[Gocamino] Off topicish..... interesting

[Rosina]

I though you all would like to read the article below.
Hugs!
Rosina


CHRISTMAS this and that: In the Ukraine, if you found a spider web in the house on Christmas morning, it is believed to be a harbinger of good luck.....In ancient Scandinavia, the mistletoe was associated with peace and friendship.....Louis Prang, a Bavarian-born lithographer who came to the U.S. in the 19th Century, invented a way of reproducing color. He created the first cards with the message "Merry Christmas."..... There is a widespread theory that Christmas began in Rome, centering around the winter solstice, which was locally considered to be December 25th.....In 320 AD, Pope Julius I, and other religious leaders, specified December 25th as the official date of the birth of Jesus Christ..... As late as the last Century, Christmas had gained no great importance; it was not even a legal holiday. This explains why 19th-Century readers found it credible that Scrooge could require Cratchit to come to work on Christmas Day and why in the 19th Century the U.S. Congress could meet on that day. It became a national holiday on June 26, 1870..... The Christmas tree is a custom that originated in Germany. German settlers introduced it in the United States in the 19th Century.....In England, Oliver Cromwell banned Christmas Carols between 1649 and 1660. Cromwell thought that Christmas should be a very solemn day and celebrated only with a sermon and prayers..... The Puritans in the United States tried to make Thanksgiving Day the primary holiday rather than Christmas. They forbade the singing of Christmas Carols..... "Silent Night" was composed by the Austrian Catholic priest Joseph Mohr in 1818. When the church organ broke that year, he was urged by the congregation to compose music that could be sung by a choir and a guitar.....St. Francis of Assisi introduced Christmas Carols to formal church services....."It's A Wonderful Life" appears on T.V. more often than any other holiday movie....."The Nutcracker" is the most popular Christmas ballet.....Charles Dickens wrote "A Christmas Carol" in 1843 in only six weeks.....In Greek, X means Christ. That is where the word Xmas comes from and not because someone took the "Christ" out of Christmas.....More diamonds are sold around Christmas than any other time of the year.....Americans on average send out 28 Christmas cards to friends and family.....The word Christmas is derived from the old English word, "Cristes Maesse" which translates to Christ's Mass.....Santa Claus became a part of the Christmas tradition in the 19th Century after he was depicted as a jolly stout old man wearing a red and white suit.....Americans buy 37.1 million real Christmas trees each year. But don't fret. For every Christmas tree harvested, 3 seedlings are planted in its place.....The United States  official Christmas tree is located in Canyon National Park in California. The giant sequoia is over 300 feet high.....Before settling on the name of Tiny Tim in "A Christmas Carol," Dickens considered the names Little Larry, Puny Pete and Small Sam. And before "Bah Humbug" he considered "Bah Christmas".....Christmas is not widely celebrated in Scotland. The Presbyterian Church considers Christmas a Catholic event.....George Washington spent Christmas on a freezing night in 1776 crossing the Delaware River.....Hallmark introduced the Christmas card in 1915, five years after the founding of the company. Today more than 3 billion cards are sent annually in this country.....Stores that use the word "Christmas" instead of "Holiday" in their seasonal advertising outsell their competitors by 20-25%. Right behind Christmas and Thanksgiving, Super Bowl Sunday ranks as the third largest occasion for Americans to consume food.....Theodore Roosevelt, a staunch conservationist, banned Christmas trees in his home.
And so it goes.


  





 
Elliott Kanbar