12-23 Festivus
December 23rd, 2009
Festivus:
(excerpted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Festivus)
Festivus is a secular holiday celebrated on December 23rd. It was created by writer Dan O’Keefe and introduced into opular culture by his son Daniel, a screenwriter for the TV show Seinfeld as part of a comical storyline on the show.The holiday’s celebration, as shown on “Seinfeld”, includes an aluminum “Festivus pole”, practices such as the “Airing of Grievances” and the “Feats of Strength”, and the labeling of easily explainable events as “Festivus miracles”.
Celebrants of the holiday sometimes refer to it as “Festivus for the rest of us”, a saying taken from the O’Keefe family traditions and popularized in the “Seinfeld” episode to describe Festivus as “another way” to celebrate the season without participating in its pressures and commercialization.
The holiday, as portrayed in the “Seinfeld” episode and now celebrated by many, includes practices such as the “Airing of Grievances”, which occurs during the Festivus meal and in which each person tells everyone else all the ways they have disappointed him or her over the past year. After the meal the “Feats of Strength” are performed, involving wrestling the head of the household to the floor, with the holiday ending only if the head of the household is actually pinned.
Roots Day :
(excerpted from http://www.holidayinsights.com/moreholidays/December/rootsday.htm)
Celebrate your genealogy, as today is Roots Day. It’s a great day to celebrate your heritage. Many of us are returning to our roots today, as we head home for Christmas. Returning to our roots is a warm, cozy and comfortable feeling, a sense of belonging.
A hobby and a quest: Many people get caught up, and become captivated, with researching and uncovering their family roots. It can take interesting twists and turns. We often discover we come from exciting and fascinating places. We find links to famous people in history. Sometimes, we come upon dead ends to our genealogical family tree. Other times, we find a distant relative, who has performed some of the very same research. The result of the encounter could be huge sections of the family tree, literally handed to you.
Popcorn Popping Day:
(excerpted from http://hicards.com/platinum/bizarre/12-23.html)
The mystery of how popcorn pops is unveiled here! There is a tiny amount of water inside each kernel – when heated, it expands. Without a cover, kernels can pop three feet into the air!
Night of the Radishes:
(excerpted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_of_the_Radishes)
The Night of the Radishes ((Spanish)Noche de Rábanos) is celebrated every year on December 23. Begun in 1897 in the “zócalo” (main plaza) of Oaxaca city. It lasts only a few hours but attracts thousands of people to this plaza.
The event consists of an exhibition of sculptures made from a type of large red radish which can weigh up to 3.00 kilograms (6.6 lb) in weight and 50 centimetres (20 in) in length. These radishes are especially grown for this event, left in the ground for months after the normal harvests to let them attain their giant size and unusual shapes.
The sculptures are made by professional craftsmen and aficionados, who are mostly radish growers. Themes include complete nativity scenes, party scenes with dozens of figures, Baile Folklorico, models of real buildings built with much detail, and saints. The sculpted scenes include other materials such as dried flowers and corn husks but what makes a sculpture stand out is the created way of cutting a radish itself for effect, such as carefully peeling the red skin back and perforating it to create a lace skirt. A contest is held with the first-prize winner getting their picture in the newspaper.
Birthday of the Emperor (Japan):
(excerpted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Emperor%27s_Birthday)
The Emperor’s Birthday (天皇誕生日, Tennō tanjōbi?) is a national holiday in the Japanese calendar. It is currently celebrated on December 23. The date is determined by the present Emperor’s birthdate. Emperor Akihito was born on this date in 1933.
On December 23, a public ceremony takes place at the Imperial Palace which, usually off limits to the public, opens its gates. The Emperor, accompanied by Empress Michiko and several other members of the Imperial family, appears on a palace balcony protected by bulletproof glass to acknowledge the birthday congratulations of crowds of festive well-wishers waving tiny Japanese flags. Only on this occasion and on the second of January may the general public enter the inner grounds of the Imperial Palace.
(1972) The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Oakland Raiders 13-7:
(excerpted from http://www.profootballhof.com/history/release.aspx?release_id=762)
n 1972, the Pittsburgh Steelers completed their fortieth season by advancing to the playoffs for only the second time. Their first postseason appearance had been brief (a 21-0 loss to Philadelphia in 1947), and these Steelers seemed headed for a similar fate.
With 22 seconds left in an AFC Divisional Playoff Game at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh trailed the Oakland Raiders, 7-6 and faced fourth-and-10 from its 40-yard line. Art Rooney, the club’s owner and founder, headed down the elevator to the locker room to console his team, thereby missing one of the wackiest plays and one of the most fantastic finishes in NFL history.
Pittsburgh quarterback Terry Bradshaw dropped back to pass, but the Raiders flushed him out of the pocket to the right. He saw running back John (Frenchy) Fuqua over the middle at the Raiders’ 35, and with defenders closing, Bradshaw fired a pass toward Fuqua.
Fuqua, Raiders safety Jack Tatum and the ball converged simultaneously, and out popped the ball. The Raiders began to celebrate, not realizing that rookie running back Franco Harris, trailing the play at the Raiders’ 42, had picked the ball out of the air at his shoe tops and taken off down the left sideline. Some Raiders gave chase, but they could not stop Harris from running to the end zone.
Celebrity Birthdays:
(excerpted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Lucci)
Susan Victoria Lucci (born December 23, 1946) is an American actress, best known for portraying iconic character Erica Kane on the daytime drama All My Children. Lucci has been called “Daytime’s Leading Lady” by TV Guide, with New York Times and Los Angeles Times citing her as the highest-paid actor in daytime television. In the past, her salary has been reported as over $1 million a year.
(excerpted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Ham)
Jack Raphael Ham, Jr. (born December 23, 1948 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania) is a former American Football linebacker who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
He was the Pittsburgh Steelers second Round draft pick (34th overall) in the 1971 NFL Draft out of Penn State, where he was an All-American. He won the starting left linebacker job as a rookie. He was First-team All-Pro six years and was named to eight straight Pro Bowls. He was named the greatest outside linebacker of all time by a consortium of professional sports writers, beating Lawrence Taylor for this honor. Rick Korch again raised this question in his book “The Truly Great, The 200 Best Football Players Of All Time”, published in 1993. Korch gave the nod to Lawrence Taylor but by the narrowest of margins. Jack Ham was blessed with tremendous quickness, according to Steeler’s coach Chuck Noll and teammate Andy Russell he was the “fastest Steeler for the first ten yards, including wide receivers and running backs”, this was on a team which included John Stallworth, Lynn Swann and Frank Lewis. He was one of the few outside linebackers who could play pass defense as well as the NFL’s top safeties. Although he was a ferocious hitter, he was known as a player who couldn’t be fooled and was seldom out of position. Maxie Baughan, the great former NFL linebacker said of Ham, “He was one of the more intelligent players to ever play that position. He was able to diagnose plays. You couldn’t ever fool him.”
Ham’s career statistics include 25 sacks, 21 fumbles recovered, and 32 interceptions. Those numbers place him in the Defensive 20/20 Club (20 interceptions and 20 sacks) with eight other recognized members: linebackers Ray Lewis, Seth Joyner, Donnie Edwards, Wilber Marshall, William Thomas and Steelers teammate Jack Lambert, cornerback Ronde Barber and safeties Brian Dawkins, LeRoy Butler and Rodney Harrison. As these numbers indicate, Ham had a flair for the big play, guided by some of the best football instincts ever found in a linebacker. Ham won 4 Super Bowl titles during his 12 year career (although he did not play in Super Bowl XIV due to an ankle injury), all of it spent with the Steelers.
December 23rd, 2009 at 9:06 pm
Do you want more interesting?
In mid-October, the NFL’s scheduled holiday showcase game seemed the equivalent of swine flu — something you completely want to avoid.
Then, the prospect of watching the San Diego Chargers visit the Tennessee Titans on Christmas Day seemed dismal. The teams’ combined record through Week 6 was 2-9.
But as we assess the Week 16 ESPN.com NFL Draft Power Rankings, this matchup is a prime ticket. The No. 3-ranked Chargers are the league’s hottest team outside of Indiana, winners of nine straight games. After an 0-6 start, the No. 14-ranked Titans have won seven of eight and have a playoff pulse.
Merry Christmas!And have a good time!