The Roots and Fruits of New Year’s Eve. God’s Festivals as Shadows of Things to Come. The Fruit Whose Juice Is Healthier

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The Roots and Fruits of New Year’s Eve

“Some of the customs may seem crazy or quaint, but what are the real origins and results of the New Year’s holiday?

I admit it. I have been up at midnight on New Year’s Eve a few times. Not celebrating exactly. In fact, most of those times I was part of a volunteer security force on the campus where I went to college—which happened to be along the Rose Parade route in Pasadena, California.

Our job was to be alert to criminals, vandals and even people camping out along the parade route and searching for anything they could burn to keep warm. You might be surprised that it gets fairly cool in January in Southern California. Of course, it is much warmer there than in New York’s Times Square (where it averages 33.7 degrees Fahrenheit at midnight) and other northern gathering places where people count down to the new Roman year.

It makes you wonder: How did New Year’s Eve come to be celebrated in the winter and at midnight? Blame it on the ancient Romans.

Julius Caesar, the calendar fixer

Many ancient societies began their new year in the spring. But by the time of Julius Caesar, the Roman calendar was off. Way off. To get the calendar to line up with the seasons, Caesar had to add 90 days!

History.com explains, “Over the centuries, the calendar fell out of sync with the sun, and in 46 B.C. the emperor Julius Caesar decided to solve the problem by consulting with the most prominent astronomers and mathematicians of his time. He introduced the Julian calendar, which closely resembles the more modern Gregorian calendar that most countries around the world use today.

“As part of his reform, Caesar instituted January 1 as the first day of the year, partly to honor the month’s namesake: Janus, the Roman god of beginnings, whose two faces allowed him to look back into the past and forward into the future. Romans celebrated by offering sacrifices to Janus, exchanging gifts with one another, decorating their homes with laurel branches and attending raucous parties.”

Beliefnet.com also notes that New Year’s is associated with the winter solstice and is “an ancient holiday with deep spiritual roots. … Ancient Romans celebrated with six days of carousing that would probably be familiar to us today.”

Customs and superstitions

From its ancient origins, a wide variety of traditions and superstitions have developed around the world. Here is just a sampling.

“In Ecuador, people make dummies, stuffed with straw, to represent the events [and people, such as politicians and pop culture icons] of the past year. These ‘[año] viejo’ effigies are burned at midnight, thus symbolically getting rid of the past” (Beliefnet.com). Some even try to jump through the flames 12 times!

MarthaStewart.com describes another jumping tradition: “Many Danish people celebrate the New Year by jumping off chairs at the stroke of midnight. Leaping is said to banish bad luck and bring good fortune into the new year. They also traditionally throw plates at neighbors’ doors to symbolize their friendship. The person with the most broken plates is said to have the most friends.”

On NPR.org, Maria Fe Martinez describes another Latin American New Year’s tradition: “If you want to have a very lucky year, you have to wear yellow underwear. And if you want to have a very passionate year, you wear red underwear. …

“And you can get them all over town. Like, if you’re driving in your car, you’re going to see a street vendor selling yellow underwear, which is hilarious. Right after Christmas, they show up.”

The International Business Times reports that 44 percent of Americans say they will kiss someone at midnight. But why?

According to Livescience.com, “Puckering up at the stroke of midnight is a venerable tradition with ancient roots. Many cultures considered the transition from the warm to the cold seasons to be an intensely vulnerable time, when evil spirits could run amok, Aveni [author of The Book of the Year: A Brief History of Our Seasonal Holidays] said.

“Many of our traditions, including kissing, originally come from the English tradition of ‘saining,’ or offering blessing or protection, during the period of Yuletide, Aveni said. (Yuletide was originally a pre-Christian Germanic festival that eventually became synonymous with Christmastide in Europe.)”

New Year’s crime rates

In addition to its pagan roots, the fruits of this holiday are not good. For example, according to Allprobailbond.com, “the holidays are the busiest time of year for the bail bond industry.” Why?

“• Increased alcohol consumption. … Driving under the influence is the leading cause for New Year’s Eve arrests. …

“• Increased emotions. Some people are very unhappy during the holidays. Domestic violence often increases during the holiday season as well as self-inflicted wounds. Consumption of alcohol also increases violent acts.”

What does the Bible say?

The Bible gives its own list of meaningful annual celebrations, but Jan. 1 is not on the list. It’s definitely not God’s new year; He set the first month of the year to begin in what we call March or April. The Bible gives its own list of meaningful annual celebrations, but Jan. 1 is not on the list. It’s definitely not God’s new year; He set the first month of the year to begin in what we call March or April (Exodus 12:2; Deuteronomy 16:1). And the Bible warns against getting ensnared by customs that are based on pagan religions. We are not to ask, “How did these nations serve their gods? I will do likewise” (Deuteronomy 12:30).

Superstitions and customs that may seem quaint or harmless to most people today can be repulsive to God who knows their roots and their fruits.

Playing with paganism isn’t cute—it is corrosive to our relationship with the true God. When God calls Himself a “jealous God,” it’s actually a sign of His love and desire for the best for us (Deuteronomy 6:14-15).

And consider the apostle Peter’s call to avoid sinful celebrations where there is “lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries” (1 Peter 4:3). Peter acknowledged that our friends may think it strange we no longer party with them, but in the end we must answer to God.

For all these reasons, celebrating the pagan holiday of New Year’s Eve is not pleasing to God.”

Learn more about what God says in our free booklet From Holidays to Holy Days: God’s Plan for You 

From: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/life/plan-of-salvation/holy-days-vs-holidays/new-year/new-years-eve/

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God’s Festivals as Shadows of Things to Come

Colossians 2:16-17

So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.

“In essence, Christians were still enjoying the biblical festivals with eating and drinking, and apparently were being judged by those who believed in philosophies of self-denial. Paul mentions these ascetic ideas later in the chapter: “Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle” (Colossians 2:21).

Some think that when Paul said the festivals are “a shadow of things to come,” it was a put-down. They think Paul was saying the festivals were not important.

But another way to look at these shadows is to see that they help us picture the objects of which they are shadows. For example, the Passover clearly represents the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and foreshadowed that event. Pentecost foreshadowed the coming of the Holy Spirit and the beginning of the New Testament Church.

In the same way, the four fall festivals foreshadow events that have not yet taken place. Learn more about these important events in God’s plan of salvation in our free booklet From Holidays to Holy Days: God’s Plan for You.”   From: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/bible/blog/gods-festivals-as-shadows-of-things-to-come/?

Listen to the "Verse by Verse" episode covering this scripture at: God’s Festivals as Shadows of Things to Come (lifehopeandtruth.com)

(This passage is explained in detail in “Colossians 2:16-17: Did Paul Warn Christians Against Keeping God’s Law?” We encourage you to study that explanation to clear up several misconceptions about this passage.)

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The Fruit Whose Juice Is Healthier

Transcript of video at: https://nutritionfacts.org/video/the-fruit-whose-juice-is-healthier/

To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the audio contributed by veganmontreal.

“Can you name a fruit whose processed juice is healthier than just eating the fruit itself?

Here’s the VCEAC of fruits, and their juice. The black bars are the fruit; the white bars are the juice. VCEAC stands for vitamin C equivalent antioxidant capacity.

So, for example, even though apples don’t actually contain 150mg of vitamin C itself, they have other antioxidants that add up to the equivalent of that much antioxidant power. As you can see, across the board, as you go from fruit to juice, the antioxidant capacity is slashed. In fact, the only reason the grape juice was even that high is because it happened to have extra vitamin C added to it—so it kind of cheated.

But wait a second; what is this? A fruit’s juice that has significantly more antioxidants, and even greater phytonutrient availability? And the answer is: tomato juice. About twice the antioxidant power of tomatoes, and five times the phytonutrient lycopene.

And no, it was not a trick question. You may use it as a vegetable, but it is a fruit, because it’s got seeds. Don’t tell that to the Supreme Court, though, who, having nothing better to do, ruled in 1893 that tomatoes were vegetables—though they were only a batch of Justices away from those who ruled Mr. Scott was not a citizen, so I wouldn’t listen to them.

Arkansas decided to have it both ways, declaring tomatoes both the official state fruit, and the official state vegetable.”  From: https://nutritionfacts.org/video/the-fruit-whose-juice-is-healthier/

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Don’t Feed Ducks Bread! Christian Holidays: Which? Does God Care? Update.

For “Scripture Sunday”:  

Stop Feeding Ducks Bread

Image credit: The angel wing condition seen on a Muscovy duck. Cengland0/Wikimedia Commons; CC BY 3.0

“It seems harmless enough, feeding bread to the ducks in your local park; we enjoy it, the ducks get some food, and everyone’s happy. In fact, in England and Wales alone, they feed six million loaves of bread to ducks every year – but this is definitely doing them more harm than good. Most bread is essentially junk food to them, although white is the worst, and can cause a range of problems, including a debilitating disease called “angel wing.”

White bread has essentially no nutritional value – it’s packed full of calories and has little else to offer. Continuously feeding it to birds causes them to rely on us for a food source rather than their natural diet. It’s the equivalent of only feeding your children unhealthy foods; they’ll eventually get addicted to it, and will find it very difficult eating, or wanting to eat, anything else. So, at the very least, feeding ducks bread is giving them a readily-accessible unhealthy diet, leaving them ultimately malnourished.

At the far end of the spectrum, there’s “angel wing.” This is a disturbing condition that causes the bird’s wings to point out laterally, rather than resting against the body, rendering them in many cases unable to fly. It’s an incurable condition brought about as a result of a high-calorie diet, one extremely high in protein and carbohydrates, and low in vitamins D, E and manganese – the exact diet a bird would get if they primarily ate white bread. Without being able to fly, these birds soon die.    

The effect of lobbing bread into the canals and ponds across the land goes far beyond the detrimental effects on the health of water fowl: It pollutes waterways, causing poisonous algal blooms, promoting the growth of suffocating molds, and attracts infection-riddled vermin to the area.

“Of course, bread's not the only thing that causes the problem,” says Richard Bennett, an environmental manager at the Canal and River Trust, as reported by the Guardian. “It wouldn't matter if you fed ducks in a clear, nutrient-free environment like an upland stream, but people are more likely to do it in towns and cities.”

Remember: Just because something’s been done for a long time, it doesn’t make it right. That includes feeding bread to ducks.”  From: https://blog.education.nationalgeographic.org/2017/03/27/stop-feeding-ducks-bread/amp/  BLOG.EDUCATION.NATIONALGEOGRAPHIC.ORG

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Christian Holidays: Which? Does God Care?

“Some holidays are national celebrations, and others have religious roots. Are all Christian holidays the same? Are some really made holy by God?

For many people, a holiday is just a welcome day off from work to be with friends and family. But some days seem to be more significant than others, depending on culture, religion and family values. The Bible actually identifies some days as holy days commanded by God to be observed. Could it really make that much difference which Christian holidays we observe?

There are two basic kinds of holidays, national or religious. In the United States, good examples of the two types would be the Fourth of July and Christmas. The French celebrate Bastille Day and the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. No doubt there are many holidays and holy days around the world of which most of us are completely unaware.

Does it make any difference which days we keep?

National or religious holidays?

We celebrate our national holidays because of historic national events (such as America’s Independence Day, Memorial Day or Labor Day). This is simply a matter of observing the day because some national events are significant, and many businesses often close down that day. You have a day at home to relax or take the family on a picnic or go visit relatives.

But what about religious holidays?

Canada and the United States both observe a national Thanksgiving Day. Many Britons take part in a yearly thanksgiving harvest festival. Such celebrations have religious overtones, in that we take time to give thanks to our Creator for His blessings. Jews observe Purim and Hanukkah as both national and religious holidays.”

Continued at: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/life/plan-of-salvation/holy-days-vs-holidays/christian-holidays/

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Update.

This update was just written, then it suddenly disappeared, so I will try to do it again.  Wow, never had that happen before!

This week, Zack, my neighbor who helps me, and I had to spend a whole morning raking up the massive amount of pine needles and cones which had fallen in the tiny back yard of the mini-house.  There is a very big, prolific pine tree there, and every time it rains, it covers the ground.

Two days were taken up with other people’s appointments, Zack’s medical exam, and Lauri taking her TX driving test, which she passed. Then Zack and I worked on shelves for the kitchen, and bedroom, in the mini-house.  The shelf under the kitchen sink had to be cut out for the plumbing, and the ones for the bedroom had to be sanded ready for stain and varnish.

Another day was with a different electrician getting the parts for the new outside electrical box.  He started to work on it today, but with the rain and other things, it had to be postponed.

As there was plenty of Shepherd’s Pie left over and frozen from last Sabbath, I didn’t take anything for the church potluck.   I did take some frozen chicken wings to the pastor’s wife to do with whatever she wanted.  Anyway, I was going on to the Olive Garden in Conroe to meet some senior ladies.  They seemed like very sweet ladies, but I don’t really have the time nor inclination to sit and chat about hairdoes, fashion, and other ladylike things.

The Bible readings were Deut. 7:12-11:25, Isa. 4:14-51:3, Heb. 11:8-13 and Rom. 8:31-39. and the Teaching was about Keeping the Laws of Moses.  About not to keep the customs of the pagans, but to keep the laws that were given to Moses, The Ten Cammandments, best you can.

No telling when the new outside breaker box will be finished as it is going to rain for the next few days.