Christmas.

[bigpaul]

May I be the first to wish all our members a Merry Christmas and a Happy new year.

[MaryN]

Thanks, BP. Right back at you. Let's hope 2022 brings some better news all round.

[Straight Shooter]

It comes around faster every year .......Merry Christmas and a Happy New year to all ....Best Wishes , SS

[Joe]

Merry Christmas to everyone and let’s hope 2022 is better.

[Mortblanc]

Well, I suppose that you folks are in the middle of Boxing Day over there.

Good luck with that!

I began a tradition after my kids were grown that I would buy myself at least one good item each Christmas so that I would not feel so irritated over getting thoughtless and petty gifts from the "loved ones".

Most of the time it is not an expensive item. Just something I want that no one would consider a fit present for an old man.

This year I was almost swayed by an add on the internet that was offering Moldovan women at a bargain price! Seems it is the poorest country in Europe and they have a surplus.

I decided against that, mostly due to the weak heart and the fact that I would actually have to go to Moldovia to pick out a suitable present. I have learned that no one goes to Moldovia on purpose.

Then there is that "buyers remorse" issue. If the present turns out defective or is not what it appeared at point of purchase, you cannot just take it back to Tesco for a refund!

After careful consideration I bought a new shotgun instead.

[MaryN]

O.K., MB, remove tongue from cheek. Moldovian woman indeed! Enjoy your new shotgun......(?)

[Skean Dhude]

Merry Christmas everyone. Hope you all had a good time and looking forward to the New Year.

[bigpaul]

well thats another Christmas over and done with, the next "celebration" will be New Years Day but not in Scotland I hear Mrs Krankie has cancelled the Hogmanay festivities.

[CharlesHarris]

(27 December 2021, 17:37)bigpaul Wrote: well thats another Christmas over and done with, the next "celebration" will be New Years Day but not in Scotland I hear Mrs Krankie has cancelled the Hogmanay festivities.

Oh please tell us Yanks about Hogmanay!!! Is this the Celtic version of Kwanza?

Black Nationalist Activist Maulana Karenga invented Kwanzaa in 1966 to fill the gaps where the U.S. had failed African Americans. Set against the backdrop of the civil rights movement, the seven-day celebration urged the African American community to define and uplift itself.

Karenga designed seven principles, or Nguzo Saba: unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith. Each principle correlated to a specific day and symbol, to be celebrated Dec. 26 to Jan. 1, in a comedic black parody of the Hanukkah menorah.

Karenga had been convicted of numerous, heinous felonies. In 1970 he and three other members of his black nationalist group based in Los Angeles, imprisoned and assaulted two female members. Trial testimony revealed that the women had been whipped with cords, beaten with batons, and seared with irons — while naked — in an effort to elicit confessions that they were conspiring against him. Karenga served his term in state prison and later went on to get his doctorate and teach black studies in California.

Happy Kwanza!

[CharlesHarris]

Ah! I looked it up... The final day of the Gregorian calendar year.

Hogmanay is the Scottish name for new year celebrations.

It is not known exactly where the word comes from, although it is believed to come from the French word 'hoginane' meaning 'gala day'.

It is thought to have first been used widely following Mary, Queen of Scots' return to Scotland from France in 1561.

Dr Donna Heddle, an expert from the University of the Highlands and Islands, explained: "The name could also come from the Anglo-Saxon 'haleg monath' meaning 'holy month'."

Some say it could come from the Scandinavian 'hoggo-nott' meaning 'yule'.

But Dr Heddle says: "The most likely source seems to be French. In Normandy, presents given at Hogmanay were 'hoguignetes'."

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=...uopnTx88pz