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Toys From Childhood

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I get newsletters from a lot of places, and admittedly I mostly just skim through them, only really clicking through if I find something especially interesting – like the other day! In my Fisher Price newsletter was a link to their 50th Anniversary toys, toys from my childhood.

If you grew up with Fisher Price toys like I did, I urge you to visit this page, I honestly got incredibly excited remembering the beloved toys my sister and I once played with for many happy hours. One thing I wasn’t aware of was how the “Little People” toys of today evolved from the ones we played with in the 70’s. My kids have the Christmas sets, which they love playing with, but the characters just don’t have the same appeal. They look too much like cartoons in my opinion (which I admit is completely biased!).

The first “house” I had was this yellow house you see above. I still have it in storage in my Mom’s house but sadly it’s pretty war torn with the pieces all disappeared – boo hoo. Fisher Price now has a “50th Birthday” version, which is just a few “retro” figures in a tin which vaguely looks like the original. A poor substitute, I think! They could have at least made replicas of the original people.

Other favourites which tug at my childhood heartstrings are the Sesame Street “street”, pictured at the top of the post and the airport just above. I could go on, and go the extra mile by actually purchasing these toys on Ebay (tempting, if it weren’t for the exorbitant prices), but for now I’ll just have to be content to look wistfully at these online photos.
For more memory tripping, check out this 1977 Fisher Price catalog, which I think is meant to be a bit of a joke, but for a seventies kid like me, is another lovely walk done memory lane.

President Obama The Dad

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sashaNow I’m not a political person, but I must say that I think it’s great that there’s a young family in the White House. My eldest is pretty close in age to the younger Obama daughter Sasha, so it will be interesting to see how the new President and First Lady fare, not just with the monumental task of running the country, but as parents.

I like how the President wrote a letter to his girls (printed in Parade Magazine), telling them the reasons why he decided to run for President, and what he wanted for them. Here’s my favourite bit:

[Read more…] about President Obama The Dad

Krampus is Coming!

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I don’t know if it’s because of the Christmas excitement – with all the shopping, wrapping, baking and school activities, but my children have become increasingly naughty, and that even includes little Wills, who has been waking up every 1 a.m and refusing to sleep for a full hour.

So in my battle weary Christmas frustration, I was thrilled when my best friend cleverly sent me an email about Krampus, Saint Nick’s devilish companion in Europe, who gets very very naughty children by beating them with sticks, filling their stockings with coal and throwing them in his sack (to be brought where, heavens knows). That night the screaming, wrestling, whining and fighting stopped, so you can guess who was introduced to the family Christmas tradition….

A bit severe? Well, the tradition of Krampus hails from Bavaria, where my Father-in-Law was born and raised, so I can argue that it is part in my children’s family heritage. Now, with the mention of one simple “K” word, my home is no longer a screaming pit of holiday nerves, but a harmonious Chipmunk-Christmas-playing-in-the background abode, that would make Martha Stewart proud. If only Krampus was around all year round…..

The word Krampus originates from the Old High German word for claw (Krampen). In the Alpine regions the Krampus is represented by an incubus in company of Saint Nicholas. Traditionally, young men dress up as the Krampus in the first two weeks of December, particularly in the evening of December 5, and roam the streets frightening children (and adults) with rusty chains and bells. In some rural areas the tradition also includes slight birching by the Krampus, especially of young females.

The present day Krampus costume consists of wooden masks or Larve, sheep’s skin and horns. Considerable effort goes into the manufacture of the hand-crafted masks, as many younger adults in rural communities engage competitively in the Krampus events.

In Oberstdorf, in the southwestern alpine part of Bavaria, the tradition of the “Wilde Mann” (wild man) is kept alive. He is described exactly like Krampus (except the horns), dressed in fur and frightening children (and adults) with rusty chains and bells.

Photo via xmaswithkrampus

More On “Día de los Tres Reyes Magos”

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xx

I hadn’t realized that the day of The Three Kings was so unknown in America (at least not in the non-Latino communities)and England, both of which are the cultures from my husband’s side of the family. And so, the o.c Mom that I am, I dug up some more on the three kings to share with my husband and kids (they should know why their shoes are getting filled with candy, dont you think?, and now my blog too…. next I’ll be reporting how the big festivities went.

Los Tres Reyes Magos literally means “The Three King Wizards”, but is usually interpreted to mean “The Three Wise Men” or “The Three Kings”. Their celebration day (January 6th) is refered to as “Three Kings Day” or just “The Day of the Kings”.

In Spanish tradition, on the day of January 6th, three of the Kings: Melchor, Gaspar, and Balthazar, representing Europe, Arabia, and Africa, arrived on horse, camel and elephant, bringing respectively gold, frankincense and myrrh to the baby Jesus twelve days after his birth.

As such in Spain, this is the day that people give and receive gifts. And as children in the United States and other countries might wait with great anticipation the arrival of Santa Claus, in Spain the children await the arrival of the Three Kings.

On January 5th in most Spanish towns is the “la cabalgata” (the calvacade) which is a parade marking the arrival of the Three Kings. The Three Kings ride on floats throwing candy to the children. In the Canary and Balaeric Islands the Three Kings arrive by ship!

After the parade the children return to their homes to prepare for the arrival of the Three Kings. They place their shoes on the windowsills and fill them with straw, carrots and barley for the donkeys of the Three Kings. Sometimes they might also leave some food for the Three Kings. The next morning the children wake up early to open their presents. Although the children like all of the Three Kings, their favorite is Baltasar because he is the one who it is believed actually leaves the gifts. This is also the day that adults will get their presents although of course these are not delivered by the Three Kings.

And for my history-buff husband, heres what I’ll be telling him about the Feast of the Epiphany:

Epiphany (Greek: ?????????, “the appearance; miraculous phenomenon”) is a Christian feast intended to celebrate the ‘shining forth’ or revelation of God to mankind in human form, in the person of Jesus. The observance had its origins in the eastern Christian churches, and included the birth of Jesus; the visit of the Magi, or Wise Men (traditionally named Gaspar, Melchior and Balthasar) who arrived in Bethlehem; and all of Jesus’ childhood events, up to his baptism in the Jordan by John the Baptist. The date of the feast was fixed on January 6. Ancient Liturgies speak of Illuminatio, Manifestatio, Declaratio (Lighting, Manifestation, Declaration); cf. St. Matthew’s Gospel (iii, 13–17); St. Luke’s (iii, 22); and St. John’s (ii, 1–11); where the Baptism and Marriage at Cana are dwelt upon. The Christian Churches have traditionally also talked of a “Revelation to the Gentiles”, where the term Gentile meant all non-Jewish peoples. The Biblical Magi represent the non-Jewish peoples of the world.

[tags]three kings, epiphany, magi, holidays, latin[/tags]

The Feast of The Three Kings

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dd

Growing up, my family always celebrated the three kings day, or the Epiphany. We knew it as the day the three kings (also known as the Magi) would be passing our home, traveling back from Bethlehem, and if we were good and left our shoes by the window, they would fill it with candy.

Aside from that though, it really marked the end of the holiday season, as the day after we would start packing away the Christmas tree, lights and all the decorations. Since we’ve had kids, its become another holiday passed down for our kids to remember, and this year, we’ve even been invited to a three kings party at the local Spanish club. Apparently in Spain, the three kings day (which actually falls on January 6th) is a pretty big deal. Heres how they celebrate it there:

” While most of the world has already begun packing up the Christmas ornaments, throwing out the tree, and finding a place for all of their gifts, Spaniards are continuing the celebration. January 6, Three King’s Day, is the long awaited day in which the three Kings bring their gifts. On January 5, children go to a parade where they see the three kings arrive to their city, and take the opportunity to ask them for gifts. Later, before going to bed, children leave their shoes out in a visible spot in the house or on their balcony, y go to bed hoping that when they wake up they will find gifts left by Mechior, Gaspar, and Balthasar. For breakfast or after lunch, families often have the typical dessert of the day, the “Roscón de los Reyes”, a large ring shaped cake that is decorated with candied fruits, symbolic of the emeralds and rubies that adorned the robes of the three kings. Somewhere inside the cake there is a surprise, and the person to find it will be crowned King or Queen of the house for the remainder of the day. ”

[tags]three kings, epiphany, Spain[/tags]

Boxing Day Bits and Bobs

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ff

My family is a multi-cultural one. Between my husband’s family heritage and mine, much of Europe, America and Asia is covered, making it an interesting place to grow-up for our children who have a variety of world holidays to discover.

One of these is Boxing Day, which is not known to those who live away from the “Commonwealth Countries”, and is often mistakenly assumed to have something to do with the Mike Tyson kind of boxing!

So here, for all your information:

Despite its name, Boxing Day, which is celebrated on December 26 in Great Britain, has nothing to do with pugilistic competition. Nor is it a day for people to return unwanted Christmas presents. While the exact origins of the holiday are obscure, it is likely that Boxing Day began in England during the Middle Ages.

Some historians say the holiday developed because servants were required to work on Christmas Day, but took the following day off. As servants prepared to leave to visit their families, their employers would present them with gift boxes.

Another theory is that the boxes placed in churches where parishioners deposited coins for the poor were opened and the contents distributed on December 26, which is also the Feast of St. Stephen.

As time went by, Boxing Day gift giving expanded to include those who had rendered a service during the previous year. This tradition survives today as people give presents to tradesmen, mail carriers, doormen, porters, and others who have helped them.

Boxing Day is December 26, the day after Christmas, and is celebrated in Great Britain and in most areas settled by the English (the U.S. is the major exception), including Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

Boxing Day is just one of the British bank holidays recognized since 1871 that are observed by banks, government offices, and the post office. The others include Christmas, Good Friday, Easter, Whitmonday (the day after Pentecost), and the banking holiday on the first Monday in August.

The Feast of St. Stephen also takes place on December 26. St. Stephen was one of the seven original deacons of the Christian Church who were ordained by the Apostles to care for widows and the poor. For the success of his preaching and his devotion to Christ, St. Stephen was stoned to death by a mob. As he died, he begged God not to punish his killers.

[tags]Christmas, Holidays, Christmas dinner, Christmas Story[/tags]

What Was On The Tube (Growing Up)

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dd

Now that I’ve let the shameful cat out of the bag that my kids love the tube (not the London Underground, although they’ll probably go for that too), I can now blog more freely about this overly-demonised activity (or inactivity rather).

When I was young, my Mother never stopped my sister and I from watching television. There were no house rules as to which programs we could see (obviously porn and the disturbingly violent were not in the picture, but we didnt want to see them anyway), and there were no “tv” time limits or specifics to regulate it at all.

In fact, when I was around two and Sesame Street first came out, my Mom proudly told me that I’d watch it every day, at eleven o’clock sharp, while I ate my brown rice and fried chicken with a Japanese sesame topping she made from scratch (we were into the micobiotic diet thing and she practiced trancendental meditation if you get my drift).

Years later, my sister and I would get home after grade school and head straight for the television, where we’d watch cartoons from Superfriends to Smurfs while having our after-school snack. Not that we were couch potatoes by a mile. In fact, while the television was a device open to us to our hearts content, we nearly always preferred to play with each other – whether it was our elaborate imaginary games under the big dining room table, in the sunken living room (it was the late seventies!!), or in our room, where we would lay out all our play houses and entertain ourselves for hours with a game we called “village”.

[tags]Seventies television, childhood, television, Sesame Street[/tags]

ADHD: The Basics

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ss

As a follow up on my post some days ago about ADHD Paranoia, I did some research on ADHD, and to be honest, am still non the wiser on whether my paranoia had some basis or not. What I do know is that I do have a daughter who is decidedly a handful (having a tantrum now as I type this over not having TV control because Daddy wanted to watch his sports), and the only way to really find out is through a battery of tests given my a psychiatrist.

So here’s what I dug up:

What is ADHD? Attention Deficit Hyper Activity Disorder. In the old days they used to just say things like “Oh, Jamie is hyper”, but I guess now the norm is more like” oh, Jamie has ADD and takes medication”.

Doctors explain though that the difference between old fashioned hyperactivity which most small kids have, is that kids with ADD have the symptoms for a prolonged period of time and it adversely affects their functions at home, ss and in social situations. Its frighteningly become a “common” disorder, said to affect 8-10% of school children.

But where is the line drawn between normal naughty kid behaviour and a medical disorder? Unfortunately, like I said earlier, its a call only a trained professional can make.

[tags]ADHD,ADD,Kids,Health[/tags]

Reading Nostalgia: All-Of-A-Kind Family

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ddd

As we got a little older, my sister and I became voracious readers. One of our favourite places in the world was the Foyles bookshop in London, where we would spend hours on end choosing and reading books. The library near the Edgware Road was also a weekly treat. After a whole afternoon choosing books, we would pass by the local bakery for some delicious “air” bread to take home for tea. It truly was the stuff of childhood memories!

Anyway, the all-of-a-kind family was another series we re-read over and over again. For two girls growing up in the late seventies, there was a strange fascination with this turn-of-the-century family in America. Who can resist the characters – sensible Ella, the eldest girl, spunky Henny with her perfect curls, the little sisters and of course Mama and Papa who had very little money but a lot of morals- and love!

Written by Sydney Taylor, The all-of-a-kind family comprised 5 sisters (who were Jewish), growing up in New York’s Lower East Side. Simple joys, simple activities, ah the simple life in those days!

All-of-a-Kind Family (1951) is the first book of a series. Other books in the series include
More All-of-a-Kind Family (1954), All-of-a-Kind Family Uptown (1957), All-of-a-Kind Family Down-town (1972), and Ella of All-of-a-Kind Family (1978).

My copies all seem to be gone now (Mom! where have they gone?), but I can’t wait until the day I can introduce them to my daughter.