Ty Wilson Law December 2017

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Your Compass MONTHLY

DECEMBER 2017

FROM THE DESK OF Ty Wilson

THE SECRET ORIGINS OF CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS How Stockings, Caroling, and Black Friday Came to Be

December

Well, 2017 is almost on the books. Again we come to the part of the year where we reflect on the months behind us and maybe spend some time with our families and friends during the holidays. As you may know from last month’s newsletter, I have turned another year older. I hear people complain all the time about getting another year older. This makes no sense to me! We’re either getting older or we’re no longer around. I think in our world we think too casually about the downsides of being another year older. However, it really is a celebration. We are not guaranteed a long life. We’ve been successful with modern medicine, and fewer wars shorten our life expectancy. As I tell my daughter, you can choose to be happy or choose to be sad. You do have a choice. With the holidays, December is a pretty short month for productivity. From the Wilsons, please have a safe and happy holiday season. We will see you next year!

If you celebrate Christmas, odds are your family observes a number of traditions that commemorate the holiday season. While some of these might be unique to your household, there’s no doubt many of them are part of the holiday’s long cultural history. Part of what makes the holiday season so festive is the sense of collective participation, from shopping and decorating to leaving out cookies for Santa. Many of these timeworn traditions have surprising origins that you may never have known. The more you investigate, the more you find that Christmas truly is a global holiday. Stockings Have you ever considered how strange stockings are? We all leave them above the fireplace, often without wondering why Santa is so interested in filling socks with gifts. The touching story of this centuries-old custom reminds us of the spirit of Christmas. According to legend, the tradition began with one poor man, recently widowed, and his three daughters. While the daughters were all beautiful and intelligent, the man had no money for marriage and worried about what would happen to his children after he died. St. Nicholas heard of his plight, and knowing that the family would not accept charity, he devised a way to provide for them. He snuck down their chimney one night and found the girls’ stockings hung by the fireplace to dry. He filled them with gold coins before disappearing into the night. Today, stocking stuffers are a treasured gift category all their own. If you’re dismayed by the prospect of filling massive stockings for your kids while you play Santa this year, take solace in the fact that at least you won’t need to stuff them with solid gold.

Stay safe.

-Ty Wilson

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Cover story continued ... Caroling

began in feudal societies where peasants would literally sing for their supper. These days, many groups keep the philanthropic spirit of caroling alive by asking for donations to various charitable groups. So if you hear some folks stopping by your neighborhood to offer a rendition of“Silent Night”or“The 12 Days of Christmas,”consider spreading a little cheer to them. Black Friday While certainly not as beloved and longstanding a custom as stockings or carols, there’s no denying that Black Friday is a Christmas tradition. Youmay hate having to stand outside around 4 a.m. (or, as is more common every year, camping

the Black Friday shopping phenomenon to a particular time and place: Philadelphia in the 1950s. The term was coined by police officers to describe the influx of suburban shoppers who flocked to the city, where they wreaked havoc and forced officers to work longer hours. It took only a few years for Black Friday to become an unofficial city holiday. It wasn’t until the ’80s that Black Friday became an integral part of the holiday season in all 50 states. Intrepid retailers figured out a way to turn the negative connotation into a day of sales. During this time, many people believed the holiday was named after retailers going from“red” (loss) to “black” (profit). Now, when you hear that story, you’ll be able to dispel the myth.

Stockings go back hundreds of years, but that’s nothing compared to the millennia-old tradition of caroling. The earliest roots of seasonal singalongs actually predate Christmas itself. During the winter solstice celebration, pagan cultures belted out winter classics and danced away the longest night of the year. As Christianity grew in popularity, these songs were replaced by the first Christmas-themed hymns. While songs created in honor of the nativity began to appear around the fourth and fifth centuries, Christmas carols didn’t take on their familiar shape until 800 years later, when St. Francis of Assisi began including upbeat hymns in his Christmas services. It didn’t take long for composers from countless countries to begin crafting their own specific carols. Not everyone welcomed the switch from somber to joyful songs. Carols were banned from some churches, whichmay account for why caroling became a door-to-door activity. Another theory suggests that the tradition of traveling carolers

out in the cold the night before) in order to secure once-a-year deals, but sometimes the savings are just too good to pass up. Why, youmight ask yourself, have retailers made this the norm? Well, unlike the other traditions on this list, we can trace the beginning of

January

Disneyland?

Is

the Best Month for

January isn’t known for much — broken resolutions and Martin Luther King Jr. Day, mostly. But if you’re looking to escape the cold or take your family on a post-holiday adventure, next month might be the best time to travel to the Happiest Place on Earth. The Best Crowds According to Disneyland’s own figures, the first full week of January through the middle of February is the slowest time of year at the park. Visitors report never spending more than 15 minutes waiting for a ride. The Fourth of July, however, finds visitors waiting over two hours for

Star Tours and Splash Mountain. In Winter, Disneyland closes a little earlier. But if you have young kids, this won’t affect your plans much. They often close rides for maintenance during this time, but never more than one or two at a time. With all the open options, you won’t feel robbed. Let’s Talk About the Weather Does January sound cold and rainy? Don’t worry. The average temperature is still a balmy 66 degrees, and January gets just as much rainfall as peak months like December (winter break) and March (spring break).

Check weather reports since the rainfall varies greatly depending on the temperature of the ocean that month. But bear in mind, Disneyland is the No. 2 theme park on the planet, raking in 18 million visitors a year. It wouldn’t attract such huge crowds if the weather wasn’t theme park-worthy 99 percent of the time. So, what’s the best month to visit Disneyland? It’s a trick question. The real answer is whatever month you go. Disneyland is magic! But if there’s a month that’s better than the rest, we’ll say it’s January.

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The Benefits of Ride-Sharing

for Older Adults

According to the Community Transportation Association, 26 million older adults rely on others for transportation. Between the lack of autonomy and the fear of being a burden, this dependency often leads to a decreased quality of life. Most seniors don’t want to call a loved one every time they need a ride, and public transportation is often a hassle at best. Recently, ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft have offered older adults an alternative way to get where they want to go. If you’ve never tried ride-sharing before, here’s how it works. Using an app on your phone, you set a pick-up and drop-off location. In just a matter of minutes, a driver is at your door, ready to travel to

your destination. Payment is automatically linked to your phone, so you don’t need to worry about having cash on hand. If you need help setting up the app, reach out to a tech-savvy friend or family member. Odds are they’ve used these services themselves. If you need help getting in and out of the vehicle, Uber even offers a special service called uberASSIST. Drivers in this program have special training and offer door-to-door assistance. Newer companies designed specifically for seniors, like SilverRide and Lift Hero, are expanding into new regions all the time. Ride-sharing offers a number of benefits to older adults who don’t want to rely on a friend or loved one for transportation. Have a medical appointment? Getting there has never been easier. Looking to take a walk somewhere that requires a short drive? You can ride-share there and back. Going out for a bite to eat? With the touch of a button, you’ll soon be on your way. Ride-sharing offers increased independence, security, and efficiency, which far outweighs most other transportation alternatives. You might think of mobile technology as an industry aimed largely at younger generations who live their lives on their phones. Ride-sharing services, however, can offer just as much benefit to you as to those rowdy 20-somethings. If you need a quick, affordable ride, give these apps a shot.

COOKIES Holiday Star Looking for something a little lighter to eat during the holiday season? Try these paleo-friendly star cookies!

INGREDIENTS 2 ½ cups blanched almond flour (not almondmeal)

¼ cup coconut oil, melted 5tablespoonsagavenectar or honey 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon Celtic sea salt ¼ teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS 1. In a large bowl, combine almond flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon. 2. In a small bowl, mix coconut oil, agave, and vanilla. 3. Mix wet ingredients into dry. 4. Roll out dough between 2 pieces of parchment paper until ¼ inch thick. 5. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

6. Remove top piece of parchment paper and dust dough with almond flour. 7. Cut out cookies with a small star cutter. 8. Using a metal spatula, place stars on a parchment-lined baking sheet. 9. Bake at 350 F until edges are lightly browned, 5–8 minutes. Recipe courtesy of elanaspantry.com/star-cookies

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Inside This Issue From the Desk of Ty PAGE 1 The Secret History of Christmas PAGE 1 New Year’s in the Magic Kingdom PAGE 2 The Benefits of Ride-Sharing for Older Adults PAGE 3 Holiday Star Cookies PAGE 3 Have Some Inspiration! PAGE 3 Where’s Santa? PAGE 4

SANTA TRACKING Goes High-Tech It’s almost Christmas, and if you have small kids, you know what that means: prepping for the arrival of a jolly man in a red suit and his confusingly named reindeer. Some of us may remember spending Christmas Eve curled on the couch with a cup of hot cocoa as radio reports tracked Santa’s trip around the globe. But these days, kiddos have gotten a little more high-tech in their search for up-to-date, GPS- driven Kringle updates. First, there’s the Google Santa Tracker (santatracker.google.com), a full-fledged holiday hub for your browser powered by Google Maps, including, of course, an up- to-the-minute GPS tracker for the big man. The application arrived in 2004, and it’s been updated every year since. During the countdown to Christmas, there’s a colorfully animated advent calendar of sorts, where buildings around Santa’s village “thaw out” and technology that powers his sleigh during his around-the-world journey.” Featuring “the latest and greatest … in sleigh engineering,” the app displays a Google Maps window that tracks each of Santa’s stops, gives status updates from Old Saint Nick, and tells kids how far he is from their city. It’s a colorful, fun adventure for the whole family.

Of course, Google’s not the only kid on the Santa-tracking block. There’s also NORAD Tracks Santa, operated by the North American Aerospace Defense Command, the same organization that tracks nuclear missiles for the government. Similar to Google, noradsanta.org includes a variety of fun games and activities leading up to Christmas. But unlike Google, NORAD has a dedicated Santa-tracking app for your phone, where you can see a 3-D view of Santa’s location during his trip. The app also features videos, so you and your little ones can see clips of Santa flying around major landmarks and world cities. Just don’t stay up too late watching them. You don’t want Santa to skip over your house!

reveal a host of fun games and activities. There’s even a section titled “Santa Tracker for Educators,”which includes kid-friendly coding games, information on international holiday traditions, and a translation app to “learn the Santa lingo from around the world.” When the eve of the big day finally comes, Google promises a showcase of Santa’s “dashboard, the

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