9 Minutes of Wonder

Christmas traditions you may or may not have heard of — and happy holidays to you!

Christmas is not the same everywhere, and isn't that a good thing? Every December when I was a young girl, the phone company set up a special phone number that we could call to hear Santa speaking from various countries. He'd tell us about Christmas traditions in those places and of course wish us a Merry Christmas. I'd then get out my globe and imagine what it might be like to celebrate Christmas around the world. This episode is from me, not Santa, but it's my way of saying happy holidays to you by sharing a few Christmastime traditions from various countries. See also: The Caganer nativity tale: a pooping figure in Catalan Christmas culture [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFqNi0lj1MM]  Japan's bizarre Christmas tradition: eating KFC (here's why) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwiwdCIUBHo]   Music: Jens East — Daybreak (ft. Henk) www.soundcloud.com/jenseast [http://www.soundcloud.com/jenseast] Licence: Creative Commons Attribution V4.0

(Reposting in honor of this week's lights) The northern lights: how can we not be amazed by lights jumping around in the sky?

Wow, pink and purple skies! I hope you've had a chance to see it this week, or at least sometime in the past or future. Let's talk about these magnificent lights. A few resources: What causes the northern lights? [https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/what-causes-northern-lights-aurora-borealis-explained%20] Northern lights: what they are and how to see them [https://www.space.com/15139-northern-lights-auroras-earth-facts-sdcmp.html] 10 awesome aurora facts [https://media.bom.gov.au/social/blog/1114/10-awesome-aurora-facts/] (from the Australian government) Fire in the sky: the southern lights in Indigenous oral traditions [https://media.bom.gov.au/social/blog/1114/10-awesome-aurora-facts/] Hubble captures vivid auroras in Jupiter's atmosphere [https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/hubble-captures-vivid-auroras-in-jupiters-atmosphere/] (NASA)   Music: Jens East — Daybreak (ft. Henk) www.soundcloud.com/jenseast [http://www.soundcloud.com/jenseast] Licence: Creative Commons Attribution V4.0

Magnificent sun, where have you gone? Fall is a good time to reflect on the wonders of our favorite star.

What's something you often yearn for but then sometimes wish would leave you alone? That could be the sun. But our friendly closest star is much more than that bright circle in the sky we mainly think about when it's not visible and we're cold. It's one of the few things that are absolutely vital to life on Earth. So let's focus on the sun, without looking directly at it, of course. A few resources: Sun [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun] (Wikipedia) Sun vs. atomic bomb [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BWh_rtYADw] (YouTube) 6 ancient sites aligned with the solstice and the equinox [https://www.almanac.com/content/ancient-sites-aligned-solstice-and-equinox] The Light Eaters book by Zoë Schlanger [https://www.zoeschlanger.com/the-light-eaters] Here Comes the Sun: A Last Chance for the Climate and a Fresh Chance for Civilization by Bill McKibben [https://wwnorton.com/books/Here-Comes-the-Sun/]   Music: Jens East — Daybreak (ft. Henk) www.soundcloud.com/jenseast [http://www.soundcloud.com/jenseast] Licence: Creative Commons Attribution V4.0

Forks: never to be taken for granted!

You probably use a fork every day, yet you never think much about this multi-pronged utensil, do you? That may change after you hear this, and you might find yourself getting curious about other everyday things in your home as well. Why not? Everything has interesting stories, and connecting to things like forks helps us feel more connected to this complex and seemingly disjointed world. A few resources: How the simple fork almost tore apart the fabric of society [https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/dinner-fork-history] (National Geographic) A history of Western eating utensils, from the scandalous fork to the incredible spork [https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/a-history-of-western-eating-utensils-from-the-scandalous-fork-to-the-incredible-spork-64593179/] (Smithsonian) The rise of the fork [https://www.slate.com/articles/arts/design/2012/06/the_history_of_the_fork_when_we_started_using_forks_and_how_their_design_changed_over_time_.html] (Slate) Origins of the common fork [https://leitesculinaria.com/1157/writings-origins-fork.html] (Leite's Culinaria) Music: Jens East — Daybreak (ft. Henk) www.soundcloud.com/jenseast [http://www.soundcloud.com/jenseast] Licence: Creative Commons Attribution V4.0

What's not to love about butterflies?

Butterflies are incredible in so many ways! Their beauty alone is good enough reason to admire them, but there's so much more. Reacquaint yourself with their magic. Butterflies: masters of disguise [https://www.lewisginter.org/butterflies-masters-of-disguise/] Migration and overwintering (monarchs) [https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/pollinators/Monarch_Butterfly/migration/index.shtml] What happens inside a chrysalis? [https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1516697865341646] (sorry, I can only find this on one Facebook) Monarch butterfly metamorphosis time-lapse [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocWgSgMGxOc&ab_channel=FrontYardVideo] (YouTube) Monarch butterfly life cycle [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlJpxGBMwMc&ab_channel=RoyalOntarioMuseum] (YouTube) Butterfly Conservation [https://butterfly-conservation.org/] (UK-based butterfly and moth charity)    Music: Jens East — Daybreak (ft. Henk) www.soundcloud.com/jenseast [http://www.soundcloud.com/jenseast] Licence: Creative Commons Attribution V4.0 Cover image of butterfly from Pixabay [https://pixabay.com/photos/american-robin-bird-backyard-5393911/] (artist: Trek_Jason https://pixabay.com/photos/butterfly-wings-insect-eye-plant-7949342 [https://pixabay.com/photos/butterfly-wings-insect-eye-plant-7949342])