The Day After Christmas

Kwanzaa begins and goes from December 26th through January 1st.

I've heard of Kwanzaa,but I knew little to nothing about it. I took a bit of yesterday to enlighten myself. I read Dr. Maulana Karenga's 2010 message for this 44th Anniversary plus some other websites and emerged a bit wiser and more intrigued. (Dr. Karenga is a founder of the doctrine).

Kwanzaa is not a religous holiday. The African American celebration is an extension of Christmas. It celebrates family, community and culture.All things all of us care about. The seven principles of Kwanzaa are universal. This artist identified most with the sixth principle of Kuumba (creativity). It concerns beautification and doing good in the world. Art is beauty. Making it is a beautiful thing that gives pleasure to both the maker and the viewer. My morning off from blogging was well spent. I love learning new things.


Christmas day was a quiet one in our house, a day to follow our whims. I read and learned. I put in a session with Summer Woods plus a session spinning on my bike working off the extra calories I picked up at the Ersatz Christmas Party the night before where we lighted the Sabbath candles and packed all the canned goods and sundries we brought for the Food Pantry. Honey read the newspaper,surfed the net looking at Disney Cruises the grandkids might like come summer--and the tube looking for our favorite rendition of Scrooge--the one with George C. Scott. He didn't find it.

I was really disappointed. I've seen all my favorite holiday movies this season--Auntie Mame, Home Alone, Miracle on 34th Street, The Santa Clause, and The Bad Santa--but not Scott's 1984 A Christmas Carol. I suggested we look On Demand--and there it was. It would be dessert after lunch. While most like to go out for dinner, Honey and I like to go out to eat in the light of day, during this dark, bitter cold season. Our habit has become dinner for lunch and lunch for dinner--which really is healthier for you.


We slipped out of our sweats, brushed our teeth and dressed to go for Chinese food, the traditional Jewish Christmas day dinner. We ended up instead at the beautiful Japanese restaurant down the road having sashimi, red bean ice cream and steaming hot cups of green tea I had to drink with a straw. The cup without a handle was too hot to pick up.


It was all together a lovely day--tranquil, cozy, warm, nice. I hope yours was too. I hope the kids didn't get you out of bed before two with screams of delight and "look at this mommy." I hope everything came out of the oven as you planned for your Christmas feast. I hope you had friends and family to join you at table with plenty of laughter.

Today, more fun withSummer in the studio and spinning. Tomorrow a lot of us will be standing very seriously in lines at the service desk returning the stuff that a lot of well meaning people thought we'd like. May the spirit of Christmas--and Kwanzaa--keep you company.