FUN on the WEB vol 6 issue 7
Fun on the weekly web and other chuckles
Volume 6 Issue 7 February 19, 2007
Chinese New Year ~ On the Western calendar, the start
fell on February 18, 2007 — The Year of the Pig.
Check it out:
http://www.educ.uvic.ca/faculty/mroth/438/CHINA/chinese_new_year.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_New_Year
http://www.factmonster.com/spot/chinesenewyear1.html
http://www.chiff.com/home_life/holiday/chinese-new-year.htm
http://www.c-c-c.org/chineseculture/festival/newyear/newyear.html
For kids
http://www.dltk-holidays.com/china/index.htm
http://www.kidsdomain.com/holiday/chineseny.html
http://pbskids.org/sagwa/games/countdown/index.html
http://www.kiddyhouse.com/CNY/
http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/chinese_new_year.htm
Tomorrow is the big day in New Orleans and many other
southern cities. Yes its finally Mardi Gras and then it
calms down again at Midnight and they sweep the streets
for the beginning of Lent.
The webcams should be on so you can watch the fun:
http://mglinks.com/
http://www.mardigras.com/
http://www.mardigrasneworleans.com/
Thanks to the ebay ladies for this Mardi Gras info:
Mardi Gras, the French for 'fat Tuesday', has got
quite a few names. While the English used to call it
Shrove Tuesday, or, later as Pancake Day, to the
Germans it is Fastnachtkuchen, or, just Fastnacht. Yet,
irrespective of this name game, Mardi Gras - or at least
its counterparts under different names, is no newcomer
in the history of humanity. Take, for instance, the
Carnival. This can be regarded as the mother of Mardi
Gras traditions, with the origin embedded in ancient
Rome. However, around the middle of the second century
traditions of the Carnival became popular as a way to
feast and act wild before the somber days of Lent. This
is still celebrated as a splendid festival across South
America and in the Catholic countries of Europe.
Pre-Christian root:
Though the timings do vary, different cultures have
certain schedules set aside for community jubilation
or revelry. And most, if not all, of them have been a
celebration of some sort for the changeover of the year.
A time of jubilation at the New Year has been traced
by anthropologists to prehistoric times and to almost
every section of the globe. Often this period was
thought to be an intercalary season, that is, a number
of days inserted at the year's end to make the lunar
calendar coincide with the solar. In a sense, these
days were outside time and the ordinary customs and
laws held no longer. This is seen in the later Roman
feast of the Saturnalia where masters and slaves
exchanged places, and as the noted anthropologist
Sir James Frazer has observed in 'The Golden Bough',
"Feasting that seem to have especially marked this
carnival of antiquity, as it went on for 7 days in
the streets and public squares and houses of ancient
Rome from the 17th to the 23rd of December."
In the festival of Saturnalia the Romans also used
to burn the effigy of the king of ancient Saturnalia.
The king was an ugly looking personage of Saturn and
the master of revels. He suffered a real death in
his assumed character when the revels were over. This
tradition is present in Carnival in the grotesque
looking floats of the Mardi Gras parades even today.
This apart, the wild and boisterous revelry on the
thoroughfares, the colors and costumes and, of course,
the masks featuring this carnival all come as part of
the pre-Christian tradition of spring rites.
The earliest observance:
The first observance of Mardi Gras celebration in its
present resemblance took place in the Middle Ages. And
it was following the period of Reformation that swept
Europe during the 14th and 15th centuries.
With the Reforms, restrictions from many of the ancient
Roman Catholic practices were lifted. Thus, much of
the causes were removed though the customs lingered.
The name Fat Tuesday comes from the custom of parading
a fat ox through the streets of Paris on Shrove Tuesday.
Another explanation given is that the French name Mardi
Gras means Fat Tuesday, from the custom of using all
the fats in the home before Lent.
Shrove Tuesday, derived its name from the old practice
of confessing one's sins on this day in preparation of the
holy Lenten season. The verb 'to shrive' means to confess
oneself and receive absolution. The three-day period of
Sunday, Monday, and Shrove Tuesday, was known as
Shrovetide. following which the period of Lent begins.
Mardi Gras in the Melting Pot:
Although Mardi Gras is basically a Catholic holiday,
today it is party for everyone here in United States.
This is especially true in New Orleans and other parts
of Louisiana which can be credited for introducing this
tradition in the country.
Mardi Gras first came
to New Orleans through French Culture in the year 1699
when the French explorers celebrated the holiday on the
Mississippi River. Over the years, the celebration has
witnessed growing national attention with many parades
and parties coming in to add to its hue and flavor.
Despite the Hispanic invasion later the celebration has
not lost its original French influence.
However, there is another view. It says that the modern
incarnation of Mardi Gras in the U.S. begin in Mobile,
AL in 1830, with Michael Krafft and the Cowbellion de
Rakin Society. Their Mardi Gras celebrations continued
until the Civil War. New Orleans' claims to be the
origin of American Mardi Gras come from the fact that
it is likely that the French & Spanish upper crust
of the Louisiana celebrated Mardi Gras as part of their
French Catholic heritage long before the first parade
in New Orleans in 1857.
Whatever be the origin
and history, that fact is that today it is celebrated
with much fanfare as a public holiday only in the
southern states of Louisiana, Alabama, and Florida,
and its fame has gradually extended nationwide, or for
that matter, worldwide. The French tradition apart,
influences of the Germans, as well as the British are
evident in the day's customs across the country.
Epiphany, celebrated in European countries, marks the
coming of the wise men who brought gifts to the Christ
Child. Epiphany is also called Little Christmas on the
Twelfth Night, and is celebrated twelve nights after
Christmas. People from all of the world celebrate
Epiphany by exchanging gifts and feasting. A very
popular custom that is still celebrated is the making
of the "King's Cake" which represents the three kings
who brought gifts. A plastic baby is baked inside the
King Cake, and the tradition is whoever receives the
baby in their piece of cake must buy the next King
Cake or throw the next party. King Cakes are made of
a cinnamon filled dough in the shape of a hollow circle.
The cake is topped with a delicious glazed topping and
then sprinkled with colored sugar. The three colors of
the sugar are Purple (representing Justice), Green
(representing Faith) and Gold (representing Power).
Today the King Cakes are baked with a wide assortment
of fillings inside the cake. King Cake is the preferred
dessert and snack in New Orleans during Mardi Gras.
Hundreds of thousands of King Cakes are eaten in New
Orleans during the Carnival season. Many are shipped
throughout the U.S. for those displaced New Orleanians
longing for a taste of Mardi Gras. In fact, a Mardi
Gras party wouldn't be a Mardi Gras party without a
King Cake.
You might be wondering, "Why on earth would a plastic
baby be inside of a cake?" Well, the baking of King
Cakes is a tradition in New Orleans that begins on
King's Day, at the start of the Mardi Gras season.
A tiny baby, is baked into the cake. The person whose
piece of cake contains the baby furnishes the King
Cake for the next party (which are usually held once
a week on Sundays until Fat Tuesday.) However, when
celebrating Mardi Gras out of town, most people
regard the person who 'got the baby' as the King
or Queen of the party being held. Either way, it
is a tasty way to spend an afternoon, and we
promise you'll love it, too! A new idea that has
recently grown in popularity at children's parties
is to serve cupcakes decorated like regular
kingcakes and put a baby in each one. That way,
every child will experience the thrill of finding
the baby.
sweet bread, is the preferred dessert in New
Orleans during Mardi Gras. The making of King Cake
honors the coming of the three wise men who brought
gifts to baby Jesus. The three colors of the sugar
used to decorate the cake are purple (representing
Justice), green (representing Faith) and gold
(representing Power). A plastic baby is placed
inside the cake, and the tradition is whoever
receives the baby in their piece of cake must buy
the next King Cake or throw the next party!
Some King Cakes have cream cheese or jelly filling.
See my blog here for the recipe since its too late
to order one for this year.
http://bluesbabys-rants.blogspot.com/
See what happens when you give a room full of artists
aluminum spoons and convince them to make something
resembling pieces of art out of these spoons, i.e. to see
what will happen to the spoons further:
http://tau.ur.ru/spoon/eindex.asp
Lovely analogy here:
http://mysthillarium.com/anthology/rain2.htm
On to the chuckles:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"What makes him think a middle aged actor, who's played
with a chimp, could have a future in politics?"
~~ Ronald Reagan commenting on Eastwood's bid to become
the mayor of Carmel
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A boy becomes an adult three years before his parents
think he does and about two years after he thinks
he does. ~~ Lewis B. Hershey
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Everybody's a Comedian
I called my local home improvement store for a simple
piece of advice. "I know the sheetrock is nailed to the studs,"
I said to the guy who answered the phone, "but how do I
find the studs"?
"Put an ad in the personals column," he suggested.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
An elderly woman had just returned to her home from an
evening of church services when she was startled by an
intruder.
She caught the man in the act of robbing her home of its
valuables and yelled, "Stop! Acts 2:38!" "Repent and be
baptized, in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins
may be forgiven."
The burglar stopped in his tracks. The woman calmly
called the police and explained what she had done. As the
officer cuffed the man to take him in, he was curious and
asked the burglar,
"Why did you just stand there? All the old lady did was
yell a scripture to you."
"Scripture"? replied the burglar. "She said she had an
ax and two 38s!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"When they asked Jack Benny to do something for the
Actor's Orphanage - he shot both his parents and moved
in." ~~ Bob Hope talking about Jack Benny
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hot foot granny
Now Granny has a habit,
that really is quite bad.
When she gets behind a wheel,
she acts like she's gone mad.
Racing down the highway,
doing 90 as she goes,
weaving in and out of traffic
she thinks she is a pro.
One night when she was driving,
this light behind her glowed.
Granny didn't stop till,it
drove her off the road.
They put her in a lineup,
and she was picked out as the one.
Who drove the getaway car,she said,
but it was just for fun.
She was brought to the courthouse,
to determine her fate.
She pleaded with the judge,
but he said it was to late.
Now Granny has a number,
she won't be driving much.
By the time she gets out,
she will have lost her touch.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Grandma's on the internet
You won't believe the nuts she's met.
But what she'd really like to know,
Is - where are those who quilt and sew.
And do the things she likes to do
She'd give them hints, and learn some too.
She used to be "scared" of a wee little mouse,
Would scream if one ever got in the house.
Now she hugs one night and day,
She'd rather cuddle it than stay
On the couch and watch t.v.
Her first love now is her P.C.
She'd like to see it all unfurled,
So much to learn in this new world.
She could explore it from her chair
But mostly, she plays solitaire
But that's o.k. she doesn't care
About the weather in Zaire.
Windows were glass she'd wash and look through,
Now they are programs to help us all view.
The earth and the sea and the beautiful sky,
A virus was something from which you could die.
Now it's a nuisance that could spoil your day,
But it can be fixed and sent on it's way.
She served her time with diapers and dishes.
Now she can do whatever she wishes.
And if that means staying up half the night,
To point arrows at icons-that's really alright.
A bit was something you had little of,
Now it takes eight bytes to make the above.
It's all so confusing, it makes her head ache.
A byte was something you take from a cake.
She's learning more about it now,
Her four year old grandchild showed her how.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Maw's new bathroom
Dear Son:Your Paw has a job. It's the first one he had in
forty-eight years since we have been married. We are a
little better off now, because we have so much money
now we don't know what to do with it. Paw gets $47.15
every Thursday, so we thought we ought to do something
about fixing up the house.
We sent to Sears & Roebuck for one of those bathrooms
you hear people having in houses. It took a plumber to
put it in shape. On one side of the bathroom is a great
long thing something like a pig trough, only you get in it
and wash all over. Over on the other side is a little white
thing they call a sink where you wash your face and hands.
But over in the corner we really got something. This thing,
you put one foot in, wash it clean, then you pull the chain
& get fresh water for the other foot. Two lids come with
the thing. We got no use for them in the bathroom so I'm
using one for the bread board. The other lid has a hole in
it so we use it for a frame for grandfather's picture.
Sears & Roebuck are real nice people to deal with.They
sent us a roll of paper with the outfit. We can't write on
it very well, so I'm using it to wrap Paw's lunch.
Take care of yourself
~Maw
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks to Erin for this:
Sad (and funny) but true…
http://www.airfarce.com/seasons/season14/061006d.wmv
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hope you enjoyed my fun on the web this week!
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Don't forget to check out my jewelry, vintage Avon, collectibles,
and other gift items on eBay! Thanks!
http://stores.ebay.com/Jewelry-Avon-and-all-that-Jazz
Thanks and have a great week!
Copyright 2007 by Shane and Associates
posted by Bluesbaby at 11:24 PM
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