The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.
Bertrand Russell, British author, humanist, logician, mathematician, pacifist and philosopher (1872-1970)


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2014, January 6

Giving presents is good

The day before yesterday - a first - some kids from the catholic community came singing at my front door, dressed as the 3 Kings (from the East), burning incense and collecting money for kids in need projects. What a strange happening. Now  a date is written with chalk over my entrance door- a blessing, as they explained to me. A true catholic observance - the singing, signing and swinging the incense holder dangling from a chain.

My Saturday, being deprived of any rites as any day - besides the morning coffee latte - has for a short time been perfumed by holy egyptian smoke as their priests used it in ancient cults at the Nile thousands of years ago.
Holy smoke indeed!

Some days later I tried to explain this one day of German public holiday called "Epiphanias" or "Holy Three Kings" to my Turkish collegue in Istanbul: About two thousand years ago, allegedly three kings travelled following a star and gave presents to a poor newborn baby. A nice gesture remembered by parts of the employed German population by being allowed not to work on January 6th.

Giving presents should be on the 6th of January then? Oh no, probably not. The three guys just were late I guess.