A Busy Month
Eight/Ate
Bill of Rights
Louisiana Purchase
Hanukkah, Festival of Lights
Christmastide

A Busy Month
08/12/03

According to the Gregorian calendar, used in most areas of the world today, we are now in the month of December, the final month of the year 2008. In the ancient Roman calendar, there were ten months in a year and the names of the months were related to their number, as in Japanese calendars even today. “December” is one of a number of words beginning with d-e-c (including “decade,” “Decalogue,” “decimal,” “decagon,” “decagram,” “decaliter,” “deciliter,” and “decameter”) that are derived from the Latin word for 10. When two more months were added to the first part of the Roman calendar, the names of the final months of the year remained the same even though their number had changed. Thus the month of December is now the 12th month of the year. The decision to celebrate Jesus’ birth in December has made this an especially busy month in countries where Christianity is a major influence. Parties and special services are held, decorations are displayed, gifts are exchanged. In Japan also, this final month of the year is an especially busy time. Many traditional activities related to the termination of an old year and the beginning of a new year are added to the regular schedule. This “busyness” is reflected in the interesting traditional Japanese name for this final month of the year: shiwasu, literally meaning “teacher run.” One explanation of the reason for this name is because Buddhist priests run from door to door, seeking support at this time of year, but they are not the only “teachers” on the run as the year comes to a close. As we become busy as the year comes to an end, we should take time to reflect on what is really important in our lives. (1190)

Eight/Ate
08/12/08

It is customary for preachers to check the calendar before preparing a sermon for a particular Sunday to see if some historical event happened around that date which should be noted in the sermon. Other public speakers or writers are also likely to relate historical events to their speeches or essays. Readers of these messages probably recognize that I also regularly look at the calendar before composing them and sometimes, that is reflected in the message. That is the reason for the content of today’s message which again notes the irregularities in the pronunciation and spelling of words in the English language, highlighting one of the difficulties faced by students of English. In the United States of America, December 7 is called “Pearl Harbor Day,” commemorating the sudden attack of Japanese bombers on the ships and planes at the naval and air base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on that day in 1941. In Japan, on the other side of the International Date Line, it was December 8 and as I thought about that number “eight,” I was amazed to find that there are at least five different ways to spell that syllable. Consider the following sentences: The eight people I invited to our house for dinner on that date came straight from the railroad station but they were late because they had to wait for a freight train to pass the gate. At the dinner table, each one had a plate and we enjoyed a great time as we all ate together. Although I am not a specialist in the English language, I would be happy to receive reactions or questions regarding current or previous messages that readers might have. (1191)

Bill of Rights
08/12/12

In the dictionary I regularly use, there are 8 different definitions of the noun, “bill,” including both a list of charges received at a shop and the money used to pay that bill. There are 7 definitions of the noun “right.” In Japan, traffic runs on the left side of roads as in England. To illustrate the complexity of the English language, I sometimes tell people here, “in Japan, the right side is the wrong side and the left side is the right side.” The term, “bill of rights,” signifies “A formal summary of those rights and liberties considered essential to a people or group of people.” The Constitution of the United States of America went into effect in March 1789, after it had been approved by 9 of the 13 states. Many citizens were critical of the Constitution, however, for giving the national government too much strength and, conversely, not including guarantees of individual liberty and the protection of states’ rights. Two years later, the first ten amendments to the Constitution, popularly known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified by the nine state majorities on December 15, 1791 and became the law of the land. December 15 is now recognized as Bill of Rights Day. The Bill of Rights includes such basic elements of a real democracy as “freedom of religion, speech and press; the right of peaceful assembly; the right of petition; the right of private property; the right to trial by jury; and the right of a defendant ‘to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; . . . and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.’” “Nor shall [any person] be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself.” Some of these “rights” we take for granted, but we should be thankful for all of them for there are many “democracies” in the world today that do not have such a “Bill of Rights.” (1192)

Louisiana Purchase
08/12/17

Portions of the 3,779 kilometer long Mississippi River which flows from a lake in Minnesota in the north to the Gulf of Mexico in the south serves as a part of the borders of ten of the fifty states in the United States of America and divides the country into east and west. Its southernmost section becomes the border between the states of Mississippi and Louisiana. The name “Mississippi” is derived from a Native American language meaning “big river.” “Louisiana” was the name given by a French explorer in honor of French King Louis XIV to the territory between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains. This explorer claimed for France “possession of that river, of all the rivers that enter into it, and all the country watered by them.” As the North American continent was visited by explorers, invaders and colonists from Britain, France and Spain, controversial claims on various areas were made, but, in 1803, an extraordinary agreement between France and the United States was approved by both governments which resulted in the purchase of approximately 828,000 square miles (2,152,800 square kilometers) of land called Louisiana Territory by the United States for $15 million. President Thomas Jefferson accepted the offer of Napoleon and took formal possession of this land that doubled the size of the United States of America 205 years ago, on December 20, 1803. From that area, eventually all or parts of 13 of America’s heartland states were carved: Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, North and South Dakota, Colorado, Wyoming and Montana. The Louisiana Purchase was one of the historic landmarks in American history which raises questions regarding who owns particular plots of land, their value and to whom they may be sold. (1193)

Hanukkah, Festival of Lights
08/12/23

Areas in the northern hemisphere are now experiencing the shortest days of the year, following the winter solstice that occurs on December 21st. Along with the shorter hours of sunlight, however, there is a Jewish festival, commonly called the “festival of lights.” Because Jewish festivals are determined by a lunar calendar, their relation with the Gregorian calendar is variable, but this year the 8-day festival began on December 22nd. The official name of this festival can be transliterated from Hebrew into English in 17 different ways, one of which is “Hanukkah,” meaning “consecration.” The festival celebrates the restoration of the Jewish Temple when Jewish nationalists, under the leadership of Judah the Maccabee, regained control of the Temple from the Syrians and rededicated it in 165 B.C.E. According to Jewish tradition, there should always be a light in the Temple, but the candle had been extinguished by the Syrians. When the Temple was regained by the Jews, there was only one cruise of consecrated oil which would enable the candle to be lit for one day, but it was reported that, miraculously, the candle stayed lit for 8 days until new oil could be prepared and consecrated. Consequently, during this festival, a special menorah, or candelabrum, which contains holders for nine candles, is used. One candle is lit on the first night, two on the second night, three on the third and so on until all candles are burning on the final night. The ninth candle is used to light the other candles. The menorah may be placed in a window so that passersby in the street may see it and be reminded that all of us should be helping to brighten up the world, not only during the festival of lights, but always. (1194)

Christmastide
08/12/28

The periodic variations in the surface level of large, natural bodies of water caused by the gravitational attraction of the sun and moon are called “tides,” but “tide” may also signify “a time or season.” “Christmastide” is “the Christian church festival from December 24 through January 6.” In my home in the U. S. State of Florida, this year, Christmastide was a surprisingly warm and most enjoyable time of year. A few days before Christmas, our daughter arrived from her home in Thailand where she is the editor of an English language publishing company. A few days later, our son arrived from New Mexico, where he is the Database Administrator at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant for disposing of radioactive waste for the Department of Energy, accompanied by his daughter, who is a student at a university in Indiana. Then our older granddaughter, who graduated last year from the Miami International University of Art and Design and is now working in California, and her younger sister who is a student at Arizona State University, arrived and we were able to attend the meaningful Christmas Eve service at our nearby church together. On the morning of Christmas Day, before opening our gifts, we telephoned our younger son in Japan and talked with him and his wife and young son, so we were in communication with our whole family. Our joyful, meaningful family gathering was rounded out by our sitting together around a round table in the Dining Hall to enjoy the special Christmas dinner prepared and served by the employees there. In the church calendar, Christmastide concludes with the joyful celebration of Epiphany on January 6, but our family experienced a special epiphany during Christmastide this year. (1195)