It is Sunday, December 21 and there are only 4 days until Christmas!!  Fortunately, my baking is almost done and the lovely Elaine has the gifts wrapped.  More about Christmas in just a bit.  First let’s take a moment to remember the birthdays of Thomas Becket, Benjamin Disraeli and Frank Zappa.  On this day in 1620, 103 Mayflower pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock, in 1898 scientists Pierre and Marie Curie discovered radium and in 1946 Frank Capra’s “It’s a Wonderful Life” premiered.  It is Independence Day/Unity Day in Nepal and Forefathers’ Day in Plymouth, MA.

I would like to mention a few notes about the coming holiday.  Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus.  While the birth year is estimated among modern historians to have been between 7 and 2 BC, the exact month and day are unknown.  By the early-to-mid 4^th century, the western Christian Church had placed Christmas on December 25.  The holiday has been known by various other names throughout its history.  The Anglo-Saxons referred to the feast as Midwinter.  In Old English, Geola (Yule) referred to the period corresponding to December and January, which was eventually equated with Christian Christmas

Many popular customs associated with Christmas developed independently of the celebration of the birth of Jesus.  Certain elements had origins in pre-Christian festivals that were celebrated around the winter solstice by pagan populations that were later converted to Christianity.  These elements, including the Yule log from Geola and gift giving from Saturnalia, became part of Christmas over the centuries.

The prevailing atmosphere of Christmas has also continuously evolved since the holiday’s inception, ranging from a sometimes raucous, drunken carnival-like state in the Middle Ages, to a tamer family-oriented and children-centered theme introduced in a 19^th-century reformation.  Additionally, the celebration of Christmas was banned on more than one occasion within certain Protestant groups, such as Puritans, due to concerns that it was too pagan or unbiblical.  Imagine what those groups would do if they saw the commercialism that has developed now!  And that ends this year’s “History of Christmas” lesson.

Recently, the lovely Elaine and I had an opportunity to go to the mall.  It was early enough in the day that we did not anticipate crowds.  It was a fascinating trip.  I am amazed at the number of senior citizens who are out at that time of day (it was shortly after the mall opened).  I was again afforded the opportunity to people watch and would like to share a couple observations with you.  First, let me clarify what I mean by senior citizens.  I am talking about the ones in their mid to late 70’s and older.

 

These are the people who go the mall and then walk around as if they are the only people in the place.  They just sort of meander along without any concern for the people around them.  They always have a look on their face that says they have no idea where they are, why they are there or how they got there, but , “Hey, what the hell, let’s just sightsee while we’re here.”  It can be amusing to watch them, as long as you are not trying to get passed them to get to a particular store.  They look at some of the things that are for sale and have absolutely no idea what they are seeing.  It is especially interesting to watch as they pass the Brookstone store.  They look at the items there and you can see the puzzlement on their faces.  It is the same look I (and others, I am sure) get when my grandsons start talking about Pokemon and Minecraft.  Seniors won’t even look in the Apple store.  They go by it as if they are afraid they will catch something.  Generally, they seem to go to the mall so that they can see people that they don’t know and get in their way.

I noticed a new thing that I had not been aware of before.  Perhaps I missed it because the mall was crowded on our other visits, or maybe the seniors had found their way out by the time we got there.  This new thing was confined, as far as I could tell, to men.  It is what I call the “Toot and Scoot.”  This is when a man walks along and breaks wind, audibly.  He pauses for a second, looks to see if anyone has reacted and then quickens his pace to get away from the offending olfactory evidence.  I witnessed this several times within a 10 minute span.  There was one guy who should have someone talk to him about his diet.  It also reminds me of a joke:

A woman goes to visit her doctor and he asks what he can do for her.  She tells him that she has an embarrassing problem – she keeps silently breaking wind.  “What can you do to help me doctor?” His reply was, “The first thing we should do is have your hearing checked.”  Thank you, I’ll be here all week.  Don’t forget to tip your waitress.  But I digress …

I did notice another interesting thing during that trip to the mall and it had nothing to do with seniors.  One incident that I found particularly amusing happened to a young man.  He was walking along at a brisk pace, talking on the phone and apparently in a hurry.  He rounded the corner and went for the escalator to the upper floor.  Unfortunately, he was not paying attention and tried to get on the down stairway rather than the up one.  It took him a minute to figure out what had happened and why he wasn’t going up.  I laughed out loud at that. 

You will notice, if you watch, that there are three types of young people wandering around the mall.  There are the people, male and female, who walk around, in a hurry, talking on their phone as if they are making plans for the transplant surgery they are going to do.  There are the young people who wander as if they have nothing to do and all day to get it done, texting their friends and oblivious to the world around them.  Finally there are the mothers, wearing their yoga pants, with their hair pulled back in a bun or pony tail, pushing strollers with crying children.  Add that crying to the cacophony of lousy Christmas music and you are talking holiday (please note the sarcastic tone here). If you do not already go to the mall for the entertainment, you should.  Get a cup of coffee, find a place to sit and just watch and enjoy the show.

Our fact this week tells us that 40% of the American population has never visited a dentist, but many of them go to Walmart regularly.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, Happy Kwanzaa or whatever holiday you celebrate this season.  May it be filled with happiness, family, fun, good food and good health.  Have a safe holiday and tune in next week!