Whoo-boy! Can you believe that we're not only at the end of the month already...but also at the end of the year? This year has just flown past. It's been a busy one for many of us, myself included. But even though it's sad to see the year come to a close, January always offers so much hope and possibility. The holiday season will be over with in a couple of days but that's no reason to fret. January has 31 days, many of which can be reason to celebrate. So let's keep the party going! Here is your Calendar of Special Days for
January 2019
1.  New Years's Day
2. National Science Fiction Day, National Cream Puff Day, National Personal Trainer Awareness Day, National Buffet Day.
3.  National Fruitcake Toss Day, National Chocolate Covered Cherry Day.
4.  National Spaghetti Day, National Trivia Day.
5.  National Keto Day (This could tie in nicely if your resolution is to lose weight!), National Bird Day, National Whipped Cream Day, National Screenwriters Day.
6.  National Bean Day, National Shortbread Day, National Technology Day, National Cuddle Up Day, (and my favorite) little brother Quigley's Birthday!
7.  National Bobblehead Day, National Tempura Day, National TGIM Day (Thank God It;s Monday.
8.  National Argyle Day, National Bubble Bath Day, National English Toffee Day, National JoyGerm Day, National Winter Skin Relief Day (toads need this to be every day of the year!), Shop for Travel Day. 
9. National Apricot Day, National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day, National Static Electricity Day.  
​10. National Bittersweet Chocolate Day, National Cut Your Energy Costs Day, National Save The Eagles Day.
11. National Milk Day, National Step in the Puddle and Splash Your Friends Day.
12. National Kiss a Ginger Day (but only with permission!), National Pharmacist Day, National Vision Board Day.
13. Korean American Day, National Sticker Day, National Rubber Ducky Day, Stephen Foster memorial Day, National Sunday Supper Day.
14. National Dress Up Your Pet Day, Ratification Day, National Clean Off Your Desk Day.
15. National Brooch Day, National Hat Day, National Strawberry Ice Cream Day.
16. National Without A Scalpel Day, National Nothing Day, National Religious Freedom Day, National Fig Newton Day.
17. National Get To Know Your Customer's Day.
18. National Winnie The Pooh Day, National Thesaurus Day.
19. National Quark Day, National Popcorn Day.
20. National Buttercrunch Day, National Disc Jockey Day, National Cheese Lover's Day.
​21. National Hugging Day (and who couldn't use more of them?), Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Squirrel Appreciation Day.
22. National Blonde Brownie Day.
23. National Pie Day, National Handwriting Day, Library Shelfie Day.
24. National Compliment Day, National Peanut Butter Day.
25. National Opposite Day, National Big Wig Day.
​26. National Green Juice Day (You know I gotta love that!), National Spouses Day, National Seed Swap Day.
27. National Chocolate Cake Day.
28. National Have Fun At Work Day, National Kazoo Day, National Blueberry Pancake Day, Data Privacy Day, National Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day (But only if it's the environmentally-friendly kind!).
29. National Puzzle Day, National Corn Chip Day, Plan For Vacation Day.
30. National Croissant Day (Yummo!)
31. National Backward Day, Inspire Your Heart With Art Day.
See? I told there were still plenty of fun and worthwhile things to celebrate in January. So keep the party going; just pick out your favorite January days to celebrate. That's what I'm going to do. I'm hopping off now to make a run to the Land of Lily Pad Party Store. Then I'm taking a few days off to celebrate the New Year with my family and friends. I'll be back again on Thursday, January 4th to resume my normal schedule.
Happy New Year Everyone. Until we meet again in 2019, I wish you joy, love and
                                                                      PEACE.    

I'm back! I hope everybody had a wonderful holiday; I sure did. it's always special whenever I get to spend time with my family and friends, but over the holidays, it's even more special. Sharing the love and a lot of laughter with them is the best part of Christmas for me. Little Quigley got everything he asked Santa Frog for and his exuberance on Christmas morning could be heard, I'm quite sure, all the way to the far end of the Great Swamp. But now it's back to reality, at least for a couple of days.
As the end of December draws near many of us, frogs and humans alike, are giving careful thought to what we might want to improve on in the coming year. Since making New Year's resolutions is something many folks do, I thought we'd take a look today at some interesting facts about the New Year's resolution tradition.
1.  The first New Year's celebration dates back 4,000 years ago to Julius Caesar, the first Roman Emperor. He named January 1st a national holiday and named it after Janus, the Roman god of doors and gates. Janus had two faces, one looking forward and one looking back. Caesar felt that a month named after this god would be fitting.
2.  Forty-five percent of Americans make resolutions. The top ones each year are: to lose weight, get organized, to spend less and save more, and to quit smoking. I've made all of these resolutions at one time or another, with the exception of smoking. Unfortunately, twenty-five percent of those resolutions are abandoned by the second week in January.
3.  Be sure to eat leafy greens on New Year's Day. Tradition says that the more leafy greens a person eats, the more prosperity he or she will experience (what an incentive for staying healthy!). Tradition also says that legumes bring prosperity because beans and peas look like coins. No wonder why so many people eat black-eyed peas on January 1.
4.   Many people celebrate the New Year by popping the cork on a bottle of champagne. Americans drink close to 360 million glasses of sparkling wine over the holidays. The bubbly stuff dates back to the 17th century when the cork was invented.
5.   About one million people gather in New York City's Time Square to watch the ball drop on New Year's Eve. The ball came about because the City of New York placed a ban on using fireworks. The first ball in 1907 was 700 pounds and was lit with 100 25-watt lights. The current ball puts the old one to shame (thanks to technology). Today, it is covered in 2,688 crystals, is lit by 32,000 LED lights, weighs 11,875 pounds and is 12 feet in diameter.
6.  Auld Lang Syne is the most sung and played song on New Year's Eve. Poet Robert Burns wrote it in 1788. Though most people do not know the words to Auld Lang Syne, the overall message is that people have to remember their loved ones, dead or alive, and keep them close in their hearts.
7.  Baby New Year is the symbol most associated with the holiday, Baby New Year is often seen in a diaper, black top hat, and a sash showing the numbers of the new year. This New Year myth states that he matures into an old man during the year.
8.  Make sure you are surrounded by friends and loved ones on New Year's Eve. This tradition says that the first person you come across in the new year could set the tone for the next 12 months. So be sure to keep your favorite people in view as the clock strikes midnight!
9.  At the Mummer's parade in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 10,000 participants step through City Hall and perform in unique costumes. The parade dates back to mid-17th-century, incorporating elements from Irish, German, English, Swedish and other European heritages. The parade itself is divided into five divisions: a comic division, wench brigades, fancy division, string bands, and fancy bridges.  This is one of the most famous of all the New Year's parades.  I found this last act one of the most interesting.
10.  According to the National Insurance Crime Prevention Bureau, more vehicles are stolen on New Year's Day than any other holiday. You might think your old car would be safe, right? Not quite.  In 2011, the 1994 Honda Accord was the most stolen car.  Always leave your car in a well-lighted and populated area, whenever possible.
And here are a couple of bonus fun facts from around the globe.
11. The year in Ethiopia is 13 months long. They celebrate their New Year on September 11th.
​12. In Korea and some other Asian countries, when you are born, you are considered one year old and everyone’s age increases one year on New Year’s. So if you were born on December 29th, on New Year’s day, you will be considered 2 years old. 
13. There is a music festival every New Year’s Eve in the Antarctic called ‘Icestock.'
14. In Thailand, they celebrate their traditional New Year’s Day with a state-sponsored multiple day water fight. 
15. Beethoven’s 9th Symphony was introduced to Japan by German POWs in WWI (who played it for them), and it is now a national tradition to perform it every New Year’s. 
I hope you enjoyed these fun facts about New Year's as much as I did. Tomorrow's blog will be our January 2019 Calendar of Special Days. I know you won't want to miss that! Until then, I wish you love, joy, and PEACE.

​https://patch.com/georgia/cumming/10-fun-new-years-facts-and-traditions_195c2c79
​https://www.kickassfacts.com/25-kickass-interesting-facts-new-year/

Here we are at the Friday before Christmas. You can feel the excitement in the air. Little kids everywhere are eagerly anticipating the arrival of Santa Clause, Pere Noel, or Father Christmas. Little brother Quigley, Jr. had been driving our parents crazy asking almost hourly, how many more days until Santa Frog comes. I love the holidays. There's a sense of peace and joy and love in the air that isn't seen at any other time of year. The bright and happy decorations, the music, and the food, all add up to make this the best season of the year. To round out my Christmas week blog series, today we'll take a look at a few holiday traditions found around the globe. So get yourself a cup of coffee or tea and buckle up for a quick trip to distant lands. No passport required.
Our first stop is in Australia...the world's largest island and smallest continent. Christmas in Australia is celebrated during summer vacation. In addition to swimming, sailing, and surfing, Aussies like to spend their Christmas season singing. The most popular event of the Christmas season is called Carols by Candlelight. People come together at night to light candles and sing Christmas carols outside. The stars shining above add to the sights and sounds of this wonderful outdoor concert. And no Christmas would be complete without a meal cooked outdoors on the "barbie." 
Next up is China. The small number of Christians in China call Christmas Sheng Dan Jieh, which means Holy Birth Festival. They decorate their homes with evergreens, posters, and bright paper chains. The family puts up a Christmas tree, called "tree of light," and decorates it with beautiful lanterns, flowers, and red paper chains that symbolize happiness. They cut out red pagodas to paste on the windows, and they light their houses with paper lanterns, too. Christmas Eve is generally spent at a party and Christmas dinner is traditionally enjoyed at a local restaurant.
It is cold, wet, and foggy in England at Christmastime. Families welcome the warmth and cheer of a Yule log blazing on the hearth. They decorate their homes with holly, ivy, and other evergreens and hang a mistletoe "kissing bough." Throughout the holidays, carolers go from house to house at twilight ringing handbells and singing Christmas songs. "The Holly and the Ivy" and "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" are English favorites. People give the carolers treats, such as little pies filled with nuts and dried fruits.
Leaving the cold of England, we travel next to Ethiopia. Ethiopia is one of the oldest nations in Africa. It still follows the ancient Julian calendar, so Ethiopians celebrate Christmas on January 7. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church's celebration of Christ's birth is called Ganna. It is a day when families attend church. The day before Ganna, people fast all day. The next morning at dawn, everyone dresses in white. Most Ethiopians don a traditional shamma, a thin, white cotton wrap with brightly colored stripes across the ends. The shamma is worn somewhat like a toga. Urban Ethiopians might put on white Western garb. Then everyone goes to the early mass at four o'clock in the morning. In a celebration that takes place several days later, the priests will dress in turbans and red and white robes as they carry beautifully embroidered fringed umbrellas.
Pere Noel is Santa Claus to French children. Christmas in France is a family holiday. The celebrations begin on December 5, which is St. Nicholas Eve. It is a day for gift-giving between friends and relatives. On that cold night, children leave their shoes by the hearth so Pere Noel, or Father Christmas, will fill them with gifts. Christmas Eve is the most special time in the French celebration of Christmas. Church bells ring and voices sing French carols, called noels. The family fasts all day, then everyone but the youngest children goes to midnight mass. The churches and cathedrals are beautifully lit, and most display a lovely antique creche. Afterward, the family returns home to a nighttime feast that is called le reveillon. The menu is different in the various regions of France. In Paris, it might be oysters and pate, while in Brittany, the traditional midnight supper is buckwheat cakes and sour cream.
From France, we travel next door to Germany. German families prepare for Christmas throughout cold December. Four Sundays before Christmas, they make an Advent wreath of fir or pine branches with four colored candles. They light a candle on the wreath each Sunday, sing Christmas songs, and eat Christmas cookies. The children count the days until Christmas with an Advent calendar. Each day, they open a little numbered flap on the calendar to see the Christmas picture hidden there. In the weeks leading up to Christmas, homes are filled with the delightful smells of baking loaves of sweet bread, cakes filled with candied fruits, and spicy cookies called lebkuchen. Many German children write letters to St. Nicholas asking for presents. St. Nicholas Day is December 6. Other German children write their letters to the Christ Child. In some areas, the Christ Child brings gifts to children on St. Nicholas Eve and in other areas on Christmas Eve. He is dressed all in white, with golden wings and a golden crown. Christmas Eve is the most important time of the Christmas season for families. Some even say it is a magical night when animals can speak. The wonderful tradition of the Christmas tree, which started in Germany, is the heart of the celebration. Grown-ups decorate the evergreen tree with beautiful ornaments of colored glass and carved wood, silver stars, and strings of lights. A golden angel is placed at the very top of the tree.
From Germany, we move to neighboring Holland. Dutch children in Holland, or the Netherlands, anxiously look forward to St. Nicholas Day on December 6. While they eagerly await the arrival of Sinterklaas, the people around them shop for gifts, write a little poem to accompany each one, and carefully wrap each gift to keep the contents a surprise to the receiver. Sinterklaas is a kindly bishop. He wears red robes and a tall, pointed mitre on his head. Sinterklaas travels by ship from Spain to Amsterdam's harbor every winter. With him he brings his white horse and a huge sack full of gifts for the children. The mayor and all the people of Amsterdam flock to the harbor to greet Sinterklaas as he arrives. Bells ring out, the people cheer, and a brass band leads a parade through the streets. The parade stops at the royal palace, where the Queen welcomes Sinterklaas. Families celebrate St. Nicholas Eve at home with lots of good food, hot chocolate, and a letterbanket. This is a "letter cake" made in the shape of the first letter of the family's last name. In some families, each person gets a little letterbanket with their first initial.
And we'll end our world tour in sunny Mexico. The weather is warm and mild in Mexico during the Christmas season. Families shop for gifts, ornaments, and good things to eat in the market stalls, called puestos. They decorate their homes with lilies and evergreens. Family members cut intricate designs in brown paper bags to make lanterns called farolitos. They place a candle inside and then set the farolitos along sidewalks, on windowsills, and on rooftops and outdoor walls to illuminate the community with the spirit of Christmas. The Mexican celebration of Christmas is called las posadas and begins on December 16. The ninth evening of las posadas is Buena Noche, Christmas Eve. The children lead a procession to the church and place a figure of the Christ Child in the nacimiento or nativity scene there. Then everyone attends midnight mass.
I'm off to spend the holidays with my family, but I'll be back again on Thursday, December 27th. Until then, from the Wart family to yours, we wish you Happy Holidays!
                                                           Peace on Earth. 

​https://people.howstuffworks.com/culture-traditions/holidays-christmas/christmas-traditions-around-the-world-ga9.htm

We're nearing the end of my Christmas week blog series. I hope you've enjoyed what I've written so far. Today's blog is in a subject that most of us...yes humans and frogs too....struggle with every year. And that is, to regift or not to regift. Every Christmas we struggle to do the right thing. Speaking from personal experience, I don't like to regift. But, what do you do with all the gifts you can't use or really have no use for? Today I thought we'd take a look at a little regifting etiquette.
Regifting in some ways does make sense; it saves a little money and gets rid of new but unwanted items that are laying around collecting dust. Experts tell us that it's perfectly okay to regift as long as you follow a few basic rules. And here they are.
​1. The gift needs to make sense. You wouldn't regift your mother-in-law with that holiday necktie you received at the office Christmas swap, now would you? We all want to save money and declutter our homes, BUT...don’t regift something for the sake of regifting it. If you didn’t like the gift, there’s a chance the new recipient won’t like it either. Not only should make sure the gift is appropriate for the person you're giving it to, but it is something that they will like. If you're not sure, it's better to donate the gift to charity. As a general rule of thumb, only regift an item if it’s something you would have gone to the store and purchased for that person. 
​2.  Remember to take off the gift tag! This sounds like something we'd all do without being told, but you'd be surprised how often folks regift items that still have the original tag on it. It's hurtful for the recipient and embarrassing for the regifter.
3.  Don't regift gifts you've received from meaningful people. We've all received gifts from dear friends and loved family members that aren't, well, really our style or taste. Those are the items that, I'm afraid to say, you're stuck with. Gift items from the people we care about should never, ever be regifted! They took the time to pick it out so we have to keep it and try to enjoy it, even if it's only enjoying the thought that they gave you a gift.
4.  Don't regift family gifts. These gifts are different than the gifts in #3. Family gifts are heirloom gifts. Perhaps your mom has given you an ornate heirloom brooch that was given to her by her grandmother. You know darn good and well you'll never wear it. But you might have a friend who'd love to own it...even be proud to wear it. And while that may be the case, you must not regift it. Go thrift store shopping with your friend and keep your mom's brooch in your jewelry box where it belongs.
​5.  Avoid regifting within the same circle of friends. People talk. Some of us frogs do too. It's easy, when you regift within your circle of friends, to have both the original giver and the new recipient find out. Again, embarrassing and hurtful to everyone. So be sure, when you do regift, that the gift in question is coming from someone outside your immediate circle of friends and family.
​6.  Beware of the regift that keeps on giving. Some folks actually have a "regift closet" where they store all their unwanted gift items that will, eventually, be regifted to somebody else. A problem can arise when a gift item has been in the closet for too long; you forget who gave it to and when. What happens then? Regifters often and inadvertently give the item back to the original giver. Ooops! It's best to assume you're one regift away from giving it back to its original giver.
7.  Give sooner rather than later. In theory, anyway, fruitcake has an expiration date. But even when you're not regifting food items, it's smart to remember that trends come and go. What might be a "must-have" Christmas item this year, won't be all that hot in a year or two or three. It's best to pass that trendy item along sooner, rather than later. Nothing says it's a regift better than receiving an item that was popular several years ago or, in some cases, decades ago. OUCH!
8.  Regift in moderation.  If you follow these rules and regift on occasion, that's fine. But don't try to become the regift king or queen. "With that strategy, you’re bound to regift the wrong item and end up hurting someone’s feelings. Plus, you could come across as just being plain cheap."
9.  Always rewrap the gift. Rewrap everything...the box, the wrapping paper, even the inner packaging. Why? because you never know what might lurk further down inside the box....a bug, perhaps, or maybe a person note that that was tucked inside that you missed. Additionally, rewrapping makes the gift feel new and fresh; it offers a personal touch, as well. And finally,
10. Be honest. If you do make a mistake when regifting...giving a gift back to the original giver or forgetting to take the old gift tag off, own up to it. Sure, it'll be embarrassing for a little while but be honest about why you regifted the item and move on.
Some gifts are perfect for regifting while others are inappropriate to regift.  before you decide to pass along your unwanted items, be sure to give it some careful thought. Regifts the right items can make everyone happy. Regifting the wrong items, not so much!
Please come back tomorrow for my final Christmas week blog. I'll be taking a look at holiday traditions around the world. Until then, I wish you
                                                                      PEACE.

​https://www.daveramsey.com/blog/10-rules-of-regifting

This is the last Dharma Frog lesson for 2018. I wanted to mark the occasion with a very special holiday breakfast. That meant getting up extra early to prepare all of Dharma's favorite foods. After slaving over the hot stove for several hours, I set the table with my best Christmas dishes and a lovely poinsettia centerpiece. My little lily pad is beautifully decorated for the season and I was pleasing pleased with myself when Dharma hopped onto my pad, bringing me back to reality.  "Merry Christmas, Dharma!", I exclaimed. I was so happy to see him. "Merry Christmas, Tadpole," he replied, adding," Your home is very warm and inviting. It feels good to get out of the winter chill." The smell of cinnamon and nutmeg filled the air and I was more than a little hungry.
We made our way over to the table and sat down for our meal. As I poured the tea, Dharma began, "Irwin, you emailed me and asked for a lesson that might relate to Christmas. And I believe I have the perfect one. My boy, the best gift a frog can give is his attention, his time, and his love. And I think, Irwin, to that list I would also add being non-judgmental. So let's take a closer look at each of them, shall we?" I was intrigued and nodded my approval. The following is a summary of what Dharma believes to be the best gifts we can give to those who matter the most to us. 
The first gift we can offer anyone is our attention. Everyone, both human and frog alike, gets easily distracted these days. There's so much going on all around us vying for our attention. having someone sit down with us and give us his undivided attention, even for a few minutes, can be a priceless gift. Each of wants to be seen and to be heard. Taking a few minutes to listen to what another has to say or see what they want to show us, without being interrupted by the TV, cell phone, or endless text messages, is a rare gift indeed.  It means being in the present moment, making a real connection with another and giving them the stage that they deserve. it is a gift that is often overlooked but extremely meaningful. Just ask your kids.
The next great gift is our time. In a world where being too busy is normal, the giving of our time to another can make a real difference. Time is, after all, life. So how do we give of our time? By taking our commitments seriously. Whether that is time at the office, time for your kid's soccer practice, or spending quality time with your spouse or friends. Don't overbook your schedule knowing that, at some point, you'll have to back out of at least one commitment. You know how angry you get when your flight is overbooked? When we overbook our daily schedules, it's just like that, but worse. Because that get dropped are our co-workers, friends, and family, make time for others. Stop and have a conversation with your neighbor. Show up on time for commitments. Be present. This holiday, spend quality uninterrupted and undistracted time with those you care about. 
Third on our holiday list is the gift of non-judgment. Everybody makes mistakes. Everybody. Accepting others flaws, warts, and mistakes is truly a one-size fits all gift for everyone on our shopping list...from the youngest to the oldest. Tolerance and acceptance of others also means being tolerant and acceptance of ourselves. No one is perfect. Learn to accept others as they are and when they offer you a heartfelt apology, accept it with honest forgiveness. You'd want the same thing, right? The fourth and final gift is the best, so Dharma saved it for last.
Unconditional love is unquestionably the greatest gift of all. Some of us may have never felt it, but it something that everyone wants. Unconditional love allows someone to feel secure, be vulnerable, sense their worth, and discover who they really are. All humans, frogs too, long to have a consistent friend who loves them, believes in them, and is continually there for them no matter the circumstances. If you’re willing to be that for others, not only will it expand your people/social capacity, it will also give you a more satisfying life. I know what you're thinking..."It' can be difficult to love some folks just because they're difficult." Dharma's answer is, "Loving those difficult people around you can feel a bit like hugging a porcupine. Not much fun. it's not easy but it can be done." In Dharma's view, those are the very individuals who need your love the most.  Those folks are EGR's...extra grace required. While unconditional love and acceptance are considered to be the greatest gift we can give others, it can also be the most difficult to give. Dharma suggests using these helpful tips to better offer love to those who are the most difficult in your life. 1. Positive reinforcement can go along way in extracting change in another.
​2. Schedule time to spend with them around your schedule so you won't feel rushed.  Plan a fun activity that you can both enjoy but one that doesn't take too much time or might in other ways cause more conflict or tension. keep it light and fun. 3. Don't be afraid to set boundaries. If they want to chat for an hour, gently tell them you're happy to talk but that you have 15  minutes right now. Set the boundary, then stick with it. Many humans are simply lonely and don't mean to be meddlesome or irksome. When you re-frame your thinking, it can make it much easier to love the difficult people in your life. Treating others with the same love, respect and dignity you want is a gift that can add great value to the lives of others, as well as to your own. 
Dharma and I finished up our meal and exchanged holiday pleasantries. It will be a couple of weeks until he makes his next visit. I can honestly say that I will miss him. I am grateful for his wisdom, his kindness, and his love. So "Merry Christmas, Dharma. Enjoy your holiday and I look forward to seeing you in early 2019!"
To you, my dear reader, I invite you back tomorrow for an informative blog on holiday re-gifting etiquette. Until then, Dharma and I wish you 
                                                                     PEACE.

Christmas is a joyous time of year, especially for children. But that doesn't mean that there can't be a little fun, too, for the grown-ups. Even though Christmas is all about traditions, there are still plenty of interesting and offbeat facts about the holiday that you may not know. Let's take a look at a few of them, shall we?
1.  The song Jingle Bells was written for Thanksgiving. 
The song was written in 1857 by James Lord Pierpont and published under the title “One Horse Open Sleigh”. It was supposed to be played in the composer’s Sunday school class during Thanksgiving as a way to commemorate the famed Medford sleigh races. “Jingle Bells” was also the first song to be broadcast from space. That's a little weird, am I right?
2.  Rudolph's red nose is probably the result of a parasitic infection of his respiratory system. The story we're all familiar with is that Rudolph got chosen to guide Santa's sleigh on a foggy night because of his large glowing red nose. Did you ever ask yourself how it got large and red to begin with? Here's the answer (most probably). "According to Roger Highfield, the author of the book 'The Physics of Christmas: From the Aerodynamics of Reindeer to the Thermodynamics of Turkey' the world’s most famous reindeer has a red nose due to a parasite. However, Rudolf’s relationship with his parasite is symbiotic: after all, the red nose illuminates the path through the winter night for the whole reindeer team."
3.  In the Netherlands, Sinterklass (the Dutch version of Santa Claus) arrives from Spain and not the North Pole. And that’s not the only weird thing about the Dutch Christmas. Sinterklaas has his little helpers, but they are not adorable hard-working elves: they are black-faced boys and girls who can steal your kids if they misbehave, and bring them to back Spain which is, according to the Dutch, a severe punishment. Wonder how the good people of Spain feel about this....
4.  In Germany, Poland, and Ukraine, finding a spider's web on your Christmas tree is believed to bring you good luck. According to one legend, a spider wove a blanket for Baby Jesus, according to the other – a spider web on the Christmas tree turned silver and gold once the sunlight touched it. One way or another, decorating a Christmas tree with artificial spiders and spider webs will inevitably bring you luck and prosperity! If we decorated our trees with spiders and webs here in Land of Lily Pad, there'd be no decorations left by Christmas. Yum!
5.  Santa stretches time like a rubber band in order to deliver all the gifts in a single night. So how exactly does the jolly ol' elf accomplish this feat? According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), there are 2,106 million children under age 18 in the world. If we assume that each household has in average 2.5 children, Santa would have to make 842 million stops on Christmas Eve, traveling 221 million miles. Given the different time zones, Santa has 36 hours to deliver gifts, therefore his average speed would be approximately 650 miles per second. It is less than the speed of light (therefore, it’s, theoretically, doable but still quite hard for a chubby old man). Larry Silverberg, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at North Carolina State University, suggests that Santa uses relativity clouds to get the work done. Relativity clouds, based on relative physics, allow Santa to stretch time like a rubber band which gives him months to deliver gifts, while only a few minutes pass for the rest of us.
6.  The X in Xmas doesn't take Christ out of Christmas. Xmas is a common abbreviation for Christmas. I've always wondered how they came up with using an X as shorthand for Christ. If you've wondered that, too, here's the answer. "Some people think that the Xmas spelling is not right, because it takes the “Christ” out of Christmas. Don’t worry, no one is taking the “Christ” anywhere. In the Greek alphabet, the letter X (“chi”) is the first letter of the Greek word for Christ or Christos.
7.  The first artificial Christmas tree wasn't a tree at all. It was made out of goose feathers dyed green. The first artificial Christmas trees were developed in Germany in the 19th century, due to major continuous deforestation. The feather trees became increasingly popular during the early 20th century and finally made their way to the US and elsewhere around the globe. Thanks, Germany!
8.  Iceland has 13 Santas and an old lady who kidnaps children! Christmas in Iceland is a colorful fusion of religion, fairy tales, and folklore. Instead of one Santa, the kids are visited by 13 Yule Lads that either reward children for good behavior or punish them if they were naughty. The holiday period begins 13 days before Christmas and each day one of the 13 Yule Lads comes to houses and fills the shoes that kids leave under the Christmas tree either with sweets and small gifts or rotting potatoes, depending on how that particular child has behaved on the preceding day. The mother of Yule Lads, half-troll, half-beast, horrifying old woman Grýla, kidnaps naughty kids and boils them in her cauldron. Now if that's not an incentive to behave, I don't know what is! Glad my little brother and I weren't born in Iceland...that's all I'm gonna say.
That does it for today's Xmas or Christmas blog. I hope you learned a few things that you can share with your family. And don't forget that tomorrow is Wednesday and that means a visit from my wise and dear friend, The Dharma Frog. He's promised a lesson befitting the holiday season. So come back! Until then,
                                                                       PEACE.

​https://www.pastbook.com/txt/12-fun-christmas-facts/

We're in the home-stretch...the final full week before the Christmas holiday. So this week, I thought it might be appropriate to take a look at some Christmas-related topics. I've even emailed Dharma Frog and asked him to please have a Christmas-themed lesson for me this Wednesday. He has agreed. Without further ado, let's hop right into our Monday morning blog.
Candy canes are, as most of you know, are sticks of red and white sticks of peppermint-flavored hard candy. They are associated with St. Nicholas Day and Christmas. Modern candy canes now come in a variety of colors and flavors. But how and when did they first come into existence and become associated with Christmas?
The popular, but unverified story of the candy cane's origin takes us back to 1670 Cologne, Germany. According to the story, the choirmaster at the Cologne Cathedral wanted something to keep the children quiet during the annual Living Crèche tradition on Christmas Eve so he asked the local candy maker for some "sugar sticks" to help with the task of quieting the little ones. To justify giving candy to the children during worship service, he asked the candy maker to put a cook in the stick to help the children remember the shepherds who visited the infant Jesus. He also asked for these candy "canes" to be colored white to teach the children about the Christian belief of the sinless life of Jesus. 
From Germany, these new candy canes spread to other countries in Europe where they were handed out during plays reenacting the Nativity.  This is the legend of how they came to be associated with the Christmas season.
The earliest verifiable reference to stick candy appeared a little more recently, at an 1837 Exhibition of the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association where confections judged competitively. A recipe for straight peppermint candy sticks, white with colored stripes, was published in 1844. The "candy cane" is also mentioned in literature from 1866, although no description of color or flavoring is discussed. Its earliest known verifiable association to Christmas came in 1874. And by 1882, Candy canes were being hung on Christmas trees.
We have candy canes in the Land of Lily Pad, although they are not peppermint flavored, nor are they red and white. There, the young tadpoles and froglets like my little brother Quigley, prefer their canes flavored with bug juice and colored in lovely shades of brown and swamp green.
I hope you'll join me tomorrow for Day Two of my Christmas Week blogs; Fun Facts about Christmas. Until then I wish you,
                                                                       PEACE.

The only gift items on the long list of the Twelve Days of Christmas that anyone might actually want are the five gold rings. But I think it's safe to say that lords a' leaping, drummers drumming, and a gaggle of geese probably are not high on anyone's holiday wish list. So were these unusual items big holiday gifts back in the day? The answer is no.
it is thought that the gifts listed in this famous song were not really gifts at all, but were symbolic of something else. So what do the lyrics symbolize? It depends on whom you ask.
The song has French origins. It was published in an English children's book called Mirth Without Mischief somewhere around 1780. Most people believe it started out as a memory game sung at Twelfth Night parties. The twelves days of Christmas in the Christian world refer to the twelve days between Christ's birth (Christmas Day and the arrival of the Magi (the Wise Men) to honor the new baby on January 6, also known as Epiphany. The myth that this song reveals some secret Catholic message has been fairly well debunked by leading experts. 
In more modern times, the song has been searched for "coded references to Catholic doctrine, ancient Egyptian holidays, Roman myths, and even the menu of Medieval feasts." But if one were to purchase all the items listed on the Twelve Days of Christmas, you'd be looking at a credit card bill of somewhere around $39,095 or $170,609 if count each mention of each item which amounts to 364 gifts. And like everything else, the price goes up each year. In 2018, the cost is up 1.2% from last year.
​On its surface, the song can seem nonsensical but it really does have a deeper meaning than just being a fun song to sing during the holiday season. "Leigh Grant, who wrote and illustrated a children’s book about “The Twelve Days,” said the gifts are popular parts of medieval feasts, often held during Twelfth Night celebrations. The birds were eaten while the pipers, drummers, and lords entertained the guests. The five golden rings in the song refer not to jewelry, but to ring-necked pheasants." But the song is also rife with symbolism.
Partridges and pears, for instance, were considered emblems of fertility during the Renaissance, she said. Likewise, geese and swans were seen as intermediaries between the earth and the sky, and thus humans and heaven. What has most likely happened to this song is that throughout the centuries, the song has been changed somewhat to suit the times and thus its meaning may have also evolved over time.
​The version of the song that most of us are familiar with comes from an English composer named Frederic Austin. In 1909 he set the melody and the lyrics, changing the original colly birds to calling birds and "adding his own little flourish; the drawn-out cadence of "five go-old rings."
I close this blog with one final thought on The Twelve Days of Christmas. Don't you think they missed the boat by using 10 Lords A-leaping instead of 10 Frogs A-leaping? I think it would have made the song much better....
Until Monday, I wish you all a happy and safe weekend.
                                                                      PEACE.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/16/the-legend-of-12-days-of-_n_797824.html
​https://www.vox.com/2015/12/25/10661878/12-days-of-christmas-explained

Yesterday my wise teacher and mentor, The Dharma Frog, was here and we had a long lesson on the importance of patience...something that can be massively lacking in the modern "I want it now" society. Since his lesson was so important, I have divided it up into two segments; today's blog is the second half.
Over tea and breakfast, Dharma explained to me the meaning and values of wasi-sabi and kintsugi; two Japanese Zen principles that can, when applied to ourselves and the world around us, help each of us deepen our practice of patience. Today we'll look at two more ways we can become even more patient.
Next up is Shankankan, which helps us to see the beauty in taking our time. Of the four principles Dharma discussed with me, shankankan is the one that most "emphatically" speaks to the virtue of patience...the beauty of taking your time. There is an old Zen story which is thought to be the beginning of the shankankan philosophy. In this story, a young pupil wanted to learn so fast that he kept asking the master monk how to become enlightened. "The master monk said to him, basically, ‘be calm, don’t hurry, take your time.’ That is perfect patience.” probably everyone can identify with the young pupil in this story. In our fast-paced society, everyone wants answers and solution quickly. Dharma suggests incorporating meditation as a daily practice. meditation helps lots of things but does so slowly. He suggested that shankankan might even be incorporated into your daily beauty routine, Facial yoga can teach us to use facial muscles in a way that lifts and tightens the skin gradually. "The Japanese believe that quick results don't last, but slow results last for a long time," says Dharma. "Waking up sleeping facial muscles, relaxing over-working facial muscles and fixing bad facial expressions habits fix the root cause of aging symptoms in the face. To the Japanese, getting to the fundamental problem is more important than just covering up with quick fixes. And can't this same philosophy be applied to everything in life? Problems generally happen over a period of time, yet we insist on finding solutions that work quickly. Being patient and working slowly and methodically to change the root cause can be painful but, in the end, will deliver the best and longest-lasting results." Thank you, Dharma!
How often have you asked yourself, "Why am I here? What's my true purpose?" If you're like me, you may ask yourself these questions very often. The last of our four Zen philosophies, Ikigai, can help you with the answers. Ikigai serves as the intersection between your values, cares, strengths, and what the world needs...your Dharma in other words. The western idea of purpose tends to focus on how to make money. "“Ikigai is quite different. It’s about finding what you love and what the world needs. That requires patience in the sense that it won’t be revealed to you in one moment. You’ll need space and time for those answers.” And Dharma should know! That is the very meaning of his name. it is believed, and Dharma agrees, that consistent meditation is integral into discovering, or connecting with, your ikigai. With ikigai, it is believed that we need to be rooted in emptiness. This classic Zen story illustrates this idea. A student goes to see his Zen master and asks , Tell me exactly what is my purpose, where I should go, and how do I find peace?" The Zen master replies, "You’ve come to me with a cup full of mud. Go empty your cup and then come back so I can pour fresh water in." And therein lies the basis of ikigai. We all have to empty our cups — our fears, opinions, and conditioning — to find our true purpose, a process that requires extensive meditation and possibly, quite a lot of hardship. On the question, at what point do we find the wisdom Dharma had this to say, "Only after we have suffered a lot and return to that state of emptiness." Once again, patience is at the heart of finding ikigai. it doesn't happen quickly. But it will happen over time. We only need to be patient.
So how can we tie these four principals together? Practice makes perfect...or imperfect in wasi-sabi. Most of us, especially the humans, won't ever achieve perfection in anything, Come to think of it, neither will we frogs!. But having a refresher course in patience can benefit everyone and keep on track before we wander too far off the path. These are ancient philosophies that everyone can benefit from, no matter where you are, and Dharma thinks many people in modern Japan could use the reminder, too. Taking a little time to think things out and training our brains to not seek immediacy are simple steps to improving our patience. The next time your stuck in traffic and running late to an appointment, stop your hurried mind. Take a deep breath and tell yourself that all is well and as it should be, There's probably a good reason for the slow or stopped traffic, the reason may be revealed to you and then, it might not. But trusting in the process; knowing that slow is okay. Understanding that everything happens for a reason can go a long way to settle the mind and soothe the nerves.
Thank you, dear reader, for your patience. I know your time is precious. And I am deeply grateful that you have chosen to spend some of it reading my blog. I invite you back tomorrow for a look at The Twelve Days of Christmas. It is that season, after all! Until then,
                                                                          PEACE.

​https://www.nbcnews.com/better/pop-culture/what-traditional-japanese-culture-can-teach-us-about-patience-acceptance-ncna936791

 As we get closer to the end of the year, the days seem to fly by even faster. That may be because we're all so much busier this time of year and there isn't enough time to get everything done. Or so it seems. But, in the end, we do always manage to get done what's important. 
Today is Wednesday and that means my wise friend and mentor, The Dharma frog, was here before sunup with my weekly lesson on living a better and more fulfilled life. Today's lesson was on a topic that everyone is in short supply of during the holidays. This includes humans as well as we frogs. As we sat down to morning meal, Dharma started off my lesson with these words, "Tadpole, a frog who masters patience, masters everything." There are many ways of saying this but they all amount to the same thing; Patience is a virtue and one that is seriously overlooked this time of year. In our hustle and bustle society, we all want immediacy. Everything is wanted the minute we want it. But, as Dharma tells it, "Patience is the understanding that this is a long journey and you can't rush the process." Learning and practicing patience is something we can all benefit from doing. And one of the best ways to learn about patience is through traditional Japanese culture.
Dharma tells me that there has been a recent spike in interest in ancient wisdom and practices that originated in Japan, one of the ancestral homes of Zen Buddhism. And Dharma couldn't be more thrilled. It is, after, job security for the old frog. Some of these practices, when incorporated into our own daily life can help us exercise patience which, in turn, can restore our connection to the "fleeting nature of life."
Wabi-Sabi. This weird little term helps us to embrace the perfectly imperfect. "Accepting and embracing transience and imperfection is key to wabi-sabi. Often we see this view applied to aesthetics, and one that can be found in some Japanese pottery, particularly the cups used in the Japanese tea ceremony," They take the object as it is with its age, its cracks, it's rot. In this case tea cups that aren't perfect and new. Wabi-Sabi is about accepting things as beautiful, no matter the condition. it is also an important reminder that nothing lasts forever; this includes our bodies, as well. They are transient, as are all materials. translated into English, Wabi means loneliness (internal) and Sabi means withered, rustic (externally). Therefore, Wabi-sabi is to appreciate the beauty in imperfections. per Dharma, "My boy, everything is transformable, impermanent, getting old and never lasts forever." So how does wabi-sabi fit into patience? it takes patience to learn to accept things as they are; maybe it's your crooked smile, or one arm that is slightly longer than the other. maybe you have no arm at all. In wabi-sabi, these perceived imperfections, ie flaws, are beautiful. They make us who we are. learning to see yourself from that paradigm can take patience. Lots and lots of patience.
Kintsugi. This means, "Fill your cracks with gold. Your scars are beautiful."  Kintsugi is closely ties to wabi-sabi. This is the Japanese art of putting broken pottery pieces back together with gold, thus creating a new piece of art that is even stronger while still embracing the flaws and imperfections. Kintsugi means golden joinery. It can apply not only to broken dishes, but to any healing process or imperfections in our bodies; spiritual, emotional, or physical. This concept is so important to take to heart, says the wise Dharma, especially when looking at our own bodies. We have scars and wounds...cracks...that are not necessarily seen as beautiful by the mainstream media and society. "But," reminds Dharma. "if we can learn to fill those cracks with the gold of self-love, we can learn to celebrate ourselves in totality...not just those parts that are seen as beautiful by others. We can learn to become more than just our flaws." The practice of kintsugi cultivates patience because it defies our reliance on quick fixes and instant gratification. "Embrace the patience required for the healing process in any cracked or broken body part, community part or physical object. The pot gets filled in with gold and is then more valuable. Be patient with all the places you are cracked and find the material that will fill it. That message of patience and healing is one that we really need right now as individuals. Kintsugi can also be applied to our country and our planet."
This is one of Dharma's longest and most important lessons. So much so that I've decided to split it into two parts. This allows the reader to have time to digest these important lessons. I hope you'll join me back here tomorrow when Dharma's lesson on patience will continue. Tomorrow, we'll take a look at Shankhanan, the beauty of taking your time, as well as Ikigai...finding your true purpose beyond your career. Then Dharma will show us how to tie these all together; his holiday gift to us all.
Until tomorrow,
                                                                        PEACE. ​

​https://www.nbcnews.com/better/pop-culture/what-traditional-japanese-culture-can-teach-us-about-patience-acceptance-ncna936791