| Christmas Day |
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Here are some Christmas related facts that will arouse your interest :
1. In the Ukraine, if you find a spider web in the house on Christmas morning, it is
believed to be a harbinger of good luck! There once lived a woman so poor, says
a Ukrainian folk tale, that she could not afford Christmas decorations for her family.
One Christmas morning, she awoke to find that spiders had trimmed her children’s
tree with their webs. When the morning sun shone on them, the webs turned to
silver and gold. An artificial spider and web are often included in the decorations
on Ukrainian Christmas trees.
2. At Christmas, it is traditional to exchange kisses beneath the mistletoe tree. In
ancient Scandinavia, mistletoe was associated with peace and friendship. That
may account for the custom of "kissing beneath the mistletoe".
3. 'Klaxon' is a name that does not belong to one of Santa’s reindeer. A klaxon is
actually a powerful electric horn. Its name comes from a German word meaning
"shriek".
4. In many households, part of the fun of eating Christmas pudding is finding a
trinket that predicts your fortune for the coming year. For instance, finding a coin
means you will become wealthy. A ring means you will get married; while a button
predicts bachelorhood. The idea of hiding something in the pudding comes from
the tradition in the Middle Ages of hiding a bean in a cake that was served on
Twelfth Night. Whoever found the bean became "king" for the rest of the night.
5. Frumenty was a spiced porridge, enjoyed by both rich and poor. It was a
forerunner of modern Christmas puddings. It is linked in legend to the Celtic god
Dagda, who stirred a porridge made up of all the good things of the earth.
6. In Greek legend, malicious creatures called Kallikantzaroi sometimes play
troublesome pranks at Christmas time. In order to get rid of them, salt or an old
shoe is burnt. The pungent burning stench drives off, or at least helps discourage,
the Kallikantzaroi. Other techniques include hanging a pig’s jawbone by the door
and keeping a large fire so they can’t sneak down the chimney.
7. The poinsettia is a traditional Christmas flower. In Mexico (its original birthplace),
the poinsettia is known as the "Flower of the Holy Night".
8. Louis Prang, a Bavarian-born lithographer who came to the USA from Germany
in the 19th century, popularized the sending of printed Christmas cards. He
invented a way of reproducing color oil paintings, the "chromolithograph
technique", and created a card with the message "Merry Christmas" as a way of
showing it off.
9. The "Urn of Fate" is part of the Christmas celebrations in many Italian
households. The Urn of Fate is brought out on Christmas Eve. It holds a wrapped
present for everyone. The mother tries her luck first, then the others in turn. If you
get a present with your name on it, you keep it; otherwise, you put it back and try
again.
10. In Sweden, a common Christmas decoration is the Julbukk, a small figurine of a
goat. It is usually made of straw. Scandinavian Christmas festivities feature a
variety of straw decorations in the form of stars, angels, hearts and other shapes,
as well as the Julbukk.
1. In the Ukraine, if you find a spider web in the house on Christmas morning, it is
believed to be a harbinger of good luck! There once lived a woman so poor, says
a Ukrainian folk tale, that she could not afford Christmas decorations for her family.
One Christmas morning, she awoke to find that spiders had trimmed her children’s
tree with their webs. When the morning sun shone on them, the webs turned to
silver and gold. An artificial spider and web are often included in the decorations
on Ukrainian Christmas trees.
2. At Christmas, it is traditional to exchange kisses beneath the mistletoe tree. In
ancient Scandinavia, mistletoe was associated with peace and friendship. That
may account for the custom of "kissing beneath the mistletoe".
3. 'Klaxon' is a name that does not belong to one of Santa’s reindeer. A klaxon is
actually a powerful electric horn. Its name comes from a German word meaning
"shriek".
4. In many households, part of the fun of eating Christmas pudding is finding a
trinket that predicts your fortune for the coming year. For instance, finding a coin
means you will become wealthy. A ring means you will get married; while a button
predicts bachelorhood. The idea of hiding something in the pudding comes from
the tradition in the Middle Ages of hiding a bean in a cake that was served on
Twelfth Night. Whoever found the bean became "king" for the rest of the night.
5. Frumenty was a spiced porridge, enjoyed by both rich and poor. It was a
forerunner of modern Christmas puddings. It is linked in legend to the Celtic god
Dagda, who stirred a porridge made up of all the good things of the earth.
6. In Greek legend, malicious creatures called Kallikantzaroi sometimes play
troublesome pranks at Christmas time. In order to get rid of them, salt or an old
shoe is burnt. The pungent burning stench drives off, or at least helps discourage,
the Kallikantzaroi. Other techniques include hanging a pig’s jawbone by the door
and keeping a large fire so they can’t sneak down the chimney.
7. The poinsettia is a traditional Christmas flower. In Mexico (its original birthplace),
the poinsettia is known as the "Flower of the Holy Night".
8. Louis Prang, a Bavarian-born lithographer who came to the USA from Germany
in the 19th century, popularized the sending of printed Christmas cards. He
invented a way of reproducing color oil paintings, the "chromolithograph
technique", and created a card with the message "Merry Christmas" as a way of
showing it off.
9. The "Urn of Fate" is part of the Christmas celebrations in many Italian
households. The Urn of Fate is brought out on Christmas Eve. It holds a wrapped
present for everyone. The mother tries her luck first, then the others in turn. If you
get a present with your name on it, you keep it; otherwise, you put it back and try
again.
10. In Sweden, a common Christmas decoration is the Julbukk, a small figurine of a
goat. It is usually made of straw. Scandinavian Christmas festivities feature a
variety of straw decorations in the form of stars, angels, hearts and other shapes,
as well as the Julbukk.
| reference: The Holiday Spot |