#xinjiang province

[pangeen]

“ Xiata night “ // Jinyi He

[kemetic-dreams]

Where did blue eyes and blonde hair come from?

Blue eyes originated in West Asia 42 000 years ago and was taken into Europe by Middle Eastern paleolithic hunter gatherers who gave rise to the later Mesolithic Western hunter gatherers like Cheddar Man.

Blonde hair originated from the Ancient Northern Eurasians (ANE) 18 000 years ago. They were also West Asian in origin. Light skin originated in West Asia 28 000 years ago. None of these physical traits originated in Europe.

The blonde hair Eastern hunter gatherers who originated from the ANE, migrated into Northern Europe during the Mesolithic. There they encountered the blue, green eyed dark skin Western hunter gatherers and interbred with them.

Map of the genes for light, intermediate, dark skin and light hair, eyes found among ancient remains in Europe and West Asia:

European Western hunter gatherer Cheddar Man with his light eyes:

Mesolithic Scandinavian hunter gatherer from Motala Sweden was a mix of Western hunter gatherers and Eastern hunter gatherers. Some carried the genes for blonde hair, light skin and light eyes:

The Neolithic Middle Eastern Farmers from Anatolia also had light skin and took the genes for light skin into Europe. They had dark hair and eyes and resembled modern Southern Europeans who still carry majority DNA from this migration.

The Indo-Europeans who were a mix of Eastern hunter gatherers (and therefore carried the genes for blonde hair)and West Asians migrated throughout Europe, parts of the Middle East, Central and South Asia all the way to China:

Tarim mummies - Wikipedia

Blonde Indo-European mummy from Xinjiang Province, China:

[sitting-on-me-bum]

“Alone 2” Location: Kumtag Desert, Xinjiang Province, China

By Jade Lv

2021 Landscape Photographer Of The Year

[tomatoluvr69]

I actually can’t believe it’s been snowing all day here I’m getting too southpilled for my own good. We had like 3 snows down there. It’s April. I can’t live like this. I’m sposed to be laying garden beds and cracking open an ice cold off brand lacroix after a long work day. I shouldn’t need my damn parka and wool hat

[blueiscoool]

Stunning Tang Dynasty Murals in a Tomb Unearthed in China

A Tang dynasty tomb unearthed in China dates from the 700s, and the murals on its walls give an unprecedented view of daily life at the time.

Archaeologists in northern China have unearthed a centuries-old tomb decorated with stunning murals portraying daily life during the Tang dynasty, which ruled much of central and eastern China from A.D. 618 to 907.

The tomb includes never-before-seen depictions of daily life, including men threshing grain and making noodles.

One of the murals also depicts what appears to be a "Westerner" with blond hair and a beard who probably hailed from Central Asia, Victor Xiong, a professor of history at Western Michigan University who wasn't involved in the discovery, said in an email.

The tomb was discovered in 2018 during roadwork on a hillside on the outskirts of Taiyuan, the capital of China's northern Shanxi province, but archaeologists only reported on the completed excavations last month.

According to an article from China’s government-owned news agency Xinhua, an epitaph in the tomb states it was the burial place of a 63-year-old man who died in 736, as well as his wife.

The tomb consists of a single brick chamber, a door and a corridor. Scenes from life during the Tang dynasty adorn the walls of the tomb, the door, the corridor, and the platform on which the coffin was placed. The domed ceiling of the chamber is painted with what may be a dragon and phoenix.

Tomb guardians

Several figures painted near the door represent the "doorkeepers" or guardians of the tomb; they are wearing yellow robes and some have swords at their waists, according to Xinhua. Other murals portray natural landscapes, as well as men threshing grain, women grinding flour, men making noodles and women fetching water from a well.

They are rendered in the traditional "figure under a tree" style that was popular in the Shanxi region at the time, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported. As its name suggests, the style features people carrying out activities underneath beautifully depicted trees.

Many of the figures in the murals look like the same Chinese man and woman, and archaeologists think they may have been the two people buried in the tomb. The woman, in one scene, is dressed in a colorful gown and is leading four horses, alongside a bearded man holding a whip.

Other murals show mountains, trees and camels, and the series of paintings around the coffin may represent the Chinese tomb owner at different stages of his life, Xinhua reported.

Traditional style

The murals in the tomb appear to be well preserved. "The most familiar theme depicted in these murals is that of human figures under trees — a tradition that harks back to the Han dynasty [206 B.C. to A.D. 220]," Xiong said. Similar murals had been found in China's Xinjiang, Shandong, Shaanxi and Gansu regions.

He noted that the blond "non-Han" man leading camels has distinctive clothing. "Based on his facial features and outfit style, we can identify him as a 'Westerner,' likely a Sogdian from Central Asia," Xiong said. (The Sogdians were a trading people along the Silk Road routes between Asia and Europe at the time, living mainly in what are now Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

He added that many of the murals gave "never-before-seen" representations of daily chores and labor during the Tang dynasty.

By Tom Metcalfe.

[julaibib]

A Uyghur Muslim prayer inside Id Kah Mosque, Kashgar,Xinjiang Province, China

[buried-in-stardust]

绛州鼓乐 (jiang4zhou1gu3yue4; Jiangzhou drum music) is a traditional music of Xinjiang county, Shanxi province (Jiangzhou is an old name of the county). It has a history extending before the Qin Dynasty, and was originally performed locally for sacrifices, celebrations, marriages, temple gatherings, and folk entertainment. The music involves many types of drums and various techniques.

The woman in the video is performing the piece 滚核桃 (gun3he2tao2; Rolling Walnuts). It tells a story of autumn harvest, of when farmers dry walnuts on rooftops and the wind blows the walnuts, causing them to fall and make noise from tumbling along the roof and hitting the ground. You can find an example of what the piece sounds like with a whole ensemble here.

[jewish-sideblog]

That first photo is of Xinjiang’s capital city, Ürümqi, which is 75% Han Chinese. You’re an absolute fool if you think Uyghurs are living in those high rise luxury apartment buildings. This would be like posting a photo of Nazis at their fancy vacation homes in Schwanenwerder and insisting it was proof that the Shoah wasn’t happening.

This is all really easily googleable btw.

This subreddit is a cesspool of garbage.

It's a popular leftist social media hub and it is taken over by deranged shit like this. Posting war footage which by the way, Ukraine has the same type of footage you can find lol so does Syria, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Iraq. War is not genocide.

And on top of that they clearly are implying that the Uyghurs aren't being genocided, once again not comprehending what genocide is, which is not relative to how many died or how much destruction was caused.

Genocide is determined by genocidal intent. And the Chinese government very much intends to erase the Uyghurs. Say you oppose genocide while denying an actual genocide ongoing in front of you. Lunatic behavior.

[mengjue]

What's Happening in China? The November 2022 Protests

Hello! I know that there's so much going on in the world right now, so not everyone may be aware of what is happening in China right now. I thought that I would try to write a brief explainer, because the current wave of protests is truly unprecedented in the past 30+ years, and there is a lot of fear over what may happen next. For context, I'm doing this as someone who has a PhD in Asian Studies specialising in contemporary Chinese politics, so I don't know everything but I have researched China for many years.

I'll post some decent links at the end along with some China specialists & journalists I follow on Twitter (yeah I know, but it's still the place for the stuff at the moment). Here are the bullet points for those who just want a brief update:

Xi Jinping's government is still enacting a strict Zero Covid policy enforced by state surveillance and strict lockdowns.

On 24 November a fire in an apartment in Urumqi, Xinjiang province, killed 10. Many blamed strict quarantine policies on preventing evacuation.

Protests followed and have since spread nationwide.

Protesters are taking steps not seen since Tiananmen in 1989, including public chants for Xi and the CCP to step down.

Everyone is currently unsure how the government will respond.

More in-depth discussion and links under the cut:

First a caveat: this is my own analysis/explanation as a Chinese politics specialist. I will include links to read further from other experts and journalists. Also, this will be quite long, so sorry about that!

China's (aka Xi Jinping's) Covid Policy:

The first and most important context: Xi has committed to a strict Zero Covid policy in China, and has refused to change course. Now, other countries have had similar approaches and they undoubtedly saved lives - I was fortunate to live in New Zealand until this year, and Prime Minister Ardern's Zero Covid approach in 2020-2021 helped protect many. The difference is in the style/scope of enforcement, the use of vaccines, and the variant at play. China has stepped up its control on public life over the past 10 years, and has used this to enforce strict quarantine measures without full regard to the impact on people's lives - stories of people not getting food were common. Quarantine has also become a feared situation, as China moves people to facilities often little better than prisons and allegedly without much protection from catching Covid within. A personal friend in Zhengzhou went through national, then provincial, then local quarantines when moving back from NZ, and she has since done her best to avoid going back for her own mental and physical health. Xi has also committed China to its two home-grown vaccines, Sinovac and Sinopharm, both of which have low/dubious efficacy and are considered ineffective against new variants. Finally, with delta and then omicron most of the Zero-Covid countries have modified their approach due to the inability to maintain zero cases. China remains the only country still enacting whole-city eradication lockdowns, and they have become more frequent to the point that several are happening at any given time. The result is a population that is incredibly frustrated and losing hope amidst endless lockdowns and perceived ineffectiveness to address the pandemic.

Other Issues at Play:

Beyond the Covid situation, China is also wrestling with the continued slowdown in its economic growth. While its economic rise and annual GDP growth was nigh meteoric from the 80s to the 00s, it has been slowing over the past ten years, and the government is attempting to manage the transition away from an export-oriented economy to a more fully developed one. However, things are still uncertain, and Covid has taken its toll as it has elsewhere the past couple of years. Youth unemployment in particular is reaching new highs at around 20%, and Xi largely ignored this in his speech at the Party Congress in October (where he entered an unprecedented third term). As a result of the perceived uselessness of China's harsh work culture and its failure to result in a better life, many young Chinese have been promoting 躺平 tǎng píng or "lying flat", aka doing the bare minimum just to get by (similar to the English "quiet quitting"). The combination of economic issues and a botched Covid approach is important, as these directly affect the lives of ordinary middle-class Chinese, and historical it has only been when this occurred that mass movements really took off. The most famous, Tiananmen in 1989, followed China's opening up economic reforms and the dismantling of many economic safety nets allowing for growing inequality. While movements in China often grow to include other topics, having a foundation in something negatively impacting the average Han Chinese person's livelihood is important.

The Spark - 24 Nov 2022 Urumqi Apartment Fire:

The current protests were sparked by a recent fire that broke out in a flat in Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang province. (This is the same Xinjiang that is home to the Uighur people, against whom China has enacted a campaign of genocide and cultural destruction.) The fire occurred in the evening and resulted in 10 deaths, which many online blamed on the strict lockdown measures imposed by officials, who prevented people from leaving their homes. It even resulted in a rare public apology by city officials. However, with anger being so high nationwide, in addition to many smaller protests that have occurred over the past two years, this incident has ignited a nationwide movement.

The Protests and Their Significance:

The protests that have broken out over the past couple of days representing the largest and most significant challenge to the leadership since the 1989 Tiananmen movement. Similar to that movement, these protests have occurred at universities and cities across the country, with many students taking part openly. This scale is almost unseen in China, particularly for an anti-government protest. Other than Tiananmen in 1989, the most widespread movements that have occurred have been incidents such as the protest of the 1999 Belgrade bombings or the 2005 and then 2012 anti-Japanese protests, all of which were about anger toward a foreign country.

Beyond the scale the protests are hugely significant in their message as well. Protesters are publicly shouting the phrases "习近平下台 Xí Jìnpíng xiàtái!" and "共产党 下台 Gòngchǎndǎng xiàtái!", which mean "Xi Jinping, step down/resign!" and "CCP, step down/resign!" respectively. To shout a direct slogan for the government to resign is unheard of in China, particularly as Xi has tightened control of civil society. And people are doing this across the country in the thousands, openly and in front of police. This is a major challenge for a leader and party who have prioritised regime stability as a core interest for the majority of their history.

Looking Ahead:

Right now, as of 15:00 Australian Eastern time on Monday, 28 November 2022, the protests are only in their first couple of days and we are unsure as to how the government will respond. Police have already been seen beating protesters and journalists and dragging them away in vehicles. However, in many cases the protests have largely been monitored by police but still permitted to occur. There seems to be uncertainty as to how they want to respond just yet, and as such no unified approach.

Many potential outcomes exist, and I would warn everyone to be careful in overplaying what can be achieved. Most experts I have read are not really expecting this to result in Xi's resignation or regime change - these things are possible, surely, but it is a major task to achieve and the unity & scale of the protest movement remains to be fully seen. The government may retaliate with a hard crackdown as it has done with Tiananmen and other protests throughout the years. It may also quietly revamp some policies without publicly admitting a change in order to both pacify protesters and save face. The CCP often uses mixed tactics, both coopting and suppressing protest movements over the years depending on the situation. Changing from Zero Covid may prove more challenging though, given how much Xi has staked his political reputation on enforcing it.

What is important for everyone online, especially those of us abroad, is to watch out for the misinformation campaign the government will launch to counter these protests. Already twitter is reportedly seeing hundreds of Chinese bot accounts mass post escort advertisements using various city names in order to drown out protest results in the site's search engine. Chinese officials will also likely invoke the standard narrative of Western influence and CIA tactics as the reason behind the protests, as they did during the Hong Kong protests.

Finally, there will be a new surge of misinformation and bad takes from tankies, or leftists who uncritically support authoritarian regimes so long as they are anti-US. An infamous one, the Qiao Collective, has already worked to shift the narrative away from the protests and onto debating the merits of Zero Covid. This is largely similar to pro-Putin leftists attempting the justify his invasion of Ukraine. Always remember that the same values that you use to criticise Western countries should be used to criticise authoritarian regimes as well - opposing US militarism and racism, for example, is not incompatible with opposing China's acts of genocide and state suppression. If you want further info (and some good sardonic humour) on the absurd takes and misinfo from pro-China tankies, I would recommend checking out Brian Hioe in the links below.

Finally, keep in mind that this is a grass-roots protest made by people in China, who are putting their own lives at risk to demonstrate openly like this. There have already been so many acts of bravery by those who just want a better future for themselves and their country, and it is belittling and disingenuous to wave away everything they are doing as being just a "Western front" or a few "fringe extremists".

Links:

BBC live coverage page with links to analysis and articles

ABC (Australia) analysis

South China Morning Post analysis

Experts & Journalists to Check Out:

Brian Hioe - Journalist & China writer, New Bloom Magazine

Bonnie Glaser - China scholar, German Marshall Fund

Vicky Xu - Journalist & researcher, Australian Strategic Policy Institute

Stephen McDonnell - Journalist, BBC

M Taylor Fravel - China scholar, MIT

New Zealand Contemporary China Research Centre - NZ's hub of China scholarship (I was fortunate to attend their conferences during my PhD there, they do great work!)

If you've reached the end I hope this helps with understanding what's going on right now! A lot of us who know friends and whanau in China are worried for their safety, so please spread the word and let's hope that there is something of a positive outcome ahead.

[aswiya]

Three Tajik teenage girls chat with each other in Tashkurgan. Pamir Mountains, Xinjiang Province, People's Republic of China.

Earl & Nazima Kowall

[safije]

Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Province, China 1937

[peashooter85]

Brazier used to burn cannabis, uncovered from a 2500 year old tomb in the Xinjiang province of China.

[moonkattinator]

recently i have been seeing people posting videos of traditional uyghur/kazakh/kyrgyz music and dances but then the caption will say “traditional music of chinese province xinjiang” and i just think it’s so dark sided like if you’re going to celebrate the culture of these people you HAVE to say what their ethnicity is, because they are NOT chinese and so much of uyghur culture and language especially is being erased right now.

[mariacallous]

(New York) – The Chinese government is significantly reducing the number of mosques in Ningxia and Gansu provinces under its “mosque consolidation” policy, in violation of the right to freedom of religion, Human Rights Watch said today.

Chinese authorities have decommissioned, closed down, demolished, and converted mosques for secular use as part of the government’s efforts to restrict the practice of Islam. The authorities have removed Islamic architectural features, such as domes and minarets, from many other mosques.

“The Chinese government is not ‘consolidating’ mosques as it claims, but closing many down in violation of religious freedom,” said Maya Wang, acting China director at Human Rights Watch. “The Chinese government’s closure, destruction, and repurposing of mosques is part of a systematic effort to curb the practice of Islam in China.”

Chinese law allows people to practice only in officially approved places of worship of officially approved religions, and authorities retain strict control over houses of worship. Since 2016, when President Xi Jinping called for the “Sinicization” of religions, which aims to ensure that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is the arbiter of people’s spiritual life, state control over religion has strengthened.

“Mosque consolidation”[1] is referenced in an April 2018 central CCP document that outlines a multi-pronged national strategy to “Sinicize” Islam, or make it more Chinese.[2] It instructs the CCP and state agencies throughout the country to “strengthen the standardized management of the construction, renovation and expansion of Islamic religious venues.” The document notes that a central principle behind such “management” is that “there should not be newly built Islamic venues,” in order to “compress the overall number [of mosques].” While there can be exceptions, the document states that “there should be more [mosque] demolitions than constructions.”

Ma Ju, a US-based Hui Muslim activist who has been in contact with Hui in China affected by the policy, told Human Rights Watch that it is part of efforts to “transform” (转化) devout Muslims in order to redirect their loyalty toward the CCP: “Government officials first approach those Communist Party members who are also Hui Muslims … then they move onto ‘persuading’ students and governmental workers, who are threatened with school probation and unemployment if they continue with their faith.”

Available government documents suggest that the Chinese government has been “consolidating” mosques in Ningxia and Gansu provinces, which have the highest Muslim populations in China after Xinjiang.[3] Since 2017, Chinese authorities in Xinjiang have damaged or destroyed two-thirds of the region’s mosques, according to the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI). About half have been demolished outright.

In Ningxia, Human Rights Watch has verified and analyzed videos and pictures posted online by Hui Muslims and used satellite imagery to corroborate them in order to examine the policy’s implementation in two villages. Of these villages’ seven mosques, four had significant destruction: three main buildings had been razed and the ablution hall of one was damaged inside. The authorities have removed the domes and minarets of all seven mosques.

Human Rights Watch is unable to determine the number of mosques shuttered or repurposed throughout Ningxia and Gansu, as official documents do not give precise details. In a forthcoming research report, two scholars on Hui Muslims, Hannah Theaker and David Stroup, have estimated that one-third of mosques in Ningxia have been closed since 2020.[4] A March 2021 Radio Free Asia report estimated that between 400 and 500 mosques faced closure in Ningxia, which had 4,203 mosques as of 2014.

The Chinese government claims that the mosque consolidation policy aims to “reduce the economic burden” on Muslims, especially those who live in impoverished and rural areas.[5] Actions against mosques often take place as the Chinese government relocates villagers from these areas, consolidating several villages into one.[6] The government also claims that as different Islamic denominations share the same venues, they learn to become more “unified” and “harmonious.”

Some Hui Muslims have publicly opposed the policy, despite government censorship. In January 2021, Ningxia officials indicted five Hui for “creating disturbances” after they led 20 people to oppose the policy at the village Party chief’s office. People have also protested mosque closures and demolitions, as well as the removal of domes and minarets in Ningxia, Gansu and other Hui Muslim regions, such as Qinghai and Yunnan.[7]

Ma Ju told Human Rights Watch that mosque consolidation aims to dissuade people from going to pray at mosques: “After removing the minarets and domes, local governments would start removing things that are essential to religious activities such as ablution halls and preacher’s podiums.”

Ma Ju said the government has sought to discourage religious practice: “When people stop going, they [the authorities] would then use that as an excuse to close the mosques.” He said that the authorities install surveillance systems in the remaining “Sinicized” mosques: “After the mosques are converted, the local governments strictly monitor attendance at the remaining mosques,” he said. “In the beginning, they would check the attendees’ national identification cards. Then they install surveillance cameras … to flag [those prohibited from mosques, including] Communist Party members or children.”

Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights provides that “[e]veryone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.” One has the right to manifest their “religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.” The Chinese government should reverse its Sinicization campaign on religions, review and repeal laws and regulations that restrict the right to freedom of religion, and release those detained for peaceful criticism or protest against such restrictive policies.

Foreign governments, particularly member countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), should press the Chinese government to cease their mosque consolidation policy and the broader Sinicization campaign.

“The Chinese government’s policies of Sinicization show a blanket disregard for freedom of religion not only of all Muslims in China, but all religious communities in the country,” Wang said. “Governments concerned about religious freedom should raise these issues directly with the Chinese government and at the United Nations and other international forums.”

[sifu-kisu]

In reality - you really only need to know a single routine. - as long as it addresses the 4 ranges of combat.

Courtesy of Sifu Eric Hargrove

(Sifu Kisu edit)

"Ten Routine Spring Leg"

particularly its positions, skills and exertion of force, which helped me

greatly to further replenish and raise my skills. Due to the instructions given

by the famous masters and through twenty-odd years' practice of my own

while serving the Shaanxi Provincial Wushu Team as a coach, I have realized

that the

"Ten Routine Spring Leg" requires a solid technique with focused

force exertion and rhythmic body coordination. It is a comprehensive

traditional boxing which consists of body work, steps, handwork and foot-

work, together with exertion of force, used either in attacking or in defense.

Indebted to my teachers for their earnest instructions and because of the

persistent practice for several decades by my own, I have accomplished

certain results, which I am writing in this book for reference for the Wushu

lovers.

The Resume of the "Ten

Routine Spring Leg

The "Ten Routine Spring Leg" is a traditional Chinese martial art with a

long history. It was originally one of five major sections in the Northern

school: In ancient China, many pugilists were specialized in this skill, which

spread Far and wide all over China, particularly in Henan, Hebei, Shangung

and Shaanxi provinces, as well as in some overseas lands.

The "Ten Routine Spring Leg" is one of the most favourite sports of the

Hui nationality in our country. As a Chinese Wushu proverb goes:

"From Beijing to Nanjing, the best players of Spring Leg come from the Islam (Hui religion)."

Therefore, some people call it "Huihui Spring Leg"

The founder of the "Ten Routine Spring Leg" was Chashangyir, used to be called

Chamir (1568-1644), a Hui native of Xinjiang, Northwest China in the Ming

Dynasty (1368-1644 AD.).

In the prime of his life, it happened to be the years when the Chinese coast in the Fukien and Zhejiang provinces was harassed by the Japanese pirates. The rulers of the Ming Dynasty massed their troops to resist the enemy. Chamir joined the army and went down to

the south. But as the transport at that time was so poor the troops had to

walk such a long way to the southeast in very harsh conditions. While

climbing mountains and crossing rivers, Chamir contracted bad colds and

was laid up before he could reach the front. He was left behind to

recuperate in a mountain village in Guanxian County, Shangtung Province.

After a few months' treatment he was fully recovered. It was autumn, just

the time when the local peasants finished their harvest and started practising

riding and shooting on their threshing ground. Having seen this, Chamir said

to himself: the village people had looked after me, a stranger from afar, with

meticulous care, shouldn't I do something useful to repay their kindness?

Thereupon, he taught the villagers the "Spring Leg"

and the "Ten Routine Boxing", which had been devised and performed by himself for many years.

These skills were warmly welcomed by the country folk. Thereafter, more

and more people learned this boxing and it spread far and side. Later,

people named the "Ten Routine Boxing" as "Chaquan"',

taking the tirs character "Cha" in Chamir's name. The boxing originally consisted of 28

routines which were put in alphabetical order, according to the Arabic

language which were then commonly used by the Hui nationality. Later, the

28 routines were synthesized into "Ten Routine Spring Leg". So this is the

origin of the "Chaquan" and "Ten Routine Spring Leg"

and it also explains why the birthplace of the "Ten Routine Spring Leg" is Guanxian County, Liaocheng, Shangtung Province.

[shoku-and-awe]

Happy New Year, everyone, and a happy 22nd and final day on the advent calendar of my beloved THE LATEST LITERACY WALLCHART FOR CHILDREN. What a long, strange trip it's been! Let's jump right in, shall we?

The other shoe has dropped! And with some regional Chinese knowledge I might never have encountered otherwise!

To be embarrassingly honest, I have vaguely imagined that someday, I will meet someone from Xinjiang and they won't expect me to have heard of it, but I will ask them about the famed sweet grapes and they will be surprised and pleased that I know this about their home province. And before you ask—yes, actually, I did have the formative experience of meeting an Eritrean who was shocked when I knew where their country was and said that no one ever had before(??), a high that I am sure that my neurotic, pedantic, acceptance-euphoric ass will be chasing for the rest of my natural life.

Anyway. I really enjoyed going on this journey with you all. Thank you for sharing the joy of one of my prized possessions, something that I would endanger myself to save in a fire. Happy 2024, I love all of you and I hope that joy and whimsy and trivial facts will live on in your hearts this year. The advent calendar is ended; go forth in peace to love and serve the fruits.