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The Travelin’ Grampa Touring the U.S.A. without an automobile

Focus on safe, fast, convenient, comfortable, cheap travel, via public transit.

Vol. 11, No. 12½, December 2018

Photo credits: Facebook, Chris Davenport & Douglas Diehl, Philadelphia Metropolitan Area Transit Scene.

Destination sign on this Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority bus says “The Grinch.” It’s the first prize winner in this year’s SEPTA decorative bus contest. Grinch face on its front can change expression. Inside is decorated to resemble Whoville at Xmastime. For more, click on: www.fox29.com/good-day/377207143-video

Buses, subways, streetcars celebrate the holidays season Coast to coast, colorfully decorated transit vehicles express the holidays spirit this year. Some are

stationary, such as the old streetcar at the Milwaukee Public Museum and the Western Holiday Express at

a Philadelphia railroad station. But most, any fare-paying passenger can ride, notably: Washington DC’s

ten festive Metrobuses, Chicago’s two subway-L trains, and Boston’s MBTA Polar Express train.

In the USA, there’s more to Christmastime than Christmas In our country, around this time of year, we celebrate a variety of holidays, in a wide variety of ways.

Soon after Halloween, stores begin displaying holiday merchandise. Turn page for the whole story.

Photos credit: Chicago Transit Authority.

Chicago Transit Authority has two wonderful holiday subway-L trains. Each has thousands of brilliant lights, many red bows, evergreen garlands and holiday scenes. Hand poles inside resemble candy canes, not edible, of course. Santa’s elves give out plenty of edible ones, however. For more, click on: https://youtu.be/0tgOu4rG6fU

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Tampa’s HART airs greetings from vets and active duty military

“The holiday season is upon us,” declares Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority in an early

December announcement. HQed in Tampa, Hillsborough County, Fla., HART noted that the eight days

of Hanukkah had already begun “and Christmas and Kwanzaa are right around the corner.”

“Many families around the world will get together over feasts and chatter, celebrating various beliefs

and participating in different traditions,” the transit authority Xmastime message added.

“However,” said HART, “some of our family and friends will not have the same opportunity to break

bread with their families this holiday season,” including members of U.S. armed forces away from home.

“As such,” it said, “we wanted to do something special for troops around the world and locally at MacDill

Air Force Base.” So, since the beginning of December, HART and CBS-TV station WTSP have been

cooperating on airing holiday greetings from military veteran HART employees and from active duty

military to their near and far-flung friends and families. See them at: https://youtu.be/NGhe7D4Kv78

Photo credits: Calgary Transit; HART Tampa; Princeton University Press Club.

Left: Calgary Transit is among several Canadian transit systems with buses displaying a traditional Merry Christmas message on destination signs. Center: Tampa area’s HART bus displays Happy Holidays wording. Right: Princeton, New Jersey, Tiger Transit shuttle bus displays Happy Hanukkah sign.

Muslims held their big happy holiday in August Twin Cities area Muslims held their big annual holiday celebration back in August, at U.S. Bank

Stadium in Minneapolis, where this year’s NFL Super Bowl football championship took place.

About 30,000 crowded into the stadium to celebrate Super Eid, an Americanized version of Eid al-Fitr,

a traditional Muslim festival marking the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting.

As did many Super Bowl fans, so too did many Super Eid participants arrive via public transit.

Metro Transit’s light rail line stops near the stadium, as do 20 of its bus lines.

After prayer ceremonies in the stadium, they enjoyed a carnival outside, complete with inflatables,

pony rides, and a trampoline. Some women wore sparkling head scarfs. Some wore sweatshirts.

“It’s like Christmas for the Christians. It’s a time of joy,” said Imam Asad Zaman of the Muslim

American Society of Minnesota. At a press conference, Ahmed Anshure, a Super Eid organizer,

explained: “At the time of Christmas, families come together and enjoy together. They celebrate together.

They eat food together. It’s like that. It’s a time of joy and a time of celebration.”

Participants held signs saying Love Your Neighbor, All Are Welcome Here and Eid Mubarak, which

translated into American lingo means Happy Holiday.

Wednesday Nov. 21 was the Prophet Mohammad's Birthday. In the USA, it’s not an especially big day

for American Muslims. For those who do observe it, it’s a day of prayer and study of his philosophy and

teachings. Actually, there is no record of when he was born.

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Photos credit: Facebook, Singapore Land Transport Authority.

HAPPY DEEPAVALI sign inside Singapore Mass Transit District train and likewise wish on rear of Singapore MTA bus.

Hindus on Diwali wish one another Happy Deepavali Diwali is a popular five-day Hindu celebration when Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and others wish one another,

“Happy Deepavali, the latter a Sanskrit word for “festival of lights.” Diwali celebrates the victory of good

over evil, light over darkness, and knowledge over ignorance. In 2018, it was Nov. 7-11. Next year, it

begins Oct. 27. Celebrants light bulbs, candles and sparklers.

Homes serve Chai tea, assorted sweets, savories and herbs. Diwali events occur in New York’s Times

Square and Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif. This year’s 10th annual Diwali festival along the touristy

popular San Antonio Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas, drew more than 15,000 celebrants.

NYC’s Rubin Museum held a Diwali concert where 50 classical musicians performed amid its

Himalayan art collection. In the USA, big Diwali celebrations take place far and wide, from Seattle,

Wash., and Columbus, Ohio, to Dulles, Va.; Cupertino, Calif., and Cary, North Carolina.

USA Buddhists celebrate Christmassy-like Bodhi Day Jan. 13, 2019 is Bodhi Day, when American Buddhists decorate a Bodhi Tree to celebrate when Prince

Siddhartha Gautama attained enlightenment and became Buddha 2,592 years ago, while sitting beneath a

fig tree. Everyone can’t display a fig tree, of course. They flourish only in places such as Florida and

California, although the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture says they grow far north as Philadelphia. Nor is

trimming a Bodhi tree worldwide Buddhist practice. It’s done mainly where Christians predominate.

“Wherever Buddhism goes, it picks up the customs and bits of the culture from the country it arrives

in,” explains a Buddhist web blogger calling herself Monastic Mom. “Of course, Buddhism isn’t alone in

incorporating celebrations,” she reminds us, recalling that Christians have adopted ancient pagan customs,

including: Xmas trees, Easter eggs, holly wreaths, Yule logs and mistletoe. Photo credits: Doug Wallick, Flickr; Holidazzle.com.

Left: Metro Transit’s brilliant Twinkle Bus. Right: Metro Transit on Saturdays gives Minneapolis-Saint Paul area event seekers free rides to Holidazzle, a giant Christmastime lighting spectacular in Loring Park in Downtown Minneapolis.

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. XMASTIME HOLIDAYS .. Photo credits: Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority; Lauren Krugel on Twitter.

Happy Holidays, displayed on this Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) bus, is overwhelmingly the name choice of public transit systems, although Canadian vehicles, such as the Calgary Transit bus shown continue displaying a traditional Merry Christmas on their destination signs.

Canadian bus signs say Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas After a secularist rider’s complaint, Saskatoon Transit began displaying “Happy Hanukkah” on its bus

destination signs. “To be a little more inclusive,” said a city council member, “we all agreed we needed to

extend that same opportunity to other festivals and other holidays and religious events if we were going to

keep ‘Merry Christmas’ on the buses,” she said. “I don't want my taxpayer money funding city buses that

promote a religion I don't believe in,” the secularist had complained.

“Merry Christmas is how I wish a happy season to people around me in Saskatoon, regardless of

faith,” said another city official. “Likewise, if I run into somebody from another religion or faith, if they

say ‘Happy Hanukkah,’ ‘Happy Kwanzaa,’ or ‘Happy Eid,’ that’s how I take it as well.”

Tracing Chanukah’s roots back to – Huh! – Cincinnati?

Hanukkah in America “began to be an important Jewish holiday in the second half of the 19th century,

when two rabbis in Cincinnati noticed that Jewish children didn't have much connection to their

synagogue,” says Dr. Dianne Ashton, professor at Rowan University, Glassboro, N.J., author of a book

titled Hanukkah in America. Grampa also heard her say this on a National Public Radio broadcast.

Hindu kids get gifts on Pancha Ganapati’s 5th day, Dec. 25 Hindu kids get gifts on Pancha Ganapati’s 5th day, December 25. For Hindu children in America, it’s

akin to what Christmas is for neighbor Christian kids. It honors Ganesha, aka Ganapati, patron of arts and

guardian of culture, and runs for five days, Dec. 21-25. Like Christmas, Chanukah and Kwanzaa, it’s very

family and child oriented. Instead of a tree, a statue of Ganesha is its centerpiece. Ornaments, evergreen

branches, and little light bulbs are among decorations present. Photo credit: Chicago Transit Authority.

Chicago Transit Authority 60-foot bus runs on more than a dozen different lines thru Dec. 23. Its decoration resembles a glowing red-nose Santa’s reindeer with a far-back sleigh in tow. CTA calls this sleigh puller "Ralphie the Reindeer."

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. XMASTIME HOLIDAYS .. Illustration credit: Flickr, Qousqous; Catholic Archdiocese of Washington.

Left: Saskatoon bus Merry Xmas sign. The word Xmas is not a secular word, but a Christian one dating back at least to the 16th Century. Right: Washington Area Metropolitan Transit Authority last Xmas season refused to run this transit ad on and in its Metrobuses. Catholic Archdiocese of Washington sued. In July, a federal court ruled in favor of Metro. The ad mentions a website that said, “Jesus is the perfect gift” and then went on to list church services, describe Christmas and Advent traditions, and mention gift giving to the less fortunate thru Catholic Charities.

Holidays Season 2018-19: Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Islamic, Jewish, etc. Oct. 31 – Halloween: When retailers begin switching from Halloween to Christmastime displays.

Nov. 1 – All-Saints Day: When Christians venerate all who have died and gone to Heaven. It’s like

what’s now called Presidents Day in February, with no specific person honored or even remembered.

Nov. 2 – All Souls Day: When Christians remember the “poor souls in Purgatory,” i.e., deceased folks

who have not yet quite managed to enter Heaven. Prayers are said to help speed their entry.

Nov. 6 – Election Day, when USA voters elect government officers, except not the President, who in

2016 was elected on December 19 by elected members of an obsolete Electoral College.

Nov. 11 – Veterans Day: Originally Armistice Day, to recall World War I’s end and honor those who

served during that war, it became a national holiday in 1921 and Veterans Day in 1954, now honoring all

military veterans. Most Americans seem to have only a vague notion why this is a legal holiday.

Nov. 21 – Mawlid, aka Prophet Muhammad’s birthday, for Sunni Muslims, begins at sundown, ends

at sundown next day. Shia Muslims observe it Nov. 25-26. Big holiday in Indonesia and Malaysia; less so

or not at all in Arab countries. In the USA, its celebration varies by community.

Nov. 22 – Thanksgiving Day: Many families gather for a big meal on this day, ostensibly to express

gratitude to God, one another or oneself. Holiday Season retail sales begin today.

Nov. 23 – $$$ Black $$$ Friday, gigantic shopping day. In theory, it’s when retailers go from “being in

the red” to “being in the black,” i.e., profitable. In olden days, some accountants used red ink to denote an

unprofitable transaction, and black ink for a profitable one.

Photo credits: SFMTA Market Street Railway NOLA; Chuck Coker via Flickr.

Left: Passengers board San Francisco cable car. Right: New Orleans RTA trolley on brilliantly lighted Canal Street.

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. XMASTIME HOLIDAYS .. Photo credit: Jacquelyn Goddard, Twitter.

Left: Boston’s Mayor Thomas Menino poses with Nutcracker and kids at Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s South Station prior to boarding the Keolis Polar Express, pictured at right. Center: Elf and Gingerbread Man greet other kids boarding the “North Pole” bound train. Photos from Twitter posting by Jacquelyn Goddard, former press secretary to the mayor and presently Massachusetts DOT communications director. For more: https://youtu.be/GSQlNyAvh38

Holidays Season 2018-19: Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Islamic, Jewish, etc. Nov. 24 – $mall Busine$$$$ $aturday: Started by credit card company American Express in 2010, it’s

a small retailer version of Black Friday, which is dominated by big retailers.

Nov. 26 – Ciber Monday: Since 2005, big bargains supposedly are offered via the Internet.

Dec. 3-10 - Chanukah or Hanukkah is a minor holiday in Israel, but a major Jewish holiday in the

USA, thanks largely to a few 19th Century rabbis in Cincinnati. Starting at sundown, it lasts eight days.

Dec. 6 – Saint Nicholas Day began with 4th Century bishop’s spirit putting goodies into shoes or

stockings of young Dutch children, as they slept. In some places, he met them in person. This spread to

Germany, Switzerland and other European countries, where he is called Sinter Klaus.

After Clement Moore’s 1822 poem A Visit from St. Nicholas, aka ’Night before Christmas, became

popular, St. Nick mostly arrived not on Dec. 6, but Dec. 24. In the USA, he’s Santa Claus.

Dec. 8 – Bodhi Day or Buddhist Day of Enlightenment (in Japan) recalls when the historical Buddha,

Siddhartha Gautama, attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree between 563 and 483 B.C. Photo credits: New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority;

Left: New York’s subways system celebrates the holidays season this year by bringing back Thanksgiving weekend thru Christmas Eve three vintage Shoppers Special subway trains. Each has eight cars from the 1930s, including the first one that ran on the IND 8th Ave. subway when it opened in 1932. Right: L. A. Metrolink Holiday Toy Express train at Union Station in Los Angeles. In the station’s West Hall is a marvelous miniature trains layout that’ll be there until Jan. 1, 2019. For more: https://youtu.be/pY4TiCeIm88

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. XMASTIME HOLIDAYS .. Photo credits: cincinnatisantacon.com; Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority.

Some of the around 7,000 revelers who attend the annual SantaCon pub crawl in Cincinnati. It is said to have begun in 2007 with only 27 such Santas. Cincinnati Metro encourages them to ride public transit to and from this event. At right, one of the Santas poses with Metro CEO Dwight A. Ferrell.

Holidays Season 2018-19: Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Islamic, Jewish, etc. Dec. 8 – Immaculate Conception Day, when Catholics honor Mary, mother of Jesus, being born

without Original Sin everyone else inherits from Adam & Eve, but is forgiven by baptism. Until 1854, it

was known simply as Mary’s Conception Day. Many Christians still call it that.

Dec. 8 – SantaCon, when more than 7,000 revelers in Santa costumes roam downtown Cincinnati

pubs and streets, spreading – and drinking – Christmas cheer.

Dec. 15 – Running of the Santas: when around 5,000 guys & gals in Santa suits jog from tavern to

tavern in Philadelphia. Smaller such crawls occur in San Francisco, Chicago, New Orleans, et. al.

Dec. 12 – Our Lady of Guadalupe is a Catholic holy day honoring Mary, mother of Jesus. A basilica

in Mexico City built where she is said to have appeared in 1531 is arguably the world’s most visited

Catholic church, except for St. Peters in Vatican City.

Dec. 13 – Santa Lucia Day, when Norwegian and Swedish households welcome St. Lucy, a teenage

girl crowned by seven lit candles while carrying a tray of hot beverage and Lucia buns. Photo credit: Punch Bug KIDS. Photo credit: BYU Scrapple King.

Google Collingswood Holiday Parade and up pops a Punch Bug KIDS web page that accurately describes this annual New Jersey town’s parade, except it shows the photo above, which actually is the huge Thanksgiving Day parade held in Houston, Texas. Biggest “float” in the Collingswood Nov. 24 parade probably was the Phillie Phanatic shown above in a pickup truck. To see the parade for yourself, click on: https://youtu.be/ufgXSk59a60

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Photo credits: Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS); Metropolitan Saint Louis Transit Agency, Bi-State Development Authority.

Left: Milwaukee Public Museum thru January 22 transforms its Old Milwaukee and the European Village exhibits into a holiday wonderland where family visitors can recall past traditions create new holiday memories. MCTS Routes 12, 14, 23, 31, 80 and Blue Line buses all stop near the museum. Right: St. Louis Blues ice hockey team mascot Louie the Blue Bear and Santa Claus collecting toys for needy children to fill the Metro St. Louis bus in the background.

Holidays Season 2018-19: Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Islamic, Jewish, etc. Dec. 17-24 – Saturnalia: Ancient Roman festival honoring the god Saturn.

Dec. 17-25 – Posadas Navidenas: Nine days of activities up to Noche Buena, aka Christmas Eve,

which in Mexico and many Mexican American communities is very special, with Christmas Day less so.

During these days, they reenact Joseph and Mary seeking lodging. A couple goes from place to place.

Some, designated as inns, let them enter. Inside, they and the inhabitants and guests pray or/and socialize,

sometimes party. Some Mexican American kids get gifts from The Holy Child on Dec. 24 or Jan. 6.

Dec. 21-25 – Pancha Ganapati: A 5-day Hindu festival honoring Ganesha, deity of the arts, culture,

and overcoming obstacles. In the USA, it’s child oriented, resembling Christmas. Ganesha often is

depicted with a human-like body, four arms, and a nose like an elephant’s trunk.

Dec. 21 – Winter Solstice or Yule: Winter officially begins at 5:23 pm EST. Shortest day of the year,

Yule is a Wiccan holiday. On this day, many folks burn a Yule Log in a fireplace or outdoors.

Dec. 21 – St. Thomas the Apostle Day for many years, but now switched to July 3. On this date, in

olden days, unmarried Austrian females would step onto a stool to get into bed, throw her shoes toward

a door so that they pointed outward, and then sleep with her head at the foot of the bed, with the

expectation she would see her future husband in a dream.

Photo credit: Intercity Transit Authority. Photo credit: MTA Maryland.

Left: Intercity Transit Jingle Bus in Olympia, Washington, provides free rides and candy canes during the holidays season. Right: Maryland Transit Administration Holiday Bus also offers free rides weekdays until Dec. 20.

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. XMASTIME HOLIDAYS .. Photos credit: Facebook, Wally B. Price and Maurice Williams Philadelphia Metropolitan Area Transit Scene

L to R: Runner-ups in Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority 2018 decorative bus contest are: 2nd place Callowhill District, with a Nutcracker theme, and 3d Victory District, with Rock Around the Christmas Tree theme.

Holidays Season 2018-19: Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Islamic, Jewish, etc. Dec. 23 – Festivus is a phony holiday made popular by a 1997 Seinfeld comedy TV show episode.

Dec. 24 – George Washington’s birthday is “observed” as a legal holiday in Georgia, during which all

nonessential government offices are closed. That’s Georgia, the state; not Georgia, the country that’s a

neighbor of Russia and Turkey.

Dec. 24 – Christmas Eve: After dark, Filipinos attend Panunulúyan, where a couple portraying a

wary Joseph and pregnant Mary go from house to house seeking lodging. Each time, they are told the

place already is filled with other travelers. Then, the couple goes to a church where a manger and stable

scene awaits. Here the birth of Jesus is celebrated at midnight mass.

Dec. 25 – Feast of the Nativity, better known as Christmas.

Dec. 26 – $$$ Boxing Day $$$ in Australia, Canada, the U.K., Hong Kong, etc., isn’t about prize

fighting. It resembles Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving in the USA, a big shopping day. Where

it’s officially celebrated, banks, schools, government offices, etc., are closed.

Dec. 26 – Zarathosht Diso honors the prophet Zoroaster. “Wise men” who visited Jesus at Bethlehem

are said to have been followers of Zoroaster, founder of an ancient Persian religion. When this religion

originated isn’t certain, but it is thought to have been between 600 B.C. and 1800 B.C. Greek historian

Plutarch supposed maybe 6000 B.C. Zoroastrianism is said to have as many as 2.6-million followers

worldwide, about 12,000 in the USA and maybe 7,000 in Canada.

Illustration credits: Plum Leaves; Baltimore Mayor's Annual Christmas Parade Maya Sutherland, Jax Moms Blog.

Left: Girl imitating St. Lucy serves guests hot tea and Santa Lucia buns on Dec. 13. Center: Lead marchers carry banner in Baltimore’s 46th annual Mayor's Christmas Parade on Dec. 2. Both secular Seasons Greetings and Christian wording are on it. Right: Kwanzaa candles, part of an African American “tradition” dating back to 1966 in Long Beach, Calif.

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Photo and illustration credit: Facebook, Bodhi Bus Ltd., Katherine, Northern Territory, Australia.

Left: Two young Australians alongside a Bodhi Bus. Right: Bodhi Bus wishes Facebook readers a Merry Christmas. Headquartered in Katherine, Australia, Bodhi Bus Ltd. services more than 60 very remote Australian communities. It gets its name from the Bodhi Tree, a very large sacred fig tree beneath which the original Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment. Ironically, its buses temporarily suspend service between Dec. 20 and Jan. 4.

Holidays Season 2018-19: Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Islamic, Jewish, etc. Dec. 26 - Jan. 1 – Kwanzaa honors African culture and traditions. Originating in 1966 in Long

Beach, Calif., this is its 52th Anniversary. Its name comes from the Swahili word kwanza, meaning “time

of the first harvest.” Last day of Kwanzaa is Jan, 1.

Dec. 26 – Saint Stephen's Day or Feast of Stephen. Eastern Orthodox celebrate it Dec. 27.

♫ Good King Wenceslas ♫ is a popular carol about a king who gives alms to poor peasants on the

Feast of Stephen. It's a public holiday in: Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany,

Ireland, Italy, Norway, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Sweden and Poland.

In Ireland, it’s called “Wren’s Day” in connection with tales about Jesus and wren birds.

Dec. 28 – Holy Innocents Day or Childermas Day is commemorated by many Christian churches,

some a day earlier or a day later. Eastern Orthodox celebrate it on Dec. 29. It recalls when Judea’s King

Herod, hearing a potential claimant to his throne was born, ordered his soldiers to kill all male children up

to age 2 in Bethlehem and vicinity.

Dec. 28 – Día de las Máscaras or Festival of the Masks: Since 1823, residents and visitors in

Hatillo, Puerto Rico, have humorously celebrated King Herod’s order that all boys in Bethlehem up to

two years old be killed. They parade and frolic, wearing masks and costumes, some as Herod’s soldiers

doing funny things while riding around on chariots.

Dec. 30 –Feast of the Holy Family is a Roman Catholic holy day honoring Jesus, Mary and Joseph.

Not much is said in the official Gospels about this family. A few novels describe Jesus childhood, notably

Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt by Anne Rice, Hidden Stories of the Childhood of Jesus by Glenn Kimball,

and The Childhood of Jesus Christ by Henry van Dyke. A novel titled The Childhood of Jesus by J. M.

Coetzee is a fraud. It says nothing about Jesus as a boy.

Dec. 31 – New Year's Eve. Like Halloween and St. Patrick’s Day, a big boozing time.

Jan. 1 – New Year’s Day. Mummers parade, Philadelphia. Rose Bowl parade, Pasadena, Calif.

Jan. 1 -- Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God commemorated at Sunday mases in Roman

Catholic churches. From the year 1568, Roman Catholics had been obligated to attend mass on this day to

recall the “circumcision” of Mary’s baby Jesus. In 1960, a switchover to “solemnity” began. Anglican,

Eastern Orthodox, Episcopal and Lutheran churches still do a “circumcision” day, but on Jan. 14.

Jan. 1 -- St. Basil's Day celebrated in Orthodox churches. Greek children get gifts on this day.

Jan. 5 – Twelfth Night, a Shakespeare play, of the 12th day of Christmas, also a true-love gifts song.

Superstition holds that Christmas decorations remaining after 12th Night invite something bad.

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Holidays Season 2018-19: Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Islamic, Jewish, etc. Jan. 6 – Epiphany aka Three Kings Day aka Little Christmas recalls visit to the Christ child by the

Magi, aka Three Wise Me, aka Three Kings. Eastern Orthodox churches on this day celebrate

Theophany, the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River by St. John the Baptist. Gifts are given this day in

many Puerto Rican homes, although less so than in the past.

Jan. 13 – Baptism of Our Lord by St. John the Baptist commemorated, a Sunday.

Jan. 13 – Bodhi Day or Buddhist Day of Enlightenment (in China, Korea, Vietnam), the 8th day of

the 12th lunar month on the Chinese calendar, recalling when the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama,

attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree between 563 and 483 B.C.

Jan. 14 – First day of New Year, based on old Julian calendar, replaced by the Gregorian calendar in

1752 in North America and much of Europe.

Jan. 21 – Martin Luther King Day, legal holiday in the USA, a Monday.

Jan. 21 – Mahayana New Year celebrated by many Buddhists. Mahayana Buddhism is a major

religion in parts of Asia, including: China, Korea, Japan, Mongolia and Tibet.

Feb. 1-2 – Imbolc, a Pagan holiday, midpoint between winter and spring, celebrates solar energy and

its impact on farm crops. In Ireland, Fri. Feb. 1 is Saint Brigid’s Day. Some say that on Imbolc Eve she

visits the homes of good people and blesses them while they sleep.

Feb. 2. – Candlemas Day, 40 days after Christmas, recalls Jesus being taken to the temple at

Jerusalem by Mary, his mother, for his presentation to priests there and her participation in a traditional

Jewish purification ceremony. Candles for church use are blessed on this day.

Feb. 2 – Groundhog Day: An old English poem goes: “If Candlemas be fair and bright, Winter has

another fight. If Candlemas brings clouds and rain, Winter will not come again.” Some folks think if a

certain Pennsylvania groundhog sees its shadow on this day, winter will persist another six weeks.

Feb 2 – Presentation of Our Lord to the Temple celebrated in Eastern Orthodox and other Christian

churches. Minor “feast day” in Catholic churches.

Feb. 3 – St. Blaise Day: When throats are blessed in Catholic and other churches, recalling successes

a later-martyred 4th Century Christian preacher and physician known as a great healer of injured throats.

Feb. 3 – Superbowl LIII (53) Sunday: National Football League top football teams clash at

Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, home of the Falcons. Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority,

aka MARTA, buses and subway trains stop at the stadium.

Feb. 5 – Tet, first day of Vietnamese New Year, second day of 3-day festival. Some Vietnam homes

display a Tet tree. Some exchange gifts. It’s Vietnam’s most important holiday.

Feb. 5 – First day of New Year 4717 in China, Korea, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and

Vietnam. For the Chinese, it’s the Year of the Pig and begins a 7- or15-day celebration, depending on

locale. Buddha is said to have gathered on a New Year's Day a dozen animals – a dog, goat, pig (boar),

rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey and rooster – and assigned to each a year.

Photo credit: Kris Forrest, pictured in photo at right.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Grampa and his family to you and your family.

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XMASTIME HOLIDAYS .. Photos credit: Valley Metro Regional Public Transportation Authority,

Valley Metro 2013 gingerbread bus. Valley Metro 2016 Santa’s sleigh bus. Photo credit: Valley Metro Regional Public Transportation Authority,

Gingerbread people appear to peer out the windows of Valley Metro’s Gingerbread Train in Phoenix, Ariz.

Phoenix area bus and train become holiday marvels To celebrate the holidays, Valley Metro, public transit in Phoenix, Ariz., and vicinity, each year

transforms a bus and light rail train into a holiday sensation. Last year, a Valley Metro light rail train

became the storybook Polar Express that carries kids to Santa’s workshop at the North Pole. Earlier ones

included: a bus and train each displaying a giant Santa’s sleigh last year, and in 2013 a gingerbread bus

and gingerbread train. Sponsored by CBS Outdoor, BP Graphics and 3M Company, the festive décor is

accomplished by using “wrap,” i.e., sheets of decorative self-adhesive 3M vinyl film placed over the bus

or train exterior on which BP Graphics prints the artwork. .

Photo credit: Valley Metro Regional Public Transportation Authority,

Valley Metro’s Polar Express faux steam engine train in 2017. This year’s version has a streamliner engine. ____________________________________________________________________________________________ © 2018, all rights reserved. The Travelin’ Grampa is published monthly by John A. Moore Sr., journalist, P. O Box 636, Clifton Heights PA 19018-0636. One-year (12 issues) by email: $75. Special discount to U. S. residents ages 62&+.