Merry Christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE YOUNG FAMILY

Merry Christmas Eve!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE FROM
THE VOJE FAMILY

Lets Light Up The Town

So I decided to drive around with my boyfriend and sibling taking pictures of Christmas lights. Here are some of my favorites that we found.












Hope you enjoyed! I know we had fun finding them!

Things For Your Eyes

This is the top 10 list of things you should have watched this Holiday season

1. It's a Wonderful Life
2. A Year Without a Santa Claus
3. How The Grinch Stole Christmas
4. Muppet Family Christmas
5. Ziggy's Gift
6. White Christmas
7. Charlie Brown Christmas
8. Frosty the Snowman
   
9. Rudolph
10. White Christmas

These are my favorite to watch every year, but there are tons more out there. So make a list and get ready for next year so you don't miss anything.

Something Short, And Sweet!

Who doesn't love Candy Canes? Okay maybe no everyone loves them, but they are still super good. They also make great Christmas Tree Decorations.

Somethings I bet you didn't know

• According to a popular account, in 1670, in Cologne, Germany, the choirmaster at Cologne Cathedral, wishing to remedy the noise caused by children in his church during the Living Crèche tradition of Christmas Eve, asked a local candy maker for some sweet sticks for them. In order to justify the practice of giving candy to children during worship services, he asked the candy maker to add a crook to the top of each stick, which would help children remember the shepherds who paid visit to infant Jesus. In addition, he used the white color of the converted sticks to teach children about the Christian belief in the sinless life of Jesus.

• From Germany, the candy canes spread to other parts of Europe, where they were handed out during plays reenacting the Nativity.

• A recipe for straight peppermint candy sticks, white with colored stripes, was published in 1844.

• Was first association with Christmas in 1874.

• In 1882 people starting hanging it on Christmas trees.

That all I have for now, I know its not much but then how can you put word to something so wonderful. So go out and get yourself a awesome fix of Candy Cane!

Just Call Me The Tinsel Fairy!

There is nothing as beautiful then a tree that is covered in tinsel. One of my favorite things to do for Christmas time is tinsel the tree. My family thinks I go a little overboard sometimes, but I absolutist love it. Tinsel is sometimes also called icicles because they are suppose to mimic the effects of ice or icicles. Modern tinsel was invented in Nuremberg, Germany, in 1610, and was originally made of shredded silver. Because silver tarnishes quickly, they started substituting other shiny metals. By the early 20th century, they started manufacturing cheap aluminum-based tinsel. During the 1950s, tinsel and tinsel garlands were so popular that they frequently were used more heavily than Christmas lights because tinsel was much less of a fire hazard than lights were for the then-popular aluminum Christmas trees A drawback of the aluminized paper is that it is flammable. Early Christmas tree lights were quite hot and could start fires, especially when the aluminized paper tinsel got near a hot Christmas tree bulb. Newer Christmas lights are cooler and pose less fire hazard. Modern tinsel is typically made from polyvinyl chloride film coated with a metallic finish and sliced into thin strips. Coated mylar film also has been used. These plastic forms of tinsel do not hang as well as tinsel made from heavy metals such as silver and lead.

Lets Top It Off

So today is all about what you put on top of your beautiful Christmas Tree. In American English we call them Tree-Toppers. Basically there are 2 toppers that are the most popular. The star and the angel, or course there are other thing you can put up there, but to this day those 2 remain the most used.

If viewed in a Christian context, the tree topper usually signifies the Christmas Star (Star of Bethlehem) or angelic hosts which proclaimed the news of the birth of Jesus to the world on the eve of his birth. Some Neo-pagan homes celebrate the winter solstice, which falls close to Christmas, by decorating an evergreen tree as a symbol of continuing life, but make an effort to decorate it with non-Christian symbols and often choose tree toppers representing the sun.

There isn't really much history I could find on the tree topper itself. So I guess this is all I have for right now. Hope you enjoy and don't forget to add a tree topper to the wonderful tree you put up and decorated.

What To Hang Up?

Sorry for the lack of post, lots of homework and finals to get done. I finally squeezed in time to write a post, and this one is about Christmas Ornaments.

The first decorated trees were adorned with apples, strings of popcorn, white candy canes and pastries in the shapes of stars, hearts and flowers. Glass baubles (A bauble is a spherical decoration that is commonly used to adorn Christmas trees.) were first made in Lauscha, Germany, by Hans Greiner who produced garlands of glass beads similar to the popcorn strands and tin figures that could be hung on trees.On Christmas Eve 1832, a young Queen Victoria wrote about her delight at having a tree, hung with lights, ornaments, and presents placed round it.[4] In the 1840s, after a picture of Victoria's Christmas tree was shown in a London newspaper decorated with glass ornaments and baubles from her husband Prince Albert's native Germany, Lauscha began exporting its products throughout Europe.

In the 1880s, American F. W. Woolworth discovered Lauscha's baubles during a visit to Germany. He made a fortune by importing the German glass ornaments to the U.S.A. The first American-made glass ornaments were created by William DeMuth in New York in 1870.

Well that's all I got to write about today. Hope you all enjoy decorating your tree with ornaments if you haven't already!

Light Up The Tree

Today we are talking about Christmas Tree Lights, and what many different kinds there are. Back in the middle of the 17th Century they used candle to light up the tree. It didn't become widely established in Germany until two Century later and then it really started to spread. They use to glue the candles on with wax, by putting a little on a branch and holding the candle on it until it harden. Sometimes they used pins to attach the candles to the branches. In 1890 candle-holders were first used for Christmas candles. Between 1902 and 1914, small lanterns and glass balls to hold the candles started to be used.

The first known electrically illuminated Christmas tree was the creation of Edward H. Johnson, an associate of inventor Thomas Edison.

In the United Kingdom, electrically powered Christmas lights are generally known as fairy lights.

San Diego in 1904, Appleton, WI in 1909, and New York City in 1912 were the first recorded instances of the use of Christmas lights outside.

Incandescent light bulbs have been commonly used in Christmas lights until recently. These lights produce a broad-spectrum white light, and are colored by coating the glass envelope with a translucent paint which acts as a color filter. Some early Japanese-made lamps, however, used colored glass. While incandescent light sets are less expensive to purchase than similar LED sets, the operating cost is significantly more. The paint on the incandescent bulbs suffer from fading or flaking when exposed to weather. Older bulbs were also coated on the insides of the bulbs to prevent this effect, but were more costly to manufacture.

There are also lots of different sizes and shapes of Christmas lights. You can use anyone of theses to get the effect that you want your tree to give.

Happy Lighting!

Trim Up The Tree

Well its time to start talking about the Christmas tree. Though there is so much stuff to talk about I'm breaking it into a few different post. First we are going to start with the actually tree itself.

Facts

• The first actually Christmas tree can actually be traced back to the 15th and 16th century, but it didn't become more popular till later on.
• There are many clams in America by cities who have German connections, that say they had the first Christmas tree. The earliest date found is from 1777, in Windsor Locks, Connecticut. They claim that a Hessian soldier put up a Christmas tree, while imprisoned at the Noden-Reed House.
• Traditionally Christmas tree were not put up and decorated until Christmas Eve. Then were taken down on the twelfth night. If you set up before, or took down the tree after these dates, it was considered bad luck.
  
• During most of the 1970s and 1980s, the largest decorated Christmas tree in the world was put up every year on the property of The National Enquirer in Lantana, Florida.
• The United States National Christmas Tree is lit each year on the South Lawn of the White House.
• The first artificial Christmas trees were developed in Germany during the 19th century.

In today's times there are many different ways to get a Christmas tree. You can go cut one down yourself at a Christmas tree farm. You can buy real ones that have already been cut down, or you can get a fake tree at many different stores.

Type of Real Trees Most Commonly Used in North, South and Central America.

• Douglas-fir

• Balsam Fir

• Fraser Fir

• Grand Fir

• Guatemalan Fir

• Noble Fir

• Red Fir

• White Fir

• Pinyon Pine

• Jeffrey Pine

• Scots Pine

• Stone Pine

• Norfolk Island Pine

Weather you have a fake Christmas tree, or a real Christmas tree its something fun to do every Christmas season. Stay tuned tomorrow for some more awesome information on the Christmas tree and decorating it.

Looking For Romance?

This post is all about Mistletoe and how it came about. It was first associated with the Greek festival of Saturnalia and primitive marriage rites. They thought that the mistletoe bestow fertility and possessed life giving power. Later, in the eighteenth-century English held a kissing ball. At Christmas time a young lady standing under a ball of mistletoe, brightly trimmed with evergreens, ribbons, and ornaments, could not refuse to be kissed. Such a kiss could mean deep romance or lasting friendship and goodwill. If the girl remained unkissed, she could expect not to marry the following year. In some parts of England the Christmas mistletoe is burned on the twelfth night lest all the boys and girls who have kissed under it never marry. It was described in 1820 by the American author Washington Irving in his The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon.
"The mistletoe is still hung up in farm-houses and kitchens at Christmas, and the young men have the privilege of kissing the girls under it, plucking each time a berry from the bush. When the berries are all plucked the privilege ceases."

Not every legend about mistletoe is a good one. One said that the wood of the cross of Christ was made from mistletoe, and supposedly for that reason the mistletoe plant has been doomed to live as a parasite, and is so classified today, making it condemned to live on the goodwill of other trees.

But weather it's good or bad if your looking for a fun tradition, or maybe just a little kiss this holiday season. Hang up some mistletoe, you never know you might just get lucky.

Do Something More This Year

In this post we are going to talk about Christmas Cards. It's something more personal you can do this Holiday season, instead of sending e-mails or e-cards to everyone.


Interesting Facts About Christmas Cards

• The first official Christmas Cards started with Queen Victoria in 1840. They were generally portraits reflecting significant personal events of the year.

• Commercial Christmas cards have been around since 1843 when Sir Henry Cole commissioned 2,050 of them and sold them each for a shilling. The artwork on the card was done by John Callcott Horsley. It was of a family drinking wine, with small children.

• The first Christmas cards didn't have religious or winter themes. They had flowers, fairies or anything that reminded them of the upcoming spring.

• In 1875 Louis Prang became the first printer to offer Christmas cards in America.

• Postcards almost spelled the end for Victorian-style cards, but by the 1920's cards with envelops returned.

• Some people even make their own Christmas Cards, which can be a fun event to do with the family. Sending Christmas Cards isn't always an easy task either. It can take hours to write out all the cards depending on how many people you send them to. Some family's even make a day out of it.

That's all I have to say about Christmas Cards. Hope you enjoyed and learned something you didn't know. Also do something new this year and send some Christmas Cards out to your family and friends. Even if its just to a couple people. Trust me there is nothing like receiving a Christmas Card from family to put you in a good mood.

First Commercial Christmas Card

For The People Who Like To Read

This post is for people who like to read, because what would Christmas be like without those classic Christmas stories we all like. So here is a list of some of the very best that you should read this Christmas season.

• A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

The tale begins on Christmas Eve in the 1840's, exactly seven years after the death of Ebenezer Scrooge's business partner Jacob Marley. Scrooge is established within the first stave as a greedy and stingy businessman who has no place in his life for kindness, compassion, charity or benevolence. After being warned by Marley's ghost to change his ways (lest he undergo the same miserable afterlife as himself), Scrooge is visited by three additional ghosts — each in its turn, and each visit detailed in a separate stave — who accompany him to various scenes with the hope of achieving his transformation.

• 'Twas The Night Before Christmas (Not sure who wrote)

On Christmas Eve night, while his wife and children sleep, a man awakens to noises outside his house. Looking out the window, he sees St. Nicholas in a Sleigh pulled by eight Reindeer. After flying on to the roof, the saint enters the house through the chimney, carrying a sack of toys with him. The man watches Nicholas filling the children's stockings hanging by the fire, and laughs to himself. They share a conspiratorial moment before the saint bounds up the chimney again. As he flies away, Nicholas wishes everyone a happy Christmas.

• The Fir Tree by Hans Christian Andersen

In the woods stands a little fir-tree. He is preoccupied with growing up and is thoroughly embarrassed when a hare hops over him, an act which emphasizes his diminutives. The children call him the baby of the forest and again he is embarrassed and frustrated. A stork tells him of seeing older trees chopped down and used as ship masts, and the little tree envies them. In the fall, nearby trees are felled and the sparrows tell the little fir-tree of seeing them decorated in houses.

One day while still in his youth, the fir-tree is cut down for a Christmas decoration. He is bought, carried into a house, decorated, and, on Christmas Eve, he glows with candles, colored apples, toys, and baskets of candy. A gold star tops the tree. The children enter and plunder the tree of its candy and gifts then listen to a little fat man tell the story of "Humpty Dumpty".

The next day, the fir-tree expects the festivities to be renewed, but servants take the tree down and carry him into the attic. The tree is lonely and disappointed but the mice gather to hear the tree recite the tale of "Humpty Dumpty". Rats arrive, and, when they belittle the simple tale, the mice leave and do not return. In the spring, the fir-tree – now withered and discolored – is carried into the yard. A boy takes the star from its topmost branch. The fir-tree is then cut into pieces and burned.

• The Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Andersen

On a cold New Year’s Eve, a poor girl tries to sell matches in the street. She is freezing badly, but she is afraid to go home because her father will beat her for not selling any matches. She takes shelter in a nook and lights the matches to warm herself. In their glow, she sees several lovely visions including a Christmas tree and a holiday feast. The girl looks skyward, sees a shooting star, and remembers her deceased grandmother saying that such a falling star means someone died and is going into Heaven. As she lights her next match, she sees a vision of her grandmother, the only person to have treated her with love and kindness. She strikes one match after another to keep the vision of her grandmother nearby for as long as she can. The child dies and her grandmother carries her soul to Heaven. The next morning, passers-by find the dead child in the nook.

• The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen

When Kay is lured from his home by the beautiful, cruel Snow Queen, his friend Gerda sets out on an epic journey to rescue him. As she searches, she encounters a series of strangers to whom she relays her plight. Charmed by her story and her innocence, each of them helps Gerda, so that at last she is able to find the Snow Queen's icy palace. But at the end of her epic journey, will Gerda manage to set Kay free? Soft, ethereal artwork and a faithful translation set the mood for a keepsake edition of Andersen's much-loved winter's tale.

When the Snow Queen abducts her friend Kai, Gerda sets out on a perilous and magical journey to find him.

• The Shoemaker And The Elves by The Brothers Grimm

There are variations depending on the rendition of the story. A poor shoemaker and his wife need money to pay the rent. He gives away the last pair of shoes he has to a needy lady. He has leather to make one more pair of shoes. Elves come in the night and make a pair of shoes which he sells for more than his asking price the next day. He uses that money to pay the rent, buy food and more shoe leather. He feeds a poor traveler. The elves come the next night and make 2 pairs of shoes with the additional leather. He gives away one pair to a needy person and sells the other pair to a referral from the first customer who is immensely satisfied. He buys leather for 3 shoes, and stays up to find the elves making the shoes. The shoemaker and wife make clothes for the elves the next day, and the elves are pleased to find clothes, and continue making shoes. They all live happily ever after.

Time To Spread Some Christmas Cheer!

One of the best ways to spread Christmas cheer is to go Christmas Caroling. I feel it's something most people forget about, or write off. They don't want to go knocking on peoples doors just to sing a song out of tune. I'd have to disagree though, it's one of the best times you'll have. I'd suggest bringing at least four people with you. One of the best parts of Christmas Caroling is that it is fun for any age.


Here are some fun facts I bet you didn't know

• The first specifically Christmas hymns that we know of appear in fourth century Rome.
• Christmas carols in English first appear in a 1426.
• It is not clear whether the word carol derives from the French "carole" or the Latin "carula" meaning a circular dance. In any case the dancing seems to have been abandoned quite early.
• Carols like "Good King Wenceslas", and "The Holly and the Ivy" can be traced directly back to the Middle Ages, and are among the oldest musical compositions still regularly sung.
• Traditionally, carols have often been based on medieval chord patterns, and it is this that gives them their uniquely characteristic musical sound.

Here is a list of Christmas Carols you can sing

• Away In A Manger
• Carol Of The Bells
• Deck The Halls
• Do You Hear What I Hear
• The First Noel
• Frosty The Snowman
• Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
• Here We Come A-Wassailing (Caroling)
  
• The Holly And The Ivy
• It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
• Joy To The World
• Let It Snow
• O Holy Night
• Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
• Silent Night
• The Twelve Days Of Christmas
• O Christmas Tree
• Jolly Old Saint Nicholas
  

These are just some of the Christmas Carols you can sing. There are many, many more that you can look up and enjoy. Happy Caroling!

Painting by Thomas Kinkade

Isn't A Pickle Something You Eat?

Today's blog is about the famous Christmas Pickle. If you've never heard of it, you don't know what you're missing out on! The Christmas Pickle is a tree ornament. You're suppose to hang the Pickle on the tree last, and some people even say you're not suppose to hang it until Christmas eve. You must hide it deep within the branches so its hard to find. On Christmas morning adults and children are suppose to search for the Pickle. The first Child to find it is suppose to get an extra present, and the adult who finds it is said that they will have good luck threw the next year.

The history of this tradition is not very well know. Actually nobody really knows where it came from. Most people say it came from Germany, but if you ask most German they have no idea what you're talking about. Now-a-days Berrien Springs, Michigan, calls itself the Christmas Pickle Capital of the World. The local residents claim the tradition originated when two Spanish boys traveling home from boarding school for the holidays were stuffed into a pickle barrel by a mean innkeeper and later freed when St. Nicholas took pity on them and tapped the barrel with his staff.

But no matter where this tradition came from, its a fun one. You may wanna go out and buy yourself a Christmas Pickle for you family this year.

Something For Your Ears

Well time for our first post! I thought I would start off with something you can listen to. So this is a list of my top 10 most listened to Christmas songs. If you haven't heard them I suggest you give them a try. Some of them may be a little funny, but they sure do get you into the holiday mood!

1. The Christmas Song - Nat King Cole & Bing Crosby
2. All I Want For Christmas Is You - Mariah Carey
3. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas - Judy Garland
4. I'm Dreaming Of A White Christmas - Bing Crosby
5. (There's No Place Like) Home for the Holidays - Perry Como
6. Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree - Brenda Lee
7. Jingle Bell rock - Bobby Helms
8. Step Into Christmas - Elton John
9. Christmas Don't Be Late - Alvin & The Chipmunks
10. A Holly Jolly Christmas - Burl Ives

Now for the people that really are not much for Christmas song. I've got a couple that just might make you laugh a little.

1. Happy Holiday Bastard - Blink 182
2. Merry Frickin Christmas - Frickin A
3. 12 Pains Of Christmas - Bob Rivers and his Comedy Corp

Well that is my list of Christmas song that are a must to listen to each Christmas season. Now I know there are many, many Christmas songs. These are just a few that I myself listen to each and every year. Now there is one last song I would like to add to the list here, its a very pretty song. It's actually based on a true story, during the time of World War 1. If you would like to learn more about it, you can check out Christmas Truce on Wikipedia.

1. Belleau Wood - Garth Brooks

Welcome

Welcome to 'Tis The Season! We are a blog about everything Christmas-ie and Holiday-ish. So stay tuned cause are actual first blog on something Christmas will be on December 1st.