It takes place on the 15th of November each year,and it\’s common on this day for boys aged three and five and girls aged three and seven to visit Buddhist shrines or a Christian church often dressed in a kimono. Along time ago in Japan,the survival rate for children between infancy and adulthood was extremely low,and so it is said that this event started as a way to celebrate children reaching this stage in their development.

It is also common to eat \”chitoseame\”at Shichi-go-san.they are long thin candy sticks divided into red and white colors,and are put in a long made up bag with a printed design,such as pine,bamboo and plum blossom tree design,with also a crane and a tortoise color print,the bags,they are quite colorful.Chitose means a thousand years,candy stick gifts are a wish that the children will grow soundly and live a long healthy life.

Although some may wear western style clothing,most children will wear traditional Japanese clothing when visiting the shrine or churches.Therefore many families who have commemorative photos taken at a studio,as well as at the shrines and churches.The studio\’s are extremely busy at this time of the year.

Shichi-go-san originally included various rites of passage:

Three year-old boys and girls were permitted to begin growing their hair long;boys aged five begin wearing a hakama,a long pleated skirt-like garment worn below the waist;and seven-year-old girls were given an obi,a broad sash,instead of a rope,to tie their Komono.

Moreover,the ages of three, five and seven have come to be celebrated because odd numbers were considered auspicious in Japan.

Hank F. Miller Jr.

Warm Regards from Kitakyushu,City, Japan

Note: Hank is a former resident of Gloucester City NJ who now lives in Japan.

George Carlin\’s Views on Aging

Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we\’re kids? If you\’re less than 10 years old, you\’re so excited about aging that you think in fractions. \’How old are you?\’ \’I\’m four and a half!\’ You\’re never thirty-six and a half. You\’re four and a half, going on five! That\’s the key.
You get into your teens, now they can\’t hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead.

\’How old are you?\’ \’I\’m gonna be 16!\’ You could be 13, but hey, you\’re gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life! You become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony. YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!!

But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There\’s no fun now, you\’re Just a sour-dumpling. What\’s wrong? What\’s changed?

You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you\’re PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it\’s all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50, and your dreams are gone…But! wait!! ! You MAKE it to 60. You didn\’t think you would!
So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50, and make it to 60.

You\’ve built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that, it\’s a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday! You get into your 80\’s, and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30; you REACH bedtime. And it doesn\’t end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; \’I Was JUST 92.\’
Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. \’I\’m 100 and a half!\’
May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!

HOW TO STAY YOUNG
1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay them.
2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.
3.Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever, even ham radio. Never let the brain idle. \’An idle mind is the devil\’s workshop.\’ And the devil\’s family name is Alzheimer\’s.
4. Enjoy the simple things.
5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.
6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves Be ALIVE while you are alive.
7. Surround yourself with what you love , whether it\’s family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.
8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.
9. Don\’t take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country, but NOT to where the guilt is.
10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.
AND, ALWAYS REMEMBER:
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. And, if you don\’t send this to at least 8 people – who cares? But do share this with someone. We all need to live life to its fullest each day!!

submitted by Dolores R.

Our cookie drives for the troops for the holiday season were a huge success. We received many thank you letters from the troops for the cookies and they really appreciate the homemade goodies and greeting cards. Therefore, we are doing another cookie drive this year.

On Saturday, November 14, 2009, we will be accepting homemade cookies and holiday greeting cards to send to our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The drop off place will be:

1301 Laurel Oak Road, Voorhees, New Jersey 08043

The time of the event is 11am-5pm.

Relatives and friends are kindly invited to attend his Prayers of Committal officiated by Pastor Ronald W. Tucker on Tuesday, 10 am at Land of Canaan Cemetery, 678 South Fairview Road, Elk Township.

The diocese decided to keep St. Mary School, the oldest one in the diocese, open. Dawn Burkhardt has spearheaded major fund-raising projects, including the annual Fund Drive, to keep St. Mary School open and vibrant.

\”This publication is full of information that fire officials and households around the state can use to help make their communities and properties safer,\” said DCA Acting Commissioner Charles A. Richman. \”We commend the participating fire departments that gathered and submitted data about fire incidents. The report would not be possible without their help and hard work.\”

Citing the publication, State Fire Marshal and Division of Fire Safety Director Lawrence Petrillo reported that two firefighters died in the line of duty and 83 civilians lost their lives as a result of fire in 2008. Nearly 500 civilians and almost double that number of firefighters sustained injuries. More than 77 percent of the 83 civilian fatalities occurred in residential occupancies.

\”In 2008, there were more than 10,000 fires reported in one or two-family dwellings. Some of the most common causes of fire include ignition of clothing dryers, water heater units, power cords, and fireplaces, chimneys and furnaces,\” said Director Petrillo. \”By far, however, household dryers and cooking were the most frequent causes of residential fires.\”