Santa Claus

Today were going to take a look at Santas around the world in honor of Nikolaustag, or St. Nick’s Day!

Santa Claus is derived from Sinterklaas (Dutch), or St. Nicholas, who was a Greek Bishop of Myra (modern day Turkey) in the 4th Century AD. He gained a reputation for secret gift-giving, such as leaving coins in the shoes people left out for him, and became the model for Santa Claus. December 6th is his name-day and therefore the day celebrating him in many European Countries. In Germany, for example, he visits the evening of Dec. 5th and leaves gifts to be found on the morning of Dec. 6th (as long as you leave out your shoes!) As a bishop, he wore a Bishop’s Hat, golden Robes and had a white beard.

So how did Sinterklaas become Santa Claus? Word has it, the tradition of Sinterklaas was reinvited by a former Dutch colonial town who wanted a symbol of the city’s non-English past. In 1810, John Pintard published a pamphlet with illustrations where he calls for Saint Nicholas to be made the patron Saint of New York and to start a Sinterklaas tradition. His pamphlet included an old Dutch Sinterklaas poem in which Sinterklaas was referred to as “Sancta Claus”. Two years later, John Irving wrote his famous poem: The Night Before Christmas: where Santa Claus was first born as a red-suited, rosy-cheeked, Jolly old elf! Ultimately, Pintard’s initiative helped morph Sinterklaas into Santa Claus, but freed of his Bishop’s Robes. Source: Wikipedia

Sinterklaa visits children in the Netherlands, de Kerstman or le Père Noël comes bearing gifts for children in Belgium on Christmas day, Tomte comes to Scandanavian households, Papai Noel is known in Brazil, Mikulás comes to Hungarian Children, Croatian children expect a visit from Sveti_Nikola, Kleeschen comes to children in Luxembourg, in Slovenia, Miklavž comes with an angel and a devil (Krampus), Italy boasts Babbo Natale & La Befana & in Russia Ded Moroz (Grandfather Frost) comes visiting!

Feliz Navidad!

Today we travel to Mexico to learn about Las Posadas they’ll be celebrating Las Posadas for nine days! Unofficially, the holidays in Mexico begin with the saint’s day of Our Lady of Guadalupe on December 12, but decorations can appear any time after the Day of the Dead on November 2.

Starting on December16, the posadas start. Every evening until the 24th, Mary and Joseph’s journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem is reenacted. These are a novenario, or nine days of religious observance and are based on the nine months that Mary carried Jesus. The word posada means ‘lodging’ in Spanish:
“Traditionally, a party is held each night in a neighborhood home. At dusk, guests gather outside the house with children dressed as shepherds, angels and sometimes, Mary andJoseph. An angel leads the procession, followed by Mary and Joseph or by guestscarrying their images. The adults follow, carrying lighted candles. The“pilgrims” sing a song asking for shelter, and the hosts sing a reply, finallyopening the doors to the guests and offering hot ponche, fried rosette cookiesknown as buñuelos, steaming hot tamales and other festive foods.” –source mexconnect

In the U.S., the Posada is usually celebrated on one night only, but as in Mexico, ends with a piñata in the shape of the Christmas star!

In both counties, the procession marches to the different houses in the neighborhood and is turned down at each one until they reach the site of the night’s party where they are finally welcomed inside, and the party can start!

In Mexico, the last posada, on December24, is followed by a midnight mass.

History of Festive Decorations

There aren’t too many homes that escape the plethora of decorations used at this time of year and indeed much of the excitement of the season is thanks, in part, to the degree of decoration we create and see around us and the feelings it arouses in us. The history of the different decorations is as varied as the decorations themselves. Holly & mistletoe were significant to the Druids long before Christmas festivities were started.

The Christian faith incorporated these items, claiming that the sharp holly leaves symbolized the crown of thorns Christ wore and the red berries drops of his blood, and the white mistletoe berries symbolized the purity of the Virgin Mary. The Yule Log probably dates back to the Celts bringing a large log indoors to burn for warmth and later it was believed toward of the devil. The chocolate table top variety is a modern 19th century invention!

Nativity scenes are accredited to St. Francis of Assisi in1223 who wished to recreate the scene after his visit to the Holy Land. Tree decorations consisting of glass baubles and tinsel shards developed in Germany,with candles and later electric lights adding to the décor. Christmas crackers were apparently invented by Tom Smith, a baker in London in 1847, who filled his early attempts with sweets. Christmas cards are another Victorian invention and the concept to spread seasonal goodwill caught on quickly, no doubt aided and abetted by the postal systems in various countries.

Sources: h2g2. History.uk, Christmas Archives, Wikipedia

History of Festive Music

Music has played an important role in most religions throughout time, with chanting, mostly in Latin taking the earliest form in the Christian church. Carols as we know them now, written in the venacular, became popular from the 13th century first in Italy, then Germany & England. In 1426 an English priest, John Audelay, listed 25 “caroles of Cristemas” which were probably performed by wassailers, who went from door to door.

The tradition of carol singing for charity began in Britian during the 17th century. In Britain today, very few wassailers are seen and heard, but we still get the large scale charity arrangements including our local rotary club arriving on the back of the horse drawn brewery cart, complete with brass band, choir & amplification – Victoriana at its finest, 21st century style. Somewhat surprisingly, and despite the long heritage and tradition of carols, most carols we sing today date back no further than the 19th century.

Since the mid 20th century pop Christmas songs have come to the fore, thanks in a large part to “Christmas creep” starting earlier & earlier in malls and on radio shows the world over. These are not generally religious but are often infuriatingly catchy and we all have our favourites.

With thanks to Wikipedia

Christmas Trees

Today were going to talk about CHRISTMAS TREES! Why do we have them? Where did the tradition start? Well, let’s find out!

The tradition of Christmas trees has ancient origins which date back long before the first Christmas. Many ancient cultures treasured and worshiped evergreen plants and decorated their homes with them at the time of the winter solstice. Evergreens were considered a symbol of eternal life or the triumph of life over death. It is from these early traditions that our modern Christmas tree evolved.

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. Legend has it 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. The Christmas tree tradition most likely came to the United States with Hessian troops during the American Revolution, or with German immigrants to Pennsylvania and Ohio. After the war in 1776, many Germans stayed in the United States, introduced the Christmas tree, and shared their traditions. The size of the tree was limited to 8 feet, and decorations consisted of dolls, as well as sugar items. In the early 19th century, the custom became popular among the nobility and spread to royal courts in Russia, Austria, France, Denmark and Britain.

The American Christmas tree market was born in 1851 when Catskill farmer Mark Carr hauled two ox sleds of evergreens into New York City and sold them all. 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. By 1900, one in five American families had a Christmas tree, and 20 years later, the custom was nearly universal.

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.

(Sources: History.com, Wikipedia, AllAboutHistory.org, Christmas-Tree.com)

So now you know all about the history of Christmas trees :)

Want weird weather? Come to Oklahoma!

By Steve Olafson  OKLAHOMA CITY | Fri Nov 11, 2011 9:24am EST

(Reuters) - After one of the strangest local weather days in memory, an Oklahoma woman with a sense of humor asked on Twitter earlier this week:

"Wanna experience the apocalypse before it happens? Visit Oklahoma!"

She posted that on Monday night shortly after a 4.7-magnitude aftershock earthquake shook the state. The temblor occurred not long after six tornadoes ripped through southwest Oklahoma, which was preceded by flash-flooding in an area that's been plagued by a historic drought.

"Seriously, WHAT'S GOING ON?" someone else tweeted that night.

The answers vary. Global warning? Coincidence? Bad luck? Bad timing? End of time?

There's agreement on only one thing: It's been weird all year.

"Even for Oklahoma, this is crazy," said Rick Smith, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Norman. "Since January, we've been setting records. People are just kind of amazed and shocked."

State records set this year have ranged from the lowest temperature (31 degrees below zero in Nowata in northeast Oklahoma) to snowfall in a 24-hour period (27 inches, also in Nowata) to the largest hail stone (a spiky, six-inch piece recovered in Gotebo, in southwest Oklahoma).

This year also produced the state's highest-ever-recorded surface wind speed (151 miles per hour near El Reno, outside of Oklahoma City) and biggest known earthquake (5.6 magnitude, breaking the 1956 record).

On Wednesday, Governor Mary Fallin declared a state of emergency for 20 counties because of earthquakes, tornadoes and severe storms.

TOUGH YEAR

"It's been a tough year for Oklahoma when it comes to weather and natural disasters, but we're doing everything we can to help," Fallin said in a statement announcing the declaration.

The state's record-breaking earthquake got everyone's attention. In the past week, counting both foreshock and aftershock earthquakes that sandwiched the state record-breaking rumbler, 32 earthquakes have been recorded in central Oklahoma.

In Meeker, population 968, east of Oklahoma City, the town administrator was describing the damage and wondering aloud if his town, founded in 1903, could survive a California-style "big one."

"I'm beginning to think God's a little mad at us," Jim Howard said.

Howard was joking, but questions of the Almighty are coming into play in Oklahoma, where Christian beliefs underpin much of the culture.

An Oklahoma City TV station interviewed a preacher who proclaimed, "I think it's pointing up to the end of time."

That belief is not shared by all, even fervent believers.

Nancy Dailey, a school teacher in Oklahoma City whose father was a Baptist preacher, dismisses doomsday talk from the pulpit, saying it just scares people.

Still, she said she overheard two co-workers sharing end-of-the-world talk in the teacher's lounge.

"After all these natural disasters we've been having, at some point all you have left is humor to try and cope with it," said Gary McManus, associate climatologist for the state.

There is at least one benefit to the state's weather.

Norman, home to the National Weather Festival, has become a magnet for meteorology students from around the country. The University of Oklahoma there built a five-story, $69 million National Weather Center six years ago, and installed the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) as its largest tenant.

This week, NOAA said it will send the university $75 million in federal funds for weather radar research to improve severe storm forecasts and increase understanding of extreme weather.

Smith, the National Weather Service meteorologist, calls OU a "top-of-the-list" institution for people serious about weather.

"For going to school in a natural laboratory, you can't beat it."

McManus agreed: "You don't want to go to L.A. and study endless sunny skies."

(Editing by Corrie MacLaggan and Jerry Norton)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/11/us-apocalypse-oklahoma-odd-f-idUSTRE7AA3VQ20111111?feedType=nl&feedName=usoddlyenough

Happy Halloween

Thought for Today ::

When black cats prowl and pumpkins gleam,
May luck be yours on Halloween.

Thought for Today ::

Every time you smile at someone,
it is an action of love,
a gift to that person,
a beautiful thing.

Mother Teresa, 1910-1997

Thought for Today ::

There's always a little truth behind every 'just kidding.'
A little knowledge behind every 'I don't know.'
A little emotion behind every 'I don't care.'
A little love behind every 'I hate you!'
A little uneasiness behind every 'I'm okay.'
A little pain behind every 'forget it.'
A little fear behind every 'leave me alone.'
A little hope behind every 'goodbye.'
And a little 'something' behind every 'nothing.'
Author Unknown ~ But Very Much Appreciated!

Thought for Today ::

The adventure of life is to learn.
The purpose of life is to grow.
The nature of life is to change.
The challenge of life is to overcome.
The essence of life is to care.
The opportunity of life is to serve.
The secret of life is to dare.
The spice of life is to befriend.
The beauty of life is to give.
The joy of life is to love.

William Arthur Ward, 1921-1994

Time...

...it's time you let go. Of course, you want to control so everything happens in just the way you want it. But at the end of the day, we control nothing, - it's all in God's hands, - has always been, and will always be. So, do what you can, then let go and let God handle the rest.

Pictures before and after the storm

Thought for Today ::

The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything.
They just make the best of everything.
Author Unknown ~ But Very Much Appreciated

April Flowers

To get through the hardest journey, we need to take only one step at a time, but we must keep on stepping." - AUTHOR UNKNOWN

Thought for Today ::

We are more than what we do...
much more than what we accomplish...
far more than what we possess.
William Arthur Ward, 1921-1994

Oddz n endz

Thought for Today ::

Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.

Dale Carnegie

The Lake