Tag: holidays

SubscribeStar Saturday: In Praise of Valentine’s Day

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A couple of weeks ago Americans celebrated Valentine’s Day.  Wednesday, 14 February 2024 was the feast day for Saint Valentine, the patron saint of engaged couples, happy marriages, beekeepers, love, and even the mentally ill.  Perhaps that last one is a commentary on how love can—sometimes literally—drive us crazy.

It’s become something of a trend to denigrate Valentine’s Day as a commercial cash grab, a blatant invention of the candy and floral companies to boost their bottom line in the doldrums between Christmas and Halloween.  That’s true, of course, but that’s just the modern iteration of Valentine’s Day.  It’s worth looking at the deeper roots of the holiday to appreciate it.

Another trend is to decry Valentine’s Day as some kind of attack on the single and their emotional fragility.  I’ve been single on more Valentine’s Days than not, but it never bothered me to see explosive expressions of love.  Red and pink hearts never drove home my own singleness, or made me feel bad for not having a girlfriend.  Thus, we have “Singles Awareness Day” and “Galentine’s Day”—even “Palentine’s Day.”  I’m not opposed to cutesy nomenclature, per se, and people having a bit of self-aware fun, but there is a certain anti-Valentinian undercurrent to it all.  And isn’t being anti-Valentine’s Day the same as being anti-love?

Well, that’s a false dichotomy on my part, but I do think we have a serious anti-romance problem.

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TBT: Groundhog Day

The Portly Politico2 Comments

Today is not Groundhog Day.  That’s tomorrow (Friday, 2 February 2024), but I have something special for tomorrow.  Still, I thought it’d be nice to observe this unusual holiday, which I haven’t done since 2021.

Groundhog Day is one of those fun relics of old, weird America, the America of roadside attractions, themed hotels, kooky local personalities, and the like.  I doubt seriously that a rodent in Pennsylvania can predict the weather, but it’s a fun little game we play every year.

With that, here is 2 February 2021’s “Groundhog Day“:

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The Ponty Christmas Special

The Portly Politico5 Comments

Yes, yes—we’re already into 2024, and at this point, Christmas 2023 is a distant, fuzzy memory.  But as I’ve pointed out in other posts this holiday season, Christmastime traditionally runs through Epiphany, on 6 January.  So, why not keep the Christmas spirit alive just a bit longer—eh?

In reading Ponty’s Christmas missive, you’ll get a sense for how much he loves the intimate coziness and spirit of Christmas.  Even more, it’s hard to miss how much he loves the intimate coziness and spirit of Tina, his beloved girlfriend/common-law wife/soulmate.  Whatever they are, they are meant for each other, just like the characters in the Hallmark movies Ponty endures each December.  Nothing says, “I love you” like letting your significant other own a hotel on Boardwalk in Monopoly.

I share something of Ponty’s resigned pessimism for the future.  Like Ponty, though, it does not stem from a place of hopelessness, but rather inspires me to dedicate myself more to the people in my life.  There’s precious little I can do about national politics (or a bunch of stoner judges in Colorado), but I can do a great deal to help those around me—even if that means losing a few games of Monopoly.

With that, here is Ponty sharing about his and Tina’s wonderful Christmas and New Year’s plans:

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Memorable Monday: Christmas and its Symbols

The Portly Politico4 Comments

Merry Christmas, everyone!  I’ve been in the Christmas spirit far more this year than in recent years, likely due to a number of factors.  I will note that the bout of cold weather we’ve in South Carolina this December has really helped—it actually feels like Christmas.  We’ve had plenty of Christmas seasons that are hot, humid, rainy, etc., and they really dampen the sense of the season, both literally and figuratively.

It being Christmas, I’m not writing my usual movie review today, but am offering up a reblog of a post from Christmas Day 2019.  With that, here is “Christmas and its Symbols“:

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SubscribeStar Saturday: Christmas Traditions

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Today’s post is a SubscribeStar Saturday exclusive.  To read the full post, subscribe to my SubscribeStar page for $1 a month or more.  For a full rundown of everything your subscription gets, click here.

Ah, yes, Christmas.  Time to gather round the yule log with a glass of thick eggnog and sing some Christmas carols.  It’s a time of cozy good cheer—and presents!

Every family has their own Christmas traditions, some of which date back generations to their grandparents or great-grandparents.  Others are new traditions.  That’s a bit of a paradox—a “new tradition”—but all traditions started as some newfangled innovation at some point.

I’ve not lived very long—just nearly thirty-nine years now—but I have been around long enough to see the gradual (and sometimes sudden) morphing of Christmas traditions to accommodate new realities.  When I was a child, Christmas Day followed a predictable pattern:

  • Presents with my brothers and parents in the morning
  • A late, hearty breakfast at my maternal grandparents’ house, followed by more presents
  • Dinner at my paternal grandparents’ house, and again with more presents

It made for a very fun Christmas—and not just because of the presents!  My paternal grandparents had five children, each of whom had two or three kids (with the exception of one uncle, who remained a bachelor until later in life).  Some of those kids—my cousins—went on to have lots more (one of my cousins has given birth to at least ten children; we’ve lost count at this point).  But before all those great-grandchildren were born, we still had a lot of cousins running around at my paternal grandparents’ relatively small house.  It was fun.

Inevitably, we’ve grown up and started families of our own (or, like yours portly, I’ve remained a bachelor, my only “child” being an overweight purebred dog; I’ve really embraced modernity in that regard).  I’m extremely blessed to have my maternal grandparents still, but both of my paternal grandparents have passed (Papa in 2005, Mama in 2012).  Those changes have meant changes in Christmas traditions.  My plethora of cousins and their God-given fecundity have necessarily meant that the focus has shifted to their families.  My aunts and uncles are now grandparents, and they have their own Christmases.

So, what of Portly’s immediate family?  What of our yuletide celebrations?

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Phone it in Friday XLVI: Christmas Break Begins!

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At long last, Christmas Break has arrived!

I take it for granted that most people don’t get two weeks off at Christmas.  Frankly, that should be the norm; in some ways, it seems to be, at least in “white-collar” work.  When I was working my one major job outside of education, I don’t think my office phone rang for two days.  E-mails came in at a trickle.  If I had the work ethic then that I have now, I would have knocked out a lot of little tasks; instead, I read Wikipedia entries and took it easy in the mostly-empty office.

We may not appreciate the True Meaning of Christmas anymore, but there’s still a very strong, vestigial reverence for this season.  Everything shuts down for a week or two; everyone is cheery; and everybody is enjoying parties and family time.  There’s a general sense that this time is not meant for working, but for indulging in fatty foods with loved ones.  Late nights by the fire, reminiscing about departed family, remember old glories and ancient stories—that’s Christmastime.

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TBT^65,536: It’s a Thanksgiving Miracle!

The Portly Politico1 Comment

It’s kind of humorous to consider that the very first “It’s a Thanksgiving Miracle” post from 2017 reflected upon my dangerous fall from a ladder, resulting in a broken wrist, as I am not celebrating Thanksgiving with a broken ankle (so far, the ankle has been going a bit better than the wrist).  I’ve been incredibly blessed throughout the entire process, as I’ve noted multiple times across other posts.

I haven’t always been grateful.  I’ve been upset with some of the lackluster response to my creative output, and have perhaps been overly vocal about it on this blog.  Part of me thinks that after five years of slogging away, I’d have something to show for this blog.  If a million words or so isn’t read, do they truly exist?

But I shouldn’t complain too much.  I did well in October with Bandcamp Friday, even if it was below my expectations.  It was actually my second best day on Bandcamp.

My personal life is in a much better place now than it was a year ago at this time, too.  I’ve lost some weight and am dating a very sweet flight attendant, which is kind of the equivalent of the nerdy liar who would claim he was dating a Canadian supermodel (but mine is real, I promise!).  We don’t get to see each other as much as either of us would like, but we’re both fairly independent people, so it works out nicely.

Murphy is doing well, too, although she’s been chewing her paws a bit lately.  Something to get checked out as soon as we can get to the vet.

All in all, I’m extremely blessed:  a good house, a good family, a good dog, a good job—all thanks to a good God.

With that, here’s “TBT^256: It’s a Thanksgiving Miracle!“:

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TBT^4: Happy Halloween

The Portly Politico1 Comment

Well, I’m letting the Halloween good times roll, even though we’re now two days into November.  Last year, I posted “Memorable Monday: Happy Halloween“; Halloween fell on Monday, and I broke the chain of “TBT” posts.  I was planning on doing the same this year and doing a rare “Retro Tuesday” post, but I took a nasty spill and missed the window.  D’oh!

Well, what else can be said that hasn’t already been written?  Halloween is awesome.  Maybe creeping it a few days into November is a good way to combat “Christmas Creep.”  Indeed, I’m playing a gig tomorrow, and will likely play some Halloween tunes.

With that, here is 28 October 2021’s “TBT^2: Happy Halloween“:

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Memorable Monday: Happy Labor Day [2023]!

The Portly Politico8 Comments

Another Labor Day—another day for eating hot dogs and chilling out around the house.  Other than some half-days and a professional development day, it’s the last holiday for yours portly until the insanely good Thanksgiving Break that I get now.

I’m on mild dog sitting duty for my neighbors, so I’m keeping it local this weekend.  I did quite a bit of driving (most of it floozy-related) in early-to-mid-August, so I’m looking forward to a little time at the house.

Looking back at prior year’s LD posts, it seems I did not make it to Florida as predicted last Labor Day.  It ended up being a weekend for some South Carolina-based adventures.

There are more adventures to come, just not this weekend.  This weekend is for the dogs—both canine and hot.

With that, here is “Memorable Monday: Happy Labor Day [2022]!“:

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