Category Archives: holidays

‘Tis the season for evolving…

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Here’s a collection of holiday items relating to Darwin and evolution that I’ve posted over the last 5 years or so…

Two holiday card options from Blag Hag:

Paleontologist Thomas Holtz penned “The Twelve Days of Darwin” for Darwin Day in 2009, but it seems appropriate for this time of year, too.

Colin Purrington has a Darwin ornament you can print out and fold then hang on your holiday tree:

Make a Charles Darwin Christmas ornament!

Tree from xkcd (a reader has pointed out that this cartoon is not about Darwin/evolution – I thought it was a phylogenetic Christmas tree – but rather a reference to mathematics – binary heap):

Tree

Some Darwin Santas:

Santa Darwin

Darwin Claus

Darwin-Santa

Happy Holidays from gf Newland

Snowman evolution, from John Kerschbaum (via Jay Hosler):

xmas2006snowman150dpiwJK

Evolving tree:

(D)evolution

chanukiah to christmas tree

Evolution of Santa:

The Heroes of Science ornament collection includes Darwin:

Heroes of Science: Set of 10 ornaments of your choice

Atheist Christmas Cards has a few of Darwin:

Darwin Atheist Christmas Cards Evolution of Tradition Secular Cards Humorous Atheist Snowman Christmas Cards

And finally, you could always just take a Darwin fish and place it on your tree:

Darwinmas

Happy St. Patrick’s Day

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Not much going on with us for St. Patrick’s Day. I went to Patrick’s preschool because a local herpetologist brought many of his reptiles to show the kids today (Steve’s Creature Feature). Will share some pictures later; it was a lot of fun. Appropriate for so many little kids to be wearing green when looking amazed at a lizards, snakes, and even an alligator. When I left the school (now at a coffee shop across the street waiting until he’s done), they were cutting out leprechaun ears!

Catherine is at work all day, so Patrick and I are going to relax at home and make some Irish Soda Bread scones.

And as always, this is a special day to remember my late grandfather, Patrick (whom my son is named after), whose parents came to Massachusetts from County Cavan, Ireland. He passed away in 2002. Here he is doing his husbandly duties back in, I think, the late 50s:

Patrick_Brady_helping_in_the_kitchen_in_Fort_Huachuca,_Az_

And since his favorite song was “Danny Boy,” I must share this version which I saw on Facebook today:

Per Grandpa Brady’s daughter’s request, here’s another version, by Eva Cassidy:

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Christmas on HMS Beagle

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hms beagle off the galapagos by john chancellor

HMS Beagle off the Galapagos, by John Chancellor

Charles Darwin spent Christmas day of 1831 in Devonport awaiting favourable weather for the departure of HMS Beagle. Darwin wrote in his diary for the voyage:

Christmas day is one of great importance to the men: the whole of it has been given up to revelry, at present there is not a sober man in the ship: King is obliged to perform duty of sentry, the last one sentinel came staggering below declaring he would no longer stand sentinel on duty, whereupon he is now in irons getting sober as fast as he can. — Wherever they may be, they claim Christmas day for themselves, & this they exclusively give up to drunkedness — that sole & never failing pleasure to which a sailor always looks forward to. —

The very next day, he recorded:

My thoughts most unpleasantly occupied with the flogging of several men for offences brought on by the indulgence granted them on Christmas day. —

For 1832, in Tierra del Fuego:

This being Christmas day, all duty is suspended, the seamen look forward to it as a great gala day; & from this reason we remained at anchor. —

1833, Port Desire:

Christmas After dining in the Gun-room, the officers & almost every man in the ship went on shore. — The Captain distributed prizes to the best runners, leapers, wrestlers. — These Olympic games were very amusing; it was quite delightful to see with what school-boy eagerness the seamen enjoyed them: old men with long beards & young men without any were playing like so many children. — certainly a much better way of passing Christmas day than the usual one, of every seaman getting as drunk as he possibly can. —

1834, Chonos. Arch: & Tres Montes:

Our Christmas day was not such a merry one as we had last year at Port Desire. — Between 30 & 40 miles of coast was surveyed & in the afternoon we found an excellent harbor. — Directly after anchoring we saw a man waving a shirt. A boat was sent & brought two men off. — They turned out to be N. American seamen, who from bad treatment had run away from their vessel when 70 miles from the land.

1835, New Zealand:

Christmas day. — In a few more days the fourth year of our absence from England will be completed. Our first Christmas day was spent at Plymouth; the second at St Martins Cove near Cape Horn; the third at Port Desire in Patagonia; the fourth at anchor in the peninsula of Cape Tres Montes; this fifth here, & the next I trust in Providence again in England. —

We attended Divine Service at P in the Chapel of Pahia; part of the Service was read in English & part in the New Zealand language.

For Christmas of 1836, Darwin had already returned to England. I’ll note that of all these recordings about Christmas while on the voyage, only the last one (“the fourth year of our abscence”) was included in the published Journal and remarks. 1832-1836, later retitled Journal of researches into the natural history and geology of the countries visited during the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle round the world, or, as it is generally known day, The Voyage of the Beagle. Perhaps references to the men aboard the Beagle getting drunk were kept out on purpose. In fact, any reference to drunkedness concerned the people, indigenous or otherwise, of areas Darwin traveled to. Would it be ungentleman-like of Darwin to share with his readers that British men got drunk and stupid?

That said (or asked), check out this phylogenetic Christmas tree Darwin sketched the year following his return to England:

Actually, credit goes to Allison Banks (Update 12/21/12: this no longer appears on her website).

Happy Holidays!

Happy Thanksgiving

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I am thankful for…

… Catherine making me a turkey last Friday night because she and Patrick are in California for the holiday.

… Patrick enjoying being outside with me, and sharing his curiosity.

… for my wife. Period. And all that she does, books or otherwise.

… for receiving good news about family health issues, and for being generally healthy myself. I could look like this:

Evolving Presents

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Giant Evolution Timeline

Giant Evolution Timeline

Among the Legos, Lincoln Logs, numerous books, new pajamas, and a wooden train set for Patrick on Christmas morning was a Giant Evolution Timeline playmat, gifted to us from Kate at Charlie’s Playhouse. I have been unwell since Christmas day with the flu, so there has not been much time for playing and learning, but we will open this up soon and explore “600 million years of evolution, 67 bizarre ancient creatures, a bunch of great activities and tons of fun!”

Thank you, Kate, for the wonderful holiday present!

[NON-DARWIN POST] Reading in Montana @ Amazon.com

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