Santas From Around The World: Thailand- Elephant Santas (Advent 2020, Day 21)

Thailand is a mostly Buddhist country steeped in ancient traditions. But Thailand is also one of the most cutting edge Asian countries to become Westernized in the past 50 years. With this mix of old and new, a lot of Thailand's beliefs about Christmas have morphed in some very unusual ways.

1. The Thai people believe that Santa Claus is the father of Jesus. Every year, Santa celebrates his son's birthday by giving all of the children of Thailand toys. 

2. Christmas trees don't go inside. Some of this is due to superstitious belief in upsetting nature's balance as preached by Buddha. So the trees are artificial instead of cut down. But a lot of the reason behind the Christmas tree being set up outside is because Thai families compete to see who can own the largest tree possible. One company called Bangkok Christmas Decoration Exporters Ltd. manufacture trees as tall as 60 feet in height! 

3. If you thought your grandma was overdoing it with a dozen live poinsettias at her house- she's got nothing on the people of Thailand. They will literally flood their homes with hundreds of fragrant bouquets made of endless varieties of flowers. The florists of Thailand work triple-time to keep up with orders that must be filled before December 24th. The floral arrangements of Pak Khlong Talat are considered some of the best in the country. And some families will travel hundreds of miles just to obtain a couple of floral pieces to decorate their home.

But I think my favorite holiday tradition that I've learned about in Thailand is the elephant Santas! This tradition began about 16 years ago. An elephant rescue camp sought to bring awareness to the abuse and ecological threat towards elephants while bringing a smile to the faces of some lucky students. 

Just before the children of The Jirasartwitthaya school in Ayutthaya depart for a short holiday break, they are visited by the elephants of the Ayuttahaya Elephant Palace. Wearing Santa hats, the elephants deliver candy and toys to the children before doing a few tricks that they've learned in their new sanctuary. The elephant finish the festivities by hoisting children with their trunks to help them decorate the highest parts of a Christmas tree. Then they elephants head back home for some fruit and other goodies in celebration of a job well done!

For a job well done for you visiting Thailand with me, here's a recipe for Pandan Coconut Cookies. You will need to head to an Asian grocer for Pandan. But it's so worth it!

Enjoy!

Santas From Around The World: Iceland- The Yule Cat (Advent 2020, Day 20)

Every Christmas, gigantic feline terrifies the island nation of Iceland. But it does not seek revenge on the naughty. No. This kitty cat will devour you whole if you do not have new clothes.

Enter the Yule Cat! Iceland's frightening excuse to make the countries boys and girls demand clothes for Christmas. I'm not really sure where the legend of the Yule Cat started. Of the top of my head, I'd say that it was dreamed up by the Icelandic clothes consortium. A quick search on Wiki states that I'm not that far off from my assessment. 

According to 19th century records, farmers would try to 'encourage' their workers to reap the annual wool harvest quicker. Those who speed up would be rewarded with a brand new wool suit. Those lazy employees would be eaten by the Yule Cat. 

Over time, that legend was passed along to the kiddos of Iceland. While the Yule Cat still lurks the streets, his harsh reputation has lessened as many Christmas traditions over time have. Instead of eating children, the Yule Cat has settled for eating the Christmas Eve supper of youngsters who don't get clothes for the holidays. 

Hopefully, the Yule Cat doesn't eat the cookies left for Santa. Like these traditional treats known as Marens Kornflexkokur. 

These might sound tricky. But they only call for 5 ingredients and only take about 15 minutes to make!

Enjoy!

Patrick The Wolf Boy Christmas Special One-Shot

Inspired by former child actor Butch Patrick and the kid werewolf character he played on The Munsters, Eddie, Patrick the Wolf Boy is an unusual character that will warm your heart- and tickle your funny bone. Patrick the Wolf Boy was created by the dynamic duo of Art Baltazar and Franco (Tiny Titans). This holiday special is a mix of Calvin and Hobbes, the Tasmanian Devil, and Marvels What If...

Patrick has a number of humorous adventures with his Dad. Patrick is utterly untamed. Yet, Dad seems a tad aloof about it all. I'm not sure of Patrick's origin. So I am not sure if that sense of pride Patrick's pop has when the little werewolf attempts something but fails miserably is legit or wishful thinking. Still, this was a quite funny holiday special.

There's 2 or 3 shorts that examine 'what if' Patrick meet certain holiday characters such as Santa Claus. They're the best in my opinion. But I also thought Patrick's misadventure with a snowblower was hilarious too! But again- is Patrick's dad really proud of his wolf boy's antics or is he massively oblivious to it all?

I guess I will have to find the earlier books about Patrick to find out. 

This book is from 2000. And in my years of reading and collecting comics, the only copy starring Patrick the Wolf Boy I've ever found was during a visit to Chicago. And I would have missed this too if I didn't decide to check out the display window as I was leaving the store!

Might have to go online shopping for this one. But man, I'd much rather enjoy a hunt through some bargain bins. (Come on prospect of a better 2021!)

A very fun read by a pair of some of my favorite all-ages comic creators.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars. 

Santas From Around The World: South Africa and the Legend of Danny (Advent 2020, Day 19)

 

Today’s Advent post isn’t about a Santa. But I couldn’t pass it up! It involves Santa. And it involves cookies. And I gotta warn ya- this story is dark! 

So, consider this your trigger warning!

Being the Legend of Danny, this story is about a boy named Danny, naturally. His grandmother baked a large batch of cookies for Santa Claus. She tells Danny not to eat the cookies. But of course Danny eats the entire batch.

So far, this seems like a typical anecdote. Now here’s where things turn grim. Upon finding that Danny ate all the cookies, grandma beat Danny to death. As a result, the children of South Africa are warned to be good. Not because Santa won’t come visit them. But out of fear of being killed by a grandparent! In hopes that the kiddies get the message, Danny’s ghost wanders the countryside every holiday season, haunting those little mischief makers.

I hope you all enjoyed this morbid cautionary tale. I don’t know why there’s so many Christmas stories out there that are so morose. Krampus. The Little Match Girl. Ernest Saves Christmas. I guess this is where where get that line from that old holiday tune about hearing scary ghost stories during our Christmases.

Since you might need a stiff drink after reading today’s Advent, here’s a traditional cookie recipe from South Africa that calls for wine. 

Enjoy!

Essential Howard The Duck, Vol. 1

Other than a certain first appearance by a super girl, this book was the oldest item on my wish list until just recently. This volume covers the entire Steve Gerber run of the groundbreaking Howard the Duck comic from the 1970s. Gerber had problems with deadlines and was replaced after issue #27. If the quality didn't suffer, the creative juices surely did with Gerber's dismissal. Howard was stuffed just 4 issues later.

With the debut of 1986 box office BOMB- Howard returned for a few more issues with original numbering. But like I said, the live-action film starring Back To The Future's Lea Thompson was a massive stinker and Howard's time was once again cut short. 

There was also a Howard the Duck Magazine that lasted 9 issues. It featured more edgier stories that even the envelope-pushing comic couldn't skirt pass the Comics Code. Those are harder to find and more expensive. Yet despite this book being listed as volume 1, with the elimination of Marvel's it seems like I'll never get the rest of Howard's story. But that's actually not the case. About 5 years ago, Marvel re-issued 4 volumes of full color material starring the grumpy mallard. So, I might be able to get everything else on my wish list without going broke.

The original Howard the Duck was a throw-away character in the pages of Man-Thing. LITERALLY! But he feel into our hearts as well as down-town Cleveland in the very first pages of his own title. Howard The Duck was a reflection of the odds and loose ends of the late 70s. With the end of Nixon and the completion of the Vietnam War, America was fractured and the whole world seemed ready to just fall to pot. And Howard was there to point out all our problems. 

From parodying some of Marvels greatest heroes of the time period to mocking Star Wars, Big Apple vigilantism and the 1976 election, nothing was safe in Steve Gerber's hands. This collection isn't perfect. There's some slang terms and jokes that in 2020 would have gotten Gerber cancelled. But I see the intention on Gerber's part to point out a lot of the flaws of 1970s society.

This was a series that also experimented with creative writing. There's one issue that's nothing but essays. (Check out a cameo first appearance of the main characters of Vertigo's Nevada). For the most part, I enjoyed the pathways Gerber explored. But I hated what he did with the ahead of it's time inter-species relationship between duck Howard and human Beverly. I don't want to spoil things but Gerber leaves things ill-fated. That's all I'll say...

A book ahead of it's time that will be honored for all-time in the hearts of comic book collectors and historians. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Santas From Around The World: Greenland: Juulimaaq (Advent 2020, Day 18)

Kids need to stop trying to stay up late to see Santa. According to the people of Greenland, all you have to do to meet the real St. Nick is to travel to the small village of Sragle Bay near Uummannaq. 

It is there that Santa lives in his workshop and some very lucky children get to visit him and his elves there every year! Well, actually, it turns out that elves are invisible to non-magical children. But you can still arrange to be some of the few who get to see the Santa of Greenland, known as Juulimaaq in his home on Ice Street.

Juulmaaq looks exactly as he’s depicted in American and British culture. The red suit, white trim to match his snowy white beard and black boots. Only, with Juulmaaq, this flair is all about the glitter. It is said that every inch of Santa’s suit (and beard too!) glitters with fairy dust!

With Juulmaaq being the one true Santa, he makes his regular deliveries every year with one special difference. Every Christmas Eve, Juulmaaq rides inside of an Air Greenland helicopter and heads over to Queen Ingrid’s Hospital in Nuuk to deliver toys to the children who can’t come home for Christmas. (Remember how the children of Colombia think that Baby Jesus flies in a helicopter. Maybe Juulimaaq uses the same one!!) 

After the toys are all doled out, Juulimaaq takes off for his annual trip around the globe.

Oh and for those of you wondering. Juulimaaq does utilize the North Pole. That’s where his toy warehouse is located.

Archie Christmas Spectacular 2020 #1

Since Marvel hasn't released a holiday special in over 3 years and DC's quality has dipped deeper than that Russia mine, the Christmas special I look forward to the most nowadays is this one!

Archie Comics must have taken pity on us- what with how crappy this year has been. I usually think that the Archie Holiday books are way too short. But this one had an amount of detail that was fulfilling. 

The opening story involves a mysterious Scrooge, who has been buying up all of Riverdale's Christmas trees... to make toothpicks! I thought that this story was pretty goofy to try to make toothpicks out of Christmas trees. I figured that the sap would be too toxic for humans. But it turns out that pine trees are actually used to make them. So, the writers at Archie did their research. 

But when it came to a plot line in which there's a coded message- things didn't add up. The code didn't have repeating letters. Yet, the message decodes to a phrase with several letters that are the same. I'm no philologist. But this just didn't sit right with me at all!

Then Archie and his pals try to make a viral video of Santa with Mr. Andrews playing Kris Kringle. It's a comedy of errors. But it has a magical ending. 

Rounding things up is a nearly annual appearance by Jingles the Elf. Jingles has had it with the work conditions over at the North Pole. Having quit his toy shop job, Jingles decides to move in with Archie- until he gets on his feet. Give or take 6 months. Only an emergency meeting of the kids of Riverdale High might be the answer to keeping Archie from gaining a pesky new roommate!

Normally, this is how an Archie Holiday book ends. But this year, us readers were gifted with several shorts. One of which looked like a Sunday paper strip. Very cool!

I really enjoyed this book. It was a fun and festive distraction from the crappy COVID-19 year of 2020!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.