What is Christmas?

For too many years we have listened to the Christmas commercial hype telling us we must have this, or must do that to have the perfect Christmas. But Christmas isn't about material things. Putting aside for just a moment the reason behind Christmas, Jesus birth, the holiday is about spending time with loved ones; family and friends who care about you. It's about the imperfections that make us laugh and cling to each other when all we want to do is give up, or cry. Christmas is a celebration of our support groups in life. The acknowledgment of the love we give and get everyday. So what are you doing for Christmas this year? Are you rushing around trying to make everyone else's Christmas special, or are you taking time to be with them and create Christmas memories?

Remember the times when you made Christmas cookies, played with wrapping paper, sang to your children at bedtime, gave and received hugs with relatives and opened your heart to the possibilities in life. Don't give up on the joy behind Christmas just because the wallet has more room than usual. Teach the young to make things, to visit neighbors and family; encourage traditional love. The best thing about Christmas is the feeling of being loved by someone else.

So is Christmas in the wrapping paper, the bows, the gifts? Or is Christmas in the arms that hold those gifts? My favorite memories were the ones when we as a family tried over and over again to get the Christmas picture right; often with lots of wonderful mistakes! I hold on to those memories like gold. To me that is what makes Christmas.

Slanguage

The English language is loosening up. I found out not long ago that there are some slang words that are now listed as real words in the dictionary. My fascination with this began when I found out that 'Ginormous' became an official word last year. Apparently they were able to trace it's usage back to WWII. Ergo now it is part of the English language. So I started thinking about all the slang words I've heard recently that one day might become 'real boys'. There are different types of slang. Like the abbreviations you find in instant messaging or e-mails. There is also the dialect slang which is localized and is really an attempt to rewrite the language. Then there is common slang. That's the one where words you use seem appropriate but they're not considered dictionary worthy yet. I've made up a list of three types of common slang. Words that actually made it into the dictionary as permanent, words that are listed in the slang dictionary and not the official dictionary base, and words that aren't even listed in the slang dictionary yet. I've listed the year they were traced back to when available...I hope they make you smile like they did me!

Words that haven't made it yet:

Chillax (chill + relax)
Ba dink a dink (small human rear)
Ba donk a donk (ample human rear)
Etact (tactfulness in using electronic communications such as instant messaging)
Gestimation (guess + Estimation)
Jingo Jango (ridiculous)
Sitch (situation)

Words that have made it to the slang dictionary:

Wussy (wimp + pussy)
Homie (local pal)
Janky (old and broken)
Krunk (wild and exhilarating)
Bazillion (billion + gazillion)

Words that have officially made it to English language:

Phat (terrific, great) trace back to 1960
Dude and Dudette (buddy, surfer slang) trace back to 1991
Slanguage (slang vocabulary) trace back to 1900
Spim (instant messaging ads) trace back to 1999
Grody (disgusting) trace back to 1960
Groovy (really cool) trace back to 1815
Zilch (zero) trace back to 1966
Ginormous (giant + enormous) trace back to 1948
Babe (small child) trace back to 1150
Babe (girl) trace back to 1915
Psycho (abbreviated Psychopathic) trace back to 1935
Cop (police officer) trace back to 1695
Funky (odd and smelly) trace back to 1784
Edgy (highly irritating) trace back to 1837
Scram (to run away quickly) trace back to 1925
Spud (potato) trace back to 1400
Cash (paper money) trace back to 1590
Freebie (free item) trace back to 1940
Grungy (filthy) trace back to 1965
Bonkers (insane) trace back to 1945
Spork (spoon + fork) trace back to 1909
Boo Boo (injury or mistake) trace back to 1954
Caboodle (lot or group of things, as in kit and caboodle) trace back to 1840

Laugh 'til it Hurts!'

Webster's defines the act of laughing as follows: 'to laugh: a verb; is to: a. show mirth, b. find amusement or pleasure in something, c. to become amused or derisive'. While it is accurate, it does sound kinda clinical, so I started looking around for a better definition, and I found a few. But the best definition of laughter I ever heard came from an absent minded mother talking to her daughter, a conversation I overheard one day in Wal-Mart: "Hey mom...what’s a belly laugh?"

"When daddy gets tickled and his belly button jiggles."

In the history of mankind it is easy to see that every distinct group has humor in one form or another, and it does vary from culture to culture, but there are some constants. For example, most like physical humor, but not everyone laughs at the same jokes. It can also be age discriminatory.

When was the last time you laughed at daddy while he stuck straws up his nose trying to act like a walrus?

We, the human race, do have a great respect for someone who can make us laugh. But frankly, there are so many, they come and go and names can fade as quickly as the jokes. But physical humor has a lasting quality, and it never seems to fade, or age. I once saw a tape of a TV show from the 70’s where a man imitated a piece of frying bacon. I laughed ‘til I hurt!

And if you think about it, you can easily remember some of those masters of physical humor. Like: Lucille Ball, Soupy Sales, Victor Borge, Dick Van Dyke, Charlie Chaplain, Rowan Atkinson, Ruth Buzzi, Phyllis Diller, Steve Martin, Gilda Radner, Lily Tomlin, Flip Wilson, Carol Burnett and Robin Williams just to name a few.

As a body function, I rank it right up there as one of the more pleasant experiences and a lot more fun than a leg cramp. Did you know that there are tons of medical studies on how laughter effects the body? Laughter apparently increases the levels of endorphins that your body creates. What?s an endorphin? It?s the body?s natural painkiller. It also increases the effectiveness of chemicals your body uses in its immune system. It forces the body into a burst of energy specifically focused on increasing oxygen and blood to your systems, which as an added side effect, can be cardiovascular (really good for your heart). It can be infectious however, and thank goodness at this time there is no treatment for it! On a weird note, did you know that your tears are chemically different when you have high levels of emotion versus when they are just watering away allergies and stuff?

One neat benefit of laughter is that it can also bring hope and encouragement into an otherwise bleak experience. Hospitals use it regularly to aide in fighting the despair that often comes with life threatening illnesses such as cancer. It also becomes an excellent tool when properly used in the class room. Laugher which reduces stress and increases oxygen to the systems can result in a state which can actually aide the body in retaining information. Think about it. Is it easier for you to remember something when your tired or alert?

But my favorite thing about laughter is it’s natural ability to relax the human body, to ease a tense situation and produce an overall good feeling. So on that note, I’m off to watch something funny on TV...