5 Ways To Celebrate Leap Day 2016 (It's THIS Monday)

 

This Monday is special – after all, it's only every four years that there's a February 29! Yes, 2016 is a leap year in which an extra day is “added” to keep us in sync with the solar calendar (aka the time it takes the earth to make a complete orbit around the sun). While we think of a year as being 365 days long, it's actually 365 and ¼ days long. Thus, to even it all out, an extra day is added with this Monday being The Big Day.

 Here are some suggestions on 

how to celebrate this Leap Day:

 

• Try something different. This is an extraordinary day, so why not do something out of the ordinary? Nibble on a new food, bust a new move (in the gym or any place), speak to a new person, try your hair a different way, learn a new word, etc.
  
  
  
  
• Make this Leap Year Cocktail.
  
  
  
  
• Write a letter to yourself that you'll open in four years, outlining what you'd like to accomplish in that brief span of time. Better yet, write a letter to your kids that they can open in four years!
  
  
  
  
• Check out this Leap Year Trivia. 
  
  
  
  
• Do something that you probably should do every few years that can be accomplished in a day, like paint the front door, clear out the attic, or purge those old papers.  
  
  
  
  

  

  Jump into this Leap Day by doing something different!

  
  

Special days beg for something extraordinary. Deviate from the norm just a bit, for one day. You'll be happy you did!

Thanks for reading!

8 FUN Pieces Of Hanukkah Trivia - How Many Do YOU Know?

Lost in the midst of “all-things-Christmas” is the fact that Hanukkah is almost here.  Okay, so Hanukkah isn't as big a holiday for Jews as Christmas is for Christians, but it's still a celebration.  Since mine is an interfaith family and I am not the Jewish parent, I try to add my own spin to the traditional festivities. One way is finding trivia about this holiday and sharing it with my husband and the kids.  So I now I'd like to share with you: 

8 Little-Known Facts about Hanukkah

My family's menorah. 

See how many of these questions YOU can answer without looking!

What does the word, Hanukkah, mean?

Re-dedication. It refers to the Second Temple which was reclaimed by the Maccabees.

What did kids in Yemen go from house to house collecting?

Wicks for the menorah.

Why are children given money and presents during the holiday?

Traditionally, it was to reward them for their Torah studies.

Which nation ruled over Israel at the time of the Hanukkah story?

Syria. 

Why was the Second Temple re-dedicated?

Because Seleucid, king of Syria, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, had defiled the temple by having an altar to Zeus placed there. 

Why do families eat latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiot (jelly doughnuts) during the festivities?

Because they're fried in oil which commemorates the miracle of the oil.

What chant is traditionally sung as the Menorah is being lit?

Hanerot Hallalu.

Why is the dreidel a symbol of Hanukkah? (I LOVE this one!)

During the Syrian-Greek decrees against the Jewish people, one of the many things banned was the study of Torah. Still, the Jews continued secretly teaching and studying the Torah. When a Greek soldier appeared, they'd hide their books and pull out tops and play with their children. Written on the sides of the dreidel are the letters nun, gimmel, heh, and shin, which represent the words nes gadol haya sham, for “A great miracle happened there.” 

So that's why the dreidel is a symbol of Hanukkah!

 

I love acknowledging and celebrating my husband's Jewish traditions with my kids. It's important for children to know where their parents came from and it's been fascinating for me to learn about Judiasm and Jewish culture. I'm looking forward to taking out the menorah and celebrating Hanukkah with my family next week. And you can bet I'll be sharing the trivia above with them as we eat our latkes! 

Thank you for reading and Happy Hanukkah! 

~~

 

Sources for this post included: www.purpletrail.com, www.funology.com, www.cnn.com, and www.aish.com.

 

10 Tips For Helping Kids Enjoy Thanksgiving

When I was growing up, Thanksgiving meant schlepping to the house of a distant geriatric relative, having my cheeks pinched, sitting for hours listening to them complain about life, watching them chain smoke, then eating, and schlepping home while my parents told me how I hadn't sat quietly enough or tried some gross dish like Aunt Rose's succotash pudding. EVERYTHING about this day was out of my control, full of “musts” and “should haves.” It was not my favorite holiday.

Thanksgiving can be tough for kids - help them enjoy it!

When I had my own kids, I was determined that they would not suffer on Turkey Day as I had. Since our family has shrunk to only two elderly family members, the schlepping is no longer a factor because our house is the default location for all celebrations. Sure, the main event still centers around eating, but I've found ways to give the kids a voice, and thus some control, in the day's festivities.


Here are 10 of my favorite activities and strategies for helping kids enjoy this day:

• Challenge the kids to find new ways to express gratitude. Sure, you can go around the table and give thanks. But why not ask the kids, ahead of time, to draw a picture or make a collage of what they're grateful for? This is also a great way to keep the smaller ones busy while you're cooking. Older ones can take a photo on their phones and then pass it around just before dinner or they can compile a slide show to show before or after the meal.

• Get the kids involved planning and cooking the meal. Yeah, I know every website is recommending this, but getting children involved also increases the chance that they'll eat something on the menu (my daughter has been known to ignore the turkey and ask for mac and cheese for the Feast).   Kids can also tear lettuce, help bake dinner rolls, or pull grapes to put in a fruit salad. My son took Family Consumer Science (formerly Home Ec) and some of his recipes are amazing!

This took all of 5 minutes to make!

• Ask the kids if they'll help craft decorations. Diva and I whipped up this sweet little candle holder
  (battery-operated candles only) in about 10 minutes this weekend using a water jug, scissors, and crayons. It will welcome our guests when they arrive. You can find more free, printable Thanksgiving decorations here at Freebies.About.Com.

• Kids love knowing things adults don't!! Guide the kids toward Thanksgiving trivia they can share with the family during dinner. Buzzle.com has a fascinating online trivia quiz and Celebration Ideas Online offers a free printable trivia quiz.

• Enlist an older child to interview and record an older family member. Have them come up with questions to ask the senior. This could become a family heirloom!

• Give the kids an opportunity to choose some during-dinner music.  Just retain the power to veto any rowdy tunes.

• Invite the wee folk to come up with a list of topics and questions for dinner conversation. 

Don't forget to let the kids help clean up after Thanksgiving dinner!

• Allow the kids to have input into after-dinner activities. Little ones may enjoy putting on a show or playing a musical instrument. Perhaps an older child can show Grandma what video games she's playing. Or have the kids select a few movies for the family to watch.

• Have a younger child pick out a few books for a guest to read to them. Better yet, pick out a few books they might want to read TO the guest!

• Make post-guest clean-up a competition. Whoever can put away 10 items in a minute gets first crack at leftovers later.

Again, giving children choices empowers them, reducing frustration and allowing them to have some control over the day's festivities.  It also helps them enjoy the holiday more.  In my house, anyone who chooses not to help out automatically forfeits any right to complain later and is invited to spend the day in their room sans electronics.


Also, don't forget to say “please” and “thank you” to your children! What you model is what they'll pass along.

Please note that this a re-posting of something I wrote about the same time last year.  Just thought you should know...  

5 Fun Facts About February

February, take the snow and LEAVE!  NOW!!

If you've been reading this blog this past month, you have the patience of a saint! I've been moaning and whining about Winter, here in the Northeast, ad nauseum, and thank you for putting up with me. Since February leaves us this week, I want to unceremoniously push it out the door by sharing some February trivia with you. These facts make great small talk and even if you can't use them, your kids will find them amusing and think you are oh-so-smart!  

• If you lived in Ancient Rome, February was the last month of the year since the Roman calendar was only ten months. Two months were added at the end of the year, but the calendar was later changed and they became first two months. That's why the ninth to twelfth months get their names from the numbers seven to ten.
  
  
• Everyone knows that every four years, February has 29 days, but there is a rare exception to this. When the year ends with 00, the first two digits have to be divisible by four to be a leap year. So, for example, although the year 1900 is divisible by four, it was not a leap year because the 19 is not.  
  
  
• “February” typically registers 423 million hits on Google. The incorrectly-spelled “Febuary” registers 310 million.
  
  
• The Anglo-Saxons called February “Solmonath” meaning month of mud. I have several more profane names for this blasted month.
  
  
• In the Southern Hemisphere, February is a summer month and is the equivalent of August.
  

And in case you're wondering what the best things are to buy in February, I give you this link from one of my favorite sites, Lifehacker: http://lifehacker.com/5881436/the-best-things-to-buy-in-february.


Please check back in with me in a day or so. I just got a new phone and have been playing with apps galore.  Let me share my newest discoveries with you!

15 Things You Probably Don't Know About Christmas

I love trivia! Obscure facts make me feel smart and provide great conversation starters which are crucial when dealing with some family members at this time of the year. This trivia would also fuel some pleasant discussion at your local Chinese restaurant. So, I present to you, dear reader, 15 Things You Probably Don't Know About Christmas:

1. Wreaths of holly are universal symbols. The ancient druids and pagans believed holly was magical because it stayed green all year long; in honor of that, they wore sprigs and berries. When Christianity expanded, its leaders declared that the sharp leaves and round shape of the the plant represented Christ's crown of thorns and the red berries represented his blood. So really, holly is a holiday tradition that has been around longer than celebration of Christmas.
   
   
2. In Scandinavia, the Norse celebrated Yule (aka the winter solstice) from December 21^st through January. To commemorate the return of the sun, fathers and sons would return home with massive logs which they would set on fire and then everyone would party until the log burned out. Because some logs were so large, a feast could last as long as 12 days!
   
   
3. 98 percent of all Christmas trees are grown on farms with the other 2% cut from the wild. 
   
   
4. If you have a real Christmas tree, it's largely edible. In fact, the bark is a good source of Vitamin C. I wouldn't snack on a fake tree, however.
   
   
5. December 25^th wasn't celebrated as Jesus' birthday until the year AD 440.
   
   
6. From 1659 to 1681, the celebration of Christmas was banned in Boston and anyone exhibiting any sort of “Christmas spirit” was fined five shillings. Talk about a bah-humbug!
   
   
7. Despite what you might have heard in the TV special “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town,” the custom of hanging stockings originated with the Dutch who left shoes packed with food for St. Nicholas's donkeys; he would then leave small gifts in return.
   
   
8. The abbreviation “Xmas” comes from the Greek letter “X” which is an abbreviation for Christ.
   
   
9. The song “Jingle Bells” was written in 1857 by James Pierpont. It was originally called “One Horse Open Sleigh” and was composed for Thanksgiving, not Christmas.
   
   
10. In the early years of Christianity, the birth of Jesus wasn't celebrated at all; Easter was the main holiday.
    
    
11. Bolivians celebrate the “Mass of the Rooster” on Christmas Eve with some participants bringing roosters to the midnight mass; this symbolizes the belief that a rooster was the first animal to announce the birth of Jesus.
    
    
12. Christmas crackers, which have been gaining popularity in America, were invented by a candy-maker named Thomas Smith of in England. They were based on French bon-bons which were almonds wrapped in pretty paper. Smith's idea of wrapping candy and toys into small packages didn't become popular until he added a snapper which made a “crack” when the packaging was pulled.
    
    
13. After the American Revolution was over, English customs, understandably enough, fell out of favor. This included the “English” custom of celebrating Christmas. In fact, Christmas wasn't declared a federal holiday until 1870.
    
    
14. Teddy Roosevelt, who was not only an outdoorsman , but a conservationist, banned putting up a Christmas tree in the White House during his term. He found the practice so infuriating that his son, Archie, chose to sneak his own Christmas tree into the house in 1902 and hid it in a closet.
    
    
15. It's been hypothesized by Norwegian scientists, who apparently had some time on their hands, that Rudolph's crimson nose may be the result of a parasitic infection of his respiratory system.
    
    
    
    
    

Note: Sources for this blog post included: www.mirror.co.uk, http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk, www.whychristmas.com, www.history.com, and http://facts.randomhistory.com.


Please check in with me in a day or so. As always, THANK YOU FOR READING!!!