NEW YEAR 2021

original photo by me

Readers,

I want to wish all of you health, wealth, and love in this New Year. 

I'm having a quiet night at home, a couple dogs wrapped in blankets near my feet and some lemon bars and tea.

Though in Southern California, there is snow on the mountains and it's cold. Not as cold as other parts of the country, but cold enough for sweaters and fluffy slippers. 

I've never much enjoyed loud New Years Eve parties, but the main reason for staying home rather than get together with friends is avoiding Covid-19. You may have heard that we are in a terrible crisis here. Like many of you, I seem to be addicted to news reports. The sickness and death is alarming. The hospitals are overwhelmed. The least we can do is stay home and out of harm's way. 

Two of my friends, one in Baltimore, the other in Orange, have had Covid. One had mild symptoms, the other was sick for three weeks. But for me so far so good.

I'm feeling positive about the vaccines but believe it will be spring before I will be eligible to take it myself. And so I suspect my blogging may slow down. 

Our leaders are asking us to avoid even the walks we take for exercise which bring us into contact with others; so if you're feeling a bit crazy with cabin fever, you're not alone.

Outside there are some booms, so somewhere people are trying to make cheer by blasting off Roman candles or fireworks left over from July. As well Christmas lights are decorating houses and apartments all over.

The Christmas tree will remain up a while longer. Usually till the 6th of  January.

I look forward to the day when all is well.

OH COME LET US ADORE HIM

 

HUNGARIAN CHRISTMAS MUSIC

WHEN THE SNOWMAN COMES ALIVE

 

ASK YOURSELF THIS

ARE YOU WILLING TO HOLOCAUST THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE BECAUSE THEY ARE HOMELESS?  DO YOU CONSIDER THEM TO BE SUBHUMAN and NOT WORTHY OF BASIC RESPECT or TO BE WITHOUT NEED?  Is it OK with you if they freeze to death?  Starve to death? Die in the street? Give birth in the street? Go hungry? Go without education?  Keep moving?  Do you care if people who not long ago had it all together are now at risk of going crazy? HAVE YOU DUMPED FRIENDS BECAUSE THEY RAN OUT OF LUCK?

If so, please do NOT celebrate Christmas.

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I don't know about your town, but I know that mine has a homeless encampment that keeps getting bigger down by the post office, which happens to have outdoor lighting on all night. There is also a motel that has been temporarily funded as a temporary homeless shelter.  I encounter homeless people everywhere I go, especially in libraries, and I believe the numbers are triple of that counted. I believe this because I believe that a good number of homeless are secretly so.  They have avoided being counted and do not want to go to shelters or other facilities either because they don't want governmental benefits or intrusion into their lives, or because there are horror stories about what it is to be in these places.  In talking to people I meet, I've learned about long wait lists as well and the feeling of despair.  Partners do not want to be separated.  Parents don't want their children put in foster care.  They would rather go on loving each other in a tent.

I thought about this the other day because basically I was reading through my old posts that are genealogy oriented,  I noted that the National Archive of Hungary and the databases that show who owned the land and how many people lived on it - as tenant farmers - as serfs - back in the Queen Marie Theresa's day. As well, the 1828 census counted how many slaves one had. I was thinking about how the land barons who had serfs on their estate owed them some very basics. They were better off than the homeless in the sense that if you were a serf on a baron's estate, you were not expected to be transient.  

You knew where you belonged and you knew what hut was yours for the night.  You probably had a sense of community and some pride in being able to work hard to contribute towards your upkeep.  You may have had rags on your feet, but you had family too. I'm not idealizing serfdom. I'm saying the freeing of the serfs was a great big deal and often they ran for another country and a better life, but how can we free the homeless who are living much like them?

I truly fear what is coming if there is no more governmental help coming, in particular if evictions are allowed to continue.  Even those who have been living on unemployment benefits are at risk at becoming homeless.  So very many here in Southern California live without savings.  And have nowhere else to go.  California has been a destination for people who became homeless in other places, in particular cold places.  You probably won't freeze to death here, but there are still places where you can be overexposed to cold.

I learned that the motel full of homeless people does not house our town's local homeless.  Social workers from all over the city have sent people who are very ill or incapacitated there.  It is full of people with stage four cancer, people who cannot walk without a chair and assistance, people who are recovering from heart surgery who lost their apartments in the process of their illness and recovery.  Some of them are awaiting placement in assisted living or apartments with governmental vouchers.

It was bad before Covid-19 and now it's just horrible.  Though my neighborhood is decorated with Christmas lights, the food bank has been setting up down by the school.  We are all grateful for what all we have but also worried. We have decided on token gifts and donations to charities.

If you are reading this from another place in America or the world, please consider that empathy and understanding of other people's plight is a first step.  Stop protesting the existence of tent cities or the existence of homeless people in your neighborhood. Learn the truth about why they are out there.  I suspect you will find that evil and greed is at the heart of it.

AND TO ALL OF YOU, A GOOD NIGHT!

C 2020 Magyar American BlogSpot

SAINT NICHOLAS DAY IN HUNGARY

 

If you have BIG FEET it's a good thing...

HAVE A HUNGARIAN THEMED CHRISTMAS AT HOME

If you are one of the many millions of us who will be staying home for Christmas and the Holidays, avoiding travel and otherwise staying as safe as we can be due to the horrific challenges of Covid-19, this may be the year when you can bring some forgotten traditions into your Hungarian-heritage home.

First Saint Nick Day is December 6th.  This is the day to fill shoes with small gifts and treats.  (It's up to you if you wish to also gift on Christmas Eve or Day.)

Next, remember that Christmas in Hungary is a religious holiday.  You may or may not be Christian or especially religious, so perhaps this will simply be a time for you to read around the subject.  Or you might want to get out your Bible and read the passages about the Nativity.  Your church might be closed or unable to provide a safe space for an indoor ritual, but you can create your own worship or lessons.

Try to make a Hungarian recipe or two. Goulash (stew) served in bread bowls, sausages, pork and sour kraut, or stuffed cabbages make for hearty meals.  Perhaps you will create a vegetarian themed meal using lentils and rice instead. Or make rolled breads with poppyseeds or walnuts or cookies with apricots.

Then there's wine.  Mulled wine with spices is popular.  Palinka - fruit brandy, also. 

But here are some very American ideas for you.

Have a backyard fruit tree harvest and distribute your excess lemons, oranges, grapefruits, around your neighborhood.  Believe me this will be good for the tree.  You may have grown accustomed to just walking into the yard and picking what your need, but your neighbors will love the gift of fruit. Some shelters and food banks also accept local fruit donations.

Get out the art supplies.  Children and adults as well can create personal greeting cards (you really can snail mail instead of e-mail) or Holiday art to be hung on string around the house.

Give yourself a news break.  It will be there tomorrow, and chances are very good that if the news is going to impact you, you will hear about it no matter if you check your phone every few hours or not.

Remember the old days when there were no cell phones or the Internet. TALK TO OTHERS.  If you have to stay on the sidewalk to greet your friends and neighbors and wear a mask - oh well - hopefully by next year the crisis will have resolved.

Record memories for family history books and genealogies.

Tell those you love that you do.

See you in 2021!

C 2020 Magyar-American BlogSpot