HolliDay Oddities #2

Continuing the Weird Christmas Traditions for your entertainment.

• Estonia: The whole family hits the sauna on Christmas Eve.
• Wales: 

  

  Mary Lwyd of Wales

  Mari Lwyd is known as the Christmas zombie horse. A horse skull is hoisted on a stick, decorated with ribbons, bells, and is draped in a white sheet (so its bearers are hidden). A group with the Mari Lwyd travels from door-to-door asking for food and drink in rhyme. Traditionally, the Mari group knocks on a door and sings a song requesting entry, and the homeowners counter-song with a song refusing entry or challenges and insults. The Mari Lwyd group and the homeowners then engage in a battle of wits, trading riddles until one side loses. If the Mari Lwyd group wins, they are allowed entry into the home and given food and drinks.
• Iceland: I like this one. If an Icelander doesn't get new clothes before Christmas, the killer mountain Yule cat eats them. 
• Czech Republic: Desperate for marriage it seems. Czech ladies throw a shoe over one shoulder from the door way. The direction the shoe is pointed determines if they'll be married in the coming year.
• Sweden: Authorities in the village of Gävle decided to install a straw goat statue in the town square. Every other year, somebody burns it down before Christmas. Both are fine traditions.
• Sweden (again): Rice pudding is standard fare for dessert. The Christmas special has an almond buried somewhere in it. The lucky person who finds it will supposedly get married within a year. I assume only single folks of marrying age have a go at the pudding.
• Great Britain: Speaking of puddings, tradition calls for each member of the household to stir the pudding in a clockwise direction while making a wish. I guess that's better than a lump of coal.
• Italy: A witch named Befana is the deliverer of presents to children (not that stodgy Santa). But the kids have to wait for the blessings of Befana until January 6th.
• Ethiopia: Christian Ethiopians celebrate Christmas on January 7th. Everybody wears white and the guys play ganna, a fast pace game of ... hockey?

More weird stuff coming here in the next few days. Don't forget the free ebooks today through the 25th. All free ebooks and their links are on this blog, so just look through the posts this month for that information.

FREE EBOOKS DECEMBER 20TH-25TH

FREE EBOOKS 12/20 THROUGH 12/25

Adventure and Mystery - FREE DECEMBER 20TH-24TH

Eagle Quest 

Missing, Assumed Dead 

Mysteries set in eastern and southern Oregon. One for kids (Eagle Quest) and one for adults (Missing, Assumed Dead).

FREE DECEMBER 21ST - 25th

Short Story Collections

Tales of a Texas Boy

Tales of a Texas Boy - Illustrated

How do you handle a crazy jackass? Eddie knows. If you ask Eddie, he'll tell you pigs can fly and show you where to find real mammoth bones. Take his word for it when he tells you always to bet on the bear. These are things he learned while dreaming of becoming a cowboy in West Texas during the Depression. Through Eddie, the hero of "Tales of a Texas Boy," we find that growing up is less about maturity and more about roping your dreams. Hold on tight. It's a bumpy ride. A wonderful read for anyone who enjoys books like "Little House on the Prairie" or "Tom Sawyer." A great bit of nostalgia for seniors, too.

Holly-Day Oddities #1

Christmas, Noel, Jul. A pagan holiday preempted by Christian monks to make their story more palatable to the heathens. Well, Christmas is even weirder than that. Check out Christmas traditions around the world you might not know. Then, look at the bottom of this post to get the links to my book which is the absolutely most fantastically wonderful present you can buy for cheap. Trust me. Aunt Mabel will love it. So, on to the weird with this from Faux Channel. TALES OF A TEXAS BOY is just the right present for that hard-to-shop-for relative.

Mattak from Greenland

• Greenland: Their own version of a Turducken is a Mattak. That's raw whale skin served with blubber) or Kiviak: 500 Auk birds stuffed into a sealskin and fermented for 7 months. I think I'll skip Greenland's Christmas.
• South Africa: Sauteed caterpillar of the Emperor Moth is a Christmas treat.
• Austria: Krampus! See my previous post on the esteemed Christmas guy worse than the Grinch.
• Catalonia: The Nativity scenes include a picture of a pooping man. Um. Along with the pooping guy, they have a pooping log. Now, I don't know about you, but I think Catalonia got too much bug spray sometime in the past.
• Norway: Brooms are hidden away so witches can't claim possession. What's a witch without a broom? Kelly Conway?
• Japan: The dine-out place of choice is KFC. Makes sense to me.
• Venezuela: The religious go to Mass on roller skates.
• Germany: They hide a pickle in the Christmas tree. The kid who finds it gets an extra gift. Also, kids leave a sneaker outside to be stuffed with candy. Bad kinder get a twig instead.
• New Zealand: Not so weird, they use a Pohutukawa tree rather than the standard Douglas fir. They're actually kind of pretty with red flowers.
• Portugal: The Deceased are invited to dinner and have places set at the table for them. What the heck? They don't eat much.
• Ukraine: Trees are decorated with an artificial spider and a bunch of spider web. Sounds like the Trump Whitehouse decor.
• Czech Republic: Desperate for marriage it seems. Czech ladies throw a shoe over one shoulder from the doorway. The direction the shoe is pointed determines if they'll be married in the coming year.

More weird stuff coming here in the next couple of weeks.

Here's an excellent book for the older folks on your gift list. Do they like animals? Rural life? Nostalgia? History? 

• It's nostalgic
• It doesn't have any sex (well, there is that thing with the jackass)
• It's in LARGE PRINT
• It's funny
• It's poignant
• It has lots of animals
• It's a bargain in the books section

Buy the Large Print at Amazon for only $7.99 and make everybody happy. Now isn't that a better gift than a necktie? Oh, you can also get the book for your Kindle or for your listening pleasure in audio format. Gotcha covered for Christmas.

Amazon Kindle Ebook $2.99 

Other Ebook Formats at Smashwords
Large Print Paperback $7.99 at Amazon

Regular Print Paperback $7.99 at Amazon

Large Print Hard Cover $15.99 at Amazon

Add-on Audio book for Kindle

Audio Book at Audible - Free if you're a subscriber

Little Eddie tells some almost true Tall Tales set in West Texas of the 1930s. Guess what's true and what Eddie fudged on. Was it about the bear? Cage McNatt's prize sow? The skunk in the corn patch? Guaranteed for a chuckle and maybe a tear here and there.

Krampus Comes to Town

We all love Santa Claus (or Santa Claws from "Nightmare Before Christmas"), but leave us not forget the adorable Krampus. 

After all, without Krampus, bad children wouldn't just get coal in their stocking, but they'd also be kidnapped, thrown into a sack, and eaten by the lovely Krampus. The Grinch ain't got nothin' on Krampus. 

 Here's some stuff from Wikipedia: In folklore, Krampus is a horned, anthropomorphic figure described as "half-goat, half-demon", who, during the Christmas season, punishes children who have misbehaved, in contrast with Saint Nicholas, who rewards the well-behaved with gifts. 

 Krampus is one of the companions of Saint Nicholas in several countries including Austria, Bavaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, South Tyrol and parts of Northern Italy. The origin of the figure is unclear; some folklorists and anthropologists have postulated its pre-Christian origin. In traditional parades and in such events as the Krampuslauf (English: Krampus run), young men dressed as Krampus participate; such events occur annually in most European countries. 

 As evil as jolly Saint Krampus is, his role of getting naughty children to behave has worked wonders in the Slavic areas of Europe. And, of course, Setara's Genie is free until the 18th. You'll only see the link if you've read this far.

FREE BOOKS DECEMBER 14TH-18TH

FREE BOOKS DECEMBER 14TH-18TH

The Tales of Abu Nuwas - 

Book 1 - Setara's Genie FREE DECEMBER 14TH-18TH

Abu Nuwas sits in the bazaar on his threadbare rug; a cup and sign proclaim him a teller of tales. For one small coin, he bids passers by to listen. A poor girl, Najda, sells spices from a tray. Would he, she asks, trade a tale for a packet of spice? Abu Nuwas agrees and begins the epic adventures of a girl and her genie.

Mixed Bag 2 FREE DECEMBER 14TH - 18TH
Short Stories: A little science fiction, a bit of fantasy, plenty of humor, and some really shocking horror. 

24 exciting stories in all genres. Most of these stories were published professionally, so you know some editor somewhere liked them. For free, what have you got to lose?

End of Year Sale (as in free books)

 Several times a year, Smashwords (an independent self-publishing platform) runs mass sales across the entire site. Authors choose whether to participate or not. If yes, they can also choose just how much to discount their books (ebooks). I always choose to discount 100%, making my books carried on Smashwords (via Draft2Digital) absolutely free.

You can find the promo here: http://smashwords.com/sale

If you wouldn’t mind lending a hand to me and the other indie authors taking part in this sale, you can share this promo with your friends and family. Just forward this email to anyone who would love a chance to find their next favorite book!

Thank you for your help and support! 

Happy reading!

BIG IMPORTANT NOTE

Only two of my books are on Smashwords. I'm posting this announcement just to help out my fellow authors.

IN ADDITION,

I'M MAKING ALL MY BOOKs ON AMAZON FREE AT SOMETIME FOR THE DURATION OF THE SALES - THAT'S DECEMBER 8TH THROUGH JANUARY 1ST (5 DAYS EACH).

FIND LINKS TO THEM ALL HERE:

https://mgddasef.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html

and here:

 My Amazon Author Page

FREE BOOKS IN DECEMBER (8th-24th)

FREE BOOKS IN DECEMBER (CHECK DATES BELOW)

Science Fiction - FREE DECEMBER 8TH - 12TH

Ultimate Duty

A military officer must choose between her sworn duty or her rebellious blood ties.

First Duty - PG rated version of Ultimate Duty. Not a sequel to "Ultimate Duty."

Nyra Hutchings, a young woman born into a life of servitude on a repressive factory planet, is desperate for a different life. When she's accepted into the Space Service Academy, run by the organization that enslaves her planet, she discovers the truth behind generations of rebellion. Now, she must decide what to believe, where her first duty lies, and fight for more than her life against impossible odds. 

Mixed Bag 2 FREE DECEMBER 14TH - 18TH

A little science fiction, a bit of fantasy, plenty of humor, and some really shocking horror. These are tales to suit any mood. All stories in this book were previously published in on-line or print publications. The author is re-issuing the stories since an editor somewhere liked them enough to publish them in the first place.

The Tales of Abu Nuwas - 

Book 1 - Setara's Genie FREE DECEMBER 14TH-18TH

Book 2 - Faizah's Destiny FREE DECEMBER 8TH-12TH

Abu Nuwas sits in the bazaar asking only a few coins to hear tales of the adventures of two daring and brave girls. Setara must deal with a not-so-helpful genie. Faizah only has to save the world from Armageddon. Easy-peasy.

Adventure and Mystery - FREE DECEMBER 20TH-24TH

Eagle Quest 

Missing, Assumed Dead 

Mysteries set in eastern and southern Oregon. One for adults and one for kids.

FREE DECEMBER 21ST - 25th

Short Story Collections

Tales of a Texas Boy

Tales of a Texas Boy - Illustrated

How do you handle a crazy jackass? Eddie knows. If you ask Eddie, he'll tell you pigs can fly and show you where to find real mammoth bones. Take his word for it when he tells you always to bet on the bear. These are things he learned while dreaming of becoming a cowboy in West Texas during the Depression. Through Eddie, the hero of "Tales of a Texas Boy," we find that growing up is less about maturity and more about roping your dreams. Hold on tight. It's a bumpy ride. A wonderful read for anyone who enjoys books like "Little House on the Prairie" or "Tom Sawyer." A great bit of nostalgia for seniors, too.