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B is for Bells, on trees and on sleighs Hanging from doorways and in store displays They remind us of family, friends and cheer, And keep us smiling throughout the year. Bells, Bells, Bells Bells were sounded on Pagan holidays, to keep away evil spirits in the night – and to announce a new “awakening.” Christmas bells were announced in the United States with the arrival of Christianity, and were used to call people to “gather, rejoice and worship.” Bells have been a beautiful addition to Christmas for many years. Whether they are jingling on a wreath, ringing on Santa’s sleigh, or tingling in the hall, bells quite literally “ring in” the holidays. And who can forget the famous quote from the Christmas classic “It’s A Wonderful Life?” “Teacher says, ‘Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings,’” Zuzu tells her dad. Congratulations, Clarence! Baking Some Cheer Nothing rekindles the holiday spirit like a plate full of Christmas cookies. But in this hectic holiday season, how do you find time to bake up baskets of cookies brimming with chocolate and iced for fun? For the cookie-challenged, there are dozens of refrigerated brands that offer baked goods in holiday shapes – and provide icings with no-fault instructions. If you are a seasoned cookie cultivator, reach back to old family recipes that don’t require a lot of preparation. And let the kids help – giving them a chance to channel some of their enthusiasm for the season. Let your kids mix the ingredients, shape the cookie dough and lick the bowl. Kids are great decorators, so let them pick the colors and shapes of “ornaments” used to top Christmas cookies, like chopped nuts, toasted coconut, M&Ms, raisins, and assorted icings. Tony Bennett He may have left his heart in San Francisco, but he is born and bred in Astoria. For the best assortment of Holiday classics by the Queens crooner, go to amazon.com, check with collectors and sellers at local flea markets, or log on to Tony Bennett.com. “Snowfall: The Tony Bennett Christmas Album” contains such standards as “White Christmas,” “Winter Wonderland” and “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town,” all done in Tony’s drop-dead-smooth style. Just check out one review from amazon.com: “Talk about smooth! Tony Bennett is the very definition of the word. Snowfall practically renders every other version of the songs included here null and void. Even ‘White Christmas’ sounds better in Tony’s hands than it did in Bing’s.” Black Friday Also known as “The Day After The Turkey Died,” we all know Black Friday. And if you’re an experienced holiday shopper, you know how the day got its’ name – and why it continues to be the day consumers set the tone for holiday sales. It’s the day after Thanksgiving, when turkey-weary shoppers gather at local malls to watch the sun rise, ready to go to battle for huge discounts on toys and gifts. It’s local legend that some mall-conscious moms plan for weeks ahead to meet with friends in the middle of the night for the annual mass-assault on Christmas shopping. Retailers use the day’s receipts to predict how holiday sales will progress. If sales are bleak on Black Friday, shop owners hope for the best and schedule sales to draw customers to holiday merchandise. Blood Donations This holiday season, people throughout Queens are being asked to give the greatest gift of all: the gift of life. The American Red Cross is desperately seeking donations of blood during the holidays, when people become busy with shopping and celebrating – and forget to make time to give blood. The Red Cross conducts an annual awareness program each year from November through January, urging people to roll-up their sleeves to give the “gift of life,” needed for emergency surgery, transfusions and other life-saving procedures. For more information, to donate, or for listings of donation centers, go to Americanredcross.org Giving can be done in many ways in the holiday season. When it comes to donating blood, you are usually giving a wonderful gift to someone that is very much in need of it. For those of us willing to brave out the needle prick, donate blood at your local hospital or university blood drive. For schedules and times near you, call 311.
Bodhi Tree Buddhists of Sri Lankan origin observe two important holidays during the month of December. According to the Venerable Kurunegoda, head monk at the New York Buddhist Vihara Foundation in Queens Village, the first full moon of the month marks the traditional date when Buddha sat beneath the Bodhi Tree as he achieved enlightenment. Though the date is of huge importance to the Buddhist community, it is marked in a manner that would seem quiet and reserved compared to mainstream holiday celebrations in America. “Buddhist celebrations are actually quite different from other celebrations,” Kurunegoda said. “Usually people come to the temple and observe precepts, which are very important to Buddhism. We observe these in a ceremonial way and we light lamps.” The full moon, which will arrive Dec. 15 this year, also brings an important celebration for women, marking the founding of the first order of Buddhist nuns the Venerable Sanghamitta, who brought with her to Sri Lanka a sapling of the Bodhi Tree in 245 B.C. Blood Glucose Monitor Grand Pharmacy located on 35-06 30th Ave. in Astoria knows that the holiday time is also a time when health issues cannot be ignored with all the food and treats that will be ingested. The blood glucose monitor takes a tiny sample of blood, giving big results and little pain. It can be used for the forearm or on the fingertip for those who are afraid to give blood. For a diabetic, this is the most important gift – because it can be the gift of life. To learn more, call (718) 777-8500. Boxing Day Boxing Day is a public holiday observed in many Commonwealth countries on Dec. 26. In many European countries it is also a holiday, called St Stephen’s Day or the Second Day of Christmas. Strictly defined as the first weekday after Christmas, popular usage has more recently maintained that Boxing Day always falls on the 26th, and that its associated public holiday may fall on a different day. There is much dispute over the true origins of Boxing Day, but one common story of the holiday’s origins is that servants and tradesmen received Christmas gifts from their employers on the first weekday after Christmas, the day after the family celebrations. These were generally called their “Christmas boxes.” Another story is that this is the day that priests broke open the collection boxes and distributed the money to the poor.
Books For The Holidays So you’ve made your list. You’ve checked it twice, and you aren’t worrying about naughty or nice, you just want to get your holiday shopping done. But what do you get for the person who’s hard to buy for? Books make good gifts, you know. To make it easier for you, here are some good book-gift suggestions: For your country-music-loving uncle: Does he love the classics? No, not concertos and concertinas. Cash and the Carters! “Singing Cowboys and Musical Mountaineers” by Bill C. Malone is a skinny little book about the roots of country music. Alas, there’s no CD with it, but the price is right anyhow: $15.95 paperback. For your know-it-all sister: she doesn’t really know it all, but “Strange But True New York City” by S.B. Howard will bring her closer to it. This book is small, easy to toss in a purse, easy to browse, and easy to read. It’s also easy on the pocketbook: $14.95 in paperback. For the New Yorker who can’t be home for Christmas: You’re going to want to send a goodie box, and include “Wild New York” by Charles Brumley and Carl E. Heilman II. This coffee-table book is full of gorgeous color pictures and stories about exploring the state, and it will be a prized possession for whoever gets this book this year. $29.95 hardcover. Here’s hoping your holidays are storybook perfect. Season’s Readings! —Terry Schlichenmeyer
“White Christmas ” I’m dreaming of a white Christmas Just like the ones I used to know Where the treetops glisten, And children listen To hear sleigh bells in the snow I’m dreaming of a white Christmas With every Christmas card I write May your days be merry and bright And may all your Christmases be white Born in Russia in 1888, Irving Berlin (Israel Baline), arrived in the United States in 1893 and received his first music lesson from his father, a Jewish Cantor. Berlin, who lived in Queens, performed on New York City streets until he penned his first songs during World War II. Irving Berlin wrote the score for the movie, “Holiday Inn” in 1942, where Bing Crosby first introduced the holiday classic, “White Christmas.” |
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