- 12 days of Christmas
It is said that the traditional Christmas carol "The Twelve Days of Christmas" was written as a secret teaching tool to instruct children in the meaning of the Christian faith. From 1558 to 1829 Roman Catholics in England were, apparently, forbidden from openly practicing their religion. So, this carol was devised to get the message across without upsetting the Protestants. Here is the broken code, thanks to this contribution from Guyneitha.
- History of Advent - origins & trivia
It cannot be determined with any degree of certainty when the celebration of Advent was first introduced into the Church. The preparation for the feast of the Nativity of Our Lord was not held before the feast itself existed.
One of the earliest references to Christmas being celebrated on December 25 appeared in Antioch in the middle of the second century. At that time, Christians were still persecuted. An official determination was made in the fourth century, when the Roman emperor Constantine embraced Christianity, thereby ensuring the legality of Christmas celebrations. The Council of Tours in 567 established the period of Advent as a time of fasting before Christmas. They also proclaimed the twelve days from Christmas to Epiphany a sacred, festive season.
According to present usage [1910], Advent is a period beginning with the Sunday nearest to the feast of St. Andrew the Apostle (30 November) and embracing four Sundays. The first Sunday may be as early as November 27th, and then Advent has twenty-eight days, or as late as December 3rd, giving the season only twenty-one days.
The popular idea that the four weeks of Advent symbolize the four thousand years of darkness in which the world was enveloped before the coming of Christ finds no confirmation in the Liturgy.
The familiar carol "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" belongs to the Advent season since it celebrates the expectation of Christ's coming rather than His actual birth.
- Christmas carols - origins & trivia
The early Christmas music compositions are regarded as chants and hymns. The original carols referred to a circle dance which did not have any singing - that came later. As the church struggled against the influences of pagan customs, the singing of carols was barred from sacred services. However, outside the church, Nativity carols were written and became popular. Nearly all were simple folk songs created by people from the countryside.
Saint Francis of Assisi is credited with bringing carols into the formal worship of the church during a Christmas Midnight Mass in a cave in Greccio, in the province of Umbria in 1223. It's said that the music sung that night was more akin to what we know as carols than to hymns. Carols enjoyed further development and popularity when they were used in the mystery plays of the Middle Ages.
Wandering minstrels traveled from hamlet to castle, performing carols in the distant past. In later years, villages had their own bands of waits.
Waits were originally watchmen who patrolled the streets and byways of the old walled cities keeping guard against fire and singing out the hours of the night. During the holiday season, they would include some carols for the people along the way, although some folks complained that they would rather get a good nights sleep than have somebody singing under their window. Eventually the term was used to describe groups of musicians who sang and played for various civic events during the Christmas season.
Today, a look at a small-town newspaper lists dozens of caroling events, not just on Christmas Eve, but throughout the holiday.
- Christmas trees - origins & trivia
Long before the advent of Christianity, plants and trees that remained green all year had a special meaning for people in the winter. Just as people today decorate their homes during the festive season with pine, spruce, and fir trees, ancient peoples hung evergreen boughs over their doors and windows. In many countries it was believed that evergreens would keep away witches, ghosts, evil spirits, and illness.
In the Northern hemisphere, the shortest day and longest night of the year falls on December 21 or December 22 and is called the winter solstice. Many ancient people believed that the sun was a god and that winter came every year because the sun god had become sick and weak. They celebrated the solstice because it meant that at last the sun god would begin to get well. Evergreen boughs reminded them of all the green plants that would grow again when the sun god was strong and summer would return.
The ancient Egyptians worshipped a god called Ra, who had the head of a hawk and wore the sun as a blazing disk in his crown. At the solstice, when Ra began to recover from the illness, the Egyptians filled their homes with green palm rushes which symbolized for them the triumph of life over death.
Early Romans marked the solstice with a feast called the Saturnalia in honor of Saturn, the god of agriculture. The Romans knew that the solstice meant that soon farms and orchards would be green and fruitful. To mark the occasion, they decorated their homes and temples with evergreen boughs.
In Northern Europe the mysterious Druids, the priests of the ancient Celts, also decorated their temples with evergreen boughs as a symbol of everlasting life. The fierce Vikings in Scandinavia thought that evergreens were the special plant of the sun god, Balder.
Germany is credited with starting the Christmas tree tradition as we now know it in the 16th century when devout Christians brought decorated trees into their homes. Some built Christmas pyramids of wood and decorated them with evergreens and candles if wood was scarce. It is a widely held belief that Martin Luther, the 16th-century Protestant reformer, first added lighted candles to a tree. Walking toward his home one winter evening, composing a sermon, he was awed by the brilliance of stars twinkling amidst evergreens. To recapture the scene for his family, he erected a tree in the main room and wired its branches with lighted candles.
Most 19th-century Americans found Christmas trees an oddity. The first record of one being on display was in the 1830s by the German settlers of Pennsylvania, although trees had been a tradition in many German homes much earlier. The Pennsylvania German settlements had community trees as early as 1747. But, as late as the 1840s Christmas trees were seen as pagan symbols and not accepted by most Americans.
It is not surprising that, like many other festive Christmas customs, the tree was adopted so late in America. To the New England Puritans, Christmas was sacred. The pilgrims’s second governor, William Bradford, wrote that he tried hard to stamp out “pagan mockery” of the observance, penalizing any frivolity. The influential Oliver Cromwell preached against “the heathen traditions” of Christmas carols, decorated trees, and any joyful expression that desecrated “that sacred event.” In 1659, the General Court of Massachusetts enacted a law making any observance of December 25 (other than a church service) a penal offense; people were fined for hanging decorations. That stern solemnity continued until the 19th century, when the influx of German and Irish immigrants undermined the Puritan legacy.
In 1846, the popular royals, Queen Victoria and her German Prince, Albert, were sketched in the Illustrated London News standing with their children around a Christmas tree. Unlike the previous royal family, Victoria was very popular with her subjects, and what was done at court immediately became fashionable—not only in Britain, but with fashion-conscious East Coast American Society. The Christmas tree had arrived.
By the 1890s Christmas ornaments were arriving from Germany and Christmas tree popularity was on the rise around the U.S. It was noted that Europeans used small trees about four feet in height, while Americans liked their Christmas trees to reach from floor to ceiling.
The early 20th century saw Americans decorating their trees mainly with homemade ornaments, while the German-American sect continued to use apples, nuts, and marzipan cookies. Popcorn joined in after being dyed bright colors and interlaced with berries and nuts. Electricity brought about Christmas lights, making it possible for Christmas trees to glow for days on end. With this, Christmas trees began to appear in town squares across the country and having a Christmas tree in the home became an American tradition.
- Christmas tree trivia
· Christmas trees have been sold commercially in the United States since about 1850.
· In 1979, the National Christmas Tree was not lighted except for the top ornament. This was done in honor of the American hostages in Iran.
· Between 1887-1933 a fishing schooner called the Christmas Ship would tie up at the Clark Street bridge and sell spruce trees from Michigan to Chicagoans.
· The tallest living Christmas tree is believed to be the 122-foot, 91-year-old Douglas fir in the town of Woodinville, Washington.
· The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree tradition began in 1933.
· Franklin Pierce, the 14th president, brought the Christmas tree tradition to the White House.
· In 1923, President Calvin Coolidge started the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony now held
·every year on the White House lawn.
· Since 1966, the National Christmas Tree Association has given a Christmas tree to the President and first family.
· Most Christmas trees are cut weeks before they get to a retail outlet.
· In 1912, the first community Christmas tree in the United States was erected in New York City.
· Christmas trees generally take 6-8 years to mature.
· Christmas trees are grown in all 50 states including Hawaii and Alaska.
· 100,000 people are employed in the Christmas tree industry.
· 98 percent of all Christmas trees are grown on farms.
· More than 1,000,000 acres of land have been planted with Christmas trees.
· 77 million Christmas trees are planted each year.
· On average, over 2,000 Christmas trees are planted per acre.
· You should never burn your Christmas tree in the fireplace. It can contribute to creosote buildup.
· Other types of trees such as cherry and hawthorns were used as Christmas trees in the past.
· Thomas Edison’s assistants came up with the idea of electric lights for christmas trees.
· In 1963, the National Christmas Tree was not lit until December 22nd because of a national 30-day
·period of mourning following the assassination of President Kennedy.
· Teddy Roosevelt banned the Christmas tree from the White House for environmental reasons.
· In the first week, a tree in your home will consume as much as a quart of water per day.
· Tinsel was once banned by the government. Tinsel contained lead at one time, now it’s made of plastic.
· In 1984, the National Christmas Tree was lit on December 13th with temperatures in the 70s, making it one of the warmest tree lightings in history.
· 34 to 36 million Christmas trees are produced each year and 95 percent are shipped or sold directly from Christmas tree farms.
· California, Oregon, Michigan, Washington, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina are the top
·Christmas tree producing states.
· The best selling trees are Scotch Pine, Douglas Fir, Fraser Fir, Balsam Fir, and White Pine.
- 'Merry Christmas' around the world - origins & trivia
Andorra (AD) Bon Nadal
United Arab Emirates (AE) I'd miilad said oua sana saida
Afghanistan (AF) De Christmas akhtar de bakhtawar au newai kal de mubarak sha
Antigua and Barbuda (AG) Merry Christmas
Anguilla (AI) Merry Christmas
Albania (AL) Gézuar Krishlindjet
Armenia (AM) Shnorhavor Sourp Dzunount
Netherlands Antilles (AN) Bon Pasco, Bon Anja
Angola (AO) Boas Festas
Argentina (AR) ¡Feliz Navidad!
American Samoa (AS) Ia Manuia Le Kilisimasi
Austria (AT) Frohe Weihnachten
Australia (AU) Happy Christmas
Aruba (AW) Bon Pasco, Bon Anja
Azerbaijan (AZ) Tezze Iliniz Yahsi Olsun
Bosnia and Herzegowina (BA) Sretan Bozic
Barbados (BB) Merry Christmas
Bangladesh (BD) Shuvo Baro Din
Belgium (BE) Zalig Kerstfeest
Burkina Faso (BF) Joyeux Noel
Bulgaria (BG) Vessela Koleda
Bahrain (BH) Mboni Chrismen
Burundi (BI) Noeli Nziza, Joyeux Noel,
Benin (BJ) Joyeux Noel
Bermuda (BM) Merry Christmas
Brunei Darussalam (BN) Selamat Hari Natal
Bolivia (BO) Feliz Navidad
Brazil (BR) Feliz Natal
Bahamas (BS) Happy Christmas
Bhutan (BT) krist Yesu Ko Shuva Janma Utsav Ko Upalaxhma Hardik Shuva
Bouvet Island (BV) remove
Botswana (BW) Merry Christmas
Belarus (BY) Winshuyu sa Svyatkami
Belize (BZ) Merry Christmas
Canada (CA) Merry Christmas, Joyeux Noel
Cocos (Keeling) Islands (CC) Merry Christmas, Selamat Hari Natal
Congo (CD) Joyeux Noel
Central African Republic (CF) Joyeux Noel
Congo (CG) Joyeux Noel
Switzerland (CH) Fröhlichi Wiehnacht, Joyeux Noel
Cote D'ivoire (CI) Joyeux Noel
Cook Islands (CK) Merry Christmas, Kia orana e kia manuia rava i teia Kiritime
Chile (CL) Feliz Navidad
Cameroon (CM) Merry Christmas, Joyeux Noel
China (CN) Sheng Tan Kuai Loh
Colombia (CO) Feliz Navidad para todos
Costa Rica (CR) Feliz Navidad
Cuba (CU) Feliz Navidad
Cape Verde (CV) Boas Festas
Christmas Island (CX) Merry Christmas
Cyprus (CY) Eftihismena Christougenna, Noeliniz kutlu olsun ve yeni yili
Czech Republic (CZ) Vesele Vanoce
Germany (DE) Frohliche Weihnachten
Djibouti (DJ) Joyeux Noel, Mboni Chrismen
Denmark (DK) Glaedelig Jul
Dominica (DM) Merry Christmas
Dominican Republic (DO) Feliz Navidad
Algeria (DZ) Mboni Chrismen
Ecuador (EC) Feliz Navidad
Estonia (EE) Haid Joule, Rôômsaid Jôule
Egypt (EG) Mboni Chrismen
Eritrea (ER) Melkam Yelidet Beaal, Poket Kristmet
Spain (ES) Feliz Navidad
Ethiopia (ET) Melkam Yelidet Beaal, Poket Kristmet, Merry Christmas
Finland (FI) Hauskaa Joulua
Fiji (FJ) Merry Christmas
Falkland Islands (Malvinas) (FK) Merry Christmas
Federated States of Mirconesia (FM) Merry Christmas
Faroe Islands (FO) Gledhilig jol
France (FR) Joyeux Noel
Gabon (GA) Joyeux Noel
United Kingdom (GB) Happy Christmas, Nadolig Llawen (Wales)
Grenada (GD) Merry Christmas
Georgia (GE) Gilotsavt Krist'es Shobas
French Guiana (GF) Joyeux Noel
Ghana (GH) Afishapa
Gibraltar (GI) Merry Christmas, Feliz Navidad
Greenland (GL) Glædelig Jul, Juullimi Ukiortaassamilu Pilluarit
Gambia (GM) Merry Christmas
Guinea (GN) Joyeux Noel
Guadeloupe (GP) Joyeux Noel
Equatorial Guinea (GQ) Joyeux Noel, Feliz Navidad
Greece (GR) Eftihismena Christougenna
Guatemala (GT) Feliz Navidad
Guam (GU) Merry Christmas, Felis Pasgua
Guinea-bissau (GW) Boas Festas
Guyana (GY) Merry Christmas
Hong Kong (HK) Sing dan fiy loc, Merry Christmas
Honduras (HN) Feliz Navidad
Haiti (HT) Jwaye Nwel
Hungary (HU) Boldog Karácsonyt
Indonesia (ID) Salamet Hari Natal
Ireland (IE) Nollaig Shona dhuit
Israel (IL) Mo'adim Lesimkha
India (IN) Shub Christu Jayanti
British Indian Ocean Territory (IO) Happy Christmas
Iraq (IQ) Idah Saidan Wasanah Jadidah
Islamic Republic of Iran (IR) Christmas Mobarrak
Iceland (IS) Gleðileg Jól
Italy (IT) Buon Natale
Jamaica (JM) Merry Christmas
Jordan (JO) Mboni Chrismen, Merry Christmas
Japan (JP) Merii Kurisumasu
Kenya (KE) Merry Christmas
Kyrgyzstan (KG) Hristos Razdajetsja
Kiribati (KI) Merry Christmas
Comoros (KM) Joyeux Noel, Mboni Chrismen
Saint Kitts and Nevis (KN) Happy Christmas
Korea (KP) Sung Tan Chuk Ha
Republic of Korea (KR) Sungtan Chukha
Kuwait (KW) Mboni Chrismen, Merry Christmas
Cayman Islands (KY) Merry Christmas
Kazakhstan (KZ) Hristos Razdajetsja, Rozdjestvom Hristovim
Lebanon (LB) Milad Majeed
Saint Lucia (LC) Happy Christmas
Liechtenstein (LI) Frohliche Weihnachten
Sri Lanka (LK) Subha nath thalak Vewa
Liberia (LR) Happy Christmas
Lesotho (LS) Happy Christmas
Lithuania (LT) Laimingu Kaledu
Luxembourg (LU) Schéi Krëschtdeeg
Latvia (LV) Priecigus ziemassvetkus!
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (LY) Mboni Chrismen, Buon Natale, Happy Christmas
Morocco (MA) Mboni Chrismen
Monaco (MC) Festusu Natale
Republic of Moldova (MD) Craciun fericit si un An Nou fericit!
Madagascar (MG) Joyeux Noel, Arahaba tratry ny Krismasy
Marshall islands (MH) Monono ilo raaneoan Nejin
Macedonia (MK) Streken Bozhik
Mali (ML) Joyeux Noel
Macau (MO) Boas Festas, Sing dan fiy loc
Northern Mariana Islands (MP) Filis Pasgua, Merry Christmas
Martinique (MQ) Joyeux Noel, --
Montserrat (MS) Merry Christmas
Malta (MT) Il-Milied it-Tajjeb
Mauritius (MU) Merry Christmas
Malawi (MW) Merry Christmas, Moni Wa Chikondwelero Cha X'mas
Mexico (MX) Feliz Navidad
Malaysia (MY) Selamat Hari Krimas
Mozambique (MZ) Boas Festas
Namibia (NA) Geseende Kersfees
New Caledonia (NC) Joyeux Noel
Niger (NE) Joyeux Noel
Norfolk Island (NF) Merry Christmas
Nigeria (NG) Merry Christmas
Nicaragua (NI) Feliz Navidad
Netherlands (NL) Prettige Kerstdagen
Norway (NO) Gledelig Jul
Nepal (NP) krist Yesu Ko Shuva Janma Utsav Ko Upalaxhma Hardik Shuva
New zealand (NZ) Happy Christmas
Oman (OM) Mboni Chrismen
Panama (PA) Feliz Navidad
Peru (PE) Feliz Navidad
French Polynesia (PF) Joyeux Noel, La ora i te Noera
Papua New Guinea (PG) Bikpela hamamas blong dispela Krismas
Philippines (PH) Maligayang Pasko
Pakistan (PK) Bara Din Mubarrak Ho
Poland (PL) Wesolych Swiat
St. Pierre and Miquelon (PM) Joyeux Noel
Pitcairn (PN) Merry Christmas
Puerto Rico (PR) Feliz Navidad, Felices Pascuas, Felicidades
Portugal (PT) Boas Festas
Palau (PW) Merry Christmas
Paraguay (PY) Feliz Navidad
Qatar (QA) Mboni Chrismen
Reunion (RE) Joyeux Noel
Romania (RO) Sarbatori vesele
Russian Federation (RU) Hristos Razdajetsja, Rozdjestvom Hristovim
Rwanda (RW) Noheli Nziza
Saudi Arabia (SA) Mboni Chrismen
Seychelles (SC) Happy Christmas, Joyeux Noel
Sudan (SD) Wilujeng Natal
Sweden (SE) God Jul
Singapore (SG) Sheng Tan Kuai Loh
St. Helena (SH) Happy Christmas
Slovenia (SI) Srecen Bozic
Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands (SJ) Hristos Razdajetsja, Gledelig Jul
Slovakia (Slovak Republic) (SK) Vesele Vianoce
Sierra Leone (SL) Happy Christmas
San Marino (SM) Buon Natale
Senegal (SN) Joyeux Noel
Suriname (SR) Zalig Kersfeest, Wang swietie Kresnetie
Sao Tome and Principe (ST) Boas Festas
El Salvador (SV) Feliz Navidad
Syrian Arab Republic (SY) Mboni Chrismen
Swaziland (SZ) Happy Christmas
Turks and Caicos Islands (TC) Happy Christmas
Chad (TD) Joyeux Noel, Mboni Chrismen
Togo (TG) Joyeux Noel
Thailand (TH) Ewadee Pe-e Mai
Tokelau (TK) Merry Christmas
Tunisia (TN) Mboni Chrismen
Tonga (TO) Kilisimasi Fiefia
Turkey (TR) Mutlu Noeller
Trinidad and Tobago (TT) Happy Christmas
Taiwan (TW) Kung His Hsin Nien bing Chu Shen Tan
Tanzania (TZ) Krismas Njema Na Heri Za Mwaka Mpya, Happy Christmas
Ukraine (UA) Veseloho Vam Rizdva
Uganda (UG) Webale Krismasi
United States (US) Merry Christmas
Uruguay (UY) Feliz Navidad
Saint Vincent and The Grenadines (VC) Happy Christmas
Venezuela (VE) Feliz Navidad
Virgin islands (U.S.) (VI) Merry Christmas
Viet Nam (VN) Chuc mung Giang Sinh
Vanuatu (VU) Merry Christmas, Joyeux Noel
Wallis and Futuna Islands (WF) Joyeux Noel
Samoa (WS) Ia Manuia Le Kilisimasi
Yemen (YE) Mboni Chrismen
Mayotte (YT) Krismas Njema Na Heri Za Mwaka Mpya, Joyeux Noel
Yugoslavia (YU) Cestitamo Bozic
South Africa (ZA) Geseënde Kersfees, Happy Christmas
Zambia (ZM) Happy Christmas
Zimbabwe (ZW) Happy Christmas
- Snacks for Santa - origins & trivia
COOKIES
Do you know that the most popular cookie kids leave for Santa is the Oreo? Maybe that's because over 9.1 billion of them are sold each year. There is no exact date recorded, but the idea of leaving cookies for Santa started sometime in the 193s. Naughty kids use them to bribe Santa at the last minute and nice kids use them as a way of thanking him for all his hard work on Christmas Eve.
http://www.thehistoryofchristmas.com/
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