Archive for August, 2006

When the word, "Christmas” is mentioned, one of the
first things people think about is a Christmas tree.  Christmas trees
are one of the most recognizable images of the season. You spend quite a
bit of time to carefully decorate your tree; you pile your gifts under the
tree; you gather around it to sing Christmas carols and drink eggnog. If […]

Why does every mall have a "Santa Village with a Santa
sitting on a throne and children clamoring to sit on his lap? Stores and malls
have been revved up about Christmas since the late 1800’s when Macy’s started
the tradition with their Christmas window displays and started staying open
until midnight on Christmas Eve. The
whole tradition snowballed from […]

The most common time to see the word Xmas is when it is
followed by the word "Sale."
Both have the same number of letters, it’s catchy and cute, it’s short so
easier to write out.
According to the book "Did you ever Wonder…" by Jeff Rovin, the
word for Christ in the Greek is Xristos. The use of […]

There’s just something about having a white Christmas that makes it perfect and complete. It’s so exciting, especially for children to wake up and find snow on the ground - even better yet, coming down on Christmas morning. As cold and dreary as a day like that can be, it promotes warm fuzzies when it […]

Who is this Rudolf character who guides Santa’s sleigh with the red glowing nose that can penetrate a thick fog?

The whole story of Rudolf appeared, out of nowhere, in 1939. Santas at
Montgomery Ward stores gave away 2.4 million copies of a booklet
entitled "Rudolf the Red-Nose Reindeer." The story was written by a
person in the advertising […]

While it’s true that Santa Claus started as a real person, Saint Nicholas, a minor saint from the fourth century, the popular view of  Santa thing that we celebrate today, along with all the crazy things surrounding Santa like the sleigh, the flying reindeer and the chimney, all cam largely from two publishing events that […]

Christmas Eve is mostly celebrated by Christians who like to
attend a candlelight service or midnight
mass to celebrate the birth of Christ (The reason for the season). It is rare
for Churches to have a service on Christmas day as that is considered by most
as a family day to open presents and if they are so inclined […]

During the Middle Ages in England
and France,
carols were actually dances that were accompanied by singing. For example, the
French Midi, the "Carol" was s kind of round dance. Over time, the
word "Carol" changed its meaning, referring only to certain kinds of
songs.
The Anglo-Saxon tradition favored gathering small choirs together on the village
green to sing carols and Christmas […]

The 12 days of Christmas are the 12 days that separate Christmas day on
December 25 from Epiphany, which is celebrated January 6. Depending on
the church, January 6 may mark Christ’s baptism (the Catholic
tradition), or more traditionally, it may mark the day that the wise men visited the baby
Jesus with their gifts.

In the past, there was […]

Have you noticed that there is a lot of repetition when it comes to Christmas songs during the weeks leading up to Christmas? Have you also noticed that they are being played earlier and earlier every year? It’s kind of like the decorations. Before we even get through Halloween, the stores and streets are already […]