"Yes" Month

MADISONVILLE, Ky.--I today announced July 2009 is "Yes" Month. As part of the initiative, I will be try to assume more of a posture of "yes" to a wider variety of personal and professional requests.

"I’m glad to see Eric throwing caution to the wind with his ‘Yes’ program," said Kristin Duskin-Gadd, a friend and associate of me for nearly two decades. "Instead of furrowing his brow and checking his day planner, Eric is now more likely to nod at the suggestion to spend Thanksgiving in Georgia."

While "Yes" Month kicked off officially on only July 1, preparations have been underway for months. My wife, daughter and I joined Cindy, Cora and Rob McCracken in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., July 4-6 following a "yes" response to the McCrackens' vacation invitation. Also, later in July, I will be portraying Paul in a series of evening Vacation Bible School appearances at First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) here in Madisonville--again the product of a "yes" response to a request to participate. Finally, the Nance Woehlers have said "yes" to Connie and Tom Nance's tentative request to keep their dog, Lucky, while they travel to Utah. A version of "yes" is said to be forthcoming to Kristin Duskin-Gadd's Thanksgiving invite.

"I'm almost 41 years old, and, frankly, how far has my own agenda gotten me?" I said. "Whatever good has happened in my life has been the result of going with others' flow--'taking what the defense gives me,' you might call it. The announcement of 'Yes' Month is merely a more conscious and concerted effort to adopt this best practice moving forward. I'm excited to build on the success of the just-elapsed Bulgaria Month and to see where 'Yes' Month takes me."

Bulgaria Month

This is the pivotal day of my year. June 25 is when we make the turn from the previous wonderful Christmas (sniffsniff) and toward the next fantastic Christmas (hooray!). So, with six months to go until Christmas 2009, we take a look at Christmas in Bulgaria, about which there is no shortage of Web sites of unknown-to-me validity:

• http://www.abvg.net/Traditions/Christmas/index.html --"Bulgaria's Orthodox Church turned to the reformed Julian calendar in 1968. Since then, Bulgaria has celebrated Christmas for three days starting on December 25, same as most of the Christian world. ... For Orthodox Christians, Christmas comes after 40 days and nights of fasting. The forty-day Advent, started on November 15, finishes on this day. Folk beliefs hold it that the Mother of Jesus began her labours on St. Ignatius’ Day and gave birth to God’s son on Christmas Eve, but that she told of it only on the next day. According to tradition, when bearing her first child, a young mother did not let others know of the birth on the same day; instead people were told about it only on the following day, when guests were invited into the home. Throughout the fasting period, Orthodox Bulgarians will avoid alcohol and animal products. ..."
• http://www.questbg.com/en/lifestyle/life/770-christmas-compared--"... The build up to Christmas happens over a two week period and the celebration itself is not as huge as it is in the West, possibly because during the Communist era, Christmas was not celebrated openly as a religious festival because Communist dogmas forbid the following of religion. Rather than enter into periods of frantic shopping and excess, many Bulgarians take life easy and many still choose to fast for 40 days in fact right up until midnight on Christmas Eve. Main retail outlets do add festive decorations to their stores and the growth in shopping malls is adding to the trend of pushing Christmas from a commercial angle, but the trend has not reached the excesses of the Western world and only small sections of a store are dedicated to Christmas. Likewise, last year on Bulgarian TV there were only three advertisements for Christmas; one from Coca Cola, another from a Rakiya company who were suggesting the purchase of their brand with your Christmas salad and a phone company offering an encyclopaedia to those who took out a contract during the Christmas period. The net result of this barren land of advertising was that children were not craving for all of the latest gizmos. Indeed most children including those of ex pats ask for only one main gift as opposed to a catalogue of demands. ..."
• http://www.geocities.com/nomer6/bulgaria.html--"... It all starts out on the 23rd of December! All the families go out to the shops and buy the food for the holiday! Please take into account that on the Christmas Eve, Bulgarians eat only vegiterian! The whole family goes out to buy the groceries and of course the Christmas Tree! ... The following day the family waks up early to decorate the rest of the house. Of course all the family don't remain free, they are all "bossed around" by the mother. She tells them with what they can help, setting the table, hoovering the house, cleaning the house, going out for last minute shopping, and helping her with the cooking. Everyone works hard the whole day and at about seven o'clock the closest relatives begin to arrive. The family is now ready - all dressed up formally, the table is set, the house is spottless and everyone is ready to have a dinner. The Christmas Tree is of course lit as well as some candles and the atmosphere of the living room is very warm and merry!!!! ..."
• http://www.santas.net/bulgarianchristmas.htm--"... A special diner, consisting of at least twelve dishes is prepared. All of them are without meat and each of them represents a separate month of the year. The dishes consist of beans, different kinds of nuts, dried plums, cakes, and the traditional Banitza. ..."
• http://christmas-world.freeservers.com/bulgaria.html--"... Straw is used for decorations to symbolize the straw in the stable at Bethlehem. Some place the straw on the table and cover it with a white cloth before placing the dinner plates on the table. ... As part of the (Christmas Eve) ritual, the father of the family moves through the house with incense while the family recites special prayers to drive away any evil spirits that may be lurking. Once the dining room is incensed, everyone takes their place at the table and no is supposed to stand up before the entire meal is finished. ... The Christmas Eve table is not cleared until the following morning. Once again, traditions vary in some areas regarding the reason. Some say that it is to insure that there will be plenty of food in the coming year, while others leave the food out for departed family members whose spirit may return. Still others leave the food on the table in case Joseph and Mary stop on their way to Bethlehem. ... It's traditional for young men, called Koledari, to go from house to house singing seasonal carols wishing for good luck and good health. They are rewarded with food and, sometimes, money. ..."
• http://www.geocities.com/nomer6/bulgaria.html--"... They go round the houses in the village or in the town from midnight till dawn. On their way, in front of the gate and in the house they sing specific ritual songs. The songs differ from one another according to the place they are sung and the person they are dedicated to. As a whole, these songs are ritual wishes for happiness in the family and rich crop in the farm. The first song usually begins with this verse: 'Get up, get up dear host!/We are singing for you!/We have come to visit you,/We are good guests for you, koledari!' ... In the morning the family wake up to find their presents underneath the Christmas Tree! Everyone opens their presents and thank SANTA :-) for the presents. They all have breakfast and call friends and relatives to wish them a MERRY CHRISTMAS and make an arangement to meet somewhere and have a snowball fight! In the evening everyone stays up late or goes to a Christmas Concert in the theater! ..."
• http://www.abvg.net/Traditions/Christmas/index.html--"... And we should mention in closing ... the Bulgarian greeting is 'Vesela Koleda,' Merry Christmas."

Bulgaria Month

Following the news of the day out of Bulgaria is not for the faint of heart ... Reuters' Irina Ivanova writes that "Bulgarians are set to punish the Socialists in July" and that "Bulgaria's average monthly salary of about 300 euros ($420) remains the lowest in the EU." Despite the country's poor economy--forecasted by the International Monetary Fund to bottom out this year--versatile Nick Iliev's Sofia Echo reporting indicates that "ATM skimming" is a growing industry.

Of course, following the news of yesterday is pretty grim, too. Check out the Bulgaria exhibit at the Global Museum on Communism, which launched yesterday. Its history section includes these two paragraphs about Bulgaria's "People's Courts," which show up again and again in the Collier's Encyclopedia Yearbook reports from the second half of the 1940s:

"... The next stage of the communist takeover began in December 1944, when the government installed special People’s Courts authorized to prosecute 'fascists.' Similar tribunals were established in every European state that was occupied by or collaborated with Nazi Germany; in Bulgaria, however, the purges were of a magnitude unseen elsewhere. In Hungary or Czechoslovakia individual members of parliaments and governments were indicted – whereas in Bulgaria the government put on trial all members of all governments and all parliaments between 1941 and 1944. Each one of these individuals was sentenced to death – 2800 death sentences overall – and the verdicts were carried out immediately. In contrast, People’s Courts in Hungary handed out 322 death sentences 176 of which were commuted.

"The term 'fascist' was applied to anyone who had opposed the communists in the past or might oppose them in the future. In addition to the judicial and extra-judicial murders, 'fascists' were subjected to imprisonment (the People’s Court sentenced to life imprisonment more than 2,000 defendants), deportations (5,000 families were sent into internal exile), and incarceration (by the end of 1945 approximately 10,000 people languished in concentration camps). ..."

Bulgaria Month, June 16

Here begins what is for me the most stunning sentence of Bulgaria Month proceedings thus far: European Social Survey (ESS) reports that more than half of Bulgarians feel unsafe to walk through their neighborhoods at night.

In other happy news of the day, 80 schools are closing, and 1,500 teachers are losing their jobs. And the first "Intercontinental Round" weekend of World League men's volleyball went badly for the Bulgarians.

Bulgaria Month, June 10

Dudaktan Kalbe and other Turkish soap operas are all the rage in Bulgaria.

Bulgaria Month, June 11

The Bulgarian education minister says literature classes will cover Bulgarian-to-Latin translation to help students text message in accordance with the country's new, state-supported Law on Transliteration dictionary.

In other news today, SETimes.com seems to be suggesting that an alleged organized-crime boss in southwestern Bulgaria might be trying to escape prosecution by getting elected in Kyustendil. The sister city Cocoa Beach, Fla.--home to more than 51,000 people--looks like a pretty place.

Bulgaria Month, June 13

Might women's volleyball be Bulgaria's sport ...?

Bulgaria appears to be emerging as the Western Balkans whip and banner toter within the European Union. Since joining the EU, Bulgaria has become a higher-revenue customer for Italy, and Italy is apparently going to in some way give Bulgaria free advertising as an Italian tourist destination.

Finally, the very-great-idea Heifer International says financial problems will keep it from launching projects in Bulgaria.