萬聖夜與諸聖節

GCIOSGF Newsletter 會訊:

What troubles us is not what we don't know, but what we think we know, but which is not actually true.

講講很多人可能搞錯了的10月31的真正含義，它叫Halloween準確翻譯叫 「萬聖夜」，這好比華人的農曆7月及鬼月）Halloween原拼為Hallowe’en。 hallow=holy ,een =even 是夜晚的古語 evening，直譯為神聖的夜晚 。11月1日是All Saints' Day 翻譯成「諸聖節」，這是兩個不同的節日，諸聖節是凱爾特人的新年或一年的開端的節日就好比我們在農曆的新年子夜（12點）會新年倒數一樣。所以「萬聖夜」請別翻成「萬聖節」是鬼魂亂逛的夜晚，八字重的人玩吧！八字輕的最好躲在家裡。而11月1日的諸聖節倒是可以好好玩的，就像華人的新年！

萬聖夜（Halloween）固定於每年的 10 月 31 日晚間慶祝；萬聖節（All Saints' Day）」其實是指隔天 11 月 1 日的諸聖節。 

現代人普遍將這兩者通稱為萬聖節，並演變成一個充滿變裝狂歡、不給糖就搗蛋（Trick or Treat）的全球性趣味節日。 

🎃 萬聖節的由來與習俗

• 薩溫節起源： 萬聖節最早可追溯至 2000 多年前凱爾特人的傳統節日「薩溫節」（Samhain）。他們相信在 10 月 31 日這天，陽間與陰間的界線會變得模糊，逝者與惡靈會返回人間。 
• 扮裝驅鬼： 為了不被惡靈認出或抓走，凱爾特人會戴上可怕的面具或換上奇裝異服，藉此「偽裝自己」來嚇跑鬼魂，這就是現代萬聖節變裝派對的由來。 
• 南瓜燈（傑克燈籠）： 傳說起源於愛爾蘭的一個吝嗇鬼「傑克（Jack）」，他因為戲弄惡魔而無法進入天堂與地獄，只能提著挖空的白蘿蔔（內放炭火）在人間遊蕩。這項傳統傳到美洲後，人們發現南瓜更容易雕刻，因而演變成今日最具代表性的南瓜燈。 
• 不給糖就搗蛋（Trick or Treat）： 小孩會穿上變裝服飾，挨家挨戶敲門討糖果。這項習俗源自歐洲中世紀，當時窮人會挨家挨戶為死者祈禱，以換取稱為「靈魂糕（Soul Cakes）」的食物。
• 萬聖節（每年10月31日）的由來可以追溯到2000多年前古代愛爾蘭、英國和法國北部等地的凱爾特人（Celts）傳統節日「薩溫節」（Samhain）。 p

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  1. 古代起源：薩溫節（Samhain）
  時間與意義：凱爾特人將11月1日視為一年的開始與新年的到來，10月31日的夜晚則標誌著夏季結束、寒冷黑暗冬季的開始。
  生死交界：他們相信在薩溫節這天夜晚，生者與死者之間的界線會模糊，亡者的靈魂會重返人間。
  驅鬼習俗：為了防止被惡靈干擾或當作替身，人們會熄滅家中的火爐，穿上獸皮或戴上面具假裝成鬼怪，藉此驅趕或混淆惡靈。 [1, 2, 3, 4]
  2. 宗教融合：諸聖之夜（All Hallows' Eve）
  隨著西元8世紀基督教的擴張，教會將11月1日定為「諸聖節」（All Saints' Day）來紀念諸聖。
  諸聖節的前夕（10月31日晚）被稱為 All Hallows' Eve，後來逐漸簡稱為 Halloween（萬聖夜／萬聖節）。基督教傳統與凱爾特人的古老習俗因此慢慢融合。 [1, 2, 3]
  3. 主要習俗的由來
  不給糖就搗蛋（Trick or Treat）：
  • 源自中世紀歐洲的「靈魂蛋糕」（Souling）與蘇格蘭、愛爾蘭的「Guising」傳統。當時窮人和孩童會在節日挨家挨戶祈禱或表演短劇，向屋主換取食物或蛋糕，用來為亡者祈福。傳到美國後演變成兒童穿著奇裝異服、向鄰居要糖果的遊戲。 [1, 2]
  南瓜燈（Jack-o'-lantern）：
  • 源自愛爾蘭的民間傳說「吝嗇傑克」（Jack），他因為戲弄惡魔而死後無法上天堂也下不了地獄，只能提著用白蘿蔔（蕪菁）挖空並放著炭火的燈籠在黑暗中永世流浪。17、18世紀愛爾蘭移民來到美洲後，發現當地的南瓜比蕪菁更大且更好雕刻，便改用南瓜來刻成人臉模樣。 [1, 2, 3, 4]

This Founder Sold His Company for $1.04 Billion

 GCIOSGF Newsletter 會訊:

Reprinted 

This Founder Sold His Company for $1.04 Billion and Planned to Take 2 Years Off. His Retirement ‘Lasted 7 Minutes’

Wesley Lones’s company Daybreak tackles sleep apnea entirely from home, replacing the CPAP mask with a custom-fit oral appliance.

• Lones spotted a healthcare hole in treating sleep apnea. 
• Daybreak offers an alternative to the unpopular CPAP machine.
• The business model limits inventory costs and allows the company to move quickly.

Here’s a statistic that might keep you up at night: As many as 83 million U.S. adults suffer from obstructive sleep apnea, a condition that causes them to stop breathing over and over again while they sleep, waking up dozens or even hundreds of times a night.

The standard treatment is a CPAP machine, a clunky device that keeps the airway open by delivering pressurized air through a mask. It works. But millions of people with sleep apnea remain untreated.

For entrepreneur Wesley Lones, the numbers didn’t add up.

“I spent two years looking over my shoulder thinking, how could the most advanced wealthy country in the history of the world have millions of people suffering from an ailment and not have a treatment,” Lones says. “I must be missing something.”

What Lones eventually realized was that the problem wasn’t the lack of an effective treatment. It was the treatment itself. Many patients simply hate sleeping with a mask strapped to their face while pressurized air blows into their nose or mouth.He wasn’t looking to start a new business. After helping build Byte which was acquired for $1.04 billion, Lones was in the fortunate position of not having to work. He planned to take a few years off. “That lasted about seven minutes,” he says.

The more he studied the problem of sleep apnea, the harder it became to ignore the opportunity. Lones founded Daybreak, a fully remote platform that takes patients from diagnosis through treatment at home and offers a custom-fit oral appliance as an alternative to CPAP. The company has treated more than 20,000 patients in roughly its first 28 months, according to Lones. 

On a recent episode of One Day with Jon Bier, Lones talked about spotting a hole in a massive healthcare market, building Daybreak without outside funding and why his biggest challenge may be making millions of people aware they have sleep apnea and that an alternative treatment exists.

Sleep apnea isn’t what you think

One of the biggest misconceptions about sleep apnea is that it’s a weight problem.Lones points out that anatomy can play a major role. When you sleep, the muscles around the airway relax, and for some people their anatomy makes the airway more likely to narrow or collapse, interrupting their breathing. Weight can make the problem worse, but it isn’t necessarily the cause.

Lones has nothing against CPAP as a treatment. “It’s the gold standard,” he says. “I’m not here to demonize it.” But he also knows there are entire Facebook support groups devoted to coping with one. 

One alternative is a custom-fit mouthguard that gently moves the lower jaw forward to help keep the airway open while you sleep. Oral appliance therapy wasn’t new. Dentists and sleep specialists have been using the devices for years. Most people just don’t know about them.

Getting the word out

Lones investigated why oral appliances weren’t reaching more patients. The problem, he concluded, was a lack of awareness. 

“I have yet to interact with a person who has sleep apnea and hears about an oral appliance and says, ‘Wow, I would never try that,’” Lones says. “The universal, consistent answer is, ‘I had no idea that exists, and I would absolutely try it. How do I get started?’

The answer to that question became Daybreak. Patients are mailed a small wireless sleep-test device that wraps around a finger and tracks their sleep at home. The data is sent to a doctor for review and diagnosis. If they qualify for treatment, Daybreak sends them an impression kit used to create their custom-fit oral appliance. The entire process can be done without stepping into a doctor’s office. 

Building without investors

Lones built Daybreak without outside funding. Part of the reason is that his previous exits gave him a head start. But the economics of the business also helped. Because every oral appliance is custom-made, Daybreak doesn’t have to manufacture large quantities of finished products and hope they sell. For cash customers, the company collects payment upfront and then sends the order to the manufacturer. “It’s a reverse sort of cash cycle where we don’t have to carry a bunch of inventory,” Lones says. 

Bootstrapping has also allowed him to move quickly. “We have a lot of flexibility,” Lones says. “We have the ability to iterate, move very quickly, really compress the time between when we identify, learn there’s a problem, and then react to that problem and solve it.”

From problem to something more

As Daybreak began treating patients, Lones started seeing the impact firsthand. One of the stories that stuck with him came from a mother of three whose husband suffered from sleep apnea. After his first night using the device, she contacted Daybreak with a message: “Thank you. This is the first time my children have had a father and I have had a husband in three years.”

“That’s why I say that it started to me as a business problem. I thought, ‘I think I can solve this.’ Then it became a mission because I started to see the impact.”