Greetings From The Michigan Festival: Fill & Download for Free

Much of Aisa is quite different than the Northern Michigan mid-western life I have. From the big city life of Shanghai to farm life in Cambodia, from Christianity to Buddhism, it’s different.But you ask the MOST culturally different and it has to be India. We visited northern India traveling over the Himalayas but it was the Sikhs, Hindus, Jainist and so on that represented the biggest cultural difference. Not just the religious aspect but the lifestyle, dress, food and kindness of the people. So much kindness and generosity, we were welcomed into temples, to festivals and to eat, by strangers! I can’t imagine ANY foreigner visiting my country or state who might get such a welcoming.We will returnYoung girl greeting visitors at a Sikh templeThese young women approached us while at the Golden Temple to ask about our lives and travelsTop of the world when traveling the Manali-Leh National Highway. Snow on June 28th so take a jacket.My wife (middle) with a family who was very kind, generous and welcoming to usBuddhist temple in Manali IndiaThis picture best reflects the differences in cultures from India to my city/state.

No, I'm very comfortable with saying "Merry Christmas" to people. I'm atheist as well, and I celebrate Christmas. The vast majority of the characteristics of Christmas are secular, ranging from the general motive of exchanging gifts and spending time with your loved ones all the way to Santa Claus and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. Christmas these days is about as secular as paying cash (In God We Trust), going to elementary school (saying the Pledge of Allegiance), or going to court (Ten Commandments in front of court houses): in other words, while it's still a tiny bit religious and it does make me a bit uncomfortable, they are still for the vast majority secular and I still willingly participate in these activities.1. The date of December 25 is not Jesus' birthday; instead it is the Pagan holiday Saturnalia.No one knows Jesus Christ's actual birthdate. It was not mentioned in the Bible, nor has it been written in any historical texts. In 350 AD, Dec. 25 was declared by Pope Julius I as the official date of Christ’s birth to replace a very popular pagan festival called Saturnalia, which was celebrated in honor of the pagan god Saturn.2. The modern depiction of Santa Claus is an invention of Coca Cola, not derived from Saint Nicholas.You've all heard how Santa Claus is based on Saint Nicholas, right? This even has caused some controversy with Fox News (not that controversy with Fox News is at all unusual). Saint Nicholas is a 4th century Saint from modern-day Turkey. Obviously people there aren't white-skinned. In fact, he'd look much more Middle Eastern than Caucasian. Instead, Saint Nicholas probably looked much more like this:So why does Santa Claus look the way he does today? The modern day image of the jolly bearded Santa Claus wearing a red suit was popularized by advertisers at Coca Cola - yes, the soft drink company. Santa Claus is white because Santa Claus was modeled as one of the illustrator's friends.You can learn more about the history of Santa Claus in my answer here: Dan Zhang's answer to Why are some people so concerned with Santa Claus' race?The True History of the Modern Day Santa ClausIn 1931 the company began placing Coca-Cola ads in popular magazines. Archie Lee, the D'Arcy Advertising Agency executive working with The Coca-Cola Company, wanted the campaign to show a wholesome Santa who was both realistic and symbolic. So Coca-Colacommissioned Michigan-born illustrator Haddon Sundblom to develop advertising images using Santa Claus — showing Santa himself, not a man dressed as Santa.For inspiration, Sundblom turned to Clement Clark Moore's 1822 poem "A Visit From St. Nicholas" (commonly called "'Twas the Night Before Christmas"). Moore's description of St. Nick led to an image of a warm, friendly, pleasantly plump and human Santa. (And even though it's often said that Santa wears a red coat because red is the color of Coca-Cola, Santa appeared in a red coat before Sundblom painted him.)Sundblom’s Santa debuted in 1931 in Coke ads in The Saturday Evening Postand appeared regularly in that magazine, as well as in Ladies Home Journal,National Geographic, The New Yorker and others.From 1931 to 1964, Coca-Cola advertising showed Santa delivering toys (and playing with them!), pausing to read a letter and enjoy a Coke, visiting with the children who stayed up to greet him, and raiding the refrigerators at a number of homes. The original oil paintings Sundblom created were adapted for Coca-Cola advertising in magazines and on store displays, billboards, posters, calendars and plush dolls. Many of those items today are popular collectibles.Sundblom created his final version of Santa Claus in 1964, but for several decades to follow,Coca-Cola advertising featured images of Santa based on Sundblom’s original works. These paintings are some of the most prized pieces in the art collection in the company’s archives department and have been on exhibit around the world, in famous locales including the Louvrein Paris, the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, the Isetan Department Store in Tokyo, and the NK Department Storein Stockholm. Many of the original paintings can be seen on display at World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta, Ga....In the beginning, Sundblom painted the image of Santa using a live model — his friend Lou Prentiss, a retired salesman. When Prentiss passed away, Sundblom used himself as a model, painting while looking into a mirror. Finally, he began relying on photographs to create the image of St. Nick.People loved the Coca-Cola Santa images and paid such close attention to them that when anything changed, they sent letters to The Coca-Cola Company. One year, Santa's large belt was backwards (perhaps because Sundblom was painting via a mirror). Another year, Santa Claus appeared without a wedding ring, causing fans to write asking what happened to Mrs. Claus.The children who appear with Santa in Sundblom’s paintings were based on Sundblom's neighbors — two little girls. So he changed one to a boy in his paintings.The dog in Sundblom’s 1964 Santa Claus painting was actually a gray poodle belonging to the neighborhood florist. But Sundblom wanted the dog to stand out in the holiday scene, so he painted the animal with black fur.3. Christmas trees are pagan, not Christian.Long before the advent of Christianity, plants and trees that remained green all year had a special meaning for people in the winter. In fact, evergreens held a place in the pagan holiday of Saturnalia (sound familiar?)Ironically, in the United States, the New England Puritans hated Christmas trees due to their pagan affiliation and unsuccessfully tried to prevent their usage.History of Christmas TreesThe Pennsylvania German settlements had community trees as early as 1747. But, as late as the 1840s Christmas trees were seen as pagan symbols and not accepted by most Americans.It is not surprising that, like many other festive Christmas customs, the tree was adopted so late in America. To the New England Puritans, Christmas was sacred. The pilgrims's second governor, William Bradford, wrote that he tried hard to stamp out "pagan mockery" of the observance, penalizing any frivolity. The influential Oliver Cromwell preached against "the heathen traditions" of Christmas carols, decorated trees, and any joyful expression that desecrated "that sacred event." In 1659, the General Court of Massachusetts enacted a law making any observance of December 25 (other than a church service) a penal offense; people were fined for hanging decorations. That stern solemnity continued until the 19th century, when the influx of German and Irish immigrants undermined the Puritan legacy.4. The story of Santa Claus having a team of reindeer is from a poem written by Clement C. Moore.Santa Claus's reindeer were invented long after the first celebration of Christmas. The 1823 poem by Clement C. Moore "A Visit from St. Nicholas" (also known as "The Night Before Christmas" or "'Twas the Night Before Christmas") is largely credited for the contemporary Christmas lore that includes the eight flying reindeer and their names.The relevant segment of the poem reads:when, what to to my wondering eyes should appear,but a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny rein-deer,with a little old driver, so lively and quick,I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,And he whistled, and shouted, and call'd them by name:"Now, Dasher! Now, Dancer! Now, Prancer, and Vixen!"On, Comet! On, Cupid! On, Donder and Blitzen!"To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!"Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky;So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,5. Rudolph was invented by Robert L. May for a department store coloring book.Wikipedia: Santa Claus's reindeerRudolph's story was originally written in verse by Robert L. May for the Montgomery Ward chain of department stores in 1939, and published as a book to be given to children in the store at Christmas time.[5] According to this story, Rudolph's glowing red nose made him a social outcast among the other reindeer. However, one Christmas Eve Santa Claus was having a lot of difficulty making this flight around the world because it was too foggy. When Santa went to Rudolph's house to deliver his presents he noticed the glowing red nose in the darkened bedroom and decided it could be a makeshift lamp to guide his sleigh. He asked Rudolph to lead the sleigh for the rest of the night, Rudolph accepted and returned home a hero for having helped Santa Claus.Rudolph's story is a popular Christmas story that has been retold in numerous forms, most notably a popular song, a television special, which departed significantly from Robert L. May's original story, in having Rudolph being Donner's son and living amongst Santa Claus' reindeer from birth, and a feature film.In conclusion, if it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck. Christmas isn't Christian; it's a cultural holiday consisting of a combination of pagan traditions and secular stories.

I didn't leave Wisconsin on purpose. My precious daughter, our only child, developed an inoperable brain tumor, so my husband and I (both retired) moved to Georgia nine years ago to help her husband care for her and their four young children. We live a mile from their home, and the kids spent 3–4 days a week at our house so that she could rest. From the very beginning, as soon as school let out every year, we'd pack the kids and dog into our van and hit the road for Kenosha. The kids have bedrooms there stocked with their "Kenosha Kottage" gear, like swim towels and art supplies and books, and the garage is full of kayaks and bikes. Their mother didn't die until seven years later, and she had several periods of remission, so she was able to join us there for at least a portion of several summers, and those summers were the best of times for all of us.There's no one thing that we miss during the months we're in Georgia each year. Certainly not the snow! But high on the list of the many things we miss are these:- Lake Michigan. We live only a couple of blocks from the shore and walk the dog there daily. If you haven't seen for yourself how the lake and sky change from day to day, I lack the vocabulary to describe it to you. Except for the very hottest days, we open windows and let the lake breezes cool the house all night and early morning.- Front porches. We walk a lot, and wherever we go there are people sitting on their porches, waving or calling greetings even to strangers. We use our own porch as an additional room, with screened windows, a ceiling fan, and comfortable furniture. There's a portable heater for chilly mornings when we sit out there with our coffee mugs, watching the early morning dog walkers and commuter traffic.- Festivals. There is a festival every single weekend throughout the summer. Sometimes two or three. Church festivals, ethnic festivals, music festivals, food festivals. Some are famous for their pancake breakfasts, some for spaghetti dinners, and some for craft beers. Whatever your interests, there's a festival for you.- Food. There are SO many small restaurants and taverns, and most have at least one food item worth visiting to eat. Often, it's a signature homemade soup. There are signature pizzas that rival those of New York City. Mom and Pop burger joints that will make you want to throw rocks at McDonald's and Burger King. Mexican places that are so authentic that the kitchen would empty out if someone yelled "Immigration Enforcement!” Dairy Farm Breakfasts. And Kringle - need I say more?- Wisconsin Dells. Incredible year-round indoor waterparks that are even better during the off-season.- Racine Zoo and Racine Theatre Guild. Absolutely perfect little gems.- Friendly, honest, courteous people. All of my life, I've heard of the genteel southerners. I deal with drivers, wait staff, retail workers, etc. in both Georgia and Wisconsin. It's not even close - Wisconsin wins.