Hey, Jolly Holidayers!

Christmastime is here. And with the season comes a wish of warmth and togetherness— time spent in the company of those we love. Though the days are short and dark and the nights aren’t fit for man nor beast, we brighten up the holidays with our laughter and light hearts. It’s easier to fill the days with cheer when we’re with our families and close friends. 

I’ll be traveling to Milwaukee this weekend for my extended family Christmas get-together. My immediate family and I already celebrated our gathering, so this weekend is dedicated to seeing my cousins, aunts, and uncles. That’s why I’m taking the next few days off.

Every family has their own holiday traditions and, while any tradition is liable to change from time to time, some never will. It had always been my family’s holiday tradition to gather all cousins, aunts, and uncles at my grandfather’s house for general visitation, dinner, and a gift exchange that always resulted in a pretty wicked wrapping paper fight. We created lifelong memories in that house and so many great times.

But times have changed now. We’re unable to gather at my grandfather’s house anymore, but we still get together to make Christmas special. We all tend to get pretty into the holiday spirit, so there’s sure to be lots of food, festivities, and laughs! What’s most important, however, is that we all stop our busy lives for at least this one day and we celebrate with the people we love.

From everyone here at Everything Summer Camp, here’s wishing you nothing but the warmest wishes for you and your families’ holiday traditions. Enjoy this merry season and be sure to make it bright. As always, thanks for reading. I’ll be back next Monday with a brand new camp spotlight!

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- John

Jingle Bells! Jingle Bells! Jingle all the way!

Hope the holiday spirit is creating joy and good cheer for each and every one of you this winter season. One of the best ways to put yourself into a great, jolly mood is by singing your favorite Christmas songs. As Buddy the Elf would say, “The best way to spread Christmas cheer is by singing loud for all to hear!”

We all know them—Jingle Bells, Deck the Halls, and Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town—however, there’s probably a decent amount about caroling that is unfamiliar, so, because today is National Caroling Day, I compiled a short list of things that you likely don’t know about carols. Caroling is a tradition that goes back so far that the word actually changes meanings!

The Word ‘carole’ in Old French referred to dancing.
That’s right—the word carol doesn’t even mean what it used to. In fact, ‘carols’ used to be dances as well as songs. The word originates from Old French and refers to a dance that’s accompanied by a song. But by the end of the 14th Century, the word was no longer used to suggest any dancing.

Door-to-door caroling was a big party in the 1600s.
It’s no joke! With mistletoe hanging above front doors, there was typically lots of kissing involved. There was also traditionally a lot of drinking from communal bowls filled with spiced cider or ale. They called it ‘drinking from the Wassail Bowl’ after an Old English toast: ‘Wæs hæl’, which means ‘your health’. This explains the title of ‘The Wassail Song’.

Not all Christmas carols were meant for Christmas.
You wouldn’t think it was possible, but it’s true, some Christmas carols weren’t even about Christmas originally. ‘Deck the Halls’ was actually written about New Year’s Eve—which makes sense considering the lyric ‘Hail the new year lads and lasses.’ But if you think THAT’s weird—‘Jingle Bells’ was actually a Thanksgiving song!—originally titled ‘One Horse Open Sleigh’.

In any case, have fun with these holiday favorites from various artists and sing along to put yourself into the Christmas spirit. As always, thanks for reading.

- John

Hey, Everything Summer Camp Fans!

Here at Everything Summer Camp I like to post about the people who work for our company so that our Blog readers get a clearer understanding of who we are—not just as a company, but as a group of people.

Everyone around here celebrates Christmas, so I went around the office asking what people’s plans were for the holiday. People around the office here are certainly in full swing of the Christmas season. Their plans are set and their presents are wrapped.

NATE
First, I made a trip over to the printshop to talk to our Graphics manager, Nate. Nate told me that his Christmas plan was driving…essentially. He’s making trips out across the state to see his grandparents as well as his wife’s grandparents on Christmas Eve. It’s a tradition he and his wife look forward to, but it makes for a long day.

They’re happy to share the day at home on Christmas morning with their three kids as they tear open their presents from Santa.

ART
Next, I journeyed over to the main building. Art, our maintenance guy was outside on a ladder, replacing outdoor bulbs. He told me about the Christmas party he’s attending with his wife’s family. Pat’s got a big family; roughly 45 of Art’s in-laws attend this shindig at Pat’s sister’s house. They eat and have a gift exchange. His mother-in-law buys something for EVERYbody!

Sounds pretty Christmasy to me!

GUNNAR
Lastly, I went to go see one of our newest faces, Gunnar, our Graphic Artist for the Everything Summer Camp website. He and his family always make a trip to his grandmother’s where they have their Christmas dinner together. Gunnar enjoys his family’s Christmas celebration, but, in a whisper, expressed his superior excitement to go see the new Star Wars movie.

No matter what your traditions are and who you celebrate the holidays with, I wish you all a Merry Christmas and happy times in the company of those you love. And, as always, thanks for reading.

- John 

Hey, Festive Folks!

Starting at sunset tonight marks the first night of Hanukkah! Eight days and nights follow to observe this traditional Hebrew holiday until nightfall on December 14. Like any other holiday, Hanukkah is celebrated with many festive foods, songs, games, and traditions. These traditions, however, are usually shrouded in some mystery for non-Jewish individuals since Hebrew terms can often mask the meaning.

I’m here to give some clarity to Hebrew terms that are used a lot for this popular Jewish holiday.

FOOD:
Main courses, candy, and other treats are a part of the Hanukkah celebration. Here’s a breakdown of traditional, Jewish dishes and other tasty edibles.

Sufganiot—essentially donuts
Latkes—potato pancakes
Mandelbrot—a firm cookie reminiscent of cake
Rugelach—pastries with different ingredients used for the filling, such as raisins, walnuts, cinnamon, or chocolate.
SONGS:
Along with tasty foods, Hanukkah is a cheerful time made for joyful singing of holiday songs. It’s tradition to sing songs after the candles have been lit. Here are some of the songs to sing.

Ma’oz Tzur—Rock of Ages
Hava Nagila—Let Us Rejoice
Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah—which doesn’t really need any translation, and
S’vivon Sov Sov Sov—which translates to Dreidel Spin Spin Spin

There’s also, of course, the very popular Dreidel Song (which requires no translation either).

GAMES:
Speaking of Dreidels, games are a big part of Hanukkah traditions as well. What you may not know is that there’s much more to a Dreidel than a spinning top as many non-Jewish people assume. But, with four different Hebrew symbols on each side, the Dreidel can actually be played as a gambling game.

נ => Nun—Nothing
ג => Gimel—All
ה => He—Half
ש => Shin—Put in

TRADITIONS:
Hanukkah’s main tradition, of course, is the lighting of the candles. The nine-branched candleholder is often times incorrectly called a menorah, but is rightly called a Hunukkiah. The menorah only has seven candleholders—like the lamp that was used in the ancient holy temple in Jerusalem.

Menorah—seven-branched candleholder
Hanukkiah—nine-brancehd candleholder
Shammash—found on the Hanukkiah, but not the Menorah, Shammash translates to ‘server’ as it is the flame that feeds each candle.

Have a wonderful time celebrating these eight miraculous nights and, as always, thanks for reading. Happy Hanukkah!

- John

Hey, Black Friday Fans!

In the last decade or so, Thanksgiving has taken on more traditions than our typical feasts that take all day to prep, the Macy’s Day Parade, and a football game on TV. As Black Friday continues to push stores’ opening hours earlier and earlier, the shopping experience is overlapping with Thanksgiving evening, creating what some refer to as ‘Grey Thursday’.

Lazy Thanksgiving evenings are now designated time to prepare yourself: peruse those ads and map out your route so you’ll be ready to embark on a carefully strategized night of shopping. So what are some of the traditions people have started after the leftovers get put away?

Vice President of Everything Summer Camp, Mark, and his wife, Mandy, love going out on this night to find ridiculous deals and hit up their favorite stores. To keep the tradition, they always start the night with the same store first every year.

Some folks are so into their Black Friday-ing that they skip the customary Thanksgiving meal altogether in order to dedicate all their energy to shopping instead. Many of these people will break from their epic shopping excursions at some point in the night to get a traditional bite to eat. McDonald’s is a popular stop because it’s fast and gets them right back to the shopping!

Movies are also becoming a popular attraction for Black Friday participants. It’s become a tradition for Keisha, our receptionist, and a group of her friends to partake in a break from the shopping frenzy by taking in a fun flick.

And while some people plan routes to raid all the local stores around their area, others are driving long distances to a mall that has a little more to offer than what local malls will. Famous malls that boast their size, location, and store variety, are like magnets for some folks on Black Friday!

Whatever your Black Friday traditions are feel free to share them with us right here! We hope you have a fun, safe shopping experience. And be sure to take advantage of all the awesome deals you can find on our site from now through to December 1. As always, thanks for reading!

- John