HOLIDAY:a day fixed by law or custom on which ordinary business is suspended in commemoration of some event or in honor of some person

The controversy over what to say to people these days as a seasonal greeting can get silly. Granted, I prefer for people to say Merry Christmas when referring to the December 25 event, but I understand that it is uncomfortable for some. I find that strange, but I'm sensitive to that discomfort. I love to say "Happy Hanukkah" to my Jewish friends. I'm a little more uncomfortable about "Happy Kwanzaa" or "Blessed Ramadan," as I know that some African-Americans are not supportive of the holiday created for African-Americans to celebrate their heritage. And I've never been sure that Muslims wanted non-Muslims to acknowledge Ramadan.

So, to be truthful, "Happy Holidays" is not a bad thing to say. It's a little bland, but it covers the gamut. Probably by being generic it loses some of the steam intended.

It has been my understanding that the word holiday was a simple spelling variation on the words holy day. Consequently, I was surprised when I went to the dictionary and found that I had to scroll down a ways in the listed definitions before I came to a reference to Holiday having something to do with religious celebrations. I suppose it's implied in the preferred definition above, but I thought it would be more prominent a definition.

Just out of curiosity I went to a website called Holiday Insights. I was curious to see what they could add to my research. I typed in December 25 and found what I expected, that it is a day on which most Christians celebrate Christmas, the birth of Jesus of Nazareth.

But to my amusement, I was surprised to find that December 25 is also known as Pumpkin Pie Day,a day on which some people celebrate the glories of pumpkin pies. To be fair, the day only exists, it tells me, because it is one of the most common American foods eaten at Christmas. I have to say that I have never had anyone tell me "Happy Pumpkin Pie Day"...and I'm not sure I'm comfortable trying it out on friends. It sounds to me like a creation of some commercial institution, such as a company that provides canned pumpkin pie filling. I don't know that for sure, but doesn't it sound likely?

I'm equally suspicious of other "holidays" that have become popular in our country, such as Mother's Day, Father's Day, Grandparent Day, Children's day. I refer to them as Hallmark Card days. Any excuse to get people to purchase cards, flowers, and other gifts during a slow season. I'm not stupid enough to ignore Mother's Day, and I enjoy the special treatment on Father's Day, but I do acknowledge the flaw.

Most of my Jewish friends are not only comfortable, but enthusiastic, about saying "Merry Christmas" to me. They seem to get it, that for Christians it is a special holiday...a holy day...with theological significance. That aspect of Christmas has faded for much of the population, for whom it is a secular holiday more focused on gift-giving and gift-receiving than anything else. My limited cynical side recognizes that the holiday has been co-opted by commercial enterprises. But we'll celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve at Saint Bartholomew's Church in New York City, where a magnificent choir, inspired preaching and an awesomely-beautiful setting will inspire us. More on that in a couple of days.

I'll practice my "Happy Pumpkin Pie Day" greeting, but don't be surprised if I don't say it to you.

Photo Credit: Copyright 2000-2010: holidayinsights.com © By Premier Star Co.
Definition Credit: http://dictionary.reference.com/

BLIZZARD: a storm with dry, driving snow, strong winds, and intense cold.

Today we are in the midst of a blizzard. It was predicted two days ago, but even the meteorologists didn't know for sure how significant it would be. It all depended upon whether this offshore storm stayed the course or turned and went out to sea. It stayed the course. The latest forecasts call for 12-18 inches of snow before the storm is over.

This morning the world around us is covered with snow and those who demand a White Christmas are more relaxed. Those of us who aren't enamored with snow have co-opted their anxiety, trying our best to calculate just how long it will stay around.

I was surprised to hear the meteorologist, T.J. DelSanto, from the local CBS-TV affiliate, define a blizzard as having more to do with wind than snow. It turns out, according to him, that a winter snow storm with sustained winds above 35 miles per hour is a blizzard. I always thought it had more to do with the amount of snow. It doesn't. So much for my amateurish understanding of the word.

My adolescent image of blizzards comes from literature more than any other place. Stories of cowboys stranded out on the plains in blizzards. Sea captains trying to stay afloat during blizzards. Families seeking refuge in isolated farm houses during a blizzard. You get the drift.

It makes for good writing. The thrill of trying to get to safety before the storm hits. The valor of a horse or a dog who lead the way to a protected space. The cave found just in time, occupied, of course, by a cougar. And, of course, the stranded family in the isolated farm house is going to come face to face with a crazed murderer.

In reality, blizzards such as the one we are experiencing have more to do with automobile accidents, power outages, events cancelled (including Church services?), and farm animals needing food. True Rhode Islanders have rushed to the supermarket to get bread and milk, and have hunkered down in front of a fireplace, convinced that everything is under control.

There is tragedy and there is poetic beauty. Most of all there is a renewed sense of quiet, broken only by the crashing sound of a snow plow on a neighboring street and the scraping of a snow shovel on a neighbor's sidewalk. No planes overhead, no speeding traffic on the Interstate, no trucks delivering goods to local customers. Just quiet.

The blizzard will pass and normality will return. In the meantime, our frenetic pre-Christmas pace is brought to a grinding halt. Not a half-bad thing to happen.


Dictionary Credit: Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009
Photo Credit: Joel Achenbach