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Old School Winter Holiday

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Old School Winter Holiday
Swap Coordinator:Changeling (contact)
Swap categories: Challenges 
Number of people in swap:2
Location:International
Type:Type 3: Package or craft
Last day to signup/drop:November 10, 2010
Date items must be sent by:December 6, 2010
Number of swap partners:1
Description:

This is a swap to explore and share Old School Skills during the winter holiday/s that you celebrate! By winter holidays I am thinking Christmas, Hanukkah, Solstice, Yule, Old Christmas, New Years Eve, New Years Day, etc. To me, the winter holidays are a time that draws us closer to our loved ones, the joys of life, and older ways and traditions. In many ways, the customs that most appeal to me during this time of year are ancient ones.

International swap.

We will be sending:

1) A note or letter telling some of your favorite old customs or old school holiday traditions. This can mean ancient customs or it can mean your favorite family traditions, or both.

2) Three old school spirited holiday items such as handmade candles, a cozy holiday or winter's book, a handmade ornament, an original CD of traditional or traditional-styled holiday or winter music, winter baking item, old-fashioned holiday treats, a winter craft, crafted warm winter item, a handmade gift, old-fashioned holiday tea, etc. Purchased items are okay but please send nothing that screams, "I am a modern commercialized and impersonal holiday item!"

3) A handmade or purchased old-fashioned style or vintage holiday card.

Important: The idea of this swap is to capture the magic of the winter holidays. Since winter holidays are often faith-based please be aware and respectful of your partners preferences (as listed in profiles) regarding receiving or not receiving certain religious items. HOWEVER, since one goal of this swap is to share our holiday traditions, by signing up, you promise not to be offended/ leave a bad rating if your partner tells you of traditions of a belief system that is different than your own. This swap is for all old-school skills for all winter holidays.

You can list the winter holidays you celebrate in the comments below.

I will have to drop all persons with recent unexplained or poorly explained 3rs or 1s, or past strings of 3s or 1s. To keep the holiday spirit alive, please do not sign up if you cannot send or cannot send on time.

There is a fairly short turn around time to beat the seasonal mail slow down. :) International items may still not arrive by the holidays however. So, feel free to send early.

Discussion

Changeling 10/25/2010 #

I celebrate Christmas with an emphasis on Old Christmas traditions. Am also very interested in the traditions of Solstice and Yule. Celebrate New Years holidays as well. Open to hearing about all traditions but please no modern Santa items, as I have never liked them. Father Christmases are okay.

redsquirrel 10/26/2010 #

what a wonderful idea for a swap :)

we have some weird old traditions here, including Sinterklaas which is about an old bishop from the south (Spain or Persia) who rides the roof on his white horse and takes away naughty children in a hemp sack. Good children get presents. Adults celebrate by giving secret gifts, accompanied by a friendly taunting poem. Offices, sportclubs, families, we celebrate this with a variety of groups. I have 3 or 4 this year.

I'm afraid Sinterklaas is an offensive feast because he is traditionally accompagnied by Morish assistants, as any 17th century nobleman from those parts would be. In the last century however these have turned into caricatural blackfaced, colourful dressed, not too bright, jolly men. All too easily a rascist portrait, especially because it's white people dressing up as these assistents and exagurating. Each year, real black Dutchmen get mistaken for these assistants during December by children. It's embarrassing.

We struggle with this aspect of the celebration. And we can never explain it properly to foreigners. Because there is no right excuse. We have found no solution as yet even though there are some initiatives (multi colored assistents: black, yellow, blue) or insisting these man are black because they are chimneysweepers.

It is celebrated on the evening of his birthday: Dec 5th. His birthday is on Dec 6th but by then Sinterklaas and his assistents have gone back to Spain by steamboat.

There is also Sûnneklaas which is entirely different and quite barbaric, imho. Women have to stay indoors and men and boys roam the street, dressed up and masked. They bang on windows and are allowed to harass any female found outdoors. It is only celebrated on one particular island and they are very secretive about it. It's very old.

hmmm, I'm not sure I'd want to inform you of our indiginous celebrations after all. We seem to be rascist, sexist people :s

Changeling 10/26/2010 #

redsquirrel, thanks for sharing. I personally think that history should be remembered, right or wrong, and that we have the right to question and personally reject things from the past that are no longer valid; as you are doing! I hope you will join the swap!

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