Merry Christmas!!!

Trivia:

There is a popular misconception that Boris Karloff sang "Your a Mean One Mr Grinch", but it was in fact Thurl Ravenscroft. He was best known as the voice for Tony the Tiger & Lead vocalist on the theme song "Grim Grinning Ghosts" in the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland.

In Scandinavia, the Norse celebrated Yule from Dec. 21st, the winter solstice, through Jan. In recognition of the return of the sun, fathers & sons would bring home large logs, which they would set on fire. The people would feast until the log burned out, which could take as many as 12 days. The Norse believed that each spark from the fire represented a new pig or calf that would be born during the coming year.

In Germany, people honored the pagan god Oden during the mid-winter holiday. Germans were terrified of Oden, as they believed he made nocturnal flights through the sky to observe his people, & then decide who would prosper or perish. Because of his presence, many people chose to stay inside.

Norway is the birthplace of the Yule log.

According to reports by Captain John Smith, the 1st eggnog made in the United States was consumed in his 1607 Jamestown settlement. Nog comes from the word grog, which refers to any drink made with rum.

Rudolph the red-nosed wonder was the creation of Robert L. May, a copywriter at the Montgomery Ward department store in 1939 by using a similar rhyme pattern to "'Twas the Night Before Christmas".

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.

The best selling trees are Scotch Pine, Douglas Fir, Fraser Fir, Balsam Fir, & White Pine.

The 1st mention of Dec. 25th, as the birth date of Jesus occurred in A.D. 336 in an early Roman calendar. The celebration of this day as Jesus's birth date was probably influenced by pagan (unchristian) festivals held at that time. The ancient Romans held year-end celebrations to honor Saturn, their harvest god; & Mithras, the god of light. Various peoples in northern Europe held festivals in mid-Dec. to celebrate the end of the harvest season. As part of all these celebrations, the people prepared special foods, decorated their homes with greenery, & joined in singing & gift giving. These customs gradually became part of the Christmas celebration.

The word Xmas is sometimes used instead of Christmas. This tradition began in the early Christian church. In Greek, X is the first letter of Christ's name. It was frequently used as a holy symbol.

During World War I, in the winter of 1914, on the battlefields of Flanders, German troops began to put small Christmas trees, lit with candles, outside of their trenches. Then, they began to sing songs. Across the way, in the "no man's land" between them, came songs from the British & French troops. Incredibly, many of the Germans, who had worked in England before the war, were able to speak good enough English to propose a "Christmas" truce. The British & French troops, all along the miles of trenches, accepted. A spontaneous truce resulted. Soldiers left their trenches, meeting in the middle to shake hands. By Christmas morning, the "no man's land" between the trenches was filled with fraternizing soldiers, sharing rations & gifts, singing & (more solemnly) burying their dead between the lines. Soon they were even playing soccer, mostly with improvised balls. The spontaneous truce (which included French & Belgian troops in some sectors) was largely over by New Year's Day, however. Commanders on both sides ordered their troops to restart hostilities under penalty of court martial, & German and British soldiers reluctantly parted.

Evergreens are symbolic of enduring and renewed life, which is why we decorate our homes with them at Christmastime. The fetching in of green branches is a magical rite to ensure the return of vegetation at winter's end. Our modern day Christmas tree is the centerpiece of this belief.

The placing of tinsel on Christmas trees began in Germany -- originally as beaten silver strips. According to legend a poor woman's tree was covered with spiderwebs & this saddened the Christ Child so much that He turned the webs into silver. The Germans also decorated their trees with fruits, pastries, candies, colored paper figures, tin angels & other ornaments. In the United States F.W. Woolworth unexpectedly made a fortune in the 1880s selling German-made Christmas tree ornaments which he had reluctantly stocked in his 5-&-dime stores.

Plum pudding was originally a soup made by boiling beef & mutton with dried plums (prunes), wines & spices. The prunes & meats were later removed, raisins added & the pudding was thickened with eggs & breadcrumbs to be more like a steamed or broiled cake. So "plum pudding" is not a pudding & contains no plums.

Candy canes are edible ornaments which originated in Germany in the late 1600s. Originally made as straight white sticks, a German choirmaster bent the sticks so as to represent a shepherd's staff & distributed them to children during Nativity services (at least partly to keep them quiet by giving them something to suck on). Not until the year 1900 did candy canes become striped with the red-&-white Christmas colors or become flavored with peppermint or wintergreen. Some people have the idea that the J-shape is a reference to J-esus & that the red & white symbolize the blood & purity of Christ.

Christmas Cards were introduced in 1843 by Sir Henry Cole, an English businessman & patron of art. He printed a thousand cards and sold them as a means to simplify the sending of Christmas greetings. Postage for the cards was 1 penny in the 1840s. Within a few years after the introduction of the halfpenny rate for mailing cards in the 1870s, the British Post Office was flooded with annual card mailings.

In Ireland, people put a lighted candle in their window on Christmas Eve as a sign of welcome to Mary & Joseph. In Wales, people have caroling contests during the weeks before Christmas. Roast turkey is the main course for dinner. People in Scotland also have roast turkey & exchange small gifts. Some Scottish families decorate a Christmas tree & sing carols, but most hold their main celebrations on New Year's Day.

In Australia & New Zealand, December comes during the summer. Many people celebrate Christmas by going on a picnic or to the beach. Schoolchildren have a 6-week summer vacation at Christmastime. Caroling takes place in many cities & towns. Popular Christmas foods include turkey & plum pudding. Both Father Christmas & Santa Claus are popular symbols of gift giving in Australia & New Zealand.

B-days:

1931 Charles 'Lefty' Driesell, 5th winningest coach in NCAA history
1946 Jimmy Buffet was born into Margaritaville
1946 Larry Csonka Hall of Fame Running back.
1948 Country singer Barbara Mandrell
1949 Actress Sissy Spacek was born
1954 Eurythmics Singer Annie Lennox
1954 Country singer Steve Wariner
1954 Robin Campbell Lead guitarist of Ub40
1958 Baseball's all-time stolen base leader Rickey Henderson
1971 Singer Dido