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Christmas Countdown - Day 16 - Christmas Cards, some history, some reflections
The Father of the Christmas Card is regarded as Sir Henry Cole, of London, England. He was a very popular man and he needed a way to respond to all of his correspondence. He commissioned the first card by John Callcott H
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Christmas Countdown - Day 15 - Mistletoe - Parasite or Pleasure?
“I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus Underneath the Mistletoe Last Night” are words we all know. But we probably don’t know too much about the plant. It has a deep history, that sort of makes sense that it is associated wit
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Christmas Countdown - Day 14 - Christmas Superstitions from our early days.
Superstitions are things we believe or things we do to make life better for us.
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Christmas Countdown - Day 13 - The 12 Days of Christmas: 2 stories, both with many variations
There are really two stories here – 1) when and what are the twelve days of Christmas and 2) what’s with the silly song.
This article being sent on December 13th is hinting Christmas eve being in 12 more days.
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Christmas Countdown - Day 12 - Prolific Poinsettias
Poinsettias have been part of Christmas since the 16th century. According to legend, a poor young Mexican girl, named Maria, was told by Angels to gather poinsettia plans and place them in the church. They soon turned red.
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Christmas Countdown - Day 11 - Gifts of Frankincense and Myrrh
What really are these original gifts of Christmas that the Wise Men brought?
Both are from tree sap.
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Countdown to Christmas - Day 10 - The Christmas Mushroom
This Christmas symbol is new to me.
I only have vague memories of ever seeing this decoration.
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Gardening Tips - Wrapping Trees & Shrubs for Winter
You may recall seeing trees and shrubs wrapped up in burlap as you drive through a residential area. Over the years, I’ve seen fewer of these and began to wonder why people do it and others don’t.
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