hanukkah

Folks who are still not sure if they are going to openly celebrate Christmas can now rest assured it’s OK to do so.

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer said so.

She issued an Executive Order on Dec. 11, the first day of Hanukkah, which laid down the rules for both Christmas and Hanukkah. The latter ended Dec. 19 but heck, keep that décor in place since we’ve got the green light from Brewer.

She declared that Arizona government agencies are hereby ordered to:
*Allow state employees to personally celebrate Christmas and Hanukkah and put up decorations
*Allow state employees to use “accurate names” of Christmas and Hanukkah and wish others a “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Hanukkah”
*Refrain from censoring the “lawful celebration and acknowledgment of Christmas, Hanukkah or any other recognized religious holiday.”

We are dying to know what disgruntled state employee, who may have gotten reprimanded for putting a mini Christmas tree or Menorah on his desk, prompted this one.

While her Executive Order is targeted for government agencies and state employees, others can use it as a springboard for their own arguments if they get yelled at for putting a baby Jesus in the kitchenette.

Or you can go for some other last-minute decorating ideas:

Gingerbread house:

Those wishing to go for a gingerbread house better start now, as these kitschy little abodes are certainly not very quick to create.

Loyal reader AZMouse hooked up this dandy gingerbread house and tree, with a lot of work and even more patience.

“The hardest part, besides keeping the roof from trying to slide off while it was drying, was doing all the brick outline on the house in frosting,” she said. Brickwork took an entire day to complete, and she topped it off with a fence fashioned from X-Men white stick candles and a path made of licorice and sprinkles.

She even hooked up textured snow on the ground by painstakingly picking through a box of Nerds to extract all the white ones.

Whew.

Everything is edible, as her cats have gleefully discovered.

A quicker fix can be had with a giant Santa or festive CHRISTmas light.

Giant Santa:

This guy was spied on a rooftop not far from the Fourth Avenue street fair. Giant Santas work well suspended from the office ceiling or in lobby and waiting areas. You may also want to set one in your boss’s chair before he arrives for the day to really spread the holiday spirit.

CHRISTmas lights:

A Baptist church on North Swan Road (pictured top right) heartily reminds all passing cars of the origin of the Christmas holiday. Anyone driving by gets a very good view of the lights, as many drivers still don’t realize the speed limit in that area is 40 mph and decide instead to putt putt at about 28 mph.

Skeleton with reindeer antlers:

The skeleton on a tricycle that always graces my living room was outfitted with a pair of reindeer antlers. That marks the extent of this year’s holiday decorating. The reindeer antlers were originally placed on Phoebe but stay in place better when they are not worn by a dog who is trying to head butt the world. Skeleton holiday décor is one way to perhaps horrify your coworkers and give them something to gossip about at the office holiday party.

[tnipoll]

What do you think?

Do you think it necessary to issue an Executive Order regarding the “lawful celebration of Christmas, Hanukkah”?

Were you ever reprimanded for decorating for or saying “Christmas” or “Hanukkah”?

Did you decorate at all this year? Why or why not?

Have you ever made a gingerbread house?

Labor Day may not hold some deep-seated meaning to the average American, but it is still a necessary component of American life.

In addition to marking the end of summer, it’s a great day to shop the 50 percent off sale at Savers and a reminder not to wear white shoes again until Memorial Day.

As Editor Mark Evans pointed out in his recent post, the day has pretty much lost all of its original meaning. But folks don’t really care – as long as they get the day off.

The American workforce needs all the breaks it can get.

The country has been steadily working itself into the ground, suffering from ulcers, migraines and black eyes on the way down – yes, some workplace stress actually leads to violence.

Mix in longer hours, pay cuts and picking up more duties thanks to the wholesale reduction of the workforce across the nation and you’ve really got a mess.

An Attitudes in the American Workplace Gallup Poll in 2000 – a full nine years ago – came up with the following statistics:

* 80% of workers feel stress on the job, nearly half say they need help in learning how to manage stress and 42% say their coworkers need such help;
* 14% of respondents had felt like striking a coworker in the past year, but didn’t;
* 25% have felt like screaming or shouting because of job stress, 10% are concerned about an individual at work they fear could become violent;
* 9% are aware of an assault or violent act in their workplace and 18% had experienced some sort of threat or verbal intimidation in the past year.

We can bet it’s gotten worse. More recent polls also highlight workers’ economic fears and resentment of the government for starting this economic turmoil.

Thus we need Labor Day – and more holidays that let us take a break from the torrid workplace. Rather than changing Labor Day to honor something else, as Evans suggested, we should just add more holidays to the calendar.

Legal holidays should be scheduled at least once a month, more frequently if there is something really good going on. Please bring this to the attention of the President when you get a moment.

January – New Year’s Day, MLK Day, my dog Sawyer’s Birthday

February – We already get Presidents Day as a legal holiday, but we should also add Groundhog Day since the little dude does go to all that trouble to come outside and predict the weather for us.

We need to celebrate Groundhog Day/Ryn Gargulinski — We need the day off for Groundhog Day/Ryn Gargulinski

March – Ides of March. We may as well give a nod to the Romans on the first day of their new year and first day of spring. It’s also the day Julius Caesar was brutally stabbed to death by Marcus Brutus. Let’s celebrate.

April – Since April is already designated National Poetry Month, we should add a National Poetry Day. We get the day to read, write and reflect on poetry throughout the ages and figure out exactly why Sylvia Plath stuck her head in an oven.

May – Memorial Day, Ryn’s Birthday, Ryn’s Friend Victor’s Birthday, Everyone Born in May Birthday

June – Paul Bunyan Day on June 27. Heck, Tucson should get a whole week off for this guy, since he stands stately at the corner of Stone Avenue and Glen Street. Not sure why he comes up in June, but we need a holiday for this month anyway.

July – Independence Day needs to be accompanied by July 14th’s Bastille Day for good measure.

August – Frankenstein Day. Frankenstein author Mary Wollenstone Shelley was born on Aug. 30, 1797, according to HolidayInsights.com. Other sources put Frankenstein Day on the last Friday in October and/or Oct. 29. We may as well add all three to the calendar. Also add Phoebe’s Birthday to the August list.

September – Labor Day and others

October – Yes, we get Columbus Day but please also join me in the movement to make sure everyone gets the day off for Halloween.

November – Thanksgiving

December – Since there are so many different holidays going on in December, from Christmas to Hanukkah with Kwanza in between, we may as well get the whole month off.

Full disclosure: I am just back from a looong holiday week off that was completely sublime. The world could definitely use some more of those things.

What do you think?

Are you working too hard and need more holidays?

Has a fellow worker ever given you a black eye?

Do you spend more time with your coworkers than you do with your family?

Ever try adjusting your diet to bring down your stress?

Gov. Brewer says it’s OK to celebrate holidays

We need more holidays so we all don’t kill each other

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