Urbanus Magnus

I didn't do a post for the traditional Christmas celebration this year - I was away. However, I happen to know today is the official Orthodox Christmas, celebrated by most Eastern Orthodox churches (ie., Greek, Russian, Macedonian, etc.). Most don't know this in North America and Western Europe; so, now you  know, wherever you may be! Theses churches run their liturgical year based on the Julian calender as opposed to the Gregorian, and so it explains the date shift. The Catholic church adopted the "new" calender under Pope Gregory XIII, ergo, the namer. The Julian calender, by the same token, was popularized/adopted by Julius Caesar. I get to celebrate both Christmases - I'm Catholic, but my ma's side of the family is Macedonian Orthodox. Best of both worlds, if you ask me! That's all for today, I'm hitting the hay.

Went to visit family in Kingston this past weekend. The Clan is getting larger by the year... I've too many cousins to count. Well, 13. Or is it 14? Oh, and enough aunts and uncles to sink the Titanic as well - which, for all we know, they may very well have. We (my immediate family) who live in Toronto, however, are not that numerous, but still manage to have a very poor track record for being punctual, despite not having to deal with as many bodies to get organized. The plan this Christmas: we get packed Friday to leave by 8:30 AM Saturday for K-town. The actual result: finished packing by 2 AM Saturday, left at 10:00 AM after we dragged ourselves out of bed. And then we got caught in a snow storm: Scary drive up - hit snow squalls in Trenton, the average speed on the 401 dropped to ~50 km/h, but yet a few intrepid drivers (a crazy in a wee hatchback and then a redneck in a hummer) plugged away at high-speed. And with them too went many of the 18-wheelers (...