DECK THE HOLIDAY'S

The Mayflower    At daybreak on November 19, 1620, the Mayflower passed the headland of Cape Cod and found herself in peril.  The shoals were dangerously and she had to turn back northward.  Finding a favorable wind, the Mayflower and her human cargo enter the protected waters of the Bay and stared out onto an unknown land.  This was the Pilgrims new home.  After 66 hard days at sea and winter approaching, those faithful English Separatists faced the Winter of 1621.  Plymouth Colony     The first winter for the Plymouth Colony was filled with loss and longing.  More than half of the 102 Pilgrims that arrived on the Mayflower.  Food was scarce.  Hunger and disease plagued and weakened the people.  Cold and harsh conditions wore down moral.  Prospects for the new colony were weak.  The actions of smart men and the sacrifice of brave women contributed to the survival of the Pilgrims. The Mayflower Compa...

   Pull the covers over your head.  Don't get out of bed until January 2, for your wallet's safe being.  It has happened again.  The holidays have snuck up behind and smacked you up alongside the head, taken out your wallet, spent all the money in it and maxed out your credit cards while you check your bank balance everyday to see if you can buy that last gift for someone special, who will down the road, sell it at a garage sale or give it to Goodwill.  The gift will probably never be opened, but it's the thought that counts, right?    While you're stressed out over spending way too much money, you get blessed with an extra sense of guilt when you pass the Santa ringing his bell and you don't take all the change out of your pocket and throw it into his red pot.  You just put your head down, pretend you don't see the homeless man dressed as Santa and plow your way into the crowd merrily coughing and sneezing on each other, happily spreading a...

   The symbolism of bats varies across traditions and time.  Most famous is probably the bat's association with Halloween.  This article not only highlights reasons that bats and Halloween partner up, but also shares some others, lesser-known beliefs about bats.    Traditional burning of bright bonfires at summer's end was common around Halloween.  The fires were meant to ward off bad energies and soften the chilly air.  The bonfires' brilliant light often attracted plentiful insects as well as their natural predator, bats.  As such, bats were a common sight at these fall festivals, and are therefore connected with Halloween's magical theme.       In some Native American traditions, the bat was considered a symbol of intuition and vision due to it  being highly sensitive to its surroundings.  As such, a bat spirit would be invoked when special energy was needed to see though ambiguity, helping...

President Obama      The National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation is an annual ceremony that takes place in the White House Rose Garden.  The tradition officially began in 1947, when members of the National Turkey Federation presented President Truman with the National Thanksgiving Turkey.  The ceremony allows the president to unofficially usher in the holiday season, and to reflect upon the meaning and value of the Thanksgiving holiday.  What makes this annual ritual so whimsical and memorable is that, for many years, the presidents has spared the life of the National Turkey by granting it a presidential "pardon".  Here are some fascinating facts about the National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation.    President Clinton  It is believed that the tradition goes all the way back to the administration of President Abraham Lincoln.  As the story goes, President Lincoln spared the life of a turkey out of love and loyalty to his son, Ta...

   Almost every culture in the world has its own vampire legend, and some date back thousands of years.  Today, we are most familiar with Count Dracula and other folklore from Eastern Europe.  Do you want to learn more?  Here is a list of 13 juicy trivia facts to get your blood pumping with Halloween just about a day away.  Was the first vampire a woman?  The oldest known vampire legends come from Babylonian and Sumerian mythology.  Female demons called the Lilu were said to hunt women and children at night, and drink their blood. Vlad III Tepes , also known as Vlad Dracul , was known for his incredible cruelty, he was alleged to have killed up to 30,000 people at one time!  His blood thirsty reputation inspired Bram Stoker's Dracula . The National Retail Federation listed "Vampire" as the second most popular adult Halloween costume in 2005.  Vampires were the sixteenth most popular children's costume for the same year. While mo...

   The term ghost is widely used to refer to any paranormal activity that occurs in the home, but it is really a misnomer.  Ghosts or the spirits of those who have passed on may cause a paranormal disturbance in your home, but they are not the only cause of a haunting.  To determine the type of haunting, an understanding of different types of entities is necessary. Residual Ghosts -Residual ghosts are probably the most common type of haunting.  It is believed that when a traumatic or emotionally charged event occurs in the lives of the living that it can be imprinted on the environment.  Certain geological features like the presence of water, limestone and other stone features seem to hold images of past events.  The residual ghost is seen performing the same tasks, walking the same path or singing the same song at regular intervals.  The characteristic person searching for a lost love or walking passively through the area they inhabited whe...

Poveglia Island    Poveglia Island is a very small island that is located in Italy's Venetian Lagoon.  The island itself is rather "run of the mill".  It is covered with a smattering of foliage, as well as some run down buildings, a water tower and a bell tower that appears to be receding back into the foliage that surrounds it.  Poveglia Island is split in two by a small canal that runs straight through it.  The canal has walkways over it.  On one side, there are the deteriorating parts of the different buildings, on the other, nothing but greenery and grass.  However, there is a more interesting aspect of the island that one wouldn't suspect by looking at it, though some say, you can tell when you are there, and that is the island's supposedly sinister history.    Poveglia Island was once inhabited by a small community.  However the island was abandoned around 1380, during the War of Chioggia.  Later, as the Bubonic P...