I Want those Red Mittens Back!

You will recall that on Valentine's Day, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Canada House during the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi.  He and the Canadians talked sports (mostly hockey) and he wished us all the best in our medal search.  He hoped that Canada and Russia might meet in the Gold Medal Hockey Game.

We were very pleased that President Putin visited Canada House and the Canadians there gave him a pair of iconic Red Mittens, emblazoned with the red maple leaf.  He held them high above his head and smiled.

A few weeks later, Putin has ordered his armed forces to invade a sovereign neighbour nation.

Mr. Putin, give back those mittens.  You are not worthy!

I understand Mr. Putin's concern for the Russian-speaking Ukrainians in the Crimean peninsula.  They've lived there for more than eighty years and now call the Ukraine their home.  But I truly believe that there must be a better way to safeguard their interests than a Russian invasion!  This is where Canada must insist that Vladimir Putin remove the Russian Armed Forces from the Crimea and hustle to the negotiation table to work this one out peacefully, without tanks.

In the meantime Mr. Putin, give us back those mittens!

Merry Christmas!

We always leave our Christmas decorations up until January 7.  I'm not just lazy.  I like to celebrate the full Christmas season.  The hum-drum crazy shopping days before December 25 has now been extended into the Boxing Day mall madness.  The remaining days of  Christmas can be a wind-down from all that, excepting of course the celebrations around welcoming in the New Year.  It can become a quieter family & friends time and/or a religious time.

The celebration now called Christmas was taken by the early Christians from a winter festival celebrated for thousands of years around the Winter Solstice.  Christmas was assigned to December 25 by most Europeans, but some put it on a different day exactly 12 days later.  The time between these two dates are the Twelve Days of Christmas.  The number twelve was convenient, too!  That happens to be the number of Apostles!

This weekend and into early next week those other Christians celebrating on the Gregorian Calendar will be quietly celebrating their Christmas.  Many of those folks can trace their heritage back to the Ukraine and parts thereabouts, but there are other groups from elsewhere celebrating at this time, too.

So Merry Christmas to all of you celebrating at this time.  May you have peace and happiness through the year.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY:  People will forget how fast you did a job but they will remember how well you did it!