Return of the Bohemian American

from the Studio @ Grandview Court   

So, here i am once again after nearly 2 years away from this page and domain. in the coming weeks i will again be operating this blog on a regular basis....i look forward to it, cheers

It all revolves around the Sun: the REAL reason for the Season-Holy Day Greetings

from the Studio @ NewMainStreet...
Native americans celebrated the winter solstice as well.

Solstices were tremendously important to them, and the winter solstice celebration lasted several days. these symbols were used throughout native cultures to represent the Solstice and the Sun. Iranians celebrate Yalda, where the family holds vigil keeping the bond fire burning, its light representing Goodness and the Sun fighting against evil and Darkness. China, though a moon based calender, observe Dong Zhi, or "Arrival of Winter" with the feast of Ju dong-"doing the winter" One Solstice night in Russia, divination takes place using candles. Sitting in a dark room, with two candles and two mirrors placed aside and across one another, seeking the Seventh Reflection that will contain your future. the song Carrol of the Bells is a hold over from pre-christian Ukraine. it is based on a carol called Shchedryk, referring to the "Generous one" Dahz Boh-the Sun god. And in all these festivals and celebrations, Food is an important and prominent part. in fact, the reason for the celebration fundamentally boils down to hoping your food lasts the winter and the return of the sun means the growing season isn't very far behind.

It all revolves around the Sun: the REAL reason for the Season

from the Studio @ NewMainStreet...Hanukkah. Bodhisattva. Solstice. Yule. Christmas. every one of these holidays, stripped away from their religious/social connections, have one thing in common. light. the Sun. Fire. the triumph of Warmth and Comfort over the Cold and Unknown Darkness. The Earth is actually nearer the sun in January than it is in June -- by three million miles. Pretty much irrelevant to our planet. What causes the seasons is something completely different. The Earth leans slightly on its axis like a spinning top frozen in one off-kilter position. Astronomers have even pinpointed the precise angle of the tilt. It's 23 degrees and 27 minutes off the perpendicular to the plane of orbit. This planetary pose is what causes all the variety of our climate; all the drama and poetry of our seasons, since it determines how many hours and minutes each hemisphere receives precious sunlight

Solstice means...

standing-still-sun

Winter solstice is when the earth's tilt in your hemisphere is leaning farthest away from the sun, and therefore the daylight is the shortest. the sun has its lowest arc in the sky.

Hundreds of other megalithic structures throughout Europe are oriented to the solstices and the equinoxes, several sacred sites in the Americas, Asia, Indonesia, and the Middle East. recent research into the medieval Great Zimbabwe in sub-Saharan Africa (also known as the "African Stonehenge") indicates a similar purpose. In North America, one of the most famous such sites is the Sun Dagger of Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, built a thousand years ago by the Chacoans, ancestors of the Pueblo people. Even cultures that followed a moon-based calendar seemed also to understand the importance of these sun-facing seasonal turning points.

medieval Catholic churches were also built as solar observatories. The church, once again reinforcing the close ties between religious celebration and seasonal passages, needed astronomy to predict the date of Easter. And so observatories were built into cathedrals and churches throughout Europe. a small hole in the roof admitted a beam of sunlight, which would trace a path along the floor. The path, called the meridian line, was often marked by inlays and zodiac signs. The position at noon throughout the year, including the extremes of the solstices, was also carefully marked.

The rebirth of the sun.
The birth of the Son.

Christmas was transplanted onto winter solstice some 1,600 years ago, centuries before the English language emerged from its Germanic roots. one such tradition was apple wassailing, the medieval winter festival custom of blessing the apple trees with songs, dances, decorations and a drink of cider to ensure their fertility.
another, more obscure tradition that most certainly predates Christmas, and was probably once a solstice ritual, because it is so linked to the themes of nature's rebirth and fertility. In Romania, there's a traditional Christmas confection called a turta. It is made of many layers of pastry dough, filled with melted sugar or honey, ground walnuts, or hemp seed.
traditionally the making of the cake enacts a lovely little ceremony to assure the fruitfulness of their orchard come spring. When the wife is in the midst of kneading the dough, she follows her husband into the wintry garden. The man goes from barren tree to tree, threatening to cut each one down. Each time, the wife urges that he spare the tree by saying:
"Oh no, I am sure that this tree will be as heavy with fruit next spring as my fingers are with dough this day."
Winter solstice was overlaid with Christmas, and the observance of Christmas spread throughout the globe. Along the way, we lost some of the deep connection of our celebrations to a fundamental seasonal, hemispheric event. Many people--of many beliefs--are looking to regain that connection now........
NEXT TIME: HOLY DAY GREETINGS

Da Vinci code; found in France

A public library in the French city of Nantes discovers a coded manuscript by Leonardo da Vinci.
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/news/world-europe-11936080 &g

Turkey curry in Chinese Curry Sauce

from the Studio @ NewMainStreet...this recipe is great for the week after Thanksgiving, and the intense Asian flavours go great with the uniquely American leftover Bird....

1. leftover turkey
2. 2 teaspoons curry powder
3. i teaspoon chinese 5 spice
4. half teaspoon chili powder
5. 1 teaspoon turmeric
6. 4 cloves crushed garlic
7. 2 inches ginger root
8. 5 tablespoons oil
9. 1 onion chopped
10. a little cornflour
11. 2 oz. butter

one cup peas

Melt the butter with the olive oil in a small pan, add the curry powder, 5 spice powder, msg, chill powder and brown a little, add the flower and stir into a stiff paste. This is the basic curry paste and will keep ok in the fridge covered for a few days. To make the curry sauce, first heat enough water to provide the volume of sauce you would like then stir in the paste a teaspoon at a time, if it is too runny add another, if it gets too thick add a little extra water, this sauce will thicken as it cools on the plate so make a little bit runnier than you want to serve it at. Personally I like this sauce very thick. Season this sauce with salt. In another pan add the oil and stir fry the turkey and peas (and ginger and garlic if using) until hot and then add the onions, they should be warmed but still retain a good crunch as this and the addition of the peas are an important element of the dishes final texture. Now pour over the sauce and serve with plain boiled or steamed rice.
This chinese style curry sauce is also great poured over soggy chips with a little vinegar. Cook the chips until soft and cooked through in a deep fat fryer at 140 degrees, they should not be browned or golden. Serve the chips, mix a little vinegar into the curry sauce and pour over.
and another great side dish? honey basil yams, but that is another recipe all together.........

Bohemian American: A meditation on Thanksgiving

Bohemian American: A meditation on Thanksgiving

from the Studio @ NewMainStreet...

A meditation on Thanksgiving

from the Studio @ NewMainStreet... Today many people will celebrate the day when "pilgrims were saved from starvation by kindly native peoples and brotherhood was achieved".
that is not what happened
What actually happened was in 1614, a group of English explorers sailed home for England along with Patuxet Natives, bound for slavery. In their leaving, however, the explorers left smallpox that decimated those that had escaped.
By the time the Pilgrims arrived in Mass. Bay, only one Patuxet, Squanto, who had survived slavery in England where had also learned their language and ways. Squanto and the Wampanog indians helped the Pilgrims survive that first year and at harvest time, the settlers put together a grand feast--as it was--to say thanks to the Natives for their care and guidance in this New World.
then, the Puritans came.
they came claiming "god's choosen in the new paradise" and began again inslaving the Native peoples, until the Pequot tribes declared war on the malicious invaders. this war would come to be known as one of the bloodiest indian wars ever fought.
in 1637, the Pequot--700 men. woman and children strong--gathered for the annual Green Corn Festival, what we call "thanksgiving".
as the Natives slept, in the predawn hours, English and Dutch mercenaries surrounded the camp and ordered the Pequot to come outside.
the men were clubbed and stabbed.
the women and children, still inside their long houses, were all burned alive.
the next day, Mass. governer declared a "day of Thanksgiving" that 700 natives had been murdered.
Enlivened by their "victory" the English and Indian allies raided village after village collecting women and children over the age of 14 for the slave ships.
all others were murdered.
the town of Stamford. Conn. and her churches declared a second day of thanksgiving for the destruction of the heathen savages.
Even the Wampanog were not immune from this. the Chiefs head was taken, placed on a spike, and left there for 24 years.
Enjoy your Thanksgiving. Enjoy your Family. Enjoy your food. But NEVER FORGET where this holiday came from. And those that died along the way.