25 Days of Christmas: Day 25 (part 2)

here's two pictures that I've had on my desktop forever just for 25 Days and almost forgot about them. They were just too cute/creative to pass up

25 Days of Christmas- Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everybody! Hope you guys enjoy some animals singing Christmas carols.

25 Days of Christmas: Day 24- neighborhood luminaries

our street did the annual luminaries up the street on Christmas Eve and Christmas night. It always looks really cool. Unfortunately smart phones can only do so much when it's dark so I only got one picture.

25 Days of Christmas; Day 23- real life Calvin and Hobbes

stumbled upon this amazing piece of internet wonderfulness. It's the best Christmas decoration ever. Real life Calvin and Hobbes. I'm strongly considering doing this next year in my own yard.

25 Days of Christmas: Day 22- The Christmas colors

Lets explore the symbolism of why certain colors are associated with Christmas. Again I got this information straight from this great website

Green

Evergreen plants, like Holly, Ivy and Mistletoe have been used for thousands of years to decorate and brighten up buildings during the long dark winter. They also reminded people that spring would come and that winter wouldn't last forever!

The Romans would exchange evergreen branches during January as a sign of good luck. The ancient Egyptians used to bring palm branches into their houses during the mid winter festivals.

In many parts of Europe during the middle ages, Paradise plays were performed, often on Christmas Eve. They told Bible stories to people who couldn't read. The 'Paradise Tree' in the garden of eden in the play was normally a pine tree with red apples tied to it.

Now the most common use of green at Christmas are Christmas Trees.

Red

As mentioned above, an early use of red at Christmas were the apples on the paradise tree. They represented the fall of Adam in the plays.

Red is also the color of Holly berries, which is said to represent the blood of Jesus when he died on the cross.

Red is also the color of Bishops robes. These would have been worn by St. Nicholas and then also became Santa's uniform!

Gold

Gold is the color of the Sun and light - both very important in the dark winter. And both red and gold are the colors of fire that you need to keep you warm.

Gold was also one of the presents brought to the baby Jesus by one of the wise men and traditionally it's the color used to show the star that the wise men followed.

Silver is sometimes used instead of (or with) gold. But gold is a 'warmer' color.

White

White is often associated with purity and peace in western cultures. The snow of winter is also very white!

White paper wafers were also sometimes used to decorate paradise trees. The wafers represented the bread eaten during Christian Communion or Mass, when Christians remember that Jesus died for them.

White is used by most churches as the color of Christmas, when the altar is covered with a white cloth (in the Russian Orthodox Church Gold is used for Christmas).

Blue

The color blue is often associated with Mary, the mother of Jesus. In medieval times blue dye and paint was more expensive than gold! So it would only be worn by Royal families and very rich people. Mary was often painted wearing blue to show she was very important.

Blue can also represent the color of the sky and heaven.

During Advent, purple and sometimes blue is used in most churches fort he colour of the altar cloth (in the Russian Orthodox Church red is used for advent).

25 Days of Christmas: Day 21- Christmas bells

Bells are a big association with Christmas, whether it be sleigh bells or jingle bells. I was able to get info straight from whychristmas.com

Bells, especially Church Bells, have traditionally been associated with Christmas for a long time. In the Anglican and Catholic churches, the church day starts at sunset, so any service after that is the first service of the day. So a service on Christmas Eve after sunset is traditionally the first service of Christmas day! In churches that have a Bell or Bells, They are often rung to signal the start of this service.

In some churches in the UK, it is traditional that the largest bell in the church is rung four times in the hour before midnight and then at midnight all the bells are rung in celebration.

In the Catholic Church, Christmas is the only time that Mass is allowed to be held at Midnight. This is because in the early church, it was believed that Jesus was born at midnight, although there has never been any proof of this! A lot of Churches have midnight services on Christmas Eve, although not every church will have a mass or communion as part of the service.

In many Catholic countries such as France, Spain and Italy, the midnight mass service is very important and everyone tries to go to a service.

In Victorian times, it was very fashionable to go carol singing with small handbells to play the tune of the carol. Sometimes there would only be the bells and no singing! Handbell ringing is still popular today

25 Days of Christmas: Day 20-Disney Christmas

would there be any better place to be during the Christmas season than Disney?

25 Days of Christmas: Day 19- The Christmas Cardinal

Did you know that the Cardinal is associated with Christmas? It makes sense, the males are a bright shade of red that really stick out against the snow. (thanks to this website for the info)

The folklore about Cardinals being associated with Christmas is because of the red color of the males. Hanging a cardinal on your Christmas tree is suppose to bring good luck throughout the year. It is suppose to be a symbol of hope and the red symbolizes Christ's blood.

25 Days of Christmas: Day 18-Gingerbread houses

Why do we make gingerbread houses?

Well it took me a bit to find, but the best explanation I could find is related to German history. According to some histories, families in some German villages would make gingerbread versions of their homes and put them out in public to make a mock little replica town. Sorry, it's not the most thorough explanation.

I made one of my own this afternoon. My disclaimer is that it's a far cry from those really fancy ones you see in pictures.

ta-da!

I really liked how these turned out, minus the blue icing that you see there

I went for the "yellowbrick road" -esque pathway because I did something similar last year and my two little cousins really liked it.

25 Days of Christmas: Day 17- The PianoGuys

I know I've already done plenty of music themed '25 days,' but the ThePianoGuys are just so amazing. Here's their rendition of "Where are you Christmas?"

25 Days of Christmas: Day 16- parent's Christmas letter to their child

These are some cool parents

25 Days of Christmas: Day 15- Christmas in Mexico

I've always been interested in traditional Mexican culture, so why not travel south of state side and see how they celebrate Christmas: (as an fyi I'm getting all this information straight from Santa's Net). There's a whole lot of other cool holiday traditions, so feel free to peruse the website link for the rest.

~Their main Christmas celebration is called La Posada, which is a religious procession that reenacts the search for shelter by Joseph and Mary before the birth of Jesus. During the procession, the celebrants go from house to house carrying the images of Mary and Joseph looking for shelter.

~Instead of Santa Claus being a big deal, their representation of Santa's red suit is represented by the poinsettia plant. The story is that a boy was walking to church to see a nativity scene and realized that he had nothing to offer the Christ child. On the way he gathered plain green branches. Despite being laughed at, he put the branches near the manger and they bloomed into a beautiful, red poinsettia

~The Mexican children receive gifts. On Christmas day they are blindfolded and taken to try and break a decorated clay piñata that dangles and swings at the end of a rope. Once the piñata has been broken, the children clamber to recover the candy that was inside the piñata. Those children who have been good also on January 6th receive a gift from the Three Wise Men.

~In the northern states of Mexico Santa Clause "Santo Clos" brings children big presents,while the "Reyes Magos" bring the small presents in Janurary. In the southern states the gift giving is inverted and "El niño Dios" (Jesus) brings a few presents, while "Los Reyes Magos" (the 3 wise men) bring the equivalent of Santa Clause's presents.

25 Days of Christmas: Day 14-a sciency Christmas

A great combination of a few of my favorite things: Science and Christmas

The Chemistree

25 Days of Christmas: Day 13- my own Christmas lights

Thought I'd show you guys my Christmas setup this year. Even though they're not spectacular in any way, I'm especially proud of the outdoor lights this year

The house from the street

The blinking lights on the walkway

my favorite part of the display. This year I decided to wrap the posts with 4-5 strands each, it looks infinitely better this way

also a new addition, they're cascading-light icicles.  

The lights cascade alternately, hence why only one is lit up right now. It's not my favorite effect, but the lights themselves are really cool

The first at several attempts to be creative...don't judge me for my lack of camera skills

didn't quite work out all that well

The lights over the peak stink to put up because the roof is fairly steep 

Above the fireplace. It looks pretty cool this year with the red/white lights, fake candles, and ever so classy Walmart bought poinsettia 

The whole fireplace setup. The "C" has two stockings because my brother got married this year, and the white one is for his wife. Then we've got all the pets on the poker set.

25 Days of Christmas: Day 12- Jesus in different languages

Thought I'd post something about 'the reason of the season' so to speak. Here's how different languages spell/say Jesus

Language	Name/variant
Afrikaans	Jesus
Albanian	Jezusi
Arabic	`Isà عيسى (Islamic) / Yasū`(a) يسوع (Christian)
Aragonese	Chesús
Azerbaijani	İsa
Bosnian	Isus
Breton	Jezuz
Catalan	Jesús
Chinese	耶稣 (Simplified), 耶穌 (Traditional) – Yesu (Mandarin), Yasu (Cantonese)
Cornish	Yesu
Croatian	Isus
Czech	Ježíš
Dutch	Jezus
Estonian	Jeesus
Filipino	Hesus
Finnish	Jeesus
French	Jésus
Galician	Xesús
Greek	Ιησούς (Iisoús modern Greek pronunciation)
Haitian Creole	Jezi
Hawaiian	Jesu
Hebrew	Yeshu ישו (Jewish, secular) / Yeshua יֵשׁוּעַ (Christian)
Hmong Daw	Yexus
Hungarian	Jézus
Indonesia	Yesus (Christian) / Isa (Islamic)
Irish	Íosa
Italian	Gesù
Japanese	イエス (Iesu)
Kazakh	Иса (Isa)
Korean	예수 (Yesu)
Kurdish	Îsa
Latvian	Jēzus
Ligurian	Gesû
Limburgish	Zjezus
Lithuanian	Jėzus
Lombard	Gesü
Malayalam	ഈശോ - Eesho,യേശു -Yeshu
Mirandese	Jasus
Maltese	Ġesù
Neapolitan	Gèsù
Norman	Jésus
Occitan	Jèsus
Piedmontese	Gesù
Polish	Jezus
Portuguese	Jesus
Romanian	Isus
Russian	Иисус (Iisus)
Sardinian	Gesùs
Serbian	Исус (Isus)
Sicilian	Gesù
Scottish Gaelic	Ìosa
Slovak	Ježiš
Slovenian	Jezus
Spanish	Jesús
Tajik	Исо (Iso)
Tamil	இயேசு - Yesu
Turkish	İsa
Turkmen	Isa
Ukrainian	Ісус (Isus)
Uzbek	Iso
Venetian	Jesu
Vietnamese	Chúa Giêsu
Welsh	Iesu
Zulu	uJesu
Sinhala	ජේසුස් වහන්සේ- ‍jeesus wahanse

[edit]

25 Days of Christmas: Day 11- 'Twas the night before Christmas

The famous poem 'Twas the Night Before Christmas' is arguable the most famous Christmas poem of all time. It is believed that Clement Clarke Moore wrote the poem in 1823, and is responsible for several of the ideas about Santa that we have today.

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;

And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,

Had just settled down for a long winter's nap,

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,

I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash,

Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow

Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,

But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,

I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.

More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,

And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;

"Now, DASHER! now, DANCER! now, PRANCER and VIXEN!

On, COMET! on CUPID! on, DONDER and BLITZEN!

To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!

Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,

When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,

So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,

With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof

The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.

As I drew in my hand, and was turning around,

Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,

And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;

A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,

And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.

His eyes -- how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!

His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!

His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,

And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,

And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;

He had a broad face and a little round belly,

That shook, when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly.

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,

And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,

Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,

And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,

And laying his finger aside of his nose,

And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,

And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.

But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,

HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD-NIGHT!

25 Days of Christmas: Day 10- Lindsey Stirling "What Child is This"

with finals week finally over, I'm trying to catch up on the days I missed. One of my favorite YouTubers, violinist Lindsey Stirling just put out "What Child is This." She's a really great musician and I hope you guys will like her videos as much as I do. I'll also put some of her previous Christmas videos from past years.

25 Days of Christmas: Day 9- Mistletoe Prank

this is a funny/cute (depending on your sense of humor) video

25 Days of Christmas: Day 8- Weird Holiday Traditions

here's a good bit by Jim Gaffigan making fun of holiday traditions. I've gotta say, he makes some good points

25 Days of Christmas: Day 7- Iconic Christmas Movie Quotes

My disclaimer before posting this is: 1) I by no means think this is a good/all encompassing list at all. 2) it's about iconic/old school movies (so no, Elf does not count as iconic). 3) There's too many Christmas movies out there to try and get everything.

Well now that that's over with here's a list of my favorite iconic Christmas movie moments funny, serious, and all points in between

"It started in low and it started to grow...it came without ribbons, it came without tags, it came without packages, boxes and bags."


"Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings"

"You'll shoot your eye out!"


These next two go together: "Is your house on fire Clarke? Don't throw me down Clarke." "Grace, she passed away 30 years ago." "Shewrapped up her damn cat!"....basically everything about Aunt Bethany

Of course had to end with: "Sure Charlie Brown, I can tell you what Christmas is all about..."

25 Days of Christmas: Day 6-Snowflakes

A topic which isn't necessarily Christmas, but definitely associated with it: Snowflakes. Even if you don't particularly like snow for various reasons (shoveling, cold, in particular trying to drive in it) you have to admit individual flakes are amazing things. Here's some fun facts you hopefully will enjoy. Much of this info comes from weather facts.com. And if you're really interested and fascinated, here's an awesome website that I just found all about snowflakes (and it's also where I got these pictures). I would suggest taking a few minutes and perusing

~Snowflakes always have 6 sides
~There's six main categories: plate (flat), column, stars, dendrite (lacy), needle, and capped column
~When temperatures are extremely cold the snow will be very fine and powdery. The flakes are very simple, typically needle or rod shaped.
~ When the temperatures are closer to freezing point, the flakes are larger and much more complex.
~ The world's tallest snowman measured 113.6 feet (34.63 meters).

Column flake

dendrite flake. Possibly the most iconic and beautiful shape

Needle flake

plate flake. Easily in a tie with the dendrite for prettiest, for me at least

Star flake

capped column flake. Award for most bizarre/type that I didn't know existed

25 Days of Christmas: Day 5-Santa's Reindeer

Have you ever wondered how Santa's reindeer got their names and how they came to be a part Christmas?

Fun reindeer facts: There's about 3 million wild reindeer alive today and 2 million domesticated ones. They can be found in north Russia, Greenland, and Iceland

Reindeer and Christmas:

~The poem by Clement C. Moore in 1823 'Twas the Night Before Christmas' started the whole thing.

~He names eight reindeer that pull Santa's sled: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen. All of which mean variations of speed or flight.

~Dasher= something quick or speedy
~Dancer/Prancer= graceful and elegance
~Vixen= female fox which symbolizes speed and swiftness
~Comet= ball of fire that flies through space at very high speeds
~Cupid= mythological character that could fly
~Donner/Blitzen= Dunder and Blixem were their original names which meant "Thunder" and "Lightning" in Dutch, which symbolize power and force. The names were changed for unknown reasons. 

25 Days of Christmas: Day 4-Christmas Grumpy Cat

I've gotta say that my new favorite "internet sensation" is Grumpy Cat. So people took it upon themselves to make Christmas themed pictures of Grumpy Cat

The original Grumpy Cat so you can get a point of reference