Trying to Be Christmassy🎄 Day 9 of 13

Happy Friday and welcome to Day 9 of our Trying to Be Christmassy 🎄 series!  Today we're going to learn a bit about how other cultures celebrate Christmas as well as reflect on our holiday traditions.  Below is a video of today's song with the lyrics included in case you should wish to singalong.  🎤

(Oh, and if anyone's wondering, from yesterday's activity, the rap songs that I've had AI create about the holidays have been pretty awful.  😁)

I'm learning from doing this series as I just learned yesterday that the singer of "Feliz Navidad", José Feliciano, is actually Puerto-Rican and not Mexican as I had assumed.  (He and his wife currently live in Connecticut.)

Inspiring Quote: "Traditions aren't just things we do, they're the threads that connect us to our past and to each other."

Inspiring Holiday Song: "Feliz Navidad" 

Holiday Activity: Check online for how Christmas/another holiday is celebrated in other parts of the world or a specific country.  (Bonus videos below.)  Also, if you know someone who'd be willing to share how Christmas or another holiday is observed in their country or culture, ask them.  **Do be mindful when asking as some people may not feel comfortable sharing about their holiday traditions/culture.

Reflection Tip: Reflect on your holiday traditions.  Which traditions do you enjoy the most and which traditions could you adjust or remove if you no longer enjoy them?

Creative Writing Exercise: Imagine a character who wakes up in another country whose holiday traditions you've checked on.  Briefly describe how they spend Christmas (or another holiday/observation) in the country.  You can focus on a specific moment in the morning/evening. 

Affirmations:

I embrace diverse holiday traditions and learn about different cultures.

I honor my traditions while being open to positive change.

I celebrate connection and goodwill during the holidays.

What surprised you the most about how other countries or a specific country observe Christmas/another holiday?

or

What can you wear for the holidays to help you better connect with the holidays, your culture or family traditions?

Bonus videos

Disclaimer:  The production quality varies.

TTBC🎄 Playlist

Yesterday, I made a YouTube playlist of the songs from the Trying to Be Christmassy series including some additional  holiday songs.  To get you more into the holiday spirit or simply to enjoy some music, you can listen to the Trying to Be Christmassy playlist here. 🎶  

Enjoy and stay wonderful!  🤩

Trying to Be Christmassy 🎄 Day 8 of 13

Happy Thursday and welcome to Day 8🎄 !  Christmas is less than a week away.  If you want, you can reverse engineer your Christmas Day by thinking of what needs to get done by the 25th and what you can do now to ensure that the tasks are done.  This tip also applies to me so please don't feel that I'm the paragon of Christmas readiness:  I'm not (yet).

Below are the activities for today.  As a reminder, and given other priorities, it's more realistic to do just one of the activities below instead of attempting all of them.  Again, no pressure with this series.  The most important thing to do is to take care of yourself during this holiday season as my cold is reminding me.  : )

Tidbit:  One of  the things that I like about the video below is that it includes DMC's adoptive mom, Banna McDaniels. 

Inspiring Quote: "Rhymes so loud and proud, you hear it / It's Christmastime and we got the spirit" — Run-DMC, "Christmas in Hollis"

Inspiring Holiday Song: "Christmas in Hollis"

Holiday Activity: Learn a simple hip-hop dance move or listen to another holiday-themed rap song.  **For the dance move, please be sure to stretch ahead of time. 

Reflection Tip: For a local organization or the cause or organization that you checked on in Day 2, reflect on how you can support it.  Some ideas are to educate yourself more on it, share about it with others, sign petitions for related causes, volunteer or donate to the organization/cause.

Creative Writing Exercise: Write a few rap verses about Christmas in your hometown or use an AI app like Suno to create the song.  (For your hometown, you can choose your current location or your place of origin.) 

Affirmations:

I feel loved and appreciated.

I strengthen my compassion and patience this holiday season.

I enjoy expressing myself creatively.

Beyond the holidays, how can you maintain and nurture your creative spirit throughout the year?

Intermission

Democracy dies in apathy - Unknown

credit: christiyana kruger

I just wanted to include this reminder that while the Trying to Be Christmassy series is related to connecting to the Christmas/holiday energy and hopefully bringing some calm to this holiday season. I am aware that there are serious concerns happening in the world today. I live in the US and am partially aware of the threats posed by the upcoming administration within the US and abroad. I say "partially" because I'm sure that there are more threats that I'm unaware of.

Nationwide, women in the US no longer have equal access to reproductive care, including abortion, due to the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade.

There are threats to round up people and deport them including American citizens by stripping them of their citizenship. 

For some people, there seems to be less concern for others as long as they're not directly impacted.  Kinda like this "Too bad for you:  I got mine" attitude.

I'm writing this not to throw a damper on anyone's holiday's energy, but to acknowledge that most of  us can't duck our heads into the sand.  While it's helpful to appreciate the holidays, it's also useful to be aware of current events and causes that you're concerned about.  

We all have to stay mindful about our sources of information including the information that we receive from others.  I, too, am not perfect in this and have had people correct me on information that I've given or I've realized that I've had to update a belief.

Side note:  They're different.  Misinformation is incorrect information unintentionally given.  Disinformation is inaccurate information knowingly given usually to support an ulterior motive.

Also, although this series has been co-created with AI.  AI definitely makes errors so be sure to check its information as possible to ensure its reliability.  For instance, I almost posted a quote that AI attributed to Stevie Wonder, but when I checked online, it was attributed to St. Luke.  : /

Finally, if you need to take a break from the news/activism/this series/holiday activities, allow yourself to take a break and recharge.  No one benefits from your burnout.

As a single person, it's especially important that you take care of your mental, physical, emotional and financial health.  If checking in on the news weekly and learning a bit more about a social justice organization or simply keeping yourself emotionally balanced, is the extent of your activism that's understandable.  Given the preponderance of disinformation, I feel that even refraining from being overly reactive is an act of activism. 

Know and honor your limits with news, activism, the holidays, etc.

OK, this intermission has concluded.  Thank you all for following along with this series and may you all stay well.  If you're interested, below are some additional resources:

News Sites

The 19th

Associated Press
Deutsche Welle
PBS News
Reuters

Articles:

10 ways to be prepared and grounded now that Trump has won

What Does Donald Trump’s Election Mean For…

Meet the pillars of the next Trump resistance

Organizations
List by the Advocate  of 26 activist organizations including the ACLU, Climate Science Legal Defense Fund, GLAAD, Planned Parenthood, etc.

Trying to Be Chrismassy 🎄 Day 7 of 13

Good morning, all, and Happy Wednesday! Welcome to Day 7 🎄 of this pop-up blog series.  Thank you all for continuing to follow along with these posts.  Today's activities pertain not just to the holidays, but to other times of the year, i.e., discovering your unique talents and appreciating your gifts or even perceived quirks.  Below's the song and activities for the day.  

Inspiring Quote: "Embrace your uniqueness. Your differences are what make you shine."

Inspiring Holiday Song: "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"

Holiday Activity: Compliment someone/yourself for a quality that others may take for granted/consider to be quirky.

Reflection Tip: Reflect on a time you felt different or excluded and how you overcame it.

Creative Writing Exercise: Write a poem about an outcast who discovers their unique talent during the holidays.

Affirmations:

I am unique and special.

I embrace my individuality.

I am strong and resilient.

What are 2 things that you can do to infuse the holidays with your unique personality and gifts?

Trying to Be Christmassy 🎄 Day 6 of 13

Good morning, all! Welcome to Day 6 🎄 of our pop-up blog series. Congrats to those of you that are keeping up with this challenge or at least managing to read these posts. 🙂


Today's we'll be enjoying the music 🎶 of Donny Hathaway, as well as observing and appreciating holiday/wintry decorations/settings. You can start listening to today's song...NOW! 🚀

Inspiring Quote: "The magic of the holiday season is in the little details."

Inspiring Holiday Song: "This Christmas"

Holiday Activity: Observe the Christmas decorations, if any, in your surroundings. Are there any decorations which you especially admire or that you could incorporate in your home décor? **An alternative activity is to observe how the season's transitioning into winter and how you could incorporate that into your surroundings.

Reflection Tip: Journal about your holiday activity. Did observing the holiday decorations uplift you or annoy you? If you did the alternative activity, how did noticing the changing season make you feel?

Creative Writing Exercise: Write a short story about a home that brings holiday joy to people due to its magical Christmas decorations.

Affirmations
*I'm a li'l under-the-weather so no audios until I feel better.*

I release any anger, resentment or sadness about the holidays.

I am connecting to my positive holiday energy.

I am open to receiving the insights of the season.

Who can you appreciate for their holiday energy/décor/compassion?

Trying to Be Christmassy 🎄 Day 5 of 13

Greeting to you all and Happy Monday!  Gosh, I'd practically forgotten about this song, but it came up on my feed on Friday night so I had AI create activities related to it.  Although this song was written nearly 60 years ago, its message still resonates.

Hopefully, regardless of what the day brings, you can find or create a moment of peace and calm for yourself.

Inspiring Quote: "Hope for a brighter future starts with the choices we make today."

Inspiring Holiday Song: "Someday at Christmas"

Holiday Activity: Perform an intentional act of kindness for someone online or offline.  This could include helping someone in need, leaving a kind comment online or even perhaps pausing before having a negative response to someone..

Reflection Tip: Journal about a time you experienced or witnessed acts of kindness and how it impacted you.

Creative Writing Exercise: Write a short story about a brief moment in a world where peace and love prevail.  

Affirmations:

Shannon · TTBC Day 5

I am becoming a force for peace and love in the world.

I choose kindness and compassion in my interactions.

I believe in a future filled with peace and harmony.

What small steps can you take today to contribute to a more peaceful and loving world?