Researching Xmas

Dear Robin,

I don’t know who challenges me more, my daughter or our boss. The subject is the holidays. I wouldn’t say I like Christmas. The boss could not have been vaguer about what he wanted me to do: Research Christmas!

Christmas has been overdone…it’s been commercialized. What can I say to sell more crap faster?

Oh well, pick your poison! I researched every holiday, greeting, and even St. Nick…. I hope you can create some pictures from this; if you have questions, I’m at the office party, and we can brainstorm.

Season Greetings

(Popular generic)

Happy Holidays:

Happy holidays way of greeting warmly

Always wish everyone would enjoy their holy observations

Please be safe

Prayers go out to those serving in the military and your family,

Your service is appreciated!

Home can be wherever our minds dream of and make us smile

Only if you dream

Live every day as though it’s your last

I do not doubt that every day is a gift for everyone still breathing.

Don’t waste a moment.

All alive today have the opportunity to accomplish something great

You are wonderfully made

Stay encouraged!

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Have a very Merry Christmas:

(Familiar)

Hoping for a good night’s sleep for twenty years

After the children started sleeping the night, I was a pacer

Victor, Vivian, Victoria, and Vernon are blessings

Everyone wished us well

All the world loves to offer words of encouragement, but no help

Very quickly, I was overwhelmed but so proud of my babies

Every December 24^th is a birthday for the quadruplets

Rushing around to find four Teddy Ruxpins since Halloween

Youngsters growing like weeds, becoming their person so fast

Moms only get 18 winters, summers, and years to influence

Every mom hopes to get all 936 Sunday dinners those 18 years

Remembering the good times

Regretting the failures

Yearning for change

Children grow up too fast

Having quadruplets has been a joy and a challenge

Realizing I’m not in charge

Interesting and grueling

Satisfying and confusing

Thankful for everything

Many gifts and gift certificates

Always failing since 13

Shopping no more!

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Below are the subsequent two most widely observed religious celebrations other than Christmas.

 Hanukah:

Hebrew festival of lights

A celebration lasting eight days

Nightly candle lighting

Understanding the miracle

Kerosene is enough for one night

Kept the Menorah burning long enough to make more oil

All eight nights

Hanukkah means dedication.

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Kwanzaa:

Kwanzaa was created in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenega

Welcoming celebration of family, culture, and faith

African American celebration from December 26- January 1^st

Nations come together during this observation

Zimbabwe to Nigeria celebrate together

 Annual celebration

African celebration ends in Karamu Ya Imani.

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Earlier I listed religious observances of Christmas. Where did the Christmas holiday come from? Does it honor Jesus Christ and celebrate His birth, or is there more to the story that most people don't know? Do you realize that historians (and the Bible) agree that Jesus Christ wasn't born anywhere near December 25? In the United States of America, Christmas was established as a federal holiday on June 26, 1870.  

 The date of Christmas and some American traditions have pagan roots. In the Roman Empire, December 25th was the day of “Natalis Solis Invicta” (the Roman birth of the unconquered sun and the birthday of Mithras, the Iranian “Sun of Righteousness.”  The winter solstice, the darkest day of the year, also fell a few days before December 25th and had been celebrated by pagans.

 How many names does Santa answer? Short answer twelve.

1) The Netherlands

Sinterklaas, the original story of Santa, starts with the monk St. Nicholas. He lived in the late 200s in what is today Turkey.

2) Germany has three

1)      Santa Claus is known as Der Weihnachtsmann. This Dutch depiction passes on the flying reindeer for a land-bound white horse and has a red bishop’s hat rather than a floppy triangular hat with a tuft of white fur on the tip.

2)      Hielige Nickolaus (heilige translates to "saint") travels with Krampus

3)      Christkind. Today, Christkind is depicted as a crowned woman in white and gold who drops gifts under the tree on Christmas Eve.

3) France

 Père Noël

The name Père Noël translates to "Father Christmas." The original version of Père Noël has a robe and wicker basket, and he wanders with his donkey, Gui (which translates to mistletoe). Kids leave out their shoes with food (carrots and other vegetables) for Gui, and Père Noël replaces the donkey food with presents.

RUSSIA

4. Dedt Moroz

Dedt Moroz is the gift bearer around the winter holidays in Russia. The name translates loosely to "Father Ice" or "Grandfather Frost."

TURKEY

5. Noel Baba

Turkey, the home of the original Saint Nicholas, calls Santa Claus Noel Baba, which translates to "Christmas Father." The original legend of Saint Nicholas lives on with celebrations on and around December 6.

ENGLAND

6. Father Christmas

England’s version of Santa opts for a green robe with a hood rather than ted clothes, and he has a staff and a wreath of holly.

Italy

7. Babbo Natale and La Befana

1)The closest modern version of an Italian Santa Claus is Babbo Natale, and he does travel with reindeer (with names like Freccia, Saltarello, and Donato),

2) Since the 700s, an Italian witch named La Befana has flown around the region on a broom giving treats to good children and coal to the bad.

POLAND

8. Święty Mikołaj

Like the German Heilige Nikolaus, this version of "Saint Nicholas" dresses in a bishop's robe and delivers gifts on December 6, the day of the saint's feast.

Japan

9. Santa-san

Over time, Santa has grown in popularity all around the globe. In Japan, Christmas has been embraced as a Western tradition, with Santa-san appearing in department stores during the holidays or at a charity event known as the Santa Con festival.

UNITED STATES

10. Santa Claus

The Dutch Sinterklaas was transformed bit by bit into the Americana version of Santa Claus (Anglicized name and all) that people recognize today.

UNITED STATES

11. Kris Kringle

Even in the United States, Santa goes by several names.

HAWAII

12. Shaka Santa

Shaka Santa is depicted as throwing the hang loose sign (or "shaka sign") and travels with his wife, Tūtū Mel. They dress in typical vacation garb when they arrive in Honolulu each year.

I hope this sparks your creative juices.