.

Fellow Christmas enthusiasts, keep on being you and doing what you do. Keep Christmas with you, all through the year. Even if it means leaving your lights up all year round. Unless you’re just being lazy, then come on dude, step it up.

Oh yeah, and try to do all that peace on Earth and goodwill toward mankind stuff too. That definitely shouldn’t stop at Christmas time.

Take care, y’all. See you next week for more MonDAVEs.