Christmas Plans
From xkcd: A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language. (via @BoraZ RT@alanpdx)
Ho! Ho! Ho!
sANTa is coming to town. From the good folks at Myrmecos.
If you are at a loss for words…
here’s a few to try while traveling over the holidays: An International Christmas Tree “X” “XXX” "XXXXX" “GOD JUL” "BUON ANNO" "FELIZ NATAL” "JOYEUX NOEL” "VESELE VANOCE" "MELE KALIKIMAKA" "NODLAG SONA DHUIT" "BLWYDDYN NEWYDD DDA" """""""BOAS FESTAS """"""" "FELIZ NAVIDAD" “MERRY CHRISTMAS” "KALA CHRISTOUGENA" "VROLIJK KERSTFEEST" "FROHLICHE WEIHNACHTEN" "BUON NATALE-GODT NYTAR" "HUAN YING SHENG TAN [...]
Who wrote that Christmas Song?
You might be surprised to learn that many Christmas songs were written by Jewish songwriters! Check out the story on the Jewish Publication Society blog: Jews and Christmas music – not such an unlikely mix!
“O Tannenbaum Gilthoniel”
Attention all Tolkien language geeks, my friend, Patrick Wynne, sings “A Elbereth Gilthoniel” (by J.R.R.Tolkien) to the tune of “O Tannenbaum.” Brilliant.
Light
A picture is better than a thousand words. ‘Tis true. Look at the light in their eyes! Photo by John Free (our son-in-law). As we celebrate Chanukah and anticipate Christmas, I’m also reading and hope to get some reviews up soon. Stay tuned!
Chanukah (Ethan & Maggie light the candles)
Ethan & Maggie light the candles for the second night of Chanukah. Tomorrow they will join a Jewish family from school for a party. What fun that they can participate in the celebration (and even get to practice some of the Hebrew they are learning). One special thing about our candles this year is that [...]
First Night of Chanukah
The top photo is my menorah, the bottom photo shows Éva after lighting the simple menorah that is enjoying its third generation in our family.
Chanukah (Part 3)
One more day until we light the first candle of Chanukah! Hopefully, you have done some of the background reading that I suggested to understand the background for this holiday. First, just a little explanation of the English spelling of the holiday. You have probably seen both of these spellings: Chanukah and Hanukkah. The reason [...]
Today’s Hubble Advent Image
The December 8th image from the Hubble Advent Calendar is stunning. If twinkling lights conjure up memories of Christmas, then here are enough to last a lifetime! The Hubble site has a zoomable image, which allows you to focus in on one particular section of the cluster. Click on the image below to go to [...]
Foamed Saccharides with Protein Inclusions
Time for a Christmas tradition and science mashup. Try this “experiment” in your kitchen with your kids. Foamed Saccharides with Protein Inclusions Discussion In this experiment you will produce a solid mixture composed mainly of various monosaccharides, disaccharides and polypeptide compounds. Since a great deal of heating is necessary to bring about the desired chemical [...]
“Oy” is just “Yo” backwards (Hanukkah Part Two)
Hanukkah is probably the Jewish holiday with which non-Jews are most familiar. While it is celebrated close to Christmas, it historically predates Christmas and is a very different celebration.
Hubble Telescope Advent Calendar
I always feel a special connection to the Hubble telescope. And not just because I taught astronomy in an Earth science class. It is because I know one of the astronauts, Kathryn Thornton, who was a mission specialist EVA crew member aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour on the STS-61 Hubble Space Telescope (HST) servicing and [...]
Immanuel עִמָּנוּ אֵל
First semester Hebrew students usually have enough background to understand this Hebrew: עִמָּנוּ אֵל Here we find the preposition עם with a 1cp suffix נוּ so we translate “with us.” This is followed by אֵל , which we translate “God.” So in context (Is. 7:14; 8:8), we are told that the child to be born [...]
Tradition
From the online Merriam-Webster dictionary: Pronunciation: \trə-ˈdi-shən\ Function: noun Etymology: Middle English tradicioun, from Middle French & Latin; Middle French tradicion, from Latin tradition-, traditio action of handing over, tradition — more at treason Date: 14th century 1 a : an inherited, established, or customary pattern of thought, action, or behavior (as a religious practice [...]
