What's all the fuss about having a WHITE CHRISTMAS?
The interest in snowy Christmases has its origins in the colder climate of the period 1550-1850 when Britain was in the grip of a 'Little Ice Age'. Winters were particularly persistent and severe - 1813/14 was the last winter that a 'frost fair' was held on the River Thames in London. For most parts of the UK, Christmas comes at the beginning of the season for snow. Wintry weather is more likely early in the deepening cold of January. White Christmases were more frequent in the 18th and 19th centuries, even more so before the change of calendar in 1752 which effectively brought Christmas day back by 12 days. For many a White Christmas means a complete covering of snow, ideally falling between midnight and midday on the 25th. However, the definition used most widely, notably by those placing and taking bets, is for a single snow flake (perhaps amongst a shower of rain and snow mixed) to be observed falling in the 24 hours of December 25th. The last time we had a White Christmas with snow falling across the UK was 2001, but this was mainly confined to high ground, 1995 was a good year for Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and northern England.
richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK
Friday, 24 December 2010
Tuesday, 21 December 2010
Tinsel and Turkey
Who first decorated with TINSEL?
Tinsel was invented in Germany in 1610 and used to be made with real silver!
Why do we eat TURKEY at Christmas?
The tradition of eating turkey only at Christmas is a distant memory of the days when the principal dish on that day was something special. Before turkey took over, the popular Christmas delicacies were bustard, goose and cockerel, and in the houses of the rich, peacock and swan. The peacock was often skinned before roasting. For serving, it was re-clothed in its feathers and its beak was gilded. Sometimes the beak was propped open with a bit of bread soaked in spirit. This would then be set alight and the bird brought into the dining hall with the greatest pomp and ceremony. The turkey was introduced into Europe by one of Sebastian Cabot's officers on a return journey from the New World, which is where the birds came from. Strangely, they were called turkeys because of their similarity with another bird which was already established in England for human consumption. This was known as the turkey! Merchants from the Levant, or Turkey, first brought them to England, having originally imported them from West Africa. This soon created a lot of confusion. So, the first turkey was renamed the Guinea Fowl, as a reminder of its place of origin.
richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.
Tinsel was invented in Germany in 1610 and used to be made with real silver!
Why do we eat TURKEY at Christmas?
The tradition of eating turkey only at Christmas is a distant memory of the days when the principal dish on that day was something special. Before turkey took over, the popular Christmas delicacies were bustard, goose and cockerel, and in the houses of the rich, peacock and swan. The peacock was often skinned before roasting. For serving, it was re-clothed in its feathers and its beak was gilded. Sometimes the beak was propped open with a bit of bread soaked in spirit. This would then be set alight and the bird brought into the dining hall with the greatest pomp and ceremony. The turkey was introduced into Europe by one of Sebastian Cabot's officers on a return journey from the New World, which is where the birds came from. Strangely, they were called turkeys because of their similarity with another bird which was already established in England for human consumption. This was known as the turkey! Merchants from the Levant, or Turkey, first brought them to England, having originally imported them from West Africa. This soon created a lot of confusion. So, the first turkey was renamed the Guinea Fowl, as a reminder of its place of origin.
richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.
Monday, 20 December 2010
Robins at Christmas
Why is the ROBIN a Christmas symbol?
The robin is a sedentary British garden bird. During winter they are often joined by migratory Scandinavian robins, making their appearance at this time more common. The birds often feature on Christmas cards, their red breasts a dash of colour in a white wonderland. According to a Christmas legend, a robin landed on the shoulder of Jesus when he was on the cross and sang in order to relieve his suffering. The blood from Jesus' crown of thorns stained the little bird's chest, and from then on, all robins were red breasted. Postmen in Victorian England were popularly called "robins". This was because their uniforms were red. Victorian Christmas cards often showed a robin delivering Christmas mail.
richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.
The robin is a sedentary British garden bird. During winter they are often joined by migratory Scandinavian robins, making their appearance at this time more common. The birds often feature on Christmas cards, their red breasts a dash of colour in a white wonderland. According to a Christmas legend, a robin landed on the shoulder of Jesus when he was on the cross and sang in order to relieve his suffering. The blood from Jesus' crown of thorns stained the little bird's chest, and from then on, all robins were red breasted. Postmen in Victorian England were popularly called "robins". This was because their uniforms were red. Victorian Christmas cards often showed a robin delivering Christmas mail.
richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.
Friday, 17 December 2010
Rudolph the red nosed reindeer
What about RUDOLPH?
Rudolph - the red nosed reindeer was the creation of Robert May, an advertising writer for the Montgomery Ward department store in Chicago. May, who was very imaginative, wanted to create a booklet to give to parents who shopped at Montgomery Ward and with the help of Denver Gillen, a friend who had artistic skills, they created a booklet about Rudolph the red nosed reindeer. The story of how Rudolph lit the way through the fog to help Santa Claus deliver his toys was distributed for several years, with millions of booklets distributed at Montgomery Wards stores over the years. In 1947 the story of Rudolph the red nosed reindeer was put to music by a friend of Robert Mays by the name of Johnny Marks. It was recorded and sung by Gene Autry, a famous TV star, and sold millions of copies of the song. Rudolph has had his own TV shows and movies and continues to grow in popularity with every passing year.
richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.
Rudolph - the red nosed reindeer was the creation of Robert May, an advertising writer for the Montgomery Ward department store in Chicago. May, who was very imaginative, wanted to create a booklet to give to parents who shopped at Montgomery Ward and with the help of Denver Gillen, a friend who had artistic skills, they created a booklet about Rudolph the red nosed reindeer. The story of how Rudolph lit the way through the fog to help Santa Claus deliver his toys was distributed for several years, with millions of booklets distributed at Montgomery Wards stores over the years. In 1947 the story of Rudolph the red nosed reindeer was put to music by a friend of Robert Mays by the name of Johnny Marks. It was recorded and sung by Gene Autry, a famous TV star, and sold millions of copies of the song. Rudolph has had his own TV shows and movies and continues to grow in popularity with every passing year.
richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.
Thursday, 16 December 2010
Reindeer
Why does Father Christmas have REINDEER?
Reindeer have been domesticated and used for centuries to pull loads on sleds in snowy regions. The legend of eight flying reindeer was made popular by the 1822 poem "Twas the Night Before Christmas" by Clement Clarke Moore, and has its origins in an old northen European Lapp legend that says Old Man Winter brings his reindeer down from the mountains at the same time as the first snow. This got mixed in with the spread of the legend of St Nicholas to northen Russia and Finland. Reindeer made good animals to become part of the legend of Father Christmas, since they lived in very cold northern climates and were therefore unfamiliar to most people in the world.
richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.
Reindeer have been domesticated and used for centuries to pull loads on sleds in snowy regions. The legend of eight flying reindeer was made popular by the 1822 poem "Twas the Night Before Christmas" by Clement Clarke Moore, and has its origins in an old northen European Lapp legend that says Old Man Winter brings his reindeer down from the mountains at the same time as the first snow. This got mixed in with the spread of the legend of St Nicholas to northen Russia and Finland. Reindeer made good animals to become part of the legend of Father Christmas, since they lived in very cold northern climates and were therefore unfamiliar to most people in the world.
richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.
Wednesday, 15 December 2010
Christmas Presents
Why do we give PRESENTS at Christmas?
One of the earliest known customs of giving presents around the time of the winter solstice was during the Roman festival of the Kalends, on the first day of January. Such gifts were known as "strenae" and were originally merely branches plucked from the grove of the goddess Strenia, probably with the aim of securing contact with this vegetation-spirit. High ranking officials of the Roman Administration were expected to present gifts to their Emperor during Kalends, and during Caligula's reign the gifts were changed to honey and cakes, as a symbol of their wish that the new year might be full of sweetness, and gold that it might bring prosperity, as Caligula was not impressed with olive branches. Sometime in the 1200's the custom of giving gifts during the mid-winter festival moved to the feast day of St Nicholas, the bringer of gifts. There was also a medieval legend that the baby Jesus GAVE presents ("Kriss Kringle", taken from the German "Christkindl ", little Christ child) and the part of the Christmas story where the wise men brought their three gifts to Jesus. The mainstream Christian view of present giving at Christmas today is that we give presents as a symbol and reminder that God gave the greatest gift of all - Jesus.
richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.
One of the earliest known customs of giving presents around the time of the winter solstice was during the Roman festival of the Kalends, on the first day of January. Such gifts were known as "strenae" and were originally merely branches plucked from the grove of the goddess Strenia, probably with the aim of securing contact with this vegetation-spirit. High ranking officials of the Roman Administration were expected to present gifts to their Emperor during Kalends, and during Caligula's reign the gifts were changed to honey and cakes, as a symbol of their wish that the new year might be full of sweetness, and gold that it might bring prosperity, as Caligula was not impressed with olive branches. Sometime in the 1200's the custom of giving gifts during the mid-winter festival moved to the feast day of St Nicholas, the bringer of gifts. There was also a medieval legend that the baby Jesus GAVE presents ("Kriss Kringle", taken from the German "Christkindl ", little Christ child) and the part of the Christmas story where the wise men brought their three gifts to Jesus. The mainstream Christian view of present giving at Christmas today is that we give presents as a symbol and reminder that God gave the greatest gift of all - Jesus.
richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.
Monday, 13 December 2010
Nativity Play
Who put on the first NATIVITY PLAY?
The nativity play was created as a means of telling the Christmas story. Many people were unable to read or write so they couldn't read the Christmas story in the Bible themselves. Also many of the church services were in Latin which they didn't understand. There were generally two plays in the Christmas repertoire, one about shepherds, the other involving wise men. These plays merged and some details about Herod and the slaughter of the innocents were later added for dramatic effect. The telling of the Christmas story has been an important part of the Christianisation of Christmas. One way that the Christmas story has been maintained is through the crib, a model of the manger that Jesus was born in. The tradition of crib making dates back to at least 400 AD when Pope Sixtus III had one built in Rome. In many parts of Europe in the 18th century crib making was an important craft form. This was not the case in England until much later, suggesting that British Christmases were less Christian than those in other parts of Europe. St Francis of Assisi is credited with staging the first Nativity performance in Italy in about 1223.
richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.
The nativity play was created as a means of telling the Christmas story. Many people were unable to read or write so they couldn't read the Christmas story in the Bible themselves. Also many of the church services were in Latin which they didn't understand. There were generally two plays in the Christmas repertoire, one about shepherds, the other involving wise men. These plays merged and some details about Herod and the slaughter of the innocents were later added for dramatic effect. The telling of the Christmas story has been an important part of the Christianisation of Christmas. One way that the Christmas story has been maintained is through the crib, a model of the manger that Jesus was born in. The tradition of crib making dates back to at least 400 AD when Pope Sixtus III had one built in Rome. In many parts of Europe in the 18th century crib making was an important craft form. This was not the case in England until much later, suggesting that British Christmases were less Christian than those in other parts of Europe. St Francis of Assisi is credited with staging the first Nativity performance in Italy in about 1223.
richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.
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