*Please note- This site search does not include the Vic. & Tas. BMD's, Lots o' Links & Worth a Look Books
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Now truth more than fiction is strange,
as customs and laws they have changed;
There're things quite absurd
that we've never heard
and some of them seem quite deranged
as customs and laws they have changed;
There're things quite absurd
that we've never heard
and some of them seem quite deranged
HOLIDAY HUMDINGERS
CHRISTMAS
1st Christmas card
Was designed by John Calcott Horsley for Henry Cole in 1843. These two men certainly made a huge impact on Christmas. http://www.emotionscards.com/museum/john_calcott_horsley_ra_1817.html
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Why do we have a decorated Christmas Tree?
In the 7th century a monk from Crediton, Devonshire, went to Germany to teach the Word of God. He did many good works there, and spent much time in Thuringia, an area which was to become the cradle of the Christmas Decoration Industry. Legend has it that he used the triangular shape of the Fir Tree to describe the Holy Trinity of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The converted people began to revere the Fir tree as God's Tree, as they had previously revered the Oak. By the 12th century it was being hung, upside-down, from ceilings at Christmastime in Central Europe, as a symbol of Christianity. The first decorated tree was at Riga in Latvia, in 1510. In the early 16th century, Martin Luther is said to have decorated a small Christmas Tree with candles, to show his children how the stars twinkled in the dark night Christmas Tree History- St. Boniface (c. 672-754) http://www.vault.com/industries-professions/ industries/toys-and-games.aspx RIGA, Latvia
Britain and the Christmas Tree
Although the tradition of decorating the home with evergreens was long established, the custom of decorating an entire small tree was unknown in Britain until some two centuries ago. At the time of the personal union with Hanover, George III's German-born wife, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, introduced a Christmas tree at a party she gave for children in 1800. The custom did not at first spread much beyond the royal family. Queen Victoria as a child was familiar with it and a tree was placed in her room every Christmas. In her journal for Christmas Eve 1832, the delighted 13-year-old princess wrote:
Christmas Truce
The Christmas Truce – A Birkenhead Constable’s experience This December marks the 100th anniversary of the famous 1914 Christmas truce, when British, French and German troops disobeyed orders and met in no man’s land to exchange gifts and other gestures of seasonal good will. By the Christmas of 1914, both sides were faced with the horrific realities of trench warfare and the resulting stalemate meant that the exhausted troops were often stationed within shouting distance of the enemy. There had been several attempts at peace initiatives in the run up to the festive season. A group of 101 suffragettes had written and signed an open Christmas Letter addressed "To the Women of Germany and Austria", while Pope Benedict XV had begged the warring governments to allow an official ceasefire so "that the guns may fall silent at least upon the night the angels sang." All calls for an end to the killing fell on deaf ears and hundreds of thousands of men were ordered to spend Christmas day fighting to the death over a patch of mud. Despite the bloody-mindedness of Generals and politicians alike, it appears that the men in the trenches were not willing to completely abandon the Christmas Spirit that year. At various points across allied and German lines, soldiers of both sides ignored orders and established their own unofficial truces. Read More........ http://www.genesreunited.co.uk/blog/genes-reunited-blog/archive/2014/12/4/
The largest end of the log would be placed into the fire hearth while the rest of the tree stuck out into the room! The log would be lit from the remains of last year's log which had been stored away & slowly fed into the fire through the 12 Days of Christmas. It was important that the relighting was carried out by someone with clean hands.
In Cornwall the log is called 'The Mock' & is dried out, then the bark removed before it comes into the house to be burnt. Also in the UK, barrel makers (Coopers) gave their customers logs to use as Yule logs. http://www.whychristmas.com/customs/yulelog.shtml Christmas Carols
A Large number of composers were born in Germany or Austria & some wrote Christmas carols
I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
Music by John Baptiste Calkin. Based on the 1863 poem "Christmas Bells" by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. On Christmas Day in 1863, the American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–1882) listened to the bells from a nearby church, overwhelmed by loss. Two years earlier, his wife had burned to death in a fire, and he had also been badly burned trying to save her. At times, his grief was so great that he feared that he would be sent to an asylum. His son had also been wounded in the Civil War and was temporarily paralyzed. As he listened to the church bells, Longfellow wrote a poem that reflected his grief; which was later put to music in 1872, by John Baptiste Calkin, (1827–1905) From- https://www1.cbn.com/story-behind-song-i-heard-bells-christmas-day Read in more depth...https://www.theraineys.org/post/i-heard-the-bells-on-christmas-day
The Good King Wenceslaus
This is the story in song, of the legendary king of Bohemia, who lived early in the 10th century & was famous for his generosity. It was first published as one of Luther's collection "Piae Cantiones" in 1582 John Mason Neale wrote the "Wenceslas" lyrics, in collaboration with his music editor Thomas Helmore in 1853 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/3674124/The-story-behind-the-carol
Once in Royal David's City
The poem by Cecil Frances Alexander, was first published in 1848 in Miss Cecil Humphreys hymnbook for little Children. A year later, the English organist Henry John Gauntlett set the poem to music.
Joy to the World
The stirring words of this inspiring carol were penned by Isaac Watts, a retired Minister who devoted his life to the writing of hymns after a serious illness forced his retirement from active duty. At the home of Sir Thomas Abney, his dearest friend, Watts continued to compose poems until he became known as the Father of hymnody. Lowell Mason an American musician set these words to the wonderful music of Handel.
O Come all Ye Faithful
John Francis Wade, is said to have written the words to Adeste Fideles. The tune has been purported to be written by several musicians, from John Reading & his son to Handel & even Gluck, including the Portuguese composers Marcos Portugal or the king John IV of Portugal himself. Thomas Arne, whom Wade knew, is another possible composer. The English words of this spirited popular air were written in 1841 by Frederick Oakeley an English Clergyman. It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
This happy tuneful air, is another collaboration of two American ministers: Edmund Sears, who wrote the words and Richard Storrs Willis, who set them to music.
Hark! the Herald Angels Sing
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy is credited with the composition of this tuneful carol. The words are from the pen of Charles Wesley, brother of the famous theologian, John Wesley
Queen Victoria's Christmas card encouraged others to make their own Christmas cards.
Victorian Christmas http://www.averyl.com/attic/victorian-christmas.htm
Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens is often associated with Christmas because of his famous story 'A Christmas carol', he also wrote other Christmas stories. After the success attained with A Christmas Carol in 1843 Dickens continued the series throughout the 1840's, maintaining what he called "the Carol philosophy" to "strike a sledgehammer blow" for the poor, uneducated, and repressed.
Aside from his Christmas stories, Dickens also had a monthly magazine.
"Household Words" (1850) & 'All the Year Round' (1859). After Dickens' death in 1870, his son, Charles Dickens Jr., took on editorship. The journal ran until 1895, and was then absorbed into the second incarnation of "Household Words". http://charlesdickenspage.com/christmas_books.html
Nast continued to draw Santa for 30 years, changing the color of his coat from tan to the red he’s known for today. Santa has been featured in Coke ads, since the 1920's, which eventually helped to shape the vision we have for him today.
Read more........... http://www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/coke-lore-santa-claus |
History of the Calendar
When the Gregorian calendar was introduced in 1752 (in Britain), dropping days, was still felt even up until 1887, when old people could be heard lamenting and averring on the authority of their grandmothers that "Old Christmas Day was the true one," one evidence being that their bees still hummed on Old Christmas Eve. |
EASTER
Easter Sunday
In 325CE the Council of Nicaea established that Easter would be held on the first Sunday following the full moon after the vernal equinox on March 21. Therefore, Easter is observed anywhere between March 22 and April 25 every year. Easter is delayed by 1 week if the full moon is on Sunday which reduces the chances of it falling on the same day as the Jewish Passover. http://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/ Easter Calculator Holiday Finder http://www.searchforancestor |
Council of Nicaea
The First Council of Nicaea was a council of Christian bishops convened in Nicaea in Bithynia by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in AD 325. This council was the first effort to attain consensus in the church through an assembly of 300 religious leaders. It's main accomplishments were settlement of the Christological issue of the nature of the Son of God and his relationship to God the Father, the construction of the first part of the Creed of Nicaea, establishing uniform observance of the date of Easter, and promulgation of early canon law. The Council of Nicea decided from all of the scripture that existed at the time, which books should be compiled together to make the Bible we now know and which ones should be burned. We may never know what doctrine & added scripture existed before the Council of Nicea.
http://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/determining-easter-date.html Easter Calculator http://www.searchforancestors.com/utility/easter.html |
The Easter Egg
The egg has long been a symbol of 'fertility', 'rebirth' and 'the beginning'. With the rise of Christianity in Western Europe, the church adapted many pagan customs and the egg, as a symbol of new life, came to represent the Resurrection. Some Christians regarded the egg as a symbol for the stone being rolled from the sepulchre. |
The earliest Easter eggs were hen or duck eggs decorated at home in bright colours with vegetable dye and charcoal. Orthodox Christians and many cultures continue to dye Easter eggs, often decorating them with flowers. The 17th and 18th centuries saw the manufacture of egg-shaped toys, which were given to children at Easter. The Victorians had cardboard, 'plush' and satin covered eggs filled with Easter gifts and chocolates. The ultimate egg-shaped Easter gifts must have been the fabulous jewelled creations of Carl Fabergé made during the 19th century for the Russian Czar and Czarina, now precious museum pieces.
Chocolate Easter eggs were first made in Europe in the early 19th century, with France and Germany taking the lead in this new artistic confectionery. Some early eggs were solid, as the technique for mass-producing moulded chocolate had not been devised. https://www.cadbury.com.au/about-chocolate/the-story-of-easter-and-easter-eggs.aspx
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History of the Calendar
The Month of April & Easter Traditions |
SPECIAL DAYS
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