Archive for November, 2008
On today’s show: The tackiest treasures of the holiday season.
This Christmas Craft project is perfect for children ages 4 and up. You will love decorating your home with this Christmas Craft project. Christmas Craft
Duration : 0:7:21
Gift-giving At Christmas
The real meaning of Christmas is often expressed as being about giving to others during the season. Giving can take many forms, but during the Christmas season the most obvious way in which giving is done is by preparing beautifully wrapped Christmas presents for family, friends, acquaintances, work colleagues, teachers and others such as business clients.
The tradition of giving gifts at Christmas is believed to have started with the Three Wise Men who brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. But the practice of giving gifts as is common today, evolved from a retail strategy that involved Santa Claus and attracting children into stores. For that reason, giving gifts at Christmas and during the holidays has been centered on children. Giving gifts during Christmas started in the early 19th century when the celebration of Christmas was restored after a period when the Protestants in England banned Christmas celebrations. In 1820 to 1840 when Christmas celebrations regained popularity, stores started to advertise special Christmas shopping promotions. At the same time, newspapers also created advertising sections solely for holiday shopping advertisements. These special advertising sections had prominent displays of Santa Claus. In 1841 when a store in Philadelphia had a life-size model of Santa Claus, hundreds of children turned up to get a look at Santa Claus, which had become a new and popular element of revitalized Christmas celebrations. The interest in seeing Santa Claus provided a marketing idea to retailers that they could attract children and parents to stores through offers to have a look at a ‘real’ or ‘live’ Santa Claus. Because of that marketing strategy to attract children during Christmas, the focus was therefore to give Christmas presents to children.
Today, gift-giving is still focused on children, but adults are as much popular recipients as children. Within families, the focus on children is evident in the fact that an individual child will get more gifts than any other individual adult member of the family. For young children, who are particularly delighted and enchanted by the holidays and Christmas festivities, toys are usually the gift given. Among older children, clothes and electronic gadgets are popular items to give as Christmas gifts. 
Adults are the ones however, for whom there is the widest range of items that can be given as Christmas presents. An item that will make a good Christmas or holiday present to just about any adult is a decadent box of chocolate or holiday cookies. This is enjoyed even by those who are diet-conscious because, they can be sugar- and, or, fat-free or also low in carbohydrates. At Christmas time also, many people tend to temporarily disregard any strict diet rules that they are following and so they welcome and enjoy any type of Christmas treats heartily.
According to a survey done in 2004 by the National Confectioners Association, 90 percent of 1,000 adults who were surveyed responded that giving or receiving a box of chocolates and creating or receiving a stocking filled with goodies were among the top three ways they enjoyed candy during the winter holidays. A third way was having candy that was placed in a dish, which indicates that having sweet treats at Christmas time is generally enjoyed by a broad cross-section of people.
Aside from family members and friends, it may also be a nice gesture to give a holiday or Christmas present to colleagues at work, teachers of your children and based on your profession, to business clients. The primary reason to give any of those categories of people holiday or Christmas gifts is likely to express appreciation. For that reason, a holiday present of goodies or treats would indeed be a sweet gift to give.
Christians celebrate Christmas to observe the birth of Jesus Christ, which is an event and not a tradition. But many other
activities related to celebrating the Christmas season evolved from certain traditions, many of which are from other countries,
particularly from peoples in Europe.
Among common items used in Christmas decorations are the holly and the mistletoe. Both are used primarily in wreaths and garlands. The Druids started the tradition of using the mistletoe as decorative items up to two hundred years before Christ. To celebrate the winter season, the Druids would gather the plants and use them to decorate their homes. The Druids believed the mistletoe would bring good luck and ward off evil spirits. They also believed that the mistletoe had a healing quality and could be
used for everything from healing wounds to increase fertility.
In Scandinavia, the mistletoe was seen as a plant of peace and harmony and was associated with Frigga, the goddess of love. This association is probably what led to the custom of kissing under the mistletoe. In the Victorian period, the English also would hang mistletoe from ceilings and in doorways during holidays. The habit developed that if someone was standing under the mistletoe, someone else in the room would kiss that person. Such outright behavior was not generally seen in Victorian society.
The use of the mistletoe in Christmas celebrations was once banned by the church however because of its associations with pagan traditions, and the use of holly was suggested as a substitute.
Poinsettias are another traditional decorative flower used at Christmas. It is native to Mexico and is named after Joel Poinsett, who was the first U.S ambassador to Mexico and who brought the plants to America in 1828. Mexicans believe the plants were a symbol of the Star of Bethlehem and that’s one reason they are associated with Christmas. There’s also the story that a young
boy was going to see the Nativity Play at a church but realized he didn’t have a gift for Baby Jesus. The boy gathered some green branches, which others scoffed at. But as he placed them near the manger, a bright red poinsettia flower started to bloom on each branch, which gave rise to their traditional use at Christmas.
Candy canes became a Christmas tradition not because their red and white stripes matched the colors of the season, but for the most unusual reason of discipline. that’s because they were first used as treats that were give to German children to keep them
well-behaved for the duration of church sermons. Over time, the legend of candy canes at Christmas came to be associated with some of the strongest symbols and beliefs of Christianity: the Father, Son and Holy Ghost known as the Trinity, the Blood of the Son of God, Jesus as the embodiment of holiness, purity and without sin and the Son of God as the shepherd of man. The candy cane represents these symbols respectively with its three stripes, its red and white color and its shape.
Sending greeting cards during Christmas and the holidays is as prevalent today as the custom of giving gifts. The tradition of sending Christmas cards started in 1840 in Britain with the start of public postal delivery service of the ‘Penny Post.’ Then from about 1860, large numbers of Christmas greeting cards started to be produced. The popularity of the cards increased in Britain when
they could be sent by the postal service for one half-penny, which was half the price to post a standard letter at the time, if they were in an unsealed envelope. Religious pictures of Mary, Joseph , Baby Jesus, the angels, shepherds and Wise Men were traditionally placed on Christmas cards. Some cards today include scenes from the Nativity, but pictures of Santa Claus, winter scenery, Christmas
trees, gift packages and others are also depicted on contemporary Christmas greeting cards.
In this video, Julie Mulligan shares ideas, tips, and tricks on creating your own beautiful flower arrangements this holiday season. Follow along with Julie as she teaches you how to decorate your fireplace mantel, create unique place card holders, and create the same kinds of fabulous arrangements you’ll find in her Designer Flowers collection, such as a Julep Cup Arrangement, an evergreen arrangement, a holiday wreath, and the Amazing Flower Snowman! For more great ideas from Julie, visit her blog at http://blog.1800flowers.com/julie
Duration : 0:12:35
Christmas DVDs order at showmehow.im
Show Me How - Christmas Decorations is the perfect guide to making a really special Christmas. When it is the thought that counts, nothing can compare with the pleasure of receiving a handcrafted card or individually wrapped gift - or the fun of creating your own, unique decorations
Demonstrated by experts, all these projects are easy enough for beginners to get impressive results, and many are suitable for children to help.
There are lots of professional hints and tips - plus money-saving ideas, patterns and a guide to all the material and basic techniques you need.
Show Me How - Christmas Crafts includes all these projects and more:
- Hand-printed and rubber-stamped cards
- Paper-sculpture cards
- Decorated and 3D cards
- Candles, centrepieces and tree decorations
- Hand-finished wrapping for special gifts
- Wrappings for awkward shapes
Duration : 0:2:13
At http://www.CullensAbcs.com find more free preschool videos. Activity ideas for you, and for children edutainment (educating and entertaining) videos that support their development at home and in the classroom.
Duration : 0:2:17
Christmas Traditions - All About Santa Claus
One of the most popular Christmas traditions is that of Santa Claus .It’s only fitting that since Santa Claus has the magnificent capability to visit homes around the world in a single night that more than one place would claim to be his home. It’s common belief that Santa hails from the wintry North Pole, but folks in Finland will also tell you that Santa calls that country his home. To prove it, the Finns will even invite you to visit Santa in his workshop before Christmas or during the year and talk with Santa Claus as he and his elves busy themselves for their end-of-year Christmas expedition around the globe.
It is interesting to trace the origin of the Santa Claus Christmas tradition. The popularity in America today of the images and legend of Santa Claus can be traced to the poem, ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas,’ that was written by Clement Clarke Moore in 1822. In that poem, Moore described St. Nicholas as a jolly fellow who flew from house to house in a sleigh pulled by reindeers and waited for children to go to bed on Christmas Eve before he came down the chimney to deliver Christmas presents for them.
Following the distribution of that poem, the popular magazine Harper’s Weekly published cartoons by Thomas Nast between 1863 and 1886 that depicted Santa as a cheerful fellow with a large round belly and long white beard who wore a bright red suit that was trimmed with white fur. In those cartoons, Santa also held a sack, which was filled with toys for boys and girls, over his shoulder. The cartoons also showed Santa reading letters from good boys and girls, working in his workshop with his elves, checking his list to make sure he had all the required toys and even showed his wife, Mrs. Claus.
The tradition of Santa Claus was brought to America however by Dutch colonists who settled in New York City, which was called New Amsterdam at the time. The real St. Nicholas is said to be a minor saint from the 4th Century with a reputation for generosity and kindness that gave rise to legends of many miracles that he performed for the poor and unhappy. One of the stories about the legend of St. Nicholas is that he saved three poor girls who were sisters from being sold into a life of slavery or prostitution by their father.
According to the legend, Santa Claus provided the girls with a dowry so that they could get married. The legend of St. Nicholas led to hundreds of people being devoted to him and consequently thousands of European churches became dedicated to him.
After the Reformation period however, widespread practice and worship of St. Nicholas disappeared in European countries that were Protestant, except in Holland where the legend of St. Nicholas continued. St. Nicholas was known as Sint Nikolaas but that was later corrupted to Sinter Klaas. Dutch colonists took this tradition of Sinter Klaas to New York City where it was adopted using the English name of Santa Claus.
Over time, the Dutch legend of the kindly saint was combined with old Nordic folktales about a magician who punished naughty children and rewarded good ones with presents to give rise to the stories that now exist about Santa Claus. The red and white-trimmed suit of Santa Claus is believed to be the colours that the original St. Nicholas wore because red and white were the colours of the robes worn by traditional bishops.
It is also believed that the Coca Cola Co. played a role in what is regarded as the popular look of Santa Claus today through paintings by artist Haddon Sundblom that were placed in some of the company’s advertisement between 1931 and 1964.
We shall be looking at more Christmas traditions in suibsequent blogs so bookmark this page and keep in touch.
How to make a Christmas card on a computer; learn all this and more in this free arts and crafts video taught by an expert.
Duration : 0:2:4
Greeting Collage Boxed Holiday Greeting Christmas Cards. These special Boxed Holiday Christmas cards are the perfect way to send out your Christmas greetings! Cards measure 5 5/8″ x 7 7/8″. This card has Gold & Red Foil and is embossed. Inside the card, in red, reads the verse “Wishing you joy this Holiday Season and throughout the coming year”. This Boxed Christmas Card Pack includes: 18 Greeting Collage Boxed Christmas Cards 18 Envelopes