The Colorado State Open Thread is being written for those of you interested in any aspect of the great and noble state of Colorado in the United States of America. One doesn’t have to live here, or there, or close by. One also doesn’t have to know anyone with ties to this state, though, ”Hi, I’m going here by ColoTim, which, surprise, surprise, is a nom de plume for a fellow named Tim who has been living in Colorado for now over half my life and I’d love to meet you either online or in meat space”.
Today is the day following one of the most prominent holy days of the year, though it is a spot on a calendar that was apparently appropriated by one religion from others (I don’t know the full history of it and I doubt anyone really does, though www.history.com/… and www.washingtonpost.com/… are just two suggested histories — and no, it’s not “Aliens” if that’s what you think the History.com link must go to).
I’d be curious to know how or if you celebrate any holy days this time of year. There are many to choose from, including Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanzaa, Festivus, the Winter Solstice, and Ramadan (some years), along with others, I am sure. The links above indicate Christians may have chosen the time between December 25th and January 6th because of ties to religious festivals that were already being observed due to the Winter Solstice by various religions, but that’s speculation that comes from studies — not official declarations in the Bible or any other works of religious authority. Last week’s Open Thread noted the imminent presence of the Winter Solstice and how we’re going to get to experience daylight in slightly longer measure for the next six months until the cycle reverses and we creep down into next year’s darkest of days. I did specifically separate “Holy days” from “holidays” because in today’s America, the spiritual nature of many observances have been lost to commercialism and things other than what they originally were set aside for.
Here in Colorado, do we have any celebrations that you like to go to that mark the end of the year, or the holy days or any other fun activities? The Mrs. and I chose not to go to the “Revels” program in Boulder last week for a very simple reason — we were tired of fighting the snow, bitter cold and wind for three days in a row. We were in Denver when the cold front arrived, and it took us twice as long as normal to get back up the hill to Estes Park. The next day we were to go to Revels, but since we were going to have to go back to Denver Friday morning to try and get care for sick kittens and their mother, we decided to rest Thursday night so we wouldn’t also become too worn out. Mama is doing better, but the kittens have stuffy noses which is making it difficult for them to nurse and one in particular is struggling and not putting on weight at this critical time.
The Mrs. decided a few months ago to “cancel Christmas” which is kind of an odd thing to say, since it comes whether you allow it to or not, but in essence, she said she was not going to observe it, decorate for it or even let me do so. She has been struggling in her recovery from a knee replacement (the joint is actually doing well, but she has muscle spasms where the artificial joint connects to her bones above and below and it’s like a continuous Charley horse, as she describes it). She also isn’t able to have her son and daughter-in-law come because they both changed jobs this year so they don’t have seniority for vacations. Our house also is still in a state of chaos from the fireplace replacement which was supposed to have been finished weeks ago, but is still not done yet. This is taking place right where we’d have our tree set up. I let her go to bed early on Christmas eve and then I used a Norfolk Island pine tree we have in a pot, hung a few ornaments from it, and put it on the dining room table surrounded by presents sent to us by family and when she woke up, she had a bit of Christmas spirit waiting for her. It looked a little like Charlie Brown’s Christmas tree, but it was sturdy enough to stay upright.
Well, please tell us about how your experience with whatever celebration you might or might not have had. In any event, I hope you have a nice, disease-free end of the year and that your 2023 will be enjoyable for all twelve months. The floor is yours...