Oh, it's been a busy weekend preparing for Christmas.
Usually I put up the tree on my birthday, which was Friday, but James hadn't brought the tree upstairs yet, and I still had the Rudolph tree to put up. So I did so, and had to fix a couple of other things. Then I cleared off the coffee table so it would be ready for me to sort out ornaments.
I felt myself starting to obsess about this and had to slow myself down.
We had to get up early for Hair Day on Saturday, as our hairdresser, Sheri, was going to a Christmas party. We brought cornbread to go with the main dish, different kinds of chili (Alex made three! a white turkey chili, a regular chili with pork, and Cincinnati chili), and gingerbread (unlike Sook, it's not "fruitcake weather" for me, but "gingerbread weather"). Before we went to the hobby shop, we stopped at Kroger for milk and things. No worries about the milk staying in the truck; it was colder than the refrigerator outside, a chill day with temps in the thirties.
While we were at the hobby shop I took the opportunity to go to the hardware store across the parking lot and buy a space heater for our bathroom. With that big picture window in it, it's never warm enough in there in the winter. (Saturday night it was about 57°F in there; in 16 minutes it had raised the temp 10 degrees.) The owner was exceedingly grumpy that I used a coupon and that I paid with my credit card.
We were keeping an eye on the weather. We were supposed to drive out to Birmingham tonight to our friend Shari's Christmas party, but they had been predicting a hard rain since Thursday. Now, as the forecast settled out, it looked like the periods of rain were supposed to be worst at 5 p.m. (when we would be driving out there) and 1 a.m., when we would be coming home. Plus, last year we went to Hair Day and Shari's party on the same day, too. Between Ron and Lin's cats and Shari's cats, I ended up riding home from Birmingham with a burgeoning allergy attack.
So we reluctantly decided not to go, and instead stopped at BJs on the way home for something we'd forgotten, then came home. We had one of those Hormel packaged meat dinners, beef with bourbon sauce, with some white rice. Pretty good. Then we moved the rocking chair into our bedroom and James brought the tree up, and the box with the ornaments, and I commenced to decorate, since we wanted something Christmasy.
I just took my time. I didn't start until after eight, and we had to fluff the tree and, ::sigh::...get the lights working...parts of two strings were out...we just pressed at them; the bulbs must have been loose, because that did the trick. And refasten the lights to the branches, as taking the tree up that narrow staircase isn't conducive to tight lights. LOL. I was even on chat for a while as I put the last set or two of ornaments on the tree. You see, James found a chat program for the Droids. He set his up, then helped me set mine up. Yep, I can chat on the phone now!
I just decided to wait until today to put on the tinsel. James said last night, "You know, you don't have to put on tinsel." Well, yeah, I do. Our trees always had tinsel. [By "tinsel," I mean silver icicles, of course.] My grandparents' and relatives' trees always had tinsel. Garland is okay for the smaller trees, but it's not really a Christmas tree to me unless there's tinsel. It makes the tree live, and breathe.
(We were talking about tinsel last night on chat. Jen said she had only ever know the light, mylar stuff. Pretty much so did I. Lead tinsel was banned by the time I was growing up. I had relatives who still had it, because as a prudent, non-wasteful person, you removed it from the tree and returned it to its holder till next year. In fact, we did the same with the mylar, unless it got too wrinkled. And I did so when I moved out on my own. But the tinsel they're making today is thinner than the mylar tinsel from back then. It's like that fluffy "angel hair" that was once popular for trees. It's so thin and frangible that I have to remove it after Christmas and toss it. Makes me feel wasteful.)
Didn't get to bed until two, and had a nice sleep in, then went to Costco for lunch...cough...we were actually looking for a gift, but they didn't have it. Lots of nice samples for Christmas: chocolates, crab cakes, lobster spread, salsa, meatballs, cocoa and biscotti, potstickers, chicken nuggets, cheesecake, garlic chicken pasta, gouda cheese...
Found the gift in Best Buy, so we're all done. One may need augmenting. I'll see when I wrap.
Anyway, spent the rest of the afternoon tinseling the tree. When you're starting at the back, on the first branch, you wonder if it's worth it.
When you're halfway through and your back is hurting, you wonder if it's worth it.
When your hands are cold and the static electricity is making the tinsel stick to the carpet, you, the end table next to the tree, and the fireplace hearth, you wonder if it's worth it.
When it's finished, and James pushes the tree inch by inch back into the corner (because it can't be decorated in the corner, as there's no way to get to the back) on the unstable carpet, and all the lights are plugged into the timer and it turns on...yeah, it's worth it. Every single aching muscle.
And then, although I had said I would do it later, I vacuumed because I couldn't stand it anymore. And then I sat in front of the tree and put the manger set up, figure by figure, the one bought piece by piece by my mother from the bins at Woolworths and W.T. Grants and Newberrys...the Holy Family, the angel, three kings, three camels and the camel driver, the ox and ass, the man offering eggs, the boy playing the flute, the shepherd, and a flock of sheep and one goat and the sheepdog, all in or around the wooden stable. I bought one of those lights for it, the ones that go in village houses, and it has a yellow light bulb, of course, so the Baby Jesus is softly illuminated with heavenly Light.
Somewhere in the middle of all of that we had some thin steaks for supper with ramen noodles, and I finally got to sit and watch Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
And now we are having our annual Remember WENN Christmas chat party. We gather in the chat room and watch the episode "Christmas in the Airwaves" together. Always great fun!
13 December 2009
CHRISTMAS BOOK REVIEW: The True Gift
by Patricia MacLachlan
Siblings Lily and Liam look forward all year to Christmas on their grandparents' farm, where they will help Grandpa with the chores, take snowy walks, withdraw books from "the lilac library," and shop in the small village nearby for Christmas gifts. But this year Liam is worried; their favorite farm animal, "White Cow," is now alone and seems unhappy. And if it takes everything he has, Liam will make sure White Cow is no longer sad.
It's hard to put a finger on an era for this book. It reads as old-fashioned, almost 1940s, with no television, computers, videogames—the kids are actually voracious readers!—or even radio in sight. On the other hand, MacLachlan refers to "chapter books" and a volume about "the emotional lives of cows," which no one in the 1940s would have cared about. Not pinning the time down is probably deliberate, to make the story seem timeless, and in the end it does. It's a good-natured, sweet book about two kids who do a good deed, something you might read aloud on Christmas Eve by the light of the Christmas tree to younger children. Older kids might find it "corny."
I loved the beautifully detailed black-and-white illustrations as well.
Siblings Lily and Liam look forward all year to Christmas on their grandparents' farm, where they will help Grandpa with the chores, take snowy walks, withdraw books from "the lilac library," and shop in the small village nearby for Christmas gifts. But this year Liam is worried; their favorite farm animal, "White Cow," is now alone and seems unhappy. And if it takes everything he has, Liam will make sure White Cow is no longer sad.
It's hard to put a finger on an era for this book. It reads as old-fashioned, almost 1940s, with no television, computers, videogames—the kids are actually voracious readers!—or even radio in sight. On the other hand, MacLachlan refers to "chapter books" and a volume about "the emotional lives of cows," which no one in the 1940s would have cared about. Not pinning the time down is probably deliberate, to make the story seem timeless, and in the end it does. It's a good-natured, sweet book about two kids who do a good deed, something you might read aloud on Christmas Eve by the light of the Christmas tree to younger children. Older kids might find it "corny."
I loved the beautifully detailed black-and-white illustrations as well.
Blast from the Past: Christmas 1974
This was produced by Bill Melendez, which is why the animation looks vaguely like the "Peanuts" stories. Jimmy Osmond rather yowls the title tune, but otherwise this is pretty sweet.
Yes, Virginia, There is Santa Claus, Part 1
Yes, Virginia, There is Santa Claus, Part 2
Yes, Virginia, There is Santa Claus, Part 3
Yes, Virginia, There is Santa Claus, Part 1
Yes, Virginia, There is Santa Claus, Part 2
Yes, Virginia, There is Santa Claus, Part 3
12 December 2009
CHRISTMAS BOOK REVIEW: Christmas Miscellany
by Jonathan Green
Call it "Christmas 101 Lite." This charming, gift-book size volume, first published in Great Britain, answers the questions about our most cherished Christmas customs—like: What's myrrh? Why do we send Christmas cards? What's a figgy pudding?—with a British slant (Christmas crackers, plum pudding, etc. are included). The particular charm of this little volume are the illustrations, which are taken from Victorian magazines, "scraps" of 19th century illustrations, old Christmas postcards, and a few recent things, like a 1963 postage stamp. The light tone of the author and the colorful illustrations combine for a fun-to-read book that could be left out on a coffee table or in a spare room for guests to peruse. A worthy addition to a Christmas library.
Call it "Christmas 101 Lite." This charming, gift-book size volume, first published in Great Britain, answers the questions about our most cherished Christmas customs—like: What's myrrh? Why do we send Christmas cards? What's a figgy pudding?—with a British slant (Christmas crackers, plum pudding, etc. are included). The particular charm of this little volume are the illustrations, which are taken from Victorian magazines, "scraps" of 19th century illustrations, old Christmas postcards, and a few recent things, like a 1963 postage stamp. The light tone of the author and the colorful illustrations combine for a fun-to-read book that could be left out on a coffee table or in a spare room for guests to peruse. A worthy addition to a Christmas library.
11 December 2009
Linda's Top 10 Christmas Songs
Per Ivan's informal challenge...but, sorry, in no particular order (it being understood that these will probably change...maybe by tomorrow...LOL!):
Nat King Cole, "The Christmas Song" — So many versions, but this one just says "Christmas" to me.
Mannheim Steamroller, "Silent Night" — What an arrangement; nearly breaks my heart.
The Carpenters, "It's Christmas Time/Sleep Well, Little Children" — I love to sing along with the first half of this one and try to keep up; the second half makes me feel soft and warm and safe.
Andy Williams, "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" — Gets all those happy Christmas juices going! (Trying to figure out which other of the songs on the first side of Andy Williams "red album" I would pick, as I love 'em all; probably "Kay Thompson's Jingle Bells." Talk about a song that gets your pulse pounding!)
Bing Crosby, "White Christmas" — Another "safe and warm" song, and reminds me of my mom; but I have to admit, "Do You Hear What I Hear?" would come in a close second.
James Galway, "Shepherd's Pipe Carol" — Almost impossible to pick one from Galway's Christmas album, but I think this one edges out the rest...the sense of joy is tangible.
Johnny Mathis, "I'll Be Home for Christmas"? — always makes me cry.
The Singers Unlimited, "Bright, Bright, the Holly Berries" — One of the standards on Providence's old "beautiful music" station WLKW
From the Charlie Brown Christmas album, "Christmastime is Here" — Probably the most perfect of the post-1960 carols.
Bruce Mitchell, "Joy to the World" — Great, great instrumental arrangement from the Narada Christmas album.
With honorable mentions to:
John Denver, "Aspenglow"
Nancy Wilson, "The Christmas Waltz"
Oh, yeah, and the album version of John Denver and the Muppets "We Wish You a Merry Christmas": "Figgy pudding! Figgy! It's made with figs!" "Oh!" "And bacon!"
Nat King Cole, "The Christmas Song" — So many versions, but this one just says "Christmas" to me.
Mannheim Steamroller, "Silent Night" — What an arrangement; nearly breaks my heart.
The Carpenters, "It's Christmas Time/Sleep Well, Little Children" — I love to sing along with the first half of this one and try to keep up; the second half makes me feel soft and warm and safe.
Andy Williams, "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" — Gets all those happy Christmas juices going! (Trying to figure out which other of the songs on the first side of Andy Williams "red album" I would pick, as I love 'em all; probably "Kay Thompson's Jingle Bells." Talk about a song that gets your pulse pounding!)
Bing Crosby, "White Christmas" — Another "safe and warm" song, and reminds me of my mom; but I have to admit, "Do You Hear What I Hear?" would come in a close second.
James Galway, "Shepherd's Pipe Carol" — Almost impossible to pick one from Galway's Christmas album, but I think this one edges out the rest...the sense of joy is tangible.
Johnny Mathis, "I'll Be Home for Christmas"? — always makes me cry.
The Singers Unlimited, "Bright, Bright, the Holly Berries" — One of the standards on Providence's old "beautiful music" station WLKW
From the Charlie Brown Christmas album, "Christmastime is Here" — Probably the most perfect of the post-1960 carols.
Bruce Mitchell, "Joy to the World" — Great, great instrumental arrangement from the Narada Christmas album.
With honorable mentions to:
John Denver, "Aspenglow"
Nancy Wilson, "The Christmas Waltz"
Oh, yeah, and the album version of John Denver and the Muppets "We Wish You a Merry Christmas": "Figgy pudding! Figgy! It's made with figs!" "Oh!" "And bacon!"
09 December 2009
CHRISTMAS BOOK REVIEW: Christmas Traditions
by Helen Szymanski
Like Szymanski's previous collections, these are short pieces in a "Chicken Soup for the Soul" type of vein. There are some sweet stories that even contain some ideas for new Christmas traditions, like placing love notes on a Christmas tree or sledding in the moonlight, but several of the stories sound rather commonplace rather than being extraordinary. Some good ethnic and vintage pieces, though; all in all a mixed bag of nostalgia. In short, if you like these types of stories, you will enjoy this book.
Like Szymanski's previous collections, these are short pieces in a "Chicken Soup for the Soul" type of vein. There are some sweet stories that even contain some ideas for new Christmas traditions, like placing love notes on a Christmas tree or sledding in the moonlight, but several of the stories sound rather commonplace rather than being extraordinary. Some good ethnic and vintage pieces, though; all in all a mixed bag of nostalgia. In short, if you like these types of stories, you will enjoy this book.
Christmas Music 12-9-2009
More cassettes:
♥ "Christmas," Mannheim Steamroller
The original! I remember listening to this in 2004, driving from Plymouth to Quincy—we'd keep finding stations playing Rush Limbaugh; when one would fade out another would come up, and all he was playing was this album. From a funky "Deck the Halls" to a jazzy "Good King Wenceslas" to the slow-building "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen," and an arrangement of "Silent Night" that will break your heart.
♥ "Wassail! Wassail! Early American Christmas Music," The Revels
This is one of only two albums I have with "Twas in the Moon of Wintertime" ("The Huron Carol") which I recall learning in school. A Canadian priest translated the story of Jesus to the Huron people in terms they could understand: Jesus is the son of the Great Manitou and is wrapped in rabbit skins rather than swaddling clothes. Between the songs are a folksy narrative telling the Christmas story and Jean Ritchie's Appalachian memories.
♥ "A Gift of Song," Mason Williams
Mr. Classical Gas himself. Guitar, of course, plus other woodwinds and percussion. Very pleasant "Seventies Sound."
♥ "A Music Box Christmas," Columbia Records
Love this one—sounds like authentic music boxes. I have some Porter "music box" albums that sound like they are actually synthesized music box sound (actually, some of them must be as the songs are modern ones). On this you can hear the twang of the metal along with the tinkling of the tunes.
♥ "Christmas," the Singers Unlimited
Mixed choral heavily featuring women. A staple of beautiful music stations at Christmastime some thirty years ago; I remember most of them being played on WLKW out of Providence.
♥ "Christmas," Mannheim Steamroller
The original! I remember listening to this in 2004, driving from Plymouth to Quincy—we'd keep finding stations playing Rush Limbaugh; when one would fade out another would come up, and all he was playing was this album. From a funky "Deck the Halls" to a jazzy "Good King Wenceslas" to the slow-building "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen," and an arrangement of "Silent Night" that will break your heart.
♥ "Wassail! Wassail! Early American Christmas Music," The Revels
This is one of only two albums I have with "Twas in the Moon of Wintertime" ("The Huron Carol") which I recall learning in school. A Canadian priest translated the story of Jesus to the Huron people in terms they could understand: Jesus is the son of the Great Manitou and is wrapped in rabbit skins rather than swaddling clothes. Between the songs are a folksy narrative telling the Christmas story and Jean Ritchie's Appalachian memories.
♥ "A Gift of Song," Mason Williams
Mr. Classical Gas himself. Guitar, of course, plus other woodwinds and percussion. Very pleasant "Seventies Sound."
♥ "A Music Box Christmas," Columbia Records
Love this one—sounds like authentic music boxes. I have some Porter "music box" albums that sound like they are actually synthesized music box sound (actually, some of them must be as the songs are modern ones). On this you can hear the twang of the metal along with the tinkling of the tunes.
♥ "Christmas," the Singers Unlimited
Mixed choral heavily featuring women. A staple of beautiful music stations at Christmastime some thirty years ago; I remember most of them being played on WLKW out of Providence.
06 December 2009
Remember "The Raccoons"?
Here's their Christmas outing, with Rita Coolidge as the voice of Melissa and Rupert Holmes as Dan the forest ranger.
The Christmas Raccoons, Part 1
The Christmas Raccoons, Part 2
The Christmas Raccoons, Part 3
The Christmas Raccoons, Part 1
The Christmas Raccoons, Part 2
The Christmas Raccoons, Part 3
05 December 2009
03 December 2009
"Holiday Gifts" 1900
Expensive ones, too. This is the first article in the December 1900 edition of House Beautiful (yes, the magazine's been around that long)!
Do note the use of "holiday," proving that its use today is not simply a politically-corrected modernism.
Do note the use of "holiday," proving that its use today is not simply a politically-corrected modernism.
02 December 2009
Christmas Music 12-2-2009
This time from the CD collection:
• "Holiday Pops" with Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops.
One of my very favorites! Contains "Tomorrow is My Dancing Day" which makes me want to dance! Also a toe-tappin' swing version of "Good King Wenceslas," the classic "Christmastime is Here" from A Charlie Brown Christmas, and one of my recent favorites, the triumphant "Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas!" from Home Alone 2 which brings in Christmas with ringing voices. "Yes!"
• "Narada: The Christmas Collection" (various)
Contains one of my all-time favorite arrangements of "Joy to the World," done by Bruce Mitchell and a lilting version of "I Saw Three Ships" by David Arkenstone. Nice quiet New Age arrangements of traditional carols—chill-out music.
• "A Traditional Christmas" (various artists)
A more traditional album, with well-known singers. Stirring version of "O Holy Night" by Bing Crosby; what lovely pipes the man had. Andy Williams' "A Song and a Christmas Tree" (a takeoff of "12 Days of Christmas") is a favorite. Peggy Lee, Lena Horne, Al Martino, and more...and of course the incomparable Nat "King" Cole singing "The Christmas Song." Would it be Christmas without it?
• "Piano Winterlude" (David Huntsinger)
I found Huntsinger's "Autumn in New England" many years ago and fell in love with it, then much later got his "New England by Piano," but didn't know about this one, which once upon a time was for sale at Michaels with other instrumentals and I didn't buy it, until a few years ago. Hunted up a copy posthaste...don't regret the search. Huntsinger's style is closer to Tim Janis than to George Winston, but more subtle.
• "A Victorian Christmas Revels" (the Revels)
The Revels organization started out doing recreations of medieval Christmas revels in the Cambridge, MA, area. Now there are different Revels groups across the US and they also have springtime, summer, and other shows, but the most famous of these is still their Christmas Revels, which, each year, highlight a different culture or time period, with period music and costume. This outing recreates Victorian England, with traditional carols as well as a visit to the great Victorian equalizer, the music hall, where such ditties as "Down at the Old Bull and Buch" and the humorous "Don't Have Any More, Mrs. Moore" add to the entertainment of the day. Much fun.
• "Simple Gifts: A Windham Hill Collection" (various)
More New Age, perfect for a rainy day such as today. Lovely melancholic pieces like "New Trees at Knockaun" and "Snow Shadows," plus more traditional fare like "Adeste Fideles" and "O Holy Night." George Winston does "Greensleeves," there's the lilting "In Bethlehem City," and it finishes up with an instrumental version of How The Grinch Stole Christmas's "Welcome Christmas."
• "James Galway's Christmas Carol" (James Galway, of course, and chorus)
Flute music with chorale accompaniment as sweet as Christmas candy and less fattening. This is one of those albums that just says (sings?) "Christmas" to me: the delightful lilt of "Shepherd's Pipe Carol," "Fantasia on 'I Saw Three Ships'" which makes me want to do an Irish jig, the lyrical "Past Three O'Clock," and the achingly beautifully sweet "Sheep May Safely Graze"—and twelve more lovely pieces. Should be in everyone's Christmas library.
• "Holiday Pops" with Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops.
One of my very favorites! Contains "Tomorrow is My Dancing Day" which makes me want to dance! Also a toe-tappin' swing version of "Good King Wenceslas," the classic "Christmastime is Here" from A Charlie Brown Christmas, and one of my recent favorites, the triumphant "Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas!" from Home Alone 2 which brings in Christmas with ringing voices. "Yes!"
• "Narada: The Christmas Collection" (various)
Contains one of my all-time favorite arrangements of "Joy to the World," done by Bruce Mitchell and a lilting version of "I Saw Three Ships" by David Arkenstone. Nice quiet New Age arrangements of traditional carols—chill-out music.
• "A Traditional Christmas" (various artists)
A more traditional album, with well-known singers. Stirring version of "O Holy Night" by Bing Crosby; what lovely pipes the man had. Andy Williams' "A Song and a Christmas Tree" (a takeoff of "12 Days of Christmas") is a favorite. Peggy Lee, Lena Horne, Al Martino, and more...and of course the incomparable Nat "King" Cole singing "The Christmas Song." Would it be Christmas without it?
• "Piano Winterlude" (David Huntsinger)
I found Huntsinger's "Autumn in New England" many years ago and fell in love with it, then much later got his "New England by Piano," but didn't know about this one, which once upon a time was for sale at Michaels with other instrumentals and I didn't buy it, until a few years ago. Hunted up a copy posthaste...don't regret the search. Huntsinger's style is closer to Tim Janis than to George Winston, but more subtle.
• "A Victorian Christmas Revels" (the Revels)
The Revels organization started out doing recreations of medieval Christmas revels in the Cambridge, MA, area. Now there are different Revels groups across the US and they also have springtime, summer, and other shows, but the most famous of these is still their Christmas Revels, which, each year, highlight a different culture or time period, with period music and costume. This outing recreates Victorian England, with traditional carols as well as a visit to the great Victorian equalizer, the music hall, where such ditties as "Down at the Old Bull and Buch" and the humorous "Don't Have Any More, Mrs. Moore" add to the entertainment of the day. Much fun.
• "Simple Gifts: A Windham Hill Collection" (various)
More New Age, perfect for a rainy day such as today. Lovely melancholic pieces like "New Trees at Knockaun" and "Snow Shadows," plus more traditional fare like "Adeste Fideles" and "O Holy Night." George Winston does "Greensleeves," there's the lilting "In Bethlehem City," and it finishes up with an instrumental version of How The Grinch Stole Christmas's "Welcome Christmas."
• "James Galway's Christmas Carol" (James Galway, of course, and chorus)
Flute music with chorale accompaniment as sweet as Christmas candy and less fattening. This is one of those albums that just says (sings?) "Christmas" to me: the delightful lilt of "Shepherd's Pipe Carol," "Fantasia on 'I Saw Three Ships'" which makes me want to do an Irish jig, the lyrical "Past Three O'Clock," and the achingly beautifully sweet "Sheep May Safely Graze"—and twelve more lovely pieces. Should be in everyone's Christmas library.
01 December 2009
Vintage Christmas Recordings
What did Christmas music sound like at the turn of the last century? Recorded sound was still a novelty in the 19th century and the early 20th century recordings sound much different (even discounting crackle and pop of old records) than today. Check out these free MP3 downloads from archive.org...you can play them on the web or download the whole album or the individual tracks.
Some of the tracks, like "Christmas Time at Pumpkin Center" and "Uncle Josh Plays Santa Claus" are humorous recitations. In "Come and Spend Christmas With Me," you will hear the singing style of the time. "Santa Claus Hides in the Phonograph" had Santa speaking directly to children, a novelty back in 1922!
Internet Archive—Free Download: Voices of Christmas Past - 1898 to 1922
Some of the tracks, like "Christmas Time at Pumpkin Center" and "Uncle Josh Plays Santa Claus" are humorous recitations. In "Come and Spend Christmas With Me," you will hear the singing style of the time. "Santa Claus Hides in the Phonograph" had Santa speaking directly to children, a novelty back in 1922!
Internet Archive—Free Download: Voices of Christmas Past - 1898 to 1922
30 November 2009
When You Click Upon a Star
A surprise every day until Christmas!
Chez Martine - Advent Calendar 2009
LOL. If you click on a star before it's time, an angel trumpets "No peeking!"
(What you get, BTW, are add-your-name-and-save Christmas themed signature tags for use on e-mails.)
Chez Martine - Advent Calendar 2009
LOL. If you click on a star before it's time, an angel trumpets "No peeking!"
(What you get, BTW, are add-your-name-and-save Christmas themed signature tags for use on e-mails.)
29 November 2009
CHRISTMAS BOOK REVIEW: Christmas Memories
subtitled "Gifts, Activities, Fads, and Fancies, 1920s-1960s"
by Susan Waggoner
In 2004 Waggoner released a nostalgic book called It's A Wonderful Christmas, using magazine ads, photos, illustrations, and other media to show us Christmas past in the 1940s, 1950s, and early 1960s. This was followed by a similar book about toys from the 1920s to the 1960s. Now in this third book she presents more nostalgia, this time starting at "the Roaring 20s" and continuing through "the swinging 60s." Once again advertisements and illustrations, elaborated with narration, prices from the decade, and memories of those who lived through the era are well mixed in this full-color delight. The sophisticated colors of 1920s decorating, the make-do attitude of the 1930s, the can-do attitude of the World War II years and the boom in the late 1940s, the baby boomer years of the 1950s, and the sleek novelties of the 1960s—like aluminum Christmas trees and plastic decorations—are all presented. A must for fans of old-fashioned celebrations and Christmas nostalgia.
by Susan Waggoner
In 2004 Waggoner released a nostalgic book called It's A Wonderful Christmas, using magazine ads, photos, illustrations, and other media to show us Christmas past in the 1940s, 1950s, and early 1960s. This was followed by a similar book about toys from the 1920s to the 1960s. Now in this third book she presents more nostalgia, this time starting at "the Roaring 20s" and continuing through "the swinging 60s." Once again advertisements and illustrations, elaborated with narration, prices from the decade, and memories of those who lived through the era are well mixed in this full-color delight. The sophisticated colors of 1920s decorating, the make-do attitude of the 1930s, the can-do attitude of the World War II years and the boom in the late 1940s, the baby boomer years of the 1950s, and the sleek novelties of the 1960s—like aluminum Christmas trees and plastic decorations—are all presented. A must for fans of old-fashioned celebrations and Christmas nostalgia.
First Sunday of Advent
This time of the year has always been about light against the darkness.
Christian followers are familiar with the Bible verse spoken by Jesus that states
"I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."
In honor of His coming, we place candles in windows and lights on Christmas trees. In Irish and Italian families, it was common to leave a candle in the window on Christmas Eve for the Holy Family. Latino families light farolitos, sometimes called luminaria, candles in paper bags or in stone containers, to light their paths. Other Christian cultures have light symbolism.
But other cultures also emphasize light. The Jewish holiday Hanukkah (or Chanukah) features a candelabra called a menorah which symbolizes a miracle: one day's worth of anointed oil lasted for eight days. The African-American holiday Kwanzaa uses candles to symbolize life-affirming traits. Pagan cultures lit candles and bonfires on the shortest night of the year, the winter solstice.
In honor of the season of light, when I start the year's Christmas decorating, what I put up are the window candles. Our color is blue because as a child I always loved going by blue-lit homes: they appeared so ethereal. I remember one house on Budlong Road which had a young tree out front, and for years the owners decorated the tree in blue lights. I couldn't wait for the next Christmas to see "the blue tree." Alas, either the tree grew too large for the owner to decorate or the family moved, and the custom stopped. There are two sets of three candles downstairs in the library, and two sets of five candles upstairs in the bedrooms, in the only front windows we have. The two dining room windows have single candles with color-changing bulbs in them. These are such a delight to watch.
On the first Sunday of Advent, I also put up the door wreaths. Every door in the house has a wreath or a swag in a fall motif, which is our home's motif all year round—except at Christmas! Fall wreaths are exchanged for Christmas-themed wreaths: natural-looking ones of cedar and berries or pine cones and branches or berries and twigs, or some with Christmas frippery, and at least one bottle-brush wreath with little red and green balls and a net red bow that I fell in love with. There's a mistletoe ball on the entryway to the hall that leads to the bedroom [wink!] and a smaller sprig downstairs going to the library. Some garland is around that entryway and also to the door that goes to the deck. A little fall decoration on the deck door has been exchanged for a diamond-shaped wreath with two cardinals and red bells that declares "Every birdie welcome." (The bird feeders are on the deck.)
I also put out the Christmas banner on the porch and the wreath on the door. Alas, the light string on the wreath isn't working again. Every year I get a new string and by the following year it burns out.
It would have been nice to put the rest of the lights out, but James' knee is not yet up to the task. It didn't feel much like Christmas, either...65°F today! Maybe next weekend. I'm feeling itchy now after already passing at least a dozen different homes with Christmas lights. Several people had them up before Thanksgiving. And the city of Smyrna has been putting up their Christmas display for several weeks.
In the meantime, enjoy all the lights of Midwinter!
Christian followers are familiar with the Bible verse spoken by Jesus that states
"I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."
In honor of His coming, we place candles in windows and lights on Christmas trees. In Irish and Italian families, it was common to leave a candle in the window on Christmas Eve for the Holy Family. Latino families light farolitos, sometimes called luminaria, candles in paper bags or in stone containers, to light their paths. Other Christian cultures have light symbolism.
But other cultures also emphasize light. The Jewish holiday Hanukkah (or Chanukah) features a candelabra called a menorah which symbolizes a miracle: one day's worth of anointed oil lasted for eight days. The African-American holiday Kwanzaa uses candles to symbolize life-affirming traits. Pagan cultures lit candles and bonfires on the shortest night of the year, the winter solstice.
In honor of the season of light, when I start the year's Christmas decorating, what I put up are the window candles. Our color is blue because as a child I always loved going by blue-lit homes: they appeared so ethereal. I remember one house on Budlong Road which had a young tree out front, and for years the owners decorated the tree in blue lights. I couldn't wait for the next Christmas to see "the blue tree." Alas, either the tree grew too large for the owner to decorate or the family moved, and the custom stopped. There are two sets of three candles downstairs in the library, and two sets of five candles upstairs in the bedrooms, in the only front windows we have. The two dining room windows have single candles with color-changing bulbs in them. These are such a delight to watch.
On the first Sunday of Advent, I also put up the door wreaths. Every door in the house has a wreath or a swag in a fall motif, which is our home's motif all year round—except at Christmas! Fall wreaths are exchanged for Christmas-themed wreaths: natural-looking ones of cedar and berries or pine cones and branches or berries and twigs, or some with Christmas frippery, and at least one bottle-brush wreath with little red and green balls and a net red bow that I fell in love with. There's a mistletoe ball on the entryway to the hall that leads to the bedroom [wink!] and a smaller sprig downstairs going to the library. Some garland is around that entryway and also to the door that goes to the deck. A little fall decoration on the deck door has been exchanged for a diamond-shaped wreath with two cardinals and red bells that declares "Every birdie welcome." (The bird feeders are on the deck.)
I also put out the Christmas banner on the porch and the wreath on the door. Alas, the light string on the wreath isn't working again. Every year I get a new string and by the following year it burns out.
It would have been nice to put the rest of the lights out, but James' knee is not yet up to the task. It didn't feel much like Christmas, either...65°F today! Maybe next weekend. I'm feeling itchy now after already passing at least a dozen different homes with Christmas lights. Several people had them up before Thanksgiving. And the city of Smyrna has been putting up their Christmas display for several weeks.
In the meantime, enjoy all the lights of Midwinter!
27 November 2009
CHRISTMAS BOOK REVIEW: 25 Days, 26 Ways
by Ace Collins
Ever buy an Advent calendar? Behind every door for every day in December there's a picture, or perhaps a candy. It's a way to enjoy the anticipation of the Christmas season.
Think of this as an Advent calendar book. Each chapter discusses an aspect of the Christmas season from a Christian point of view (although much of the book stresses faith and happiness in a general manner)—fighting depression by doing good for others, teaching children about Christmas, relating mistletoe to modern celebration, emulating the spirit of Santa Claus, etc. Collins passes on a few old chestnuts that are not considered true, such as the Twelve Days of Christmas being used as a Christian teaching tool (more than likely it was a forfeit song in a game), but the book as a whole is a nice daybook for the Christmas season. One chapter each day will get you to Christmas, and there's even a bonus chapter for Boxing Day.
Ever buy an Advent calendar? Behind every door for every day in December there's a picture, or perhaps a candy. It's a way to enjoy the anticipation of the Christmas season.
Think of this as an Advent calendar book. Each chapter discusses an aspect of the Christmas season from a Christian point of view (although much of the book stresses faith and happiness in a general manner)—fighting depression by doing good for others, teaching children about Christmas, relating mistletoe to modern celebration, emulating the spirit of Santa Claus, etc. Collins passes on a few old chestnuts that are not considered true, such as the Twelve Days of Christmas being used as a Christian teaching tool (more than likely it was a forfeit song in a game), but the book as a whole is a nice daybook for the Christmas season. One chapter each day will get you to Christmas, and there's even a bonus chapter for Boxing Day.
Shop Til You Sleep
Was ambivalent about this morning. Woke up at 3:30, turned off my alarm clock, which was set to 5:30. Woke up again at 5:42. Oh, well.
I uncovered Schuyler and she seemed to be okay, but still doing the kicking. She has eliminated several times. What I'm most worried about is something called "egg binding." It's very bad for the bird. But usually they present with other symptoms, too, and she has none of them.
I remembered when this happened in Owensboro I gave her a grape and the problem went away.
Well.
So I went to Kohl's and got what we really needed: a mattress pad. This is one of those memory-foam jobs. James says the egg-crate foam we have just isn't softening the mattress for him. It's perfect for me, not for him.
There was something else there I was going to buy for James, but it's a good thing it was out. It turned out it wasn't what I thought it was.
However, I did go somewhere else later and get James' gift. In the meantime I went to Staples and got a USB stick. I keep reading so many things about having multiple backups of your digital photos. I got a large one this time.
And then I was done. I had to get grapes for Schuyler, so I went to Kroger and did the rest of the shopping. I wasn't even sure the store was open; they had carts in front of the main door. Heck, I even beat the armored car there.
By that time I was so sleepy of course I forgot the grapes. But at least I was still in the parking lot at the time.
Schuyler attacked the grape immediately. I put the milk and fruit/vegetables away and attacked the sofa soon after. I woke after eleven feeling refreshed but cold.
Been sitting here keeping an eye on Schuyler. She is doing all her usual things and is hungry. Sick birds usually don't eat, never mind being hungry. Still, I'm feeling nervous enough to call the vet. But my avian vet isn't in the office until Monday. The technician seemed familiar enough with egg binding to think we might wait until then. I'm to keep in touch and go to the emergency vet if things change.
In the meantime I'm dubbing off Castle episodes; I can do them all but the season premiere, which has a bunch of weather alerts.
I uncovered Schuyler and she seemed to be okay, but still doing the kicking. She has eliminated several times. What I'm most worried about is something called "egg binding." It's very bad for the bird. But usually they present with other symptoms, too, and she has none of them.
I remembered when this happened in Owensboro I gave her a grape and the problem went away.
Well.
So I went to Kohl's and got what we really needed: a mattress pad. This is one of those memory-foam jobs. James says the egg-crate foam we have just isn't softening the mattress for him. It's perfect for me, not for him.
There was something else there I was going to buy for James, but it's a good thing it was out. It turned out it wasn't what I thought it was.
However, I did go somewhere else later and get James' gift. In the meantime I went to Staples and got a USB stick. I keep reading so many things about having multiple backups of your digital photos. I got a large one this time.
And then I was done. I had to get grapes for Schuyler, so I went to Kroger and did the rest of the shopping. I wasn't even sure the store was open; they had carts in front of the main door. Heck, I even beat the armored car there.
By that time I was so sleepy of course I forgot the grapes. But at least I was still in the parking lot at the time.
Schuyler attacked the grape immediately. I put the milk and fruit/vegetables away and attacked the sofa soon after. I woke after eleven feeling refreshed but cold.
Been sitting here keeping an eye on Schuyler. She is doing all her usual things and is hungry. Sick birds usually don't eat, never mind being hungry. Still, I'm feeling nervous enough to call the vet. But my avian vet isn't in the office until Monday. The technician seemed familiar enough with egg binding to think we might wait until then. I'm to keep in touch and go to the emergency vet if things change.
In the meantime I'm dubbing off Castle episodes; I can do them all but the season premiere, which has a bunch of weather alerts.
26 November 2009
A Capote Thanksgiving
Apparently at some time in the past A&E (before it became a haven for tiresome reality shows) television aired both Truman Capote's A Christmas Memory and The Thanksgiving Visitor. A Christmas Memory is a deserved classic, but here is the holiday followup. Both have been posted to YouTube and appear to be uncut except for not having credits at the end, unlike the copy of Memory I taped off Macon's Channel 24 in the mid-1980s, with a huge "bug" and time and temperature in the lower right hand corner.
Ironically, A Christmas Memory is on a DVD release, but only in black and white. The manufacturer claims the color copy has been "lost."
Truman Capote's The Thanksgiving Visitor, part 1
Truman Capote's The Thanksgiving Visitor, part 2
Truman Capote's The Thanksgiving Visitor, part 3
Truman Capote's The Thanksgiving Visitor, part 4
Truman Capote's The Thanksgiving Visitor, part 5
Ironically, A Christmas Memory is on a DVD release, but only in black and white. The manufacturer claims the color copy has been "lost."
Truman Capote's The Thanksgiving Visitor, part 1
Truman Capote's The Thanksgiving Visitor, part 2
Truman Capote's The Thanksgiving Visitor, part 3
Truman Capote's The Thanksgiving Visitor, part 4
Truman Capote's The Thanksgiving Visitor, part 5
25 November 2009
Thanksgiving Programs Watched Tonight
Thanksgiving Unwrapped
The Secret Life of Thanksgiving
Home for the Holidays: The History of Thanksgiving
New England Thanksgiving
and the "Home From Home" episode of Alistair Cooke's America
So we went from food to history (and football...LOL) and then to solid history.
The Secret Life of Thanksgiving
Home for the Holidays: The History of Thanksgiving
New England Thanksgiving
and the "Home From Home" episode of Alistair Cooke's America
So we went from food to history (and football...LOL) and then to solid history.
A Real Thanksgiving Treasure
Audiences loved 1972's The House Without a Christmas Tree enough that a sequel was made for Thanksgiving of 1973.
The original special was based on the childhood memories of Gail Rock, a Nebraska native who later worked in Hollywood. For this sequel, Rock also drew on her Nebraska schooldays, but star Lisa Lucas added something to the mix. She reportedly asked Rock if she could add a horse to the story, and that's how the pinto horse, the titular Treasure who combines with the story to make a double meaning, was included in the mix.
Addie Mills is a bright and artistic 11-year-old with dreams of becoming "a painter and living in Paris" growing up in 1947 Nebraska with her dour widowed father and supportive grandmother. Her mother died when she was just a few months old, leaving her father withdrawn and embittered. Things had come to a head the previous Christmas, told in The House Without a Christmas Tree, and father James' character is just beginning to thaw in this outing. But he won't thaw to crusty curmudgeon Walter Rhenquist, an elderly farmer who owes him money for digging a pond. The pond, states Rhenquist, leaks. Of course, retorts James, I told you that you chose the wrong place for it.
In the meantime Addie, along with taking part in a radio play about the first Thanksgiving and using her talents on a mural of the event at school, is absorbing some of the real meaning of the holiday. She broaches inviting Rhenquist to Thanksgiving dinner, with the predicted response from her father, and ends up hiding away leftovers and biking them out to the old codger. While he also initially responds with hostility, Addie's charm and her best pal Cora Sue's quirky honesty wins him over. Eventually he allows Addie to ride and groom his horse and, although he calls her bossy, becomes friends with her.
Like its predecessor, Thanksgiving Treasure tells a very low-key story, one of real people rather than fantastically handsome/beautiful folks in big apartments with lots of expensive clothes, or comic idiots. Sadly, in a cost-cutting measure, CBS filmed all the Addie Mills stories on soap-opera quality videotape, which gives them a very cheap look. Conversely, it gives the stories a reality-TV quality, as if you are peeking into the life of a child in 1947.
To me these peeks bring back so many childhood memories that it seems there are two nostalgia factors, the show itself and the life it reminds me of. I knew very few "new" homes back then. Our 1951 Cape Cod, my Confirmation godmother's home, and my Uncle Nicky's house were three of the newest homes I knew. All of my other relatives lived in older homes, with furnishings and decorations that harked back to Addie's era or earlier. Several of my D'Ambra relatives lived in the old company homes for the Cranston Print Works ("the Village"), built much earlier in the century. My godmother's home was built in the mid-1920s and my friend Penny's house appeared to be from the 1930s. My dad's childhood home dated from the turn of the century, as did the triple-decker that my aunts lived in, made with the kitchens bigger than the "parlour" that was only used for best or for television. My Maccarone cousins lived in a home that had been a wealthy man's showplace years earlier.
So when I look into Addie's home I see familiar things: beadboard in the kitchen, and the big black cookstove with the stovepipe that goes into the wall, the vintage wallpaper in the living room and the homey knicknacks, Grandma's wringer washer (almost everyone had one still tucked away in the basement for when the automatic washer didn't work) and James' stand ashtray. It brings me back to old-fashioned candle fixtures, metal kitchen cabinets, worn paisley-patterned wallpaper on stairwells with dark marks from years of hands touching it, Bakelite radios and treadle sewing machines and iceboxes pushed away in corners, lopsided sofas, traditional Morris chairs, Christmas trees still hung with lead tinsel and World War II-vintage clear Christmas ornaments paired with newfangled bubble lights, stark iron radiators with valves that needed periodic bleeding, glass paneled doors with glass doorknobs, stoves with warming shelves and hot water tanks, linoleum floors, braided rugs on hardwood floors that need refinishing, all overlaid with the faint scent of baking, coffee, and furniture polish. Warm smells and memories of family gatherings at Christmas and Easter and Thanksgiving: hot coffee, steaming macaroni with homemade "gravy," freshly-baked apple pies, chatter, warmth...home. In the end it's why Addie is not just a friend I visit with each year, but part of a family I remember and rejoin each year, if, as the song says "only in my dreams."
The original special was based on the childhood memories of Gail Rock, a Nebraska native who later worked in Hollywood. For this sequel, Rock also drew on her Nebraska schooldays, but star Lisa Lucas added something to the mix. She reportedly asked Rock if she could add a horse to the story, and that's how the pinto horse, the titular Treasure who combines with the story to make a double meaning, was included in the mix.
Addie Mills is a bright and artistic 11-year-old with dreams of becoming "a painter and living in Paris" growing up in 1947 Nebraska with her dour widowed father and supportive grandmother. Her mother died when she was just a few months old, leaving her father withdrawn and embittered. Things had come to a head the previous Christmas, told in The House Without a Christmas Tree, and father James' character is just beginning to thaw in this outing. But he won't thaw to crusty curmudgeon Walter Rhenquist, an elderly farmer who owes him money for digging a pond. The pond, states Rhenquist, leaks. Of course, retorts James, I told you that you chose the wrong place for it.
In the meantime Addie, along with taking part in a radio play about the first Thanksgiving and using her talents on a mural of the event at school, is absorbing some of the real meaning of the holiday. She broaches inviting Rhenquist to Thanksgiving dinner, with the predicted response from her father, and ends up hiding away leftovers and biking them out to the old codger. While he also initially responds with hostility, Addie's charm and her best pal Cora Sue's quirky honesty wins him over. Eventually he allows Addie to ride and groom his horse and, although he calls her bossy, becomes friends with her.
Like its predecessor, Thanksgiving Treasure tells a very low-key story, one of real people rather than fantastically handsome/beautiful folks in big apartments with lots of expensive clothes, or comic idiots. Sadly, in a cost-cutting measure, CBS filmed all the Addie Mills stories on soap-opera quality videotape, which gives them a very cheap look. Conversely, it gives the stories a reality-TV quality, as if you are peeking into the life of a child in 1947.
To me these peeks bring back so many childhood memories that it seems there are two nostalgia factors, the show itself and the life it reminds me of. I knew very few "new" homes back then. Our 1951 Cape Cod, my Confirmation godmother's home, and my Uncle Nicky's house were three of the newest homes I knew. All of my other relatives lived in older homes, with furnishings and decorations that harked back to Addie's era or earlier. Several of my D'Ambra relatives lived in the old company homes for the Cranston Print Works ("the Village"), built much earlier in the century. My godmother's home was built in the mid-1920s and my friend Penny's house appeared to be from the 1930s. My dad's childhood home dated from the turn of the century, as did the triple-decker that my aunts lived in, made with the kitchens bigger than the "parlour" that was only used for best or for television. My Maccarone cousins lived in a home that had been a wealthy man's showplace years earlier.
So when I look into Addie's home I see familiar things: beadboard in the kitchen, and the big black cookstove with the stovepipe that goes into the wall, the vintage wallpaper in the living room and the homey knicknacks, Grandma's wringer washer (almost everyone had one still tucked away in the basement for when the automatic washer didn't work) and James' stand ashtray. It brings me back to old-fashioned candle fixtures, metal kitchen cabinets, worn paisley-patterned wallpaper on stairwells with dark marks from years of hands touching it, Bakelite radios and treadle sewing machines and iceboxes pushed away in corners, lopsided sofas, traditional Morris chairs, Christmas trees still hung with lead tinsel and World War II-vintage clear Christmas ornaments paired with newfangled bubble lights, stark iron radiators with valves that needed periodic bleeding, glass paneled doors with glass doorknobs, stoves with warming shelves and hot water tanks, linoleum floors, braided rugs on hardwood floors that need refinishing, all overlaid with the faint scent of baking, coffee, and furniture polish. Warm smells and memories of family gatherings at Christmas and Easter and Thanksgiving: hot coffee, steaming macaroni with homemade "gravy," freshly-baked apple pies, chatter, warmth...home. In the end it's why Addie is not just a friend I visit with each year, but part of a family I remember and rejoin each year, if, as the song says "only in my dreams."
Rudolph Day, November 2009
The purpose of Rudolph Day is to keep the Christmas spirit all year long. One can prepare Christmas gifts or crafts, watch a Christmas movie, play Christmas music, or read a Christmas book.
If you're in the United States, you've probably had a busy day, since Thanksgiving is tomorrow. But Christmas is just in hugging range...Advent begins on Sunday. Now's the time to watch some Christmas cartoons. Try
Donald Duck and Chip'n'Dale in "Toy Tinkers"
Mickey Mouse, Pluto and Chip'n'Dale in "Pluto's Christmas Tree"
Here are some of the new Christmas books I have on line to read this year:
♥ The True Gift by Patricia MacLachlan, author of Sarah, Plain and Tall
♥ 25 Days, 26 Ways to Make This Your Best Christmas Ever by Ace Collins
♥ A Christmas Promise by Anne Perry (I usually don't buy Perry's Christmas novelettes, but get them at the library, but since this one is about Gracie Phipps I made an exception.)
♥ Wishin' and Hopin' by Wally Lamb, a 1960s story that takes place in a parochial school
♥ Christmas Traditions, inspirational stories edited by Helen Szymanski
♥ Christmas Memories by Susan Waggoner, illustrated nostalgia book
♥ Christmas on the Home Front by Mike Brown (British home front during World War II!)
What's on your Christmas reading list this year?
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
If you're in the United States, you've probably had a busy day, since Thanksgiving is tomorrow. But Christmas is just in hugging range...Advent begins on Sunday. Now's the time to watch some Christmas cartoons. Try
Donald Duck and Chip'n'Dale in "Toy Tinkers"
Mickey Mouse, Pluto and Chip'n'Dale in "Pluto's Christmas Tree"
Here are some of the new Christmas books I have on line to read this year:
♥ The True Gift by Patricia MacLachlan, author of Sarah, Plain and Tall
♥ 25 Days, 26 Ways to Make This Your Best Christmas Ever by Ace Collins
♥ A Christmas Promise by Anne Perry (I usually don't buy Perry's Christmas novelettes, but get them at the library, but since this one is about Gracie Phipps I made an exception.)
♥ Wishin' and Hopin' by Wally Lamb, a 1960s story that takes place in a parochial school
♥ Christmas Traditions, inspirational stories edited by Helen Szymanski
♥ Christmas Memories by Susan Waggoner, illustrated nostalgia book
♥ Christmas on the Home Front by Mike Brown (British home front during World War II!)
What's on your Christmas reading list this year?
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
23 November 2009
Some Old-Time Thanksgiving Books
The Topaz Story Book, from 1928, a collection of stories, poems, and legends of "Autumn, Hallowe'en, and Thanksgiving." In flip-book format, which means you can "turn" the pages like a real book.
Our Pilgrim Forefathers: Thanksgiving Studies by Loveday A. Nelson (a flip-book) is a quaint children's schoolbook from 1904 introducing them to Thanksgiving and the legend of the Pilgrims.
Thanksgiving, a collection of origin stories, poems, and fiction gathered by Robert Haven Schauffler, from 1910, in flip-book format.
Our Pilgrim Forefathers: Thanksgiving Studies by Loveday A. Nelson (a flip-book) is a quaint children's schoolbook from 1904 introducing them to Thanksgiving and the legend of the Pilgrims.
Thanksgiving, a collection of origin stories, poems, and fiction gathered by Robert Haven Schauffler, from 1910, in flip-book format.
20 November 2009
Christmas Music 11-20-2009
More from the cassette collection:
• "Joy to the World!" with John Williams and the Boston Pops.
This one has Robin Williams reading "A Visit from St. Nicholas," and the wonderful tribute to Alfred Burt's carols ("This is Christmas," "Some Children See Him," etc.). I love the Burt tribute—it makes me want to throw my arms out and hug the whole world.
• "Christmas in Europe" released by LaserLight.
Ah, LaserLight. All the inexpensive compilation albums they churned out 20 years ago. This one has lots of brasses and flutes, even what sounds like accordions, plus uncommon carols sung in German and French, like "Still, Still, Still," "Ihr Kinderlein Kommet," etc..
• "On a Winter's Night: A Seasonal Collection" from Imaginary Road.
Largely New Age in style. Some good violin work where the instrument speaks so plaintively that one could cry.
• "Christmas Brass" by the Canadian Brass.
Ah, another selection from the brief time when you could find good instrumental Christmas albums strewn occasionally and ripe for picking from stacks of standard popular offerings in places like Media Play. Christmas music. Brass instruments. What else could you want?
• "Joy to the World!" with John Williams and the Boston Pops.
This one has Robin Williams reading "A Visit from St. Nicholas," and the wonderful tribute to Alfred Burt's carols ("This is Christmas," "Some Children See Him," etc.). I love the Burt tribute—it makes me want to throw my arms out and hug the whole world.
• "Christmas in Europe" released by LaserLight.
Ah, LaserLight. All the inexpensive compilation albums they churned out 20 years ago. This one has lots of brasses and flutes, even what sounds like accordions, plus uncommon carols sung in German and French, like "Still, Still, Still," "Ihr Kinderlein Kommet," etc..
• "On a Winter's Night: A Seasonal Collection" from Imaginary Road.
Largely New Age in style. Some good violin work where the instrument speaks so plaintively that one could cry.
• "Christmas Brass" by the Canadian Brass.
Ah, another selection from the brief time when you could find good instrumental Christmas albums strewn occasionally and ripe for picking from stacks of standard popular offerings in places like Media Play. Christmas music. Brass instruments. What else could you want?
19 November 2009
Christmas Music 11-19-2009
Today from my innumerable (okay, they're numerable—there's 68 of them) collection of Christmas cassettes:
• "Winter Creek" by Tony Elman.
From the cassette: "an instrumental collection of winter melodies and carols—English, French, Spanish, and American—featuring the hammered dulcimer with over a dozen folk instruments." These have a very "country" feel to them by way of the dulcimer, occasionally lively, but still nostalgic.
• "A Charlie Brown Christmas" by the Vince Guaraldi Trio.
From country to jazz. This is the original album (well, along with the LP...LOL). Amazing how it's "Linus and Lucy" that has become instantly recognizable "Christmas music," instead of the more appropriate "Christmastime is Here" (which is still recognized, but not as frequently). A song that immediately takes one back to a simpler time.
• "Candlelight Carols" with the Choir of Trinity Church in Boston.
Nice selection of brass and organ, too. Recorded at the beautiful brownstone church in the Back Bay.
• "Christmas Celebration" by...various!
One of those wonderful compilation cassettes I used to be able to buy at Oxford Books [sob!!!] or Media Play [double sob!!] or even the Harvard Coop if I was passing by; orchestral arrangements with Andre Kostelanetz and the Canadian Brass and the Philadelphia Brass Ensemble. You've probably heard the lively version of "Carol of the Bells" on television commercials.
• "An International Christmas" featuring the AmorArtis Choir.
Outstanding chorale work of Christmas music from various countries. Uncommon songs not found on other albums.
• "Winter Creek" by Tony Elman.
From the cassette: "an instrumental collection of winter melodies and carols—English, French, Spanish, and American—featuring the hammered dulcimer with over a dozen folk instruments." These have a very "country" feel to them by way of the dulcimer, occasionally lively, but still nostalgic.
• "A Charlie Brown Christmas" by the Vince Guaraldi Trio.
From country to jazz. This is the original album (well, along with the LP...LOL). Amazing how it's "Linus and Lucy" that has become instantly recognizable "Christmas music," instead of the more appropriate "Christmastime is Here" (which is still recognized, but not as frequently). A song that immediately takes one back to a simpler time.
• "Candlelight Carols" with the Choir of Trinity Church in Boston.
Nice selection of brass and organ, too. Recorded at the beautiful brownstone church in the Back Bay.
• "Christmas Celebration" by...various!
One of those wonderful compilation cassettes I used to be able to buy at Oxford Books [sob!!!] or Media Play [double sob!!] or even the Harvard Coop if I was passing by; orchestral arrangements with Andre Kostelanetz and the Canadian Brass and the Philadelphia Brass Ensemble. You've probably heard the lively version of "Carol of the Bells" on television commercials.
• "An International Christmas" featuring the AmorArtis Choir.
Outstanding chorale work of Christmas music from various countries. Uncommon songs not found on other albums.
18 November 2009
Christmas Music Today!
I was teleworking today and listened to the following albums:
• "Music Box Old-Fashioned Christmas" by Porter.
Music in the style of those old fashioned music boxes that had a "record" that turned, plucking the rods that made this lovely tinkling music. This was one of two music box albums we bought in Pigeon Forge at the Incredible Christmas Place. I don't think the newer Christmas songs sound as pretty music-box style, but otherwise this is nicely rippling.
• "Christmas Brass" featuring the Cathedral Brass and Capital City Brass.
I love Christmas brass! I think I found this in Big Lots or used at CD Warehouse. Trumpets and all shouting joy!
• "Christmas Wishes" by Aureole.
Last year and the year before, the XM "Classical Christmas" channel (converted from their "Pops" channel this year) continually played selections from this album. The instruments are violin, flute and harp. Yes, instrumental. I like instrumentals, especially ethereal-sounding ones like this.
• "Christmas at the Almanac Music Hall" featuring Peter Ecklund and the Howard Fishman Quartet.
I found out about this one via Yankee magazine. It's supposed to sound like the inhabitants of a small country town gathered at the local town/assembly hall and had themselves a Christmas gala, playing the classic songs on an old piano and occasionally singing along. It sounds very homey (or "homely," as the British would say) and comforting).
• "In the Christmas Mood" by the Glenn Miller Orchestra.
Christmas music swing! Kinda by the numbers, but very evocative of the 1940s. All you hepcats swing now!
• "Music Box Old-Fashioned Christmas" by Porter.
Music in the style of those old fashioned music boxes that had a "record" that turned, plucking the rods that made this lovely tinkling music. This was one of two music box albums we bought in Pigeon Forge at the Incredible Christmas Place. I don't think the newer Christmas songs sound as pretty music-box style, but otherwise this is nicely rippling.
• "Christmas Brass" featuring the Cathedral Brass and Capital City Brass.
I love Christmas brass! I think I found this in Big Lots or used at CD Warehouse. Trumpets and all shouting joy!
• "Christmas Wishes" by Aureole.
Last year and the year before, the XM "Classical Christmas" channel (converted from their "Pops" channel this year) continually played selections from this album. The instruments are violin, flute and harp. Yes, instrumental. I like instrumentals, especially ethereal-sounding ones like this.
• "Christmas at the Almanac Music Hall" featuring Peter Ecklund and the Howard Fishman Quartet.
I found out about this one via Yankee magazine. It's supposed to sound like the inhabitants of a small country town gathered at the local town/assembly hall and had themselves a Christmas gala, playing the classic songs on an old piano and occasionally singing along. It sounds very homey (or "homely," as the British would say) and comforting).
• "In the Christmas Mood" by the Glenn Miller Orchestra.
Christmas music swing! Kinda by the numbers, but very evocative of the 1940s. All you hepcats swing now!
17 November 2009
Finally, Holiday Music on XM
I don't acknowledge "those other people" who bought out XM and made the traffic reports suck (among other things). :-)
"Holly" and "Holiday Traditions" premiered together this year, which is decidedly odd. Instead of both being on their own channels as in past years, the Sirius portion of the management has fiddled with the format again. "Holly" has its own channel, but "Holiday Traditions" has taken over the 40s channel. An announcer tells you if you want to enjoy swing music in the interim, you can go to the "Siriusly Sinatra" [eyes roll]/Great American Songbook channel until December 26. These days its about 80 percent Sinatra and all boring.
I happened to turn on "Holly" just as RUN-DMC was playing. Sounded like a couple of two-year-olds banging pots.
Not sure when the classical Christmas music channel (hijacking the "Pops" channel) and the country channel (hijacking a country channel) will be starting; probably day after Thanksgiving. Leave it to Sirius to *uck up the good setup XM had.
"Holly" and "Holiday Traditions" premiered together this year, which is decidedly odd. Instead of both being on their own channels as in past years, the Sirius portion of the management has fiddled with the format again. "Holly" has its own channel, but "Holiday Traditions" has taken over the 40s channel. An announcer tells you if you want to enjoy swing music in the interim, you can go to the "Siriusly Sinatra" [eyes roll]/Great American Songbook channel until December 26. These days its about 80 percent Sinatra and all boring.
I happened to turn on "Holly" just as RUN-DMC was playing. Sounded like a couple of two-year-olds banging pots.
Not sure when the classical Christmas music channel (hijacking the "Pops" channel) and the country channel (hijacking a country channel) will be starting; probably day after Thanksgiving. Leave it to Sirius to *uck up the good setup XM had.
11 November 2009
"Saint Martin and Saint Nicholas"
This is an exerpt from Cornelia De Groot's 1917 book When I Was a Girl in Holland
CHAPTER VIII
ST. MARTIN AND ST. NICHOLAS
As you have your St. Valentine and your Hallowe'en, so we had St. Martin and St. Nicholas.
St. Martin was celebrated on November eleventh, but only in such villages and towns as had preserved ancient customs. On the evening of the eleventh, soon after we had come out of school and it was dark, we gathered a lot of dry twigs and shavings, and if possible, we procured a tarred barrel. We toted these things to a meadow right back of the village. There we built a fire and we danced and shouted around it as if we had been wild Indians. Father used to tell us of a boy who ran right through the flames of a St. Martin's fire, scorching his hair and clothes. I deplored the degenerate days I had been born in, for there was not a single boy among us children who had the courage to follow this hero's example.
When the fire was out, we walked two or three abreast, holding Chinese lanterns or a candle stuck in a turnip with a paper bag around it, somewhat resembling your pumpkins on Hallowe'en. Some of the boys had firecrackers. We sang many school songs and also a ditty about St. Martin being very cold and needing fire-wood, while we were serenading some of the village people and the nearest farmers, who rewarded us with a few cents. Later we went to the baker and bought cookies and sweets for the money and divided this amongst ourselves. Thus the fun ended.
The day of days, to us, was the sixth of December, St. Nicholas Day. St. Nicholas was once a bishop in Spain and beloved by all for his good deeds. That was many hundreds of years ago, but since then he is supposed to come from Spain with his black servant each December.
He is said to ride on a white horse through the air, and on the eve of the sixth, his feast day, to jump from roof to roof, where he descends through the chimney into the house. There he finds, standing in a row, the children's baskets with a tuft of hay for his horse in each of them, and he fills them with sweets and toys if the little ones have been good, with a turf and salt if they have been bad or are becoming too big to be thus remembered by him. Then he hides the baskets somewhere in the room. Noiselessly, he now climbs up through the chimney, mounts his waiting charger and visits another house.
Several mornings before the great event we would find a sort of ginger-cake called "taai-taai," in the form of a woman at the churn, Adam and Eve under the apple-tree, of a boy or a girl, or some animal, in our stockings as we awoke. In the evening, especially on the eve of the sixth, St. Nicholas himself, dressed in a long tabard with mitre on his head, followed by his black servant who carried a bag, would enter the living-room. Sometimes the good saint was dressed up so unsaintlike, resembling more a tramp-burglar than a bishop, that we little ones were frightened and hid behind mother's chair, although we quite well knew there was no such thing as a "Sinterklaas," as we called him in Frisian. He would ask whether we had been good or bad; if bad, his servant would take us along in the bag and carry us to the attic where he was supposed to keep a mill, and in this mill he would grind us to pepernoten or peppernuts, the tiny gingerbread cookies. Of course, mother always said we had been good children, and then he would open the bag and throw handfuls of pepernoten on the floor. We forgot our fear, and coming out of our hiding-places, we picked up the cookies, finding them in every corner of the room.
Early in the morning of the sixth we awoke, and in our nightclothes and on bare feet we would run into the very cold front-room and hunt for the baskets. They were hidden in some corner, behind a piece of furniture or in a closet. As soon as we had found them we carried them into the warm living room and there we examined the contents, consisting of one toy or a book for each of us, and several figures, some large, others small, of taai-taai, the brown, flat, tough cake, of which we were so fond, and which was made by the bakers all through the country on this feast of St. Nicholas only. There was always a girl, a couple of feet tall, for a boy, and a boy for a girl, and these we hung against the wall and kept for weeks sometimes. The others lasted only a few days.
Then there were figures and letters made of a sweeter kind of cake, more pepernoten, cookies, letters of sweet chocolate, and hearts of a very sweet pink or white candy, and the initial of our given name made of a deliciously light pastry, the filling of which was made of almonds and other ingredients. We called it "marsepyn." [marzipan] It was very rich and by every one considered a great delicacy. We also received a flat cake, resembling a pancake; it was sweet and decorated with gold tinsels.
We went to school early that morning to tell other children of the treasures we had received and to make comparisons. Now, for years we had known the truth about St. Nicholas; I had discovered it at the age of six, but the little comedy was kept up each year, just as a child may talk to a doll while knowing very well that it is not alive and cannot hear. And our fear of St. Nicholas when he was dressed so disreputably and growled so fiercely, was genuine, although we did not believe in him.
In school, the younger children sang a song in his honor and the teacher also gave them each a figure of taai-taai.
On the eve of St. Nicholas, many grown-ups and also some of the older children went to the baker to listen to the results of the raffle which he had been conducting. Our family usually won at least one prize, and sometimes two. These were several letters of marsepyn, taai-taai, big cakes, gigantic loaves of bread with currants, or other sweets. Small shopkeepers held raffles of toys, dry-goods and other things.
The baker that evening also conducted a sort of gambling hall in his bakery. Young and old were throwing dice to win more taai-taai and more sweets. These people never gambled at any other time, many never even played cards, yet at such a time some of them would not stop until all their available cash was gone and they had nothing to show for their folly but heaps of cakes and tarts and other sweet stuff. It was a very good day for the bakers. A few years ago, a law was passed, prohibiting this raffling and dice throwing.
We children did some impersonating St. Nicholas on our own account, too. A couple of evenings before St. Nicholas Eve we dressed up in old clothes that belonged to our mothers and older sisters, and tied before our faces masks of paper which we had cut out and colored ourselves. We put on long gloves, and, supplied with a big bag of pepernoten, went to a few of the poorest homes where there were several little tots, and, opening the front door carefully, threw handfuls of the confectionery on the floor. We must have been a queer lot of Sinterklaases, and I am sure that the fun it gave us must have far exceeded in magnitude the good and pleasure the poor children derived from the few pepernoten.
05 November 2009
"It's Fall!"
I kept forgetting to pull out my memory card and retrieve this: this wonderful little tree proclaiming "It's fall" in a field of mostly green trees. It was taken on the way to Ellijay on October 18.
04 November 2009
Autumn Poetry
"Autumn Fires"
Robert Louis Stevenson
In the other gardens
And all up the vale,
From the autumn bonfires
See the smoke trail!
Pleasant summer over
And all the summer flowers,
The red fire blazes,
The grey smoke towers.
Sing a song of seasons!
Something bright in all!
Flowers in the summer,
Fires in the fall!
"Come Ye Thankful People, Come"
Henry Alford
Come ye thankful people come,
Raise the song of harvest home!
All is safely gathered in,
Ere the winter storms begin;
God our Maker, doth provide
For our wants to be supplied:
Come to God's own temple, come,
Raise the song of harvest home.
All the world is God's own field
Fruit unto his praise to yield;
Wheat and tares together sown
Unto joy or sorrow grown;
First the blade, and then the ear,
Then the full corn shall appear;
Lord of the harvest! grant that we
Wholesome grain and pure may be.
For the Lord our God shall come,
And shall take his harvest home;
From his field shall in that day
All offenses purge away,
Give his angels charge at last
In the fire the tares to cast;
But the fruitful ears to store
In his garner evermore.
Even so, Lord, quickly come,
Bring thy final harvest home;
Gather thou thy people in,
Free from sorrow, free from sin,
There, forever purified,
In thy presence to abide;
Come, with all thine angels, come,
Raise the glorious harvest home.
"A Calendar of Sonnets: October"
Helen Hunt Jackson
The month of carnival of all the year,
When Nature lets the wild earth go its way,
And spend whole seasons on a single day.
The spring-time holds her white and purple dear;
October, lavish, flaunts them far and near;
The summer charily her reds doth lay
Like jewels on her costliest array;
October, scornful, burns them on a bier.
The winter hoards his pearls of frost in sign
Of kingdom: whiter pearls than winter knew,
Oar empress wore, in Egypt's ancient line,
October, feasting 'neath her dome of blue,
Drinks at a single draught, slow filtered through
Sunshiny air, as in a tingling wine!
"October's Bright Blue Weather"
Helen Hunt Jackson
O suns and skies and clouds of June,
And flowers of June together,
Ye cannot rival for one hour
October's bright blue weather;
When loud the bumblebee makes haste,
Belated, thriftless vagrant,
And goldenrod is dying fast,
And lanes with grapes are fragrant;
When gentians roll their fingers tight
To save them for the morning,
And chestnuts fall from satin burrs
Without a sound of warning;
When on the ground red apples lie
In piles like jewels shining,
And redder still on old stone walls
Are leaves of woodbine twining;
When all the lovely wayside things
Their white-winged seeds are sowing,
And in the fields still green and fair,
Late aftermaths are growing;
When springs run low, and on the brooks,
In idle golden freighting,
Bright leaves sink noiseless in the hush
Of woods, for winter waiting;
When comrades seek sweet country haunts,
By twos and twos together,
And count like misers, hour by hour,
October's bright blue weather.
O sun and skies and flowers of June,
Count all your boasts together,
Love loveth best of all the year
October's bright blue weather.
Robert Louis Stevenson
In the other gardens
And all up the vale,
From the autumn bonfires
See the smoke trail!
Pleasant summer over
And all the summer flowers,
The red fire blazes,
The grey smoke towers.
Sing a song of seasons!
Something bright in all!
Flowers in the summer,
Fires in the fall!
"Come Ye Thankful People, Come"
Henry Alford
Come ye thankful people come,
Raise the song of harvest home!
All is safely gathered in,
Ere the winter storms begin;
God our Maker, doth provide
For our wants to be supplied:
Come to God's own temple, come,
Raise the song of harvest home.
All the world is God's own field
Fruit unto his praise to yield;
Wheat and tares together sown
Unto joy or sorrow grown;
First the blade, and then the ear,
Then the full corn shall appear;
Lord of the harvest! grant that we
Wholesome grain and pure may be.
For the Lord our God shall come,
And shall take his harvest home;
From his field shall in that day
All offenses purge away,
Give his angels charge at last
In the fire the tares to cast;
But the fruitful ears to store
In his garner evermore.
Even so, Lord, quickly come,
Bring thy final harvest home;
Gather thou thy people in,
Free from sorrow, free from sin,
There, forever purified,
In thy presence to abide;
Come, with all thine angels, come,
Raise the glorious harvest home.
"A Calendar of Sonnets: October"
Helen Hunt Jackson
The month of carnival of all the year,
When Nature lets the wild earth go its way,
And spend whole seasons on a single day.
The spring-time holds her white and purple dear;
October, lavish, flaunts them far and near;
The summer charily her reds doth lay
Like jewels on her costliest array;
October, scornful, burns them on a bier.
The winter hoards his pearls of frost in sign
Of kingdom: whiter pearls than winter knew,
Oar empress wore, in Egypt's ancient line,
October, feasting 'neath her dome of blue,
Drinks at a single draught, slow filtered through
Sunshiny air, as in a tingling wine!
"October's Bright Blue Weather"
Helen Hunt Jackson
O suns and skies and clouds of June,
And flowers of June together,
Ye cannot rival for one hour
October's bright blue weather;
When loud the bumblebee makes haste,
Belated, thriftless vagrant,
And goldenrod is dying fast,
And lanes with grapes are fragrant;
When gentians roll their fingers tight
To save them for the morning,
And chestnuts fall from satin burrs
Without a sound of warning;
When on the ground red apples lie
In piles like jewels shining,
And redder still on old stone walls
Are leaves of woodbine twining;
When all the lovely wayside things
Their white-winged seeds are sowing,
And in the fields still green and fair,
Late aftermaths are growing;
When springs run low, and on the brooks,
In idle golden freighting,
Bright leaves sink noiseless in the hush
Of woods, for winter waiting;
When comrades seek sweet country haunts,
By twos and twos together,
And count like misers, hour by hour,
October's bright blue weather.
O sun and skies and flowers of June,
Count all your boasts together,
Love loveth best of all the year
October's bright blue weather.
31 October 2009
Hallowe'en Treats!
Disney's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," narrated by Bing Crosby:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
The beloved Garfield's Halloween Adventure:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
And for real spooky camp, the 1980 telefilm The Worst Witch—watch "Mrs. Garrett" with pink hair, Tim Curry going psychedelic, and Diana Rigg at her evil best:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
These are all out on DVD, so if you like what you've sampled, go treat yourself!
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
The beloved Garfield's Halloween Adventure:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
And for real spooky camp, the 1980 telefilm The Worst Witch—watch "Mrs. Garrett" with pink hair, Tim Curry going psychedelic, and Diana Rigg at her evil best:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
These are all out on DVD, so if you like what you've sampled, go treat yourself!
28 October 2009
Misty October Morning
It was actually nicer about fifteen minutes earlier, but I wanted to eat my oatmeal while it was hot!
25 October 2009
Treats, No Tricks
I finished putting up the Hallowe'en decorations about 9:15 p.m..
No, I don't have that many Hallowe'en decorations! LOL.
The day began mundanely with a trip to Kroger. We went for my bread and bananas and milk. Many dollars later...and all that, we arrived home. The fall edition of the Smyrna Jonquil Festival was this weekend, but we really didn't need anything and to tell the truth, I felt kinda guilty about wandering the booths, sampling the dips and the jelly samples, and then not buying anything. So we didn't go. Instead I had lunch and read the paper, then cleaned the hall bathroom, washed the towels, and then put the fall decorations in the foyer aside and decorated the area for Hallowe'en: craggy tree and mini-decorations, pseudo-30s ornaments, big glass pumpkin, black cats, a wizard owl, the stacking pumpkins I bought at the Apple Festival, skeletons and others.
However, the porch was drenched in sunshine, so I didn't go out and put up the porch decorations until about 8:45, when it was dark and cool.
To complete the effect, I changed out the blue bulbs in the two candles that burn in the front windows for orange bulbs.
I really don't bother decorating the rest of the house anymore. Hallowe'en just doesn't "float my boat," and I'm not going to fight it. It's something to get through on the way to better things: Thanksgiving and Christmas. The porch looks neat and the foyer matches. Otherwise it's just delight-fall. :-)
No, I don't have that many Hallowe'en decorations! LOL.
The day began mundanely with a trip to Kroger. We went for my bread and bananas and milk. Many dollars later...and all that, we arrived home. The fall edition of the Smyrna Jonquil Festival was this weekend, but we really didn't need anything and to tell the truth, I felt kinda guilty about wandering the booths, sampling the dips and the jelly samples, and then not buying anything. So we didn't go. Instead I had lunch and read the paper, then cleaned the hall bathroom, washed the towels, and then put the fall decorations in the foyer aside and decorated the area for Hallowe'en: craggy tree and mini-decorations, pseudo-30s ornaments, big glass pumpkin, black cats, a wizard owl, the stacking pumpkins I bought at the Apple Festival, skeletons and others.
However, the porch was drenched in sunshine, so I didn't go out and put up the porch decorations until about 8:45, when it was dark and cool.
To complete the effect, I changed out the blue bulbs in the two candles that burn in the front windows for orange bulbs.
I really don't bother decorating the rest of the house anymore. Hallowe'en just doesn't "float my boat," and I'm not going to fight it. It's something to get through on the way to better things: Thanksgiving and Christmas. The porch looks neat and the foyer matches. Otherwise it's just delight-fall. :-)
Rudolph Day, October 2009
The purpose of Rudolph Day is to keep the Christmas spirit all year long. One can prepare Christmas gifts or crafts, watch a Christmas movie, play Christmas music, or read a Christmas book.
May a frosty October be yours! In six days it will be Hallowe'en, and then Thanksgiving preparations begin. But Christmas isn't far away—why not
...watch some Christmas videos to whet your appetite? 101 Classic Christmas Videos Online.
...start organizing now so you can have a fun holiday? Christmas Organizing has ideas, and even a blog.
...listen to some online Christmas music. Here's a link to Live365's collection of Christmas music. Warning: to listen to some of these you have to belong to Live365, but other stations are totally free! Pandora Radio also has Christmas music.
...read a Christmas-themed book? A new nonfiction offering I found recently was Tinsel by Hank Stuever. I can ordinarily take or leave humorous Christmas books; some are funny while others are just crass, so I was wary, as the description made it sound as if the author was going to make fun of the people he was involved with. Instead I found this an imperfect, but entertaining and slightly sad story of Stuever's visit with three families in heartland Texas: a young couple who put up a bravura light display, an earnest but garrulous woman who has developed a small business putting up decorations for wealthy people, and a single mom who is trying to keep the magic of Christmas alive during hard times.
I say "sad" because as a "Christmas nut" I found these folks well-meaning but having completely lost sight of the fun and joy of Christmas. The man with the light display, for instance, is so into it that he refuses to leave home during the holiday to visit his parents (a sign of deeper familial problems) because "people would miss his lights." The woman who does the home decorating is sweet-natured Christian, but avoids visiting a dying friend except for the day she puts up her decorations for her, and takes inordinate effort into convincing her kids that Santa Claus still exists, including hiring an insipid elf to come visit the home to present them with the news about a skiing trip to Colorado. Even the woman who's trying to make ends meet spends a lot of time searching for bargains on expensive items so she can give so-called "good" presents to the people she loves. Christmas is about family (whether by blood or by choice), friends, simple gatherings and token gifts, but most of all feeling good, whether a deeper religious meaning or just a time of the year to enjoy oneself, and so much of what these folks strive for is artificial or filled with conspicuous consumption, symbolic of the modern "spirit" of Christmas. If these folks had been complete jerks it might have been humorous, but because they were nice people, the result is a little melancholy instead.
Despite that, I enjoyed the telling of the participants' stories and the background info about the American Christmas industry. Just don't be surprised if some parts are more "hmmmm" than "ho-ho-ho."
May a frosty October be yours! In six days it will be Hallowe'en, and then Thanksgiving preparations begin. But Christmas isn't far away—why not
...watch some Christmas videos to whet your appetite? 101 Classic Christmas Videos Online.
...start organizing now so you can have a fun holiday? Christmas Organizing has ideas, and even a blog.
...listen to some online Christmas music. Here's a link to Live365's collection of Christmas music. Warning: to listen to some of these you have to belong to Live365, but other stations are totally free! Pandora Radio also has Christmas music.
...read a Christmas-themed book? A new nonfiction offering I found recently was Tinsel by Hank Stuever. I can ordinarily take or leave humorous Christmas books; some are funny while others are just crass, so I was wary, as the description made it sound as if the author was going to make fun of the people he was involved with. Instead I found this an imperfect, but entertaining and slightly sad story of Stuever's visit with three families in heartland Texas: a young couple who put up a bravura light display, an earnest but garrulous woman who has developed a small business putting up decorations for wealthy people, and a single mom who is trying to keep the magic of Christmas alive during hard times.
I say "sad" because as a "Christmas nut" I found these folks well-meaning but having completely lost sight of the fun and joy of Christmas. The man with the light display, for instance, is so into it that he refuses to leave home during the holiday to visit his parents (a sign of deeper familial problems) because "people would miss his lights." The woman who does the home decorating is sweet-natured Christian, but avoids visiting a dying friend except for the day she puts up her decorations for her, and takes inordinate effort into convincing her kids that Santa Claus still exists, including hiring an insipid elf to come visit the home to present them with the news about a skiing trip to Colorado. Even the woman who's trying to make ends meet spends a lot of time searching for bargains on expensive items so she can give so-called "good" presents to the people she loves. Christmas is about family (whether by blood or by choice), friends, simple gatherings and token gifts, but most of all feeling good, whether a deeper religious meaning or just a time of the year to enjoy oneself, and so much of what these folks strive for is artificial or filled with conspicuous consumption, symbolic of the modern "spirit" of Christmas. If these folks had been complete jerks it might have been humorous, but because they were nice people, the result is a little melancholy instead.
Despite that, I enjoyed the telling of the participants' stories and the background info about the American Christmas industry. Just don't be surprised if some parts are more "hmmmm" than "ho-ho-ho."
16 October 2009
Gingerbread Weather Indeed!
My favorite kind of day: cloudy, breezy, mid-fifties!
I finally finished decorating the porch for fall—yes, I'm late, I know! The main decorations have been out there: the fall banner, the basket of artificial leaves and gourds, and the autumn leaf wreath. But I had not put out the rest of the things. First it was too warm, then when it got cool I didn't have time, and then it got warm again.
But it was a perfect day for it. I put scarecrows in both rocking chairs and then garnished the chairs with a artificial pumpkin and leaf garlands, then put the signs along the rails.
The autumn basket was partially in bad shape. The leaves and berries were fine, but the Georgia sun had done a number on the pumpkins/gourds, which are just painted styrofoam. They had split so that big white gaps were showing in their "rinds." Michaels had their artificial pumpkins on sale 60 percent off, so I picked out four different colors (a plain orange, a reddish, and a brownish, plus an orange one with a curved stem). I then pulled out the cracked ones, which were fastened into the foam at the bottom of the baskets with sticks. I cut the sticks off, then used the sharp tip of a small scissors to make a hole in the bottom of each of the new pumpkins and put a stick in each one. Then I put the new pumpkins back in the old basket and rearranged the leaves and berries around them. I wasn't sure if I had the proper sizes, but it seems to have worked fine.
I also have the garland around the arch that goes to the hall and the bedrooms, and around the door to the deck. Just have to hang the leaf garland up.
I finally finished decorating the porch for fall—yes, I'm late, I know! The main decorations have been out there: the fall banner, the basket of artificial leaves and gourds, and the autumn leaf wreath. But I had not put out the rest of the things. First it was too warm, then when it got cool I didn't have time, and then it got warm again.
But it was a perfect day for it. I put scarecrows in both rocking chairs and then garnished the chairs with a artificial pumpkin and leaf garlands, then put the signs along the rails.
The autumn basket was partially in bad shape. The leaves and berries were fine, but the Georgia sun had done a number on the pumpkins/gourds, which are just painted styrofoam. They had split so that big white gaps were showing in their "rinds." Michaels had their artificial pumpkins on sale 60 percent off, so I picked out four different colors (a plain orange, a reddish, and a brownish, plus an orange one with a curved stem). I then pulled out the cracked ones, which were fastened into the foam at the bottom of the baskets with sticks. I cut the sticks off, then used the sharp tip of a small scissors to make a hole in the bottom of each of the new pumpkins and put a stick in each one. Then I put the new pumpkins back in the old basket and rearranged the leaves and berries around them. I wasn't sure if I had the proper sizes, but it seems to have worked fine.
I also have the garland around the arch that goes to the hall and the bedrooms, and around the door to the deck. Just have to hang the leaf garland up.
15 October 2009
From Lemonade Weather to Gingerbread Weather
All in one fell swoop, too!
Hard to believe that a couple of days ago we needed the air conditioner on, at least at night, because it was almost 70°F out.
Another rainy day today, but chill enough (at this point it hasn't even hit 58 yet) for me to make like Sook in "A Christmas Memory," but instead of fruitcake, I will declare it "gingerbread weather." At lunchtime I went to the Mistletoe Market at the Cobb County Civic Center, wearing a sweatshirt and with my jacket on, and wandered about sampling dips. Several dip and soup kit dealers, the latter welcome on a damp day such as this; much of the remainder seemed to be cute kids' clothing, soaps or lotions, jewelry, or gifts I couldn't afford. Did get a small gift, and some little china/resin things: a grazing reindeer, a cute "Hallowe'en house" that was only $2, a bowl decorated like a pumpkin, and a little Hallowe'en "statue" for James with a pumpkin and a candy corn rhyme (he loves candy corn, even though he can't eat it any more).
It's finally starting to brighten outside; we may see the 63° high by the end of the day.
Hard to believe that a couple of days ago we needed the air conditioner on, at least at night, because it was almost 70°F out.
Another rainy day today, but chill enough (at this point it hasn't even hit 58 yet) for me to make like Sook in "A Christmas Memory," but instead of fruitcake, I will declare it "gingerbread weather." At lunchtime I went to the Mistletoe Market at the Cobb County Civic Center, wearing a sweatshirt and with my jacket on, and wandered about sampling dips. Several dip and soup kit dealers, the latter welcome on a damp day such as this; much of the remainder seemed to be cute kids' clothing, soaps or lotions, jewelry, or gifts I couldn't afford. Did get a small gift, and some little china/resin things: a grazing reindeer, a cute "Hallowe'en house" that was only $2, a bowl decorated like a pumpkin, and a little Hallowe'en "statue" for James with a pumpkin and a candy corn rhyme (he loves candy corn, even though he can't eat it any more).
It's finally starting to brighten outside; we may see the 63° high by the end of the day.
14 October 2009
Fall Pads in on Wet Feet
Two weeks...two weeks I keep intending to sit down and talk about how fall has inched its way in day by day...and the wet days soaking everything down, and the sudden hot spell that put an end to open windows for a week, and some more rain...and noticing little things.
Oh, not the dogwoods. They started to show signs of rusty leaves in August and have been rust-red and green for weeks. But the other trees have been touched, and some in such picturesque ways. Yesterday I was actually glad for a red light because it gave me a chance to gaze long and admiringly at a big maples whose dark leaves still burned deep green in the center, but whose entire side and tips of leaves on the other side were red shading to orange shading to yellow, as if it were on fire. Noticing that the trees that overhang the little bridge that spans a creek that I must cross are turning a delicate yellow, like lemonade in the pitcher.
There has been so much rain bracketing the cold spells and then the warm spells that there are more leaves on the ground than usual, some of them already turned old gold, or spotted with red and orange. Monday while coming out of Fuzziwig's I lined up a large scarlet leaf next to a smaller yellow leaf on one of the retaining walls around the shopping center trees. It seems as if the trees in our yard change every day. The ones next door, a sudden red-orange, waved a fall harbinger weeks ago, and now our own trees are following suit.
I am happy to see the birds looking so well as they chatter and quarrel over the seed in the feeder. They look shiny and plump now, feathers back in brilliant color, unlike during the summer when they were feeding their fledglings and run ragged, with no time to preen. We had one female cardinal who was bald all summer, evidently having sacrificed feathers to her nest. If birds could look desperately tired, these certainly did! Now they have time to chase each other, linger at the feeder. The occasional dove comes by, looking bewildered, but then doves always look bewildered. And with the windows open once more I can hear their little songs, even some songs I hadn't heard yet this season, and in the distance the long, lonesome cry of the train whistle. I've missed it.
Oh, not the dogwoods. They started to show signs of rusty leaves in August and have been rust-red and green for weeks. But the other trees have been touched, and some in such picturesque ways. Yesterday I was actually glad for a red light because it gave me a chance to gaze long and admiringly at a big maples whose dark leaves still burned deep green in the center, but whose entire side and tips of leaves on the other side were red shading to orange shading to yellow, as if it were on fire. Noticing that the trees that overhang the little bridge that spans a creek that I must cross are turning a delicate yellow, like lemonade in the pitcher.
There has been so much rain bracketing the cold spells and then the warm spells that there are more leaves on the ground than usual, some of them already turned old gold, or spotted with red and orange. Monday while coming out of Fuzziwig's I lined up a large scarlet leaf next to a smaller yellow leaf on one of the retaining walls around the shopping center trees. It seems as if the trees in our yard change every day. The ones next door, a sudden red-orange, waved a fall harbinger weeks ago, and now our own trees are following suit.
I am happy to see the birds looking so well as they chatter and quarrel over the seed in the feeder. They look shiny and plump now, feathers back in brilliant color, unlike during the summer when they were feeding their fledglings and run ragged, with no time to preen. We had one female cardinal who was bald all summer, evidently having sacrificed feathers to her nest. If birds could look desperately tired, these certainly did! Now they have time to chase each other, linger at the feeder. The occasional dove comes by, looking bewildered, but then doves always look bewildered. And with the windows open once more I can hear their little songs, even some songs I hadn't heard yet this season, and in the distance the long, lonesome cry of the train whistle. I've missed it.
Fantastic, Odd Christmas Ride
Christmas Decoration Showroom in Huddersfield, England, complete with trolls, fairy-tale characters, a singing lamppost and warbling pine trees, snowmen, and, of course, Santa Claus. (8 minute YouTube video; thanks to Donna on the CTTM mailing list!
28 September 2009
A Breath of Fall
The cold front is suddenly here, after being fobbed off by tropical air and the awful rains which destroyed so many homes and roads, not to mention nine lives. I noticed quite suddenly the other day that the trees behind our neighbor's house had sprinklings of red and orange leaves. It was only evident from the mailbox and quite surprising, although one type of tree—the locust, according to the Forest Service website in North Georgia—has already had scattered yellow leaves for weeks.
This morning I had to pull up my windows on the way in to work, as the breeze was actually chilly. Tonight the low is supposed to go to 51°F, although it will not fall that far until just before dawn.
This morning I had to pull up my windows on the way in to work, as the breeze was actually chilly. Tonight the low is supposed to go to 51°F, although it will not fall that far until just before dawn.
25 September 2009
Rudolph Day, September 2009
The purpose of Rudolph Day is to keep the Christmas spirit all year long. One can prepare Christmas gifts or crafts, watch a Christmas movie, play Christmas music, or read a Christmas book.
If you're lucky, autumn has already arrived or fall is just around the corner. Christmas is just over the horizon! Today there are exactly three months until Christmas.
Here are three 19th century Christmas tales:
The Christmas Angel, Abbie Farwell Brown.
The Romance of a Christmas Card, Kate Douglas Wiggin
(Incidentally, this story takes place in Beulah, also the setting for Wiggins' Mother Carey's Chickens, which Disney made into the film Summer Magic.)
When the Yule Log Burns, Leona Dalrymple
There are many histories of Christmas out there, from the old-fashioned tomes of Dawson and Miles, to the newest volumes about Christmas in the United States by Nissenbaum and Restad. However, in her Merry Christmas! Karal Ann Marling does a fresh take on the vision of Christmas in America. In this delightful, quite readable volume, Marling traces the history of familiar Christmas things, beginning with wrapping paper and ending with classic Christmas films, with material taken from the magazines and newspapers of the day. We discover how the now ubiquitous Christmas villages go back to the German putz under the Christmas tree and the Italian presipio; how trends in concealing gifts came about, the history of department store window displays, nostalgia for "old-fashioned Christmases" that were sometimes created fictions, and more, all liberally illustrated with vintage magazine ads and illustrations. I have to admit, one of the reasons I love this book is that it references St. Nicholas so much!—but the whole book is a wonderful cornucopia of treats in print.
If you're lucky, autumn has already arrived or fall is just around the corner. Christmas is just over the horizon! Today there are exactly three months until Christmas.
Here are three 19th century Christmas tales:
The Christmas Angel, Abbie Farwell Brown.
The Romance of a Christmas Card, Kate Douglas Wiggin
(Incidentally, this story takes place in Beulah, also the setting for Wiggins' Mother Carey's Chickens, which Disney made into the film Summer Magic.)
When the Yule Log Burns, Leona Dalrymple
There are many histories of Christmas out there, from the old-fashioned tomes of Dawson and Miles, to the newest volumes about Christmas in the United States by Nissenbaum and Restad. However, in her Merry Christmas! Karal Ann Marling does a fresh take on the vision of Christmas in America. In this delightful, quite readable volume, Marling traces the history of familiar Christmas things, beginning with wrapping paper and ending with classic Christmas films, with material taken from the magazines and newspapers of the day. We discover how the now ubiquitous Christmas villages go back to the German putz under the Christmas tree and the Italian presipio; how trends in concealing gifts came about, the history of department store window displays, nostalgia for "old-fashioned Christmases" that were sometimes created fictions, and more, all liberally illustrated with vintage magazine ads and illustrations. I have to admit, one of the reasons I love this book is that it references St. Nicholas so much!—but the whole book is a wonderful cornucopia of treats in print.
19 September 2009
Autumn Just Around the Corner
I took the opportunity to put the fall decorations on the porch yesterday—well, part of them, anyway: the banner, the basket, the wreath. You can't walk into a store now and not see fall decorations, especially the craft stores or discount stores. We were in Big Lots today and I hugged an especially pretty autumn leaf garland. If only the rain would get out of the way to make way for a cold front. We had a nice rainy day today, only it isn't cold enough for a fire, or to even feel like making gingerbread.
Chilly fall days are perfect for this: turn on the gas, bake some gingerbread or light a gingerbread candle, find a book and enjoy, instead of gazing wistfully out at the blazing sun knowing it's 90 degrees in the shade.
It is unusual how many of the trees are starting to turn here. Usually the dogwoods start the earliest, some as early as the end of August. But there are dozens of groups of little maple trees who already have reddish leaves, or branches. One type of tree—I'm not sure what kind—already has a smattering of bright yellow leaves among the green.
I am truly homesick for fall!
Chilly fall days are perfect for this: turn on the gas, bake some gingerbread or light a gingerbread candle, find a book and enjoy, instead of gazing wistfully out at the blazing sun knowing it's 90 degrees in the shade.
It is unusual how many of the trees are starting to turn here. Usually the dogwoods start the earliest, some as early as the end of August. But there are dozens of groups of little maple trees who already have reddish leaves, or branches. One type of tree—I'm not sure what kind—already has a smattering of bright yellow leaves among the green.
I am truly homesick for fall!
11 September 2009
02 September 2009
Enjoy the Fall!
Yesterday I took great joy in ripping down those summer flowers in my cubicle and taking down the summer bouquet and vase of flowers 4and all the summer pictures, and putting up fall photos (the photos and pictures are all from old calendars), the fall bouquet, the fall vase of leaves, and the leaf garland. The cubicle is so tranquil now (well, as tranquil as you can be with those wretched fluorescent lights shining in it). I played George Winston, "Autumn" and "Plains," as I worked.
01 September 2009
Rejoice!
Although the fall equinox itself is some weeks away, it is now meteorological autumn. The trees seem to know it, as all the dogwood leaves are tinged with red, and the ones behind our building at work have the dogwood equivalent of rose hips (dogwood hips?) on their branches. Acorns are starting to fall, ones and twos, and sometimes threes, from the oak trees around the parking lot, and the tulip trees have been dotted with yellow leaves for some time now; already in August our back yard is scattered with a smattering of yellow and brown tulip tree leaves.
Yesterday it was cloudy most of the day, until late afternoon, and the temperature may not have even reached 80°F. It is cloudy again this morning, that "is it going to rain" iron-grey sky that looks so ominous and keeps it so nice and cool. I think it will be 79 or 80 today, too.
Summer is still hanging on with her teeth: it will be in the low 80s this weekend. I long for today's cloud cover and cooler temperatures then!
Yesterday it was cloudy most of the day, until late afternoon, and the temperature may not have even reached 80°F. It is cloudy again this morning, that "is it going to rain" iron-grey sky that looks so ominous and keeps it so nice and cool. I think it will be 79 or 80 today, too.
Summer is still hanging on with her teeth: it will be in the low 80s this weekend. I long for today's cloud cover and cooler temperatures then!
25 August 2009
Rudolph Day, August 2009
The purpose of Rudolph Day is to keep the Christmas spirit all year long. One can prepare Christmas gifts or crafts, watch a Christmas movie, play Christmas music, or read a Christmas book.
Let's channel some Christmas chill to cool down in August:
Read the anthology The St. Nicholas Christmas Book.
Check out some vintage Christmas postcards courtesy of Google.
For many people, things may be a bit tight this year. Take some tips from Thrifty Living. Remember, Christmas is not about gifts!
They say Christmas is best viewed from the eyes of a child. As children, we may have had a beloved Christmas book, or books, like the Golden Books version of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer or a gift volume of a retelling of A Christmas Carol. Some series children's books did Christmas themed novels as well.
One of my favorites always was, and still is, The Cottage Holiday, one of the "Tuckers" series by Jo Mendel, published by Whitman Books in the 1960s. The five Tucker children, their mom and dad, and dad's parents are featured in these warm, leisurely-paced, old-fashioned tales of sibling adventure and occasionally sibling rivalry. Cottage Holiday is a little different: it centers on Penny, the next to youngest child and youngest girl, who usually spends most of the other books playing with her dolls, but who, in this story, is wondering about her place amongst her boisterous brothers and sisters: Tina is good at cooking and helping care for them; Merry is musical and her twin Terry clever with his hands; and even little Tom is practical and dependable. But where does she, often sickly Penny, stand? After Penny's idea to spend Christmas at their little lake cottage in the woods comes to fruition, the novel turns into a wonderful adventure: fun on the deserted beach with friends, the search for the perfect Christmas tree, a hunt for a lost woman, a marauding mountain lion, an abandoned baby—all infused with the spirit of Christmas and the wonder of Penny's search for self. If you love Christmas stories and ever see this volume at a used bookstore, do pick it up, even if you are not familiar with the series. It's a dose of Christmas spirit dressed up as a kids' book.
Let's channel some Christmas chill to cool down in August:
Read the anthology The St. Nicholas Christmas Book.
Check out some vintage Christmas postcards courtesy of Google.
For many people, things may be a bit tight this year. Take some tips from Thrifty Living. Remember, Christmas is not about gifts!
They say Christmas is best viewed from the eyes of a child. As children, we may have had a beloved Christmas book, or books, like the Golden Books version of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer or a gift volume of a retelling of A Christmas Carol. Some series children's books did Christmas themed novels as well.
One of my favorites always was, and still is, The Cottage Holiday, one of the "Tuckers" series by Jo Mendel, published by Whitman Books in the 1960s. The five Tucker children, their mom and dad, and dad's parents are featured in these warm, leisurely-paced, old-fashioned tales of sibling adventure and occasionally sibling rivalry. Cottage Holiday is a little different: it centers on Penny, the next to youngest child and youngest girl, who usually spends most of the other books playing with her dolls, but who, in this story, is wondering about her place amongst her boisterous brothers and sisters: Tina is good at cooking and helping care for them; Merry is musical and her twin Terry clever with his hands; and even little Tom is practical and dependable. But where does she, often sickly Penny, stand? After Penny's idea to spend Christmas at their little lake cottage in the woods comes to fruition, the novel turns into a wonderful adventure: fun on the deserted beach with friends, the search for the perfect Christmas tree, a hunt for a lost woman, a marauding mountain lion, an abandoned baby—all infused with the spirit of Christmas and the wonder of Penny's search for self. If you love Christmas stories and ever see this volume at a used bookstore, do pick it up, even if you are not familiar with the series. It's a dose of Christmas spirit dressed up as a kids' book.
21 August 2009
Signs of Hope
The fall issue of "Midwest Living" is out, and tonight I found the fall issue of "Country Sampler"! Hobby Lobby is filled with wonderful fall stuff, their Christmas trees and decorations are out, including ribbons and lawn signs. There's a big ceramic platter with a colorful turkey in its center, surrounded by fall leaves and motifs. Near the registers they had a tall pine tree decorated with nothing but fall garland, bits of fall leaves, big acorns, and other items!
25 July 2009
Rudolph Day, July 2009
The purpose of Rudolph Day is to keep the Christmas spirit all year long. One can prepare Christmas gifts or crafts, watch a Christmas movie, play Christmas music, or read a Christmas book.
For our July edition, it's time for "Christmas in July"! Cool down with these:
Hey! Remember Glass Wax stencils? I used to do this every year with our front window, including reusing the reindeer stencil four times to get all eight tiny reindeer and the camel and wise man stencils to get all three of them. The stencils would get soaked and limp if you used them more than once, so you did one reindeer pair, then did other stencils, then another reindeer pair once the stencil had dried a little, and so on.
Read a 92-year-old book by George McKnight about St. Nicholas: His Legend and His Role in the Christmas Celebration and Other Popular Customs (here's a flip book version, too).
Remember the first animated Christmas special ever made for television? Nope, it wasn't A Charlie Brown Christmas, or even the stop-motion animation of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. It was, in fact, the 1962 Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol, which was scored by two Broadway veteran songwriters, and adapted directly from Dickens' tale, with a delightful framing sequence that has the nearsighted Magoo as an egotistical actor playing Ebenezer Scrooge in a Broadway play (with a great song about Broadway to boot). Now there's a book about the making of this special by Darrell Van Citters that's a delight as well, telling how the idea of the special came about, how it was made almost "in tandem" with UPA's Gay Purr-ee, and of the changes that were made to the story to fit it into a 52-minute timeslot. So if you've ever wondered if the scenes with Scrooge's nephew Fred, with Ignorance and Want, and with Belle and her husband were ever included in the original teleplay, you'll find out here. (The one mystery about the story that everyone asks about, why the Spirit of Christmas Present came first, is sadly not solved; in the original script the ghosts were in the proper order.) There are also nice tidbits about the actors—I didn't know Paul Frees' death was actually a suicide!—and the production (the original sponsor was Timex, and the minute the author mentioned the commercials I could remember them). If you are as big a fan of the story as I am, you will want to order it directly from the Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol site. If you are interested, but not fanatic, it is supposed to be available for general release, i.e. Amazon.com and the like, in the fall.
This site about producer Abe Levitow also has a page and some clips from the Carol.
For our July edition, it's time for "Christmas in July"! Cool down with these:
Hey! Remember Glass Wax stencils? I used to do this every year with our front window, including reusing the reindeer stencil four times to get all eight tiny reindeer and the camel and wise man stencils to get all three of them. The stencils would get soaked and limp if you used them more than once, so you did one reindeer pair, then did other stencils, then another reindeer pair once the stencil had dried a little, and so on.
Read a 92-year-old book by George McKnight about St. Nicholas: His Legend and His Role in the Christmas Celebration and Other Popular Customs (here's a flip book version, too).
Remember the first animated Christmas special ever made for television? Nope, it wasn't A Charlie Brown Christmas, or even the stop-motion animation of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. It was, in fact, the 1962 Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol, which was scored by two Broadway veteran songwriters, and adapted directly from Dickens' tale, with a delightful framing sequence that has the nearsighted Magoo as an egotistical actor playing Ebenezer Scrooge in a Broadway play (with a great song about Broadway to boot). Now there's a book about the making of this special by Darrell Van Citters that's a delight as well, telling how the idea of the special came about, how it was made almost "in tandem" with UPA's Gay Purr-ee, and of the changes that were made to the story to fit it into a 52-minute timeslot. So if you've ever wondered if the scenes with Scrooge's nephew Fred, with Ignorance and Want, and with Belle and her husband were ever included in the original teleplay, you'll find out here. (The one mystery about the story that everyone asks about, why the Spirit of Christmas Present came first, is sadly not solved; in the original script the ghosts were in the proper order.) There are also nice tidbits about the actors—I didn't know Paul Frees' death was actually a suicide!—and the production (the original sponsor was Timex, and the minute the author mentioned the commercials I could remember them). If you are as big a fan of the story as I am, you will want to order it directly from the Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol site. If you are interested, but not fanatic, it is supposed to be available for general release, i.e. Amazon.com and the like, in the fall.
This site about producer Abe Levitow also has a page and some clips from the Carol.
13 July 2009
A Favorite Chronicled
I have already ordered one. I remember watching the original broadcast on our old black and white television; didn't see it in color until the late 1970s.
Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol: A Book By Darrell Van Citters
Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol: A Book By Darrell Van Citters
25 June 2009
Rudolph Day, June 2009
The purpose of Rudolph Day is to keep the Christmas spirit all year long. One can prepare Christmas gifts or crafts, watch a Christmas movie, play Christmas music, or read a Christmas book.
It's now six months until Christmas!
For our June edition, let's go back to the 1950s and some great black and white video from YouTube!
1950 movie theatre Christmas ads
More vintage movie theatre Christmas ads
Movie theatre Christmas films: Christmas 1955 and New Years 1952
Newsreel of London at Christmastime, 1953 (silent)
Santa Claus' Story, a tale about monkeys celebrating Christmas!
Santa Claus' quiz show, another odd movie short
"A Christmas Dream"
1950s Christmas photos done to "Baby, It's Cold Outside" (strange music choice!)
There are still those among us who were there Sunday afternoon, December 6, 1964, watching a new Christmas treat which we did not know would become a holiday classic. On that Sunday, in place of their weekly university competition, College Bowl, General Electric presented their "Fantasy Hour" featuring the stop-motion tale of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. If you are a Rudolph fan, Rick Goldschmidt's The Making of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a must, a slim volume chock-full of "Rudolphy" tidbits. Goldschmidt goes all the way back to the early days of the partnership of Arthur Rankin and Jules Bass and describes the production of the story, and the volume is filled with one-of-a-kind photos of the production staff, including the Japanese studio where the stop-motion animation was done. A big treat is the inclusion of Romeo Muller's original script, where you can see all sorts of things changed: Sam the snowman originally as a different type of character, a "maternity" seal, Donner being injured, and a different ending for the "Bumble" among them. Enjoy!
It's now six months until Christmas!
For our June edition, let's go back to the 1950s and some great black and white video from YouTube!
1950 movie theatre Christmas ads
More vintage movie theatre Christmas ads
Movie theatre Christmas films: Christmas 1955 and New Years 1952
Newsreel of London at Christmastime, 1953 (silent)
Santa Claus' Story, a tale about monkeys celebrating Christmas!
Santa Claus' quiz show, another odd movie short
"A Christmas Dream"
1950s Christmas photos done to "Baby, It's Cold Outside" (strange music choice!)
There are still those among us who were there Sunday afternoon, December 6, 1964, watching a new Christmas treat which we did not know would become a holiday classic. On that Sunday, in place of their weekly university competition, College Bowl, General Electric presented their "Fantasy Hour" featuring the stop-motion tale of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. If you are a Rudolph fan, Rick Goldschmidt's The Making of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a must, a slim volume chock-full of "Rudolphy" tidbits. Goldschmidt goes all the way back to the early days of the partnership of Arthur Rankin and Jules Bass and describes the production of the story, and the volume is filled with one-of-a-kind photos of the production staff, including the Japanese studio where the stop-motion animation was done. A big treat is the inclusion of Romeo Muller's original script, where you can see all sorts of things changed: Sam the snowman originally as a different type of character, a "maternity" seal, Donner being injured, and a different ending for the "Bumble" among them. Enjoy!
15 June 2009
"What Do the Holidays Mean to You?" Quiz
Your Holidays Are Lively |
 For you, the holidays are about celebration. You enjoy all the fun and fellowship that the holidays bring. You celebrate the holidays in a offbeat style. You believe the holidays are for doing whatever you feel like - and some of your "traditions" are pretty wacky. During the holidays, you feel magical. You love all of the decorations and how happy people are. You like to sit back and take it all in. You think the holidays should be nostalgic and sweet. The holidays bring out your inner child. Your favorite holiday memories are complete and very visual. Past holiday events play out like a video in your mind. |
25 May 2009
Rudolph Day, May 2009
The purpose of Rudolph Day is to keep the Christmas spirit all year long. One can prepare Christmas gifts or crafts, watch a Christmas movie, play Christmas music, or read a Christmas book.
For our May edition, Christmas comes in on little mice feet:
• Visit some Christmas stores online! Christmas Days • Bronners Christmas Wonderland • The Christmas Mouse
• Read the story of "The Christmas Mouse" (many other Christmas inspirational stories linked here)
• How mice helped a poor workingman in Beatrix Potter's classic "The Tailor of Gloucester" (her favorite of all her tales)
I am always on the lookout for Christmas stories I haven't read. Most newer books contain the usual selections: bits from A Christmas Carol, Capote's "Christmas Memory," Taylor Caldwell's Christmas tale, and also Pearl Buck's. That's why I was delighted to find a worn book from 1945 called The Fireside Book of Christmas Stories. I could just imagine some World War II veteran buying this volume, reading and re-reading it over the years.
Granted, some familiarity still remained: Dickens' edited version of A Christmas Carol, Henry Van Dyke's "The Other Wise Man," the "little women" and Wiggins' Carol Bird celebrating Christmas, Washington Irving's "Old Christmas" and the Christmas chapter from The Pickwick Papers. And, sadly, the "cute darky story," "How Come Christmas" and also "A Plantation Christmas," with its happy black characters including one ex-slave who was happier in slavery ::eyes roll::, were also included...sad remnants of the negative side of "the good old days." And one British story, "The Almond Tree," didn't even make sense in inclusion, as it merely took place in the winter, not at Christmas, although the holiday is briefly mentioned.
Despite that, I did get my wish. There were several touching Biblical efforts about the lives of Mary and Joseph, plus one about the Magi Caspar, Frances Hodgsen Burnett's tale of "The Little Hunchback Zia," stories of Santa Claus and one of St. Boniface and the first Christmas tree, a couple of British ghost stories as well as memoirs and stories of small towns and lonely children, and Langston Hughes' bleak "One Christmas Eve." If you like old-fashioned Christmas story collections, you will probably appreciate this selection.
For our May edition, Christmas comes in on little mice feet:
• Visit some Christmas stores online! Christmas Days • Bronners Christmas Wonderland • The Christmas Mouse
• Read the story of "The Christmas Mouse" (many other Christmas inspirational stories linked here)
• How mice helped a poor workingman in Beatrix Potter's classic "The Tailor of Gloucester" (her favorite of all her tales)
I am always on the lookout for Christmas stories I haven't read. Most newer books contain the usual selections: bits from A Christmas Carol, Capote's "Christmas Memory," Taylor Caldwell's Christmas tale, and also Pearl Buck's. That's why I was delighted to find a worn book from 1945 called The Fireside Book of Christmas Stories. I could just imagine some World War II veteran buying this volume, reading and re-reading it over the years.
Granted, some familiarity still remained: Dickens' edited version of A Christmas Carol, Henry Van Dyke's "The Other Wise Man," the "little women" and Wiggins' Carol Bird celebrating Christmas, Washington Irving's "Old Christmas" and the Christmas chapter from The Pickwick Papers. And, sadly, the "cute darky story," "How Come Christmas" and also "A Plantation Christmas," with its happy black characters including one ex-slave who was happier in slavery ::eyes roll::, were also included...sad remnants of the negative side of "the good old days." And one British story, "The Almond Tree," didn't even make sense in inclusion, as it merely took place in the winter, not at Christmas, although the holiday is briefly mentioned.
Despite that, I did get my wish. There were several touching Biblical efforts about the lives of Mary and Joseph, plus one about the Magi Caspar, Frances Hodgsen Burnett's tale of "The Little Hunchback Zia," stories of Santa Claus and one of St. Boniface and the first Christmas tree, a couple of British ghost stories as well as memoirs and stories of small towns and lonely children, and Langston Hughes' bleak "One Christmas Eve." If you like old-fashioned Christmas story collections, you will probably appreciate this selection.
14 May 2009
Jingles From the Future
I have an incredible report that there is already a small amount of Christmas merchandise (mostly ribbon) out at a Hobby Lobby. Wow!
25 April 2009
Rudolph Day, April 2009
The purpose of Rudolph Day is to keep the Christmas spirit all year long. One can prepare Christmas gifts or crafts, watch a Christmas movie, play Christmas music, or read a Christmas book.
For our April edition, you may read online A Little Book of Christmas, by Cyrus Townsend Brady (Project Gutenberg).
Here's a list of the five best Christmas stores in the United States.
Some quotations about Christmas.
Dickens' Finest Song
Everyone has his favorite film version of A Christmas Carol. Many prefer the Alistair Sim offering, while others favor George C. Scott or Reginald Owen. Still others go for the more offbeat versions: perhaps Mr. Magoo's or Mickey Mouse's, or The Muppet Christmas Carol or Bill Murray's Scrooged.
But how many of you out there have close acquaintance with the best version—Dickens' original novel?
Not Dickens! you groan. Dickens wrote by the word. Dickens wrote in the Victorian style, full of description and overly stuffed with exposition.
A Christmas Carol is none of these. Dickens' simple, to-the-point story is full of delightful imagery that is never captured in any of the versions. Here is his description of Scrooge himself:
For our April edition, you may read online A Little Book of Christmas, by Cyrus Townsend Brady (Project Gutenberg).
Here's a list of the five best Christmas stores in the United States.
Some quotations about Christmas.
Everyone has his favorite film version of A Christmas Carol. Many prefer the Alistair Sim offering, while others favor George C. Scott or Reginald Owen. Still others go for the more offbeat versions: perhaps Mr. Magoo's or Mickey Mouse's, or The Muppet Christmas Carol or Bill Murray's Scrooged.
But how many of you out there have close acquaintance with the best version—Dickens' original novel?
Not Dickens! you groan. Dickens wrote by the word. Dickens wrote in the Victorian style, full of description and overly stuffed with exposition.
A Christmas Carol is none of these. Dickens' simple, to-the-point story is full of delightful imagery that is never captured in any of the versions. Here is his description of Scrooge himself:
Have any of the movies ever described the cold of that Christmas Eve any better than this?:"Oh! But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grind-stone, Scrooge! a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, shrivelled his cheek, stiffened his gait; made his eyes red, his thin lips blue; and spoke out shrewdly in his grating voice. A frosty rime was on his head, and on his eyebrows, and his wiry chin. He carried his own low temperature always about with him; he iced his office in the dog-days; and didn't thaw it one degree at Christmas."
Here's a marvelous passage describing the marketplace at Christmas:"Meanwhile the fog and darkness thickened so, that people ran about with flaring links, proffering their services to go before horses in carriages, and conduct them on their way. The ancient tower of a church, whose gruff old bell was always peeping slily down at Scrooge out of a Gothic window in the wall, became invisible, and struck the hours and quarters in the clouds, with tremulous vibrations afterwards as if its teeth were chattering in its frozen head up there. The cold became intense. In the main street, at the corner of the court, some labourers were repairing the gas-pipes, and had lighted a great fire in a brazier, round which a party of ragged men and boys were gathered: warming their hands and winking their eyes before the blaze in rapture."
The whole book is full of such delightful passages. The spirits are more mysterious, the villainous Old Joe and his compatriots more sinister, the Cratchits more affecting...characters appear often ignored by the films and more venues appear. Treat yourself this year to the original, Charles Dickens' "little Christmas book," A Christmas Carol."...There were great, round, pot-bellied baskets of chestnuts, shaped like the waistcoats of jolly old gentlemen, lolling at the doors, and tumbling out into the street in their apoplectic opulence. There were ruddy, brown-faced, broad-girthed Spanish Onions, shining in the fatness of their growth like Spanish Friars, and winking from their shelves in wanton slyness at the girls as they went by, and glanced demurely at the hung-up mistletoe. There were pears and apples, clustered high in blooming pyramids; there were bunches of grapes, made, in the shopkeepers' benevolence to dangle from conspicuous hooks, that people's mouths might water gratis as they passed; there were piles of filberts, mossy and brown, recalling, in their fragrance, ancient walks among the woods, and pleasant shufflings ankle deep through withered leaves; there were Norfolk Biffins, squat and swarthy, setting off the yellow of the oranges and lemons, and, in the great compactness of their juicy persons, urgently entreating and beseeching to be carried home in paper bags and eaten after dinner. The very gold and silver fish, set forth among these choice fruits in a bowl, though members of a dull and stagnant-blooded race, appeared to know that there was something going on; and, to a fish, went gasping round and round their little world in slow and passionless excitement."
22 April 2009
Christmas in...April?
Yes, the Hallmark Dream Book came today!
I love it...there is a "Bolt" ornament!
Other cool ornaments I noted:
• The first in a series of "Mickey's Christmas Carol" ornaments (this one is Mickey as Bob Cratchit at his desk)
• A gingerbread Santa-and-reindeer set (as well as a gingerbread Noah's ark)
• A nice "full size" and also miniature train set
• A cute miniature Snoopy and Woodstock
• A "talking" Ralphy in the pink pajamas
• A Robby the Robot
• A wonderful Eeyore ornament with him and a Charlie Brown-type tree
• A new Marjolein Bastin ornament (a cardinal on a garden gate)
plus, of course, all sorts of Santas, snowmen, and Snoopys, superheroes and Barbies, angels and of course the Child in the Manger.
I love it...there is a "Bolt" ornament!
Other cool ornaments I noted:
• The first in a series of "Mickey's Christmas Carol" ornaments (this one is Mickey as Bob Cratchit at his desk)
• A gingerbread Santa-and-reindeer set (as well as a gingerbread Noah's ark)
• A nice "full size" and also miniature train set
• A cute miniature Snoopy and Woodstock
• A "talking" Ralphy in the pink pajamas
• A Robby the Robot
• A wonderful Eeyore ornament with him and a Charlie Brown-type tree
• A new Marjolein Bastin ornament (a cardinal on a garden gate)
plus, of course, all sorts of Santas, snowmen, and Snoopys, superheroes and Barbies, angels and of course the Child in the Manger.
12 April 2009
08 April 2009
A Joyful Passover
Our friend Mel mentioned this special prayer in a recent e-mail: Jews Ready Blessing of the Sun for Passover
Holiday.net celebrates Passover
Today did some quiz questions about Passover this morning. I remember reading the story in my children's Bible. Everyone remembers the lamb's blood and the slaying of the firstborn, but do you remember all the ten plagues? They were:
1. Blood
2. Frogs
3. Lice (vermin)
4. Wild Beasts(flies)
5. Blight (Cattle Disease)
6. Boils
7. Hail
8. Locusts
9. Darkness
10. Slaying of the First Born
Pesach : History and Meaning of Freedom in Faith
Holiday.net celebrates Passover
Today did some quiz questions about Passover this morning. I remember reading the story in my children's Bible. Everyone remembers the lamb's blood and the slaying of the firstborn, but do you remember all the ten plagues? They were:
1. Blood
2. Frogs
3. Lice (vermin)
4. Wild Beasts(flies)
5. Blight (Cattle Disease)
6. Boils
7. Hail
8. Locusts
9. Darkness
10. Slaying of the First Born
Pesach : History and Meaning of Freedom in Faith
25 March 2009
Rudolph Day, March 2009
The purpose of Rudolph Day is to keep the Christmas spirit all year long. One can prepare Christmas gifts or crafts, watch a Christmas movie, play Christmas music, or read a Christmas book.
For our March edition, Earl Hamner Remembers A Nelson County, Virginia Christmas (this appeared in a slightly different form on the LP "The Waltons Christmas Album").
Did you know artificial Christmas trees are not new? They were originally conceived after the depletion of forests for Christmas trees. Here's the history of feather trees on a feather tree kit site, and also an article about them from the Victoriana online magazine.
This month's featured book is I'll Be Home for Christmas, a collection of personal memories from the magazine Good Old Days. This full color hardcover book is full of vintage illustrations (including some by Norman Rockwell) and reminisces from the turn of the century through the 1950s. The common denominator in all of them is not the fantastic expensive gifts that were received or the home's expensive decorations, but the happiness of family and friends being together again and receiving tokens of love from those they cared for, and giving those same tokens. Christmas was about happiness, not about money. Stories include memories of grandparents, wartime tales, and country fun. Great for a quiet read during Christmastide.
For our March edition, Earl Hamner Remembers A Nelson County, Virginia Christmas (this appeared in a slightly different form on the LP "The Waltons Christmas Album").
Did you know artificial Christmas trees are not new? They were originally conceived after the depletion of forests for Christmas trees. Here's the history of feather trees on a feather tree kit site, and also an article about them from the Victoriana online magazine.
This month's featured book is I'll Be Home for Christmas, a collection of personal memories from the magazine Good Old Days. This full color hardcover book is full of vintage illustrations (including some by Norman Rockwell) and reminisces from the turn of the century through the 1950s. The common denominator in all of them is not the fantastic expensive gifts that were received or the home's expensive decorations, but the happiness of family and friends being together again and receiving tokens of love from those they cared for, and giving those same tokens. Christmas was about happiness, not about money. Stories include memories of grandparents, wartime tales, and country fun. Great for a quiet read during Christmastide.
19 March 2009
Celebrating St. Joseph's Day in the News
St. Joseph: A Humble Man of God
This is an interesting article about how St. Joseph's Day has become meaningful to African-American groups. (Funny how this refers to St. Joseph's Day as a "Sicilian" holiday; I just think of it as an "Italian" holiday.)
A look at creating a St. Joseph's Day altar in New Orleans.
Preparing a St. Joseph's feast with love in Texas.
Celebrating St. Joseph's Day With Bread, a story from Chicago. (Zeppoles filled with chocolate custard? Now those I could go for!)
A New York bakery shows us how to make zeppole.
In some places it's just easier to find an Italian bakery: a video of zeppoles being prepared at Schialo's Bakery in Providence, RI. (This is up in the Federal Hill neighborhood where my mom grew up; "the Hill" was primarily known as an Italian neighborhood for many decades.)
This is an interesting article about how St. Joseph's Day has become meaningful to African-American groups. (Funny how this refers to St. Joseph's Day as a "Sicilian" holiday; I just think of it as an "Italian" holiday.)
A look at creating a St. Joseph's Day altar in New Orleans.
Preparing a St. Joseph's feast with love in Texas.
Celebrating St. Joseph's Day With Bread, a story from Chicago. (Zeppoles filled with chocolate custard? Now those I could go for!)
A New York bakery shows us how to make zeppole.
In some places it's just easier to find an Italian bakery: a video of zeppoles being prepared at Schialo's Bakery in Providence, RI. (This is up in the Federal Hill neighborhood where my mom grew up; "the Hill" was primarily known as an Italian neighborhood for many decades.)
25 February 2009
Rudolph Day, February 2009
The purpose of Rudolph Day is to keep the Christmas spirit all year long. One can prepare Christmas gifts or crafts, watch a Christmas movie, play Christmas music, or read a Christmas book.
For our February edition, play Reindeer Roundup
Read Temple Bailey's "A Candle in the Forest"
Like these newfangled MP3s? Download Christmas albums or individual songs at Amazon.com
Also noted are Ace Collins' two Christmas songs books, Stories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas and More Stories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas. These are short pieces about the history of favorite Christmas hymns, carols, and songs. Not everyone's taste is the same, and I have to admit that "The Christmas Shoes," "Blue Christmas," and "Pretty Paper," all covered in these books, are probably my least favorite Christmas songs, but they are best-loved by quite a few folks out there. :-) But I have never heard of "Thank God for Kids," "It Wasn't His Child," "Come and See What's Happening in the Barn," or "Christmas in the Country," nor heard them played anywhere, or seen them on Christmas CDs. Shouldn't "best-loved" songs mean just that, ones everyone knows rather than some obscure country and western songs like these seem to be? Otherwise these are readable, interesting pieces on each of the songs.
For our February edition, play Reindeer Roundup
Read Temple Bailey's "A Candle in the Forest"
Like these newfangled MP3s? Download Christmas albums or individual songs at Amazon.com
Also noted are Ace Collins' two Christmas songs books, Stories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas and More Stories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas. These are short pieces about the history of favorite Christmas hymns, carols, and songs. Not everyone's taste is the same, and I have to admit that "The Christmas Shoes," "Blue Christmas," and "Pretty Paper," all covered in these books, are probably my least favorite Christmas songs, but they are best-loved by quite a few folks out there. :-) But I have never heard of "Thank God for Kids," "It Wasn't His Child," "Come and See What's Happening in the Barn," or "Christmas in the Country," nor heard them played anywhere, or seen them on Christmas CDs. Shouldn't "best-loved" songs mean just that, ones everyone knows rather than some obscure country and western songs like these seem to be? Otherwise these are readable, interesting pieces on each of the songs.
02 February 2009
How Much Wood...
Bother. With the weather report the way it is, looks like "General Lee" will not see his shadow. Noooooo! Not spring! Not spring!
Groundhog Day 2009 at the Yellow River Game Ranch
The "official" groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil.
The groundhog tradition comes from beliefs centered on the Christian holiday Candlemas (40 days after Christmas, the day when all Christmas greens must be removed or it will bring bad luck; the name comes from the Church practice of blessing the candles that day for use in the remainder of the liturgical year) and the pagan celebration Imbolc. A Scottish poem says of this day:
Groundhog Day 2009 at the Yellow River Game Ranch
The "official" groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil.
The groundhog tradition comes from beliefs centered on the Christian holiday Candlemas (40 days after Christmas, the day when all Christmas greens must be removed or it will bring bad luck; the name comes from the Church practice of blessing the candles that day for use in the remainder of the liturgical year) and the pagan celebration Imbolc. A Scottish poem says of this day:
"As the light grows longerEarly American references to Groundhog Day go back as far as 1841 and state this as a German custom. The original German animal, however, was a badger; once in the United States, the behavior was changed to the groundhog (also known as the woodchuck).
The cold grows stronger;
If Candlemas be fair and bright,
Winter will have another flight.
If Candlemas be cloud and snow,
Winter will be gone and not come again.
A farmer should on Candlemas day
Have half his corn and half his hay.
On Candlemas day if thorns hang a drop
You can be sure of a good pea crop."
01 February 2009
Thanksgiving Flashbacks
Check out this New York Daily News site, with vintage Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade photos.
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