Holiday Traditions

23 November, 13

Living in a foreign country can be pretty liberating sometimes. It is an opportunity to be "other than". You can try different foods, act a different way, explore different hobbies. It's kind of like building a real world avatar of yourself. The trouble is the avatar IS you, so old original self bumps into new different self at weird intersections. Holidays are one of those crossroads.

My first experience here with American holidays was Columbus Day. Now we all know how important that holiday is for us, right? I don't know of any particular tradition around it, other than everybody saying, "In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue." We all congratulate ourselves on knowing an incredibly important date in American history, and making it rhyme, then we go back to work, because it's usually not even a day off. Unless you work for the government.

In Spain, this is a huge holiday, but not for Columbus. He, and America, is an afterthought. "Oh yeah, we discovered the Americas and totally dominated there for a couple hundred years. (yawn)" They celebrate the unification of Spain under Ferdinand and Isabella, the same set of royals that commissioned Columbus and that also drove out the Moors from Spain.

Halloween was an interesting experience as well. We decided to have a big party at our house and told everybody they had to have a costume to get in. Surprisingly most of the people complied, youth and adults. One parent told me that his child didn't have a Halloween costume, but he did have a Spiderman outfit, and he hoped that would be alright. They think you have to be scary to count as a Halloween costume. We gave candy to all the kids. At the end of the night, they were in a sugar-induced coma. Candy is not a part of their normal diet, not even for birthdays and holidays.

At school, they have a "Week of Terror" and decorate the hallways with spiderwebs, coffins, etc. Then they would have random people go screaming through the hallways and busting in classrooms, wearing scary masks. If that happened in the USA, somebody would be shot, and the whole school would be on lockdown for the rest of the day. News helicopters would circle overhead and the S.W.A.T. team would hustle into position. The funny thing is that, to the Spaniards, Halloween is an American holiday. They are getting their ideas from us. This is what they think we do for Halloween.

Susan and I decided to host some Thanksgiving meals, as a way of demonstrating our thanks to a few families that have helped us out in Spain so much. I have sampled every ort of food my friends have put in front of me. You know it's gonna be good, when they tell you to try something, but won't tell you what it is. Then they snicker conspiratorially, like a bunch of middle schoolers trying to get the new kid to run through Old Man Wilson's backyard, knowing he has a huge angry pit bull just waiting for a kid-sized snack.

Thanksgiving is our opportunity to introduce our friends to some American cuisine. Susan busted her tail cooking up a "for real, no holds barred" Thanksgiving feast. I ordered the turkey from Pepi.

Now keep in mind that our stove is just slightly bigger than an EZ Bake oven. Susan did a fantastic job on the whole meal. We had:

1. Turkey
2. Mashed potatoes
3. Gravy
4. Green Beans
5. Stuffing
6. Sweet potato casserole
7. Homemade apple sauce
8. Cranberry/pomegranate compote
9. Apple pie
10. Ice cream

The only thing that was store-bought was the ice cream on top of the apple pie. Everything else was from scratch. Susan rocked it. While she was cooking, I thought it best to get out of her way, so I played an intense game of padel. My only big job for the day was to get up close and intimate with the turkey, rubbing it down with olive oil and spices. We smoked a cigarette and watched Johnny Carson afterwards.

If you take a hard look at the menu, you will notice about 10 pounds of sugar. Items 1-5 are savory. The rest of the meal is sweet. And this is normal for us. "Us" being Americans. 

Our first family was Soledad and her three kids. We had an impressive display of food on the table, and Soledad wanted us to describe each dish. She had that look on her face that said, "I don't know what the hell I am about to eat, but I will keep this grin on my face the whole time, if it hairlips the President." It was funny to watch her reaction, as we described each item and 50% was sweet. She had a confused look, questioning in her mind why we had so many desserts and so little food. I think Soledad genuinely liked the meal. Her kids didn't go for much of the food, but they do love gravy. 

We have introduced Spain to a new way of life. Carbo loading a dessert for the main course. I guess our work here is done. 

La Alhambra

5 November, 13

La Alhambra is one of the most magnificent structures ever built. It is a testimony to Man's ability to erect grand edifices that outlive their original purposes, but continue to live on in other ways. 

Some history is needful here. We remember 1492 as the year Columbus sailed the ocean blue. That is a significant date here as well, but Columbus is more of an afterthought in Spain. The most important events in that time period for Spain were the unification of the country and the completion of La Reconquista.

King Ferdinand of Aragon and Queen Isabella of Castille joined forces, in marriage and in war. They fought against the last Moorish stronghold in Spain, which was Granada. (I am using the historical term, Moors, even though that is not a favorable term today. The proper term would be Muslims, but much of the historical notes about Spain use Moors.) When Granada finally fell, Emir Boabdil, supposedly bowed to kiss the boot of his conqueror, who was on horseback. The general dismounted and gave the Emir a hug instead. 

Under Islamic rule, Muslims, Christians and Jews lived in peace for 800 years in Granada. They were neighbors and friends. The Spanish monarchs respected the Muslim monarchs and vice versa. That respect had eroded somewhat over the last century and culminated with the expulsion or forced conversion of all Muslims and Jews, on penalty of death. This began the Spanish Inquisition. 

Granada was a Moorish stronghold for so long, principally because of La Alhambra. This mighty fortress complex resides over Granada. It is imposing today. I cannot imagine what it must have been like in the Middle Ages. It is beautiful now, smoldering quietly into ruins. One millennium, more or less, makes quite a difference.

The whole complex is too big to see in one day. We only visited one part, mostly living quarters. The Muslims were known for creating lavish designs and decorating with elaborate geometric patterns. Many inscriptions adorn the palace walls. One said something to the effect, "I am the king. I was put here by God. He is the only ruler over me. I give him the glory. Now look at my clothes. They are so fine, it is obvious that I am the king." Who wouldn't serve a dude like that? Some of the sayings reminded me of Song of Solomon in the Bible. Back in the day, I am sure Solomon was being really sexy, but now his words are just funny:

"Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves' eyes within thy locks: thy hair is as a flock of goats, that appear from mount Gilead. Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep that are even shorn, which came up from the washing; whereof every one bear twins, and none is barren among them. Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is comely: thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate within thy locks. Thy neck is like the tower of David built for an armory, whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men. Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins, which feed among the lilies." (Song of Solomon 4:1-5)

I just tried to tell Susan her hair was like an old goat, her teeth looked like freshly washed sheep and she was built like a fortress. She evidently had not studied her Bible enough to know this was a high compliment. Please pray for her to get into the Word.

Truly, though, the Muslim kings outdid themselves at La Alhambra. They planted gardens and built fountains in every corner. Evidently there are 17 different classifications for wallpaper, and La Alhambra has all of them. It is a masterpiece. One interesting thing was the fact that the complex changed hands a few times between Christian and Muslim rulers. They each added their own little piece to the puzzle. The Muslims used lavish decorations as a means of giving glory to God, but they would not use any images, because that represented a graven image or idol, which was forbidden. The Christians used more understated architectural features, preferring to appear humble before God, and incorporated figures of humans and animals to reflect God's creation and act as a pictorial explanation of Biblical events. Katherine thought it looked boring. She, and everybody else, liked the Muslim features better. It was interesting to me that both parties were trying to honor God, but that the means of doing so were in direct conflict with each other. 

I asked Katherine what she thought of Muslims before she visited La Alhambra. She said they were just a bunch of crazy people that blew themselves up. Then after her experience in Granada? They were really smart and knew how to build beautiful things. 

Katherine was fascinated by the architecture. She took about 1,000 pictures. I loved the history. Susan was entranced by the grounds, fountains and flora. We all came away with a better understanding and appreciation of another culture. La Alhambra was originally built as a fortress to keep the bad guys out and to provide enjoyment to the good guys. Those roles reversed several times throughout history. Now it is an ambassador of goodwill to all people who come inside its storied walls.

It was a great day.