GRADESCHOOL VALENTINES STILL BRING UP MEMORIES OF LITTLE GIRL CRUSHES

I was very lucky to have a mom who scrapbooked greeting cards I received as a child.  These scrapbooks are mostly stored away but the kind of thing that you would want to run out with if you were warned to evacuate your home due to pending mudslide or fire.


Although in my grade school is was not mandatory for every child to give every other child in the class a Valentine, and nor do I think that should be mandated, it was exciting when it came time for the big box covered in wrapping paper with a mail slot in the top to be opened and the Valentine's distributed.

Though only 6 or 7 at the time, I knew there were one or two or three people I hoped I would get a Valentine from.  Oh the art was too cute and so was the humor, but one flipped over the card to see if anything besides a signature had been written.  Even the signature was so important!


These days I tend to think that Valentine's Day, as are many holidays, is overblown with materialism and have to's.  I long for the days when a Valentine was precious and meant something special - that there was more sincerity involved.


Maybe this is because I recently reencountered an adult woman who I've always basically liked, but who I remember as being a bit over the top and at ease with telling people she loves them "very much."  If actions speak louder than words, such effusive gushes of adoration must sub in for the fact that she rarely has time for most people.  She is busy with work, and going out with her small inner circle after work, saving herself for big gatherings where she can encounter a lot of people, do some sharing, and make such declarations.
It's not that she dislikes you or is hiding hatred.  It's just so insincere!


I think overall our society is encouraging us to blur liking someone into loving them.


Liking someone does not require you send them a Valentine!


P.S. I love my dog but am not baking her a Doggie Valentine Cupcake full of liver!

KRAMPUS GETS INTO VALENTINE'S DAY ACTION TOO?

I'm beginning to think that old Krampus needs to retire already!

A HUNGARIAN SURNAME is ALL IT TAKES TO REMEMBER YOUR HUNGARIANESS

I am reminded of my Hungarianess every time someone stumbles over my familial surname.
To be honest, I understand!
In Hungarian the name sounds so different than it seems spelled when you are an English speaker. 
Also as of three generations ago when my Hungarians came to America, they were also involved in various pronunciations and name changes.
As I've come to understand it, this also has to do with the fact that though united by religion, some of them married Germans heritage people here in the United States and some of them married Slovak heritage people here in the United States.  (And depending on the dates, some could say they were from Romania, or Yugoslavia!)  And I think the language spoken in the home as a first language has a lot to do with it.


Long ago when I began this blog I promised that I would avoid invading any family member's privacy so that's all I have to say about that, but I wanted my Hungarian and Hungarian-American readers to think about this.


Do you, like I do, often explain that your surname is Hungarian?
Do you tell people what it means to help them get it?

GETTING UP TO SPEED FOR THE NEW YEAR

This past holiday season was a bit unusual for me because I joined up with a relatives huge family celebration that included new traditions they had adopted over the years and since I'd last seen them all.  This included a birthday cake for Jesus that included candles, the children singing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus, and one of them blowing the candles out: of course this included the trick candles that refuse to blow out the first and second try.

(Seems no one is ever concerned about breath on cake tops being germ-filled!)

My memory of this family was that everyone watched the Pope say Mass from Rome on a cable station and then opened presents.  My memory was also of there being turkey, ham, and lasagna, plus many platters and tins full of desert cookies and cakes.  Well, there was no watching the Pope say Mass and they had gotten into healthier and more minimalistic holiday eating, but one of the daughters spends an afternoon making several of grandma's cookie recipes so was carrying on some of the tradition.

About a week before the holiday we went to the cemetery to decorate the graves for Christmas, totally new to me.  The Italian branch of the family had also put photos of the person in the grave on the gravestones.  The extreme expensive of burial these days has me quite concerned.  I don't think I will be.  I'm feeling pretty sure I'll be cremated and there is a spot on earth where I would like a simple cardboard box of ashes to be buried.  When we got to this cemetery though I was surprised to see so many families out decorating the burials, and when I saw the burial for a child that included an entire decorated fake Christmas tree I felt some tears come to my eyes.

Soon after this visit I and everyone else got sick - be it allergies, sinus, the flu, a virus, an infection, we were all coughing, hacking, exhausted, and sleeping too much or up all night.

So I'm still trying to step on the gas and get up to full speed for the New Year - 2018!

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WISHING YOU A HAPPY NEW YEAR

BOLDOG KARACSONYO UNNEPEKETI

ONE OF MY CHRISTMAS MEMORIES

Like many Americans of Hungarian ancestry, I also have Slovak and Germans in Hungary relatives.

One of my Aunts was of Slovak heritage.  We used to stop by her house to visit during the holidays, if only for a couple hours, as we had so very many relations to visit.  Under her tree was a statue.  It was Santa Claus, in red suit, hat in hand, as he knelt down to visit the newborn Jesus.  My aunt had it there to remind her children that Jesus was more important than Santa Claus.

WINTER WONDERLAND - U.S. NAVY BAND

DEER

KRAMPUS IS COMMING TO GET YOU!

One of my Hungarian aunts told me that one  year her sons were so bad that Santa Claus came and took the toys back...but maybe it was Krampus who snuck into the closet and took them away?

MERRY CHRISTMAS

BECOMING SANTA : MAGYAR AMERICAN FILM REVIEW

How does Santa get all his work done?  This is a documentary film about the process that some people, mostly men, go through to properly represent Santa.  It includes an ongoing interview of a graduate of a special Santa Claus School, where the students are told that to children of a certain age, the excitement of meeting Santa is like a fan meeting a rock star.  There they learn the best way to fulfill the role. Such as, not making promises they canot keep. And yes there are conventions for full bearded men to compare notes.

Meanwhile, there's a look back to the development of Santa Claus.  Did he always wear a red, white fur trimmed coat?  Was he always fat and jolly?  Was it a Coke-a-Cola ad that introduced us to the man we expect down our chimney with toys?

The history of Santa Claus goes back to Saint Nicholas, born rich, who gave much of his fortune away to people who needed the extra help. In the United States, Santa is a hit by the Civil War era when he makes the Harpers Magazine cover and is suggested to be on the side of the Union. This is a black and white etched look figure, not so fat.  In Austria and other European Countries, his visits coincide with the visit of a darker character, a mean, even evil character who can punish children for bad behavior.

Are you ready to take your holiday decorations out of the attic and start to deck the halls?  Watch this one before you begin, while you have some hot chocolate and grilled cheese, and take your ornaments out of the tissue paper.  Santa's sincerity will grab your heart and maybe even bring a little tear to your eye. 

I'M THANKFUL FOR...

My dog, who is sleeping at my feet at the moment.





The surprise $100 that a Minister gave me from a Deacon's Fund due to an emergency.


And that I'm going to see some relatives that I haven't seen in 18 years, a whole generation grown up without my being part of that, but, I look forward to it.




We told my dog that she's going to have a whole lot more people loving her and that she will get to see the ocean.

WHITE GOD : MAGYAR AMERICAN HUNGARIAN FILM REVIEW

Called "Stunning" and "Masterful" by critics quoted on the back of the DVD box, at the end of this film I had to agree! This one will take all dog lovers on a twisting turning emotional rollercoaster, for you will meet some very unkind and unsympathetic Hungarian characters in this film, making you wonder "is that how it is in Hungary?" and it will tweak your animal activism no doubt. 

Is it true that in Hungary a dog is not respected for being a mixed breed street dog and that people only want pure breeds?

After you see the dog star of the film "Luke and Body" evade the unfeeling animal catchers, endure terrible conditions at the Hungarian equivalent of a "shelter," and be sold to a brutalizer who turns him into a killer for sport, you will be cheering when he leads the pack out of the place, then they rampage in revenge.  You'll also be wondering, "Who trained all those dog actors to maraud?  And what about that scene where the one dog delights in ripping up a brief case? (I laughed!)

Lots of violence here and without apology.  You'll be reminded that packs of dogs have been known to attack humans.  But what of the preteen who loved him and searched for him and never wanted to give him up?  I won't spoil the ending for you, but let's say that she has her moment with the dogs and we can only hope that they all get away!

Race out and borrow, rent, or buy this film!

Then, make a donation to an animal shelter.

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To read other film reviews on this blog, click on the label FILM REVIEW!

ALL SOULS - ALL SAINTS