shave ice & gelato

Merry Christmas
Mele Kalikimaka
Buon Natale
Joyeux Noël
Frohe Weihnachten
Feliz Natal
Feliz Navidad
Happy Kwanzaa
and a belated Happy Channakuh

Hope you all get what you wish for. I did! :)

If you want your very own Sports Spud Boston Red Sox 2007 World Series
Champs Mr Potato Head or a variety of other baseball toys/games, head over
to the MLB shop.

I must have been living under a rock. I just learned about the Santa Tracker today. After doing a little search, I found out that NORAD has been tracking Santa for over 50 years! Where have I been? I am not sure just how the tracking was done before the internet became popular, but now with the addition of Google Earth, I found the Santa Tracker to be quite fascinating. The Santa Tracker Wikipedia page provides a good description of the history of the tracker.

Off and on all day, I checked in on the tracker and then began to watch it more closely as Santa reached Alaska. I do think that a warning should be posted on Google Earth for everyone with motion sickness. I became a little dizzy a couple of times as that earth began to spin each time Santa's sleigh took off, especially when heading across the Pacific Ocean towards Hawaii and after his finished his last delivery.

Hey, I just had a thought. Perhaps that Junior Miss contestant who had no idea how to answer the question about why many Americans cannot find the U.S. on a world map might learn a few things watching the Santa Tracker.

Santa in Hawaii:

Santa near my house:

Last stop on earth, Hawaii...mission accomplished!

Santa Cam in Hawaii:

Santa Cam in Italy:

And for more fun, the YouTube site for all of Santa's stops.

When I first moved to Hawaii, my Christmas question was: "How does Santa get into the houses to deliver all the presents?", since most houses here in Hawaii do not have chimneys. The answer was quite simple. He enters through the door. Mele Kalikimaka everyone!

(picture of Santa & Mrs. Santa in front of Honolulu Hale/City Hall from the
Honolulu Advertiser website)

I received an email from someone heading to Hawaii for New Year's Eve a few days ago. He asked if I could tell him where he could see some fireworks. I had to laugh for a moment. Here in Hawaii, New Year's Eve means fireworks. They officially went on sale last week, but have been going off since the middle of November in my neighborhood. Usually around midnight a few big ones go off. The past few nights, it seems that practice sessions have been happening as quite a few have been going off, but nothing can compare to New Year's Eve. A few will be set off all day, but at 5 or 6 pm, the party starts. By 8 or 9, the skies are thick with smoke, and at midnight, the entire island erupts! One doesn't even need to look at a clock to know when it is midnight. I searched on YouTube to see if I could find a video of New Year's Eve in Hawaii. The one I am posting is a fireworks scene in my town last New Year's Eve. When watching this, you need to imagine that this identical scene is occurring from 8 or 9 pm on in every neighborhood on Oahu.

Buon Anno, Hau'oli Makahiki Hou, Happy New Year everyone!!!!

Today is Groundhog Day. Bad news for all those hoping for an early spring. Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, which means that he is forecasting six more weeks of winter (if of course you believe in a groundhog being able to forecast the weather).

Here is an article on Groundhog Day, 2008 along with a video of Punxsutawney Phil in action. I love the way the guy wearing the tuxedo, black hat, and scarf consults with the Punxsutawney Phil to choose the appropriate scroll. I am not sure what the "We're not worthy" comment is all about.

Kim has a great post on her blog about Groundhog Day. Check it out! Her post links to the official Groundhog site of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club. She also posts a fun YouTube clip of the movie, "Groundhog Day, which is one of her favorite movies (and which also happens to be one of my favorite movies).

If you have not seen this movie or if you want to see more of this movie, here is another YouTube clip to enjoy. It was originally posted by someone from the Netherlands and so the subtitles are I believe in Dutch or possibly some other language spoken in the Netherlands.

Kung Hee Fat Choy!

Happy Chinese New Year!

There are many traditions associated with Chinese New Year, including:

*Each Chinese New Year is designated by one of 12 Animals (in the order of):
the Rat, the Ox, the Tiger, the Hare, the Dragon, the Snake, the Horse, the Sheep, the Monkey, the Rooster, the Dog, and the Pig.

This year is the year of the Rat. Traits of those born in the year of the Rat (1900, 1912, 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996 and this year): Quick-witted, excellent taste, organized, meticulous, charming, funny, sharp, compassionate, loyal, generous, greedy, quick-tempered, calculating, intelligent.

(Editing this post to add a link to Vagabond Artist's interesting Chinese New Year post about the 12 animals)

*Sweeping the home before Chinese New Year gets rid of any bad fortune that may have been in the family and makes way for the incoming good luck. Sweeping is never done on the first day of the new year for fear of sweeping away good luck and fortune.

*Staying up all night on New Year's Eve brings longevity to one's parents.

*Eating nian gao (a sticky rice cake steamed in lotus leaves) brings good luck, prosperity, and a successful career.

*Preparing and eating a fish with head and tail intact guarantees continuous good fortune. Breaking the fish is avoided during or after cooking as cutting things up is considered bad luck. The fish symbolizes togetherness and abundance. Many times, half of the fish is served during the New Year's feast and the rest is served the next day. Leftovers symbolize the sign of prosperity; that the family will always have more than enough.

*Wearing and displaying the color red also brings good luck (red clothing, red doorways, red lanterns, etc).

*The red envelopes (known as li see paper), which are often filled with money, are handed out for good luck.

*Popping firecrackers drives away bad luck.

*Lion dances are performed as a symbol of protection and good luck. It is also believed that the noise from the drums, the face of the lion, and the way the lion dances scares away bad or evil spirits.

Our school has been very fortunate to have one of the lion dance associations perform for our students the past three years. I missed the performance last year (was home sick). This year just as the performance was about to start, a big black cloud appeared over head. It started to pour just as the lion began to dance, so the kids had to run for shelter and it rained much of the performance.

2006 performance

I found some great toe-tapping Irish music to put you in the mood for
St. Patrick's Day.

Gael Inn-Traditional Irish Music

If you are interested in the history of St. Patrick's Day, check out this very
informative History Channel link where you will find photos, videos, history,
and lots of other interesting stuff.

Happy St. Paddy's Day!