Twelve Things You Never Knew About Christmas

Author: Admin | Filed under: Christmas, Christmas History Wednesday Dec 3,2008

Christmas trivia, traditions and tidbits… what, where, who, how…. It’s always interesting and intriguing to find out history and background on such a celebrated and time honored holiday as Christmas. Here’s a dozen interesting factoids that I bet you never knew about Christmas:

1. Christmas trees were first lighted with actual candles, which presented a fire hazard. As a result containers filled with water had to be kept near the Christmas tree.

2. Workers in the construction industry are responsible for the tradition of having a Christmas tree on display at Rockefeller Center in New York City. They are credited with placing an undecorated tree at the site in the early 1930s.

3. Since the mid-1960s, The National Christmas Tree Association has maintained a presence in the White House at Christmas by donating a Christmas tree to the First Family.

4. The former Woolworth department store first sold manufactured Christmas tree ornaments in 1880.

5. Plastic became the primary material used to make tinsel after their use for decorative purposes was at one time prohibited because lead was used in the manufacturing process.

Hang Your Stocking by the Chimney with Care

Author: Admin | Filed under: Christmas, Christmas History Tuesday Nov 25,2008

Christmas traditions; it’s always interesting to find out where they come from and how they began so let’s find out about Christmas Stockings.

A Christmas stocking is an empty sock or sock-shaped bag that children in the United States and some other cultures hang on Christmas Eve so that Santa Claus can fill it with small toys, candy, fruit, coins, or other small gifts when he arrives. These small items are often referred to as stocking stuffers or stocking fillers. Tradition in western culture dictates that a child who behaves badly during the year will receive only a piece of coal.

But how did the tradition of hanging stockings by the fireplace begin? One legend says that has it that St. Nicholas of Myra heard of a farmer who had three lovely daughters who feared they would never marry well because he didn’t have enough money to pay their dowries.

Knowing the farmer would never accept the money outright, St. Nicholas dropped three bags of coins into their chimney on Christmas Eve. The young girls had each happened to have washed their stockings out and hung them by the fire to dry, so when the coins were dropped a bag landed inside each stocking. The next morning the young girls woke to find the coins and went on to marry and live happily ever after.

Where Did American Christmas Traditions Come From?

Author: Admin | Filed under: Christmas History Thursday Nov 20,2008

In order to fully understand why, as American’s, we perform different tasks throughout the celebration of Christmas, it is important to know where exactly each tradition originally came from.

It may be interesting to note that many Christmas traditions we perform during the holiday did not originate in America at all. Remember, when America was just an infant itself, it was comprised of many different peoples from many different countries. And these people had their own “homeland” traditions that they carried right along with them.

Do you wonder where the history and traditions of thing like the Christmas tree came from? How about the Yule Log and Christmas caroling? Maybe you’d be interested in what started the tradition of gift giving and about Santa Claus…

More... You can find out the history and traditons al all of these and much more HERE! Go ahead, you know you want to know!

Where and When Did “Christmas” Begin?

Author: Admin | Filed under: Christmas, Christmas History Saturday Nov 15,2008

Christmas… The word itself inspires feelings of joy and good will towards our fellow man. A day when the greatest gift in all the world was bestowed upon us from Heaven.

When you think of the name “Christmas”, what immediately comes to your mind? The birth of Jesus Christ? Yes, traditionally, that is what we believe is the reason behind the Christmas holiday and celebration. The birth of Jesus Christ. I mean, goodness sake! His name is in the word itself!

But is that really where the beginning of the Christmas holiday comes from? Or is it somewhere else? Would you believe that it is indeed rooted somewhere else?!

Let’s go back though, to the time before Jesus Christ’s birth, and see if we can’t make sense of this. . . .

Centuries before Christ was born there was a group of people who celebrated something they called “The Winter Solstice”. In this celebration, early Europeans would gather together and rejoice that the worst part of the Winter Season was passing and that they had managed to survive another harsh, cold Winter. And also, that they could begin enjoying longer days. In other words, this was a celebration of light itself. And life as well.

Christmas History and Background

Author: Admin | Filed under: Christmas, Christmas History Saturday Dec 1,2007

Christmas is an annual holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus. The date of the celebration is traditional, and is not considered to be his actual date of birth. Christmas festivities often combine the commemoration of Jesus’ birth with various secular customs, many of which have been influenced by earlier winter festivals.

In most places around the world, Christmas Day is celebrated on December 25. Christmas Eve is the preceding day, December 24. In the United Kingdom and many countries of the Commonwealth, Boxing Day is the following day, December 26. In Catholic countries, Saint Stephen’s Day or the Feast of St. Stephen is December 26. The Armenian Apostolic Church observes Christmas on January 6. Eastern Orthodox Churches that still use the Julian Calendar celebrate Christmas on the Julian version of 25 December, which is January 7 on the more widely used Gregorian calendar, because the two calendars are now 13 days apart.

History of the Christmas Tree

Author: Admin | Filed under: Christmas History, Christmas Tree Saturday Dec 1,2007

Why do we decorate the Christmas tree? The habit is probably inherited from the Egyptians that used to decorate their houses with palm tree leaves in the day of the astrological winter. The habit was taken by the Romans that used instead of palm trees the conifers.

But the story really begins around the 7th century when a monk from Devonshire came to Germany to teach the word of the Lord. Legend says that he used the triangular form of the Christmas tree to symbolize religious meanings. In the Europe of the 12th century, on Christmas day, the Christmas tree was installed upside down, hanging down from the ceiling!

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'Twas the Night Before Christmas

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;

Ah, the opening lines of Clement C. Moore's 1823 Christmas classic, "A Visit from St. Nicholas" or better known today as " 'Twas the Night Before Christmas". This poem, probably one of the most well know poems in the world today, brings to mind endless traditions and dreams and memories, Santa and snow, reindeer and gifts, and the joys of Christmas past and present.

Christmas day may only come but once a year but the memories and the traditions you create during that special holiday season will live on for years to come!