Park and fly, journey south to feel the sun upon our faces, shells on beach, sand in toes then on to Orlando where all roads lead to the Disney empire ...a plastic fantasy like no other and an unbelievably huge infrastructure of people moving devices. Monorails! Ferries! Buses! Trams! All sweeping us into a small city devoted to fictional characters and dreams of perfect yesterdays. A place where one stays for 12 hours to make sure you get your money's worth. The only place it seems where a crush of people in line is not an annoyance. A city line causes grumbles but here everyone is jovial and it made me wonder what is at work. Then it dawns on me that maybe the lack of cars roaming the streets frees people to be more gracious to each other. 

Curious and at the library I came across a book entitled "Stories Behind the Great Traditions of Christmas" and after tucking into a few chapters realized that since birth no one has explained anything relating to the great 25th.  Why do we hang stockings or kiss under mistletoe or rejoice when a guy dressed up as Santa  drives by in the back of a pick up truck on a frigid Christmas Eve  as they did in my place of rearing... Transcona... a place onto itself in Winnipeg.

Now I do know about that baby boy but Christmas has become this bloated event consumed with consuming and a mad rush to get it all done. I'm not sure anyone really knows why or what they are doing anymore as the traditions mutate. For instance mistletoe was viewed with awe in ancient times. The root of the word Misteltan means dung twig as it sprung to life in odd places from the droppings of birds but even in my short span of time on Earth the act of hanging mistletoe in doorways has fallen by the wayside. Yet we continue to drag trees into our houses just as the Vikings did.

Desperate for a manly gift this christmas? How about an industrial strength keychain that will inspire questions at airport security. Click on the Etsy link to the right to have a closer look.