The Good Oil: Edition 11

Greetings everyone, and welcome back to The Good Oil!   

If this is the first time you’re receiving this newsletter, my name’s Adrian Crawford and I’m a content strategist here at CBDistillery® as well as a native Australian, the father of a 3-year-old girl and an enthusiast of all things hemp-derived. 

This month you’ll meet the newest member of our Wellness Board, Liz Josefsberg and, since we’re just a couple days away from the 25th, we’ll take a look at how folks in other countries around the world celebrate Christmas. 

Let’s dive in, shall we? 

Expert’s Corner 

In this space over the past year or so, we’ve heard from a number of experts in their fields. This time we’re joined by nutrition and lifestyle expert Liz Josefsberg, who is also a member of the CBDistillery® Wellness Board. We asked her for some tips on how to keep our wellness routines on track without having to sacrifice some needed holiday cheer. 

Tip 1: Find your “white spaces.” 

If you take the time to sit down and look ahead at any given week, even a busy holiday week, you will find there are plenty of meals and space for movement, stress relief and exercise. Refuse to believe you can’t find your “space”. Planning just a small amount Is key.

Tip 2: Exercise needs a plan. 

This is a busy time of year. Take the time to sit down with your planner each week to plan in your exercise. Be non-negotiable about exercise at this time of year. Not for calorie burn, for stress relief and “me” time.

Tip 3: Limit your alcohol. 

There is a lot of it around this month. At every party, dinner and event, drink a water or seltzer as your first drink and then drink a water or seltzer in between every alcoholic beverage you choose. This simple tip will cut your consumption in half or less, but you will still feel like you got to have your drinks! water to start and in between each drink.

Check out Liz's nutrition and lifestyle program Target100 here, and keep an eye on our blog for an introduction to Liz in the New Year!

Christmas Around the World

One question I get asked a lot here as an Australian expat is “so you have Christmas in the SUMMER?” The alternative version is “wait so if the seasons are reversed, do you celebrate Christmas in July?”  

The answer to the latter is no, we still celebrate on December 25. As far as the first question goes, yes Christmas does fall in the summertime. So with that curiosity in mind, I thought this month I’d take us around the world for a look at how the holiday is celebrated outside of North America. 

Australia

I didn't have to do any research for this one. Due to the summer heat, heavy and hot meals like turkey aren't on the menu Down Under, because who wants to spend all that time in a hot kitchen? Cold dishes like fresh seafood and cold sliced ham are much more climate-appropriate and even easier to pack into a picnic basket to hit the beach, where you might enjoy a friendly (or fierce) game of cricket, the national pastime. The day after Christmas is known as Boxing Day, which not only kicks off a Black Friday-esque period of retail bargains but is also one of the most important days on the Australian sporting calendar, with the Boxing Day Test cricket match and the Sydney to Hobart yacht race both getting underway on Dec. 26.

Ethiopia 

Not every culture celebrates on the same calendar. On the Ethiopian calendar, Christmas falls on the 29th of Tahsas, or January 7 on our Gregorian calendar. The celebration, known as Ganna or Genna, doesn't involve gift-giving the way our Christmas does -- those who observe do so with church services, a candlelit procession, traditional foods and games.

Japan 

Japan doesn't have a huge population of Christians, so the concept of Christmas is still fairly new there -- a few decades old at best. Christmas Eve is actually considered something of a romantic holiday, and couples celebrate like they would on Valentine's Day in other countries, by exchanging gifts or going out for a meal. Another tradition observed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in Japan is a feast of fried chicken, which caught on due to (what else?) a marketing campaign in the 1970s by -- you guessed it -- KFC.

Singapore 

Move over, Clark Griswold -- Singapore might have you beat for Christmas lights. The country's famous Orchard Road district spares no expense at Christmastime with its incredible displays of decorations and lights.

Greece 

Your family might put up a Christmas tree, but how often have you decorated a Christmas...boat? In 19th century Greece, the first Christmas tree was erected next to a large decorated ship, which was traditionally used to celebrate sailors returning from sea. The unlikely pairing of tree and boat caught on, and now major cities in Greece like Athens still decorate a tree alongside an illuminated boat.

The Last Drops 

Well that’s it for this edition of The Good Oil! Thanks for joining me once again, and I hope your final days of 2023 are a blast! 

-- Adrian