Today is Sunday, December 2 and there are just 23 days until Christmas! By now you should be dusting off the fruit cake that has been passed around for the past ten years and getting ready to send it on to the next unlucky recipient. Today we remember the birthdays of Ruth Draper, Randolph Hearst and Britney Spears. On this day in 1763 the Touro shul (the oldest existing US synagogue) of Newport, Rhode Island was dedicated, in 1816 the first savings bank in the US opened (Philadelphia Savings Fund Society) and in 1952 the first televised human birth was aired in Denver. In the UAE it is Independence Day and in the US it is National Fritter Day.

Since this is the beginning of a new month, let’s open the December trivia folder. The name December comes from the Latin word ‘decem’ meaning ten as December was the Roman Calendar’s 10th month. While winter doesn’t actually begin until the solstice, many folks move South well before winter begins – the Snowbirds as they are known. For those of you who don’t know the term, Snowbird is a North American term for a person who migrates from the higher latitudes and colder climates of the northern United States and Canada in the southward direction in winter to warmer locales such as Florida, California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas or elsewhere along the Sun Belt of the southern US.

Snowbirds are typically retirees who wish to avoid the snow and cold temperatures of northern winter, but maintain ties with family and friends by staying there the rest of the year. A significant portion of the snowbird community is made up of recreational vehicle users (RV’ers). Often they go to the same location every year and consider the other RVers that do the same a "second family" … but I digress

To finish up the month’s information, the December birth flower is the narcissus and the birthstones are turquoise, zircon and tanzanite. First and foremost, Christmas is this month; however, December is also National Egg Nog Month, National Fruit Cake Month, National Pear Month and National Car Donation Month. That should tell you more than you need to know about the month.

This time of year I do something I don’t generally do the rest of the year. I pay attention to commercials, to a point. I don’t watch them because I am actually interested in the products. I watch them because I want to see all the different things they want people to buy as presents. In the early evening, the commercials are about toys and electronics. I remember when the big commercial was Santa riding down a snow-covered hill on floating shaving heads. Things have gotten much more advanced now.

Now, they push phone plans that allow you three or four phones so that you can get them for your kids. Why young kids need phones is beyond me, but I am not trying to sell phone plans. These commercials always show the young children opening the phone on Christmas morning and yelling and being beyond happy. There are also the new devices that allow you to connect to family and friends and see them and talk to them. Why can’t they just use the new phones they got?

As it gets later in the evening, they start to push the jewelry (pronounced jew-el-ry, not jew-le-ry) and cars and trucks. There was a time when they only tried to push cars, but trucks are now gaining popularity. I have a hard time thinking of a car or truck as a Christmas present. I am from a time when a present for a spouse or girl friend was a necklace or bracelet, a nice blouse or sweater, perfume or something like that. Nowadays, to get the things the commercials are pushing, you will also need to get a second job.

The other thing that gets touted all the time is candy. I can’t prove it but I think the ADA is behind all those commercials. There are the standards that are always being sold. Did you know that around 200,000,000 M&M’s are sold each day? There are the specialties that are always around, but are always highlighted at this time of the year. Then there are the required candy canes and gum drops. Now, they also have white, red and green Christmas candy corn. Many of the companies depart from their standard shaped product and come out with Christmas tree-shaped items. From what I, myself, can attest to, you don’t need fancy shapes to get me, or I would guess anyone else, to eat candy. I hate to sound like a conspiracy advocate, but I think the candy and other holiday treats are just to set us up for the exercise equipment that they start pushing in the new year. I could be wrong, but …

This week our fact tells us that arachibutyrophobia is the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth. Why is that a fear? A drink of milk will clear that up right away. Why do we have to have a word like this to describe such a fear. Why can’t we just say that person has a fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of his/her mouth? It is a lot simpler to say and people will know what it means. The official name is difficult to say normally, but imagine trying to say it when the peanut butter is actually stuck to the roof of your mouth and you are panicking because you have the fear. 

I want to start a movement – Call It What It is! No more fancy names for things. Please join the cause and stop calling things by names that no one understands or can easily pronounce. Just Call It What It Is! Thank you.