Merry Christmas to One and All!

The Christmas holiday has been celebrated for a long time and it’s come to mean a lot of things to the people who love this day of the year. Nobody’s working today at Everything Summer Camp! We’re all spending the holiday with our families, enjoying all the traditional gift-exchanging, feasting, and all-around merrymaking. I know that’s what I do every year!

Each season provides us with its own specific atmosphere and this particular season was made to be spent in the warm company of those who are dear to us. Despite the fact that it contains the coldest, darkest day of the year, we brighten the season up with our cheerfulness, our good will, and the company of our loved ones.

As did many of you, I’m sure, I traveled this year to be with my family. We always tend to really immerse ourselves in the holiday spirit, so there’s lots of smiles, laughs, and merriment here in my mom’s house. This will be the last Christmas for my mother and my siblings to gather in the home where we all grew up to celebrate our family Christmas so it means a lot to us all.

Many of our Christmas traditions like gift-giving, feasting, and bringing trees into our homes have been adopted from a varied past, originating from Pagan celebrations and re-popularized by none other than Charles Dickens with his still-famous Christmastime masterpiece, ‘A Christmas Carol’.

These traditions have been carried out for many, many a year and, as for me and my family, we’re all more-than-happy to carry on the age-old traditions and keep Christmas a warm day that unites us and brings us all joy. I wish togetherness, joy, and merriment to all of our summer camp families out there and, as always, Merry Christmas!

- John

Hey, Holidayers!

Sunset tonight begins the long-celebrated Jewish tradition of Hanukkah! Eight days and nights will follow in observance of this traditional Hebrew holiday which will take us right up to nightfall on New Year’s Day. Like any other holiday, Hanukkah is typically celebrated with a great assortment of festive foods, singing, playing games, and ritualistic traditions—like the lighting of the Hanukkiah (the traditional candleholder that is often confused for a menorah).

The eight days of Hanukkah don’t land consistently on the calendar the way Christmas does so steadily on December 25 every year. Instead, it jumps around seemingly with no rhyme or reason. But there is actually a method to the apparent madness. See, Hanukkah does abide by a consistent date on the calendar year after year—it’s just not the same calendar that we commonly use.

The Hebrews used a lunisolar calendar which is based on the sun and the moon whereas the traditional Gregorian calendar that we all know so well today only considers the sun and the time it takes the earth to move around it. While the date may jump around from year to year on the Gregorian calendar, Hanukkah consistently begins on the 25 of Kislev, a month of the Hebrew calendar.

When you and your family gather for your festivities this year and you enjoy your time together with song, games, and delicious Mandelbrot, we here at Everything Summer Camp wish you peace and warmth as you light your Hanukkiah in remembrance of the seven-day miracle that kept the Maccabees menorah burning for eight days, though they only had a day’s worth of oil.

Happy Hanukkah to all of our Jewish summer camp families. Keep warm in this wintry season with the love of your family and your faith and, as always, thanks for reading.

- John

Hey, all you good girls and boys!

Around this time of year, lots of folks start getting real excited about a magical visit that occurs on a special night from someone who goes by many names. He goes by Kris Kringle or Father Christmas, but he’s most commonly referred to as Santa. In the Netherlands, they call him Sinter Klaas.

But, of course, he initially went by just one name: Nicholas. Today is St. Nick’s Day—the perfect time to learn a little about how this little, old man got to be so world-famous!

The story begins a very long time ago (around the year 300) in a land called Lycia—which is present-day Turkey—across the Atlantic Ocean and sandwiched between the Black and Mediterranean Seas. Near the end of his childhood, poor Nicholas lost both of his parents to an epidemic that plagued the people of his home.

He went to go live with his uncle who was also named Nicholas and it was at this time that he began using his inheritance from his parents to help out the poor and sick people around his community. Back then, slavery wasn’t illegal and people could sell other people into ownership.

One of his most famous acts of kindness from his early days was inspired by Roman soldiers making a scene in the street. A poor woodcutter who had seen hard times met with even harder times when he told the soldiers that he was no longer going to be able to make his housing payments.

The soldiers told him that they would accept his three daughters in place of pay which was not acceptable to the woodcutter. The old man, however, had no real choice in the matter. Upon seeing the woodcutter in this desperate situation, Nicholas knew he had to help.

He had to keep his anonymity too—he didn’t want any attention from soldiers patrolling the streets. So Nicholas climbed his way to the rooftop of the woodcutter’s home and dropped enough bags of gold down the chimney that the woodcutter would be able to make his housing payment with a generous amount leftover!

Nicholas enjoyed helping people out so much, he made it his life’s purpose. Eventually he didn’t need to keep his anonymity for being so generous after he was appointed to be bishop, or so he thought. He did, however, end up imprisoned due to persecution against his faith for roughly 20 years!

When finally released, the Roman government had shifted its views on Christianity and Nicholas simply continued the life of goodwill he had started before his imprisonment. He was eventually made a saint for his boundless generosity.

Since he’s never stopped his tradition of giving, to this day, girls and boys find presents magically waiting for them on Christmas morning. Happy St. Nicholas Day and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Happy Thanksgiving!

We love holidays here at Everything Summer Camp! You won’t catch any of us without a full plate of food at our Thanksgiving celebrations for this holiday. How could we go without the traditional turkey, stuffing, potatoes, gravy, and other delicious assorted dishes? And, of course, we stick to these warm, fun traditions because they bring us together.

Always thankful for our families, we take time out of our busy, bustling lives to get together with those who are closest to us. So I thought it would be nice to go around the office and see what people are up to for their Thanksgiving plans. Let’s hear from Art, Missy, and Mellina on what fun festivities they have planned for their Thanksgiving celebrations!

General Maintenance
Art and his wife, Pat, ventured out for the day-long trip to Texas yesterday so they could be with their son, also named Art, today. This family of three keeps it a tradition to spend Thanksgiving together in Texas.

When I asked about how he handled the long drive from northern Wisconsin, Art didn’t even bat an eye—“My son’s culinary skills are worth every mile,” he told me. They’re feasting well today!

Reception
Missy, our receptionist, isn’t actually doing Thanksgiving today. She’s holding off for the weekend so she can do it up right. Life on the farm is demanding for Missy, her husband Mike, and their three kids, Chelsea, Morgan, and Luke. “It’ll make life a lot easier to hold off till Saturday when the farm schedule isn’t as hectic,” Missy said.

The rest of the family then has the option on Saturday to either help in the kitchen or pitch in with the weekend chores. “They always pick the chores,” Missy offered. They’re sure to take care of the dishes afterward, though.

Printshop Production
Mellina’s Thanksgiving celebration is being delayed as well. “I wouldn’t dream of skipping our traditions, though!” she followed up quickly. Her family is waiting till Saturday when Mellina’s mother-in-law returns home. She and her husband Jeremy are very eager to have her around for the holidays.

Coming back on her third deployment from the marines, she is no doubt ecstatic to be heading home soon to celebrate and feast with her family. This family is thankful simply to be together this year.

We hope your Thanksgiving brings happiness, togetherness, and—of course—a big, fat feast for the whole family to enjoy. Happy Thanksgiving to all of our readers and, as always, I’m thankful for all of you. Thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Pilgrims!

We’re getting ourselves prepared for the Thanksgiving Feast in advance this year. And we thought, while we’re at it, we may as well help all of you get prepared as well. After all, there’s always so much to do come early Thanksgiving morning: there’s the turkey—the star of the show, you have stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, and so much more.

I went around the office today, asking people to share their personal recipes for all the basic food groups that are presented in the typical Thanksgiving dinner (pretty much everything I listed above).

Mark’s Turkey
Mark, vice president of Everything Summer Camp, takes a different approach to his turkey preparation with a cooking method called spatchcocking. Check out what he does for Thanksgiving right here.

Matt’s Stuffing
Matt, our Sales Director, makes a mean stuffing dish. Take a look at the recipe he uses every year.

Nate’s Gravy
What’s a Thanksgiving meal without any gravy on your turkey, potatoes, or stuffing?! When you make it this good, you’ll want it on everything. See what the manager of our graphics department, Nate, does for his Thanksgiving dinners.

Anita’s Mashed Potatoes
Our Call Center Supervisor, Anita has her Creamy Mashed Potatoes down to a science. Here’s how she gets them perfect every year!

Missy’s Cranberry Sauce
Cranberries? Apples? Marshmallows? This sauce didn’t come from any can. Make cranberry sauce like our Missy does for a delicious Thanksgiving treat! Get her recipe right here.

Mellina’s Pumpkin Pie
Leave room for pie! This traditional pie is a favorite for most families at Thanksgiving. Get Mellina’s recipe for her delectable pumpkin pie recipe right here.

Tim’s Layered Jell-o
Crazy about the Jell-o his mom makes every year, Tim wanted to share this recipe for Layered Jell-o, made using cream cheese. See the recipe right here.

Art’s Stuffed Dried Fruit
This last recipe sounds like a refreshing, light, bite-sized treat after a fantastic feast! Get the recipe from our Maintenance guy, Art, right here. This one has been in his family for over 80 years!

Stick with these tried and true recipes and your Thanksgiving feast is bound to be a smash-hit among your friends and family. Enjoy the holiday and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John