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The
History of Christmas
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 The
Beginnings of a Modern Christmas
was essentially an evolutionary
process that developed over a
period of centuries into what we
now commonly recognize as the
Christmas holiday season. This
includes the establishment of a
particular time of the year for
celebration, the inventions of
various decorations and symbols
as well as the common
interactive pleasantries and
traditions. While Christmas is,
of course, considered a holiday
of the Christian tradition
(although it has become more
secularized and inclusive in
recent years) much of what
exists today in modern Christmas
originated in many decidedly
non-Christian cultures many
centuries prior to the birth of
Christ. So, to a great extent,
the advent of modern Christmas
was an evolutionary process that
redefined the common winter
festivals of pagan,
pre-Christian and non-Christian
religions. Read
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Stories of Christmas |
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Christmas
Traditions
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 Christmas
Music - Does
anyone remember when there were
three network channels, a PBS
station and then the voided
wasteland of UHF? Yes, in the
days before cable television
there was more emphasis on big
“event” television
particularly around the holiday
season. During Christmas there
were a great variety of specials
that were holiday themed and one
of the most memorable was a Bing
Crosby special that featured a
duet between him and David Bowie
where they sang and incredibly
moving version of The Little
Drummer Boy. Even though three
decades have past since that
famous episode aired, it still
remains an incredibly memorable
and moving duet. In fact, there
are a number of moving and
interesting versions of
Christmas songs and Christmas
music because it more than just
a way of emoting lyrics
indicative of the time of the
year, they are passionate moving
songs that truly reflect the
spirit of the Christmas season.
While most people are familiar
with Christmas songs (how can
you not miss hearing them on the
radio during December?) most
people are not familiar with
their origins. Where did
Christmas songs originate and
how did they start? Read
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Christmas Traditions
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All
About Santa Claus
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 The
American Santa Claus
- The
character of Santa Claus has
taken on many forms and many
names throughout the centuries
and at different times and in
different cultures, the famous
Christmas character would take on
a multitude of different
appearances and forms. Even the
name has changed over time as
the name Santa Claus itself
derives from the
mispronunciation of a Dutch
variant on other common name
Santa is most associated, St.
Nicholas. So, how then did all
these different variations
become the modern day American
image of Santa Claus, the
bearded jolly old fat man in a
red suit who bellows “Ho! Ho!
Ho!”? Well, it was a process
that slowly developed throughout
the 19th century
starting with a poem in a
newspaper. Read
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About Santa
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Christmas
Trees
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 Christmas
Tree Tips - It’s
that time of year again, you
know putting up a Christmas
tree.
Did we hear a groan?
Maybe this can help with
the choosing of your tree.
Measure
the door and the wall where the
tree will go.
It makes sense that if
you have a 6 foot ceiling, a 7
foot tree won’t fit.
Same principle with the
width of your door, if your door
is only 5 feet wide, keep the
tree a little thinner.
I know this sounds
logical, but you wouldn’t
believe how many times I’ve
heard people say in the store
“oh it will fit.” Only to
have them come back with the
brute, and I get the tree for
25% off.
Decide
if you want a real live tree or
an artificial tree.
A live tree is nice, has
a great smell to it, brings the
outdoors into your indoors and
neighbors will praise you for
the natural way you are
celebrating Christmas.
However, live trees need
to be watered daily and though
they still get watered they drop
needles like nobody’s business
and, bugs sometimes live in
these things and come out by the
droves because the dead tree is
not given them the nourishment
they need. Read
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More
about Christmas
Trees
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