Monday 12/25/23
Also Celebrate:
National "Kiss the Cook" Day
National Pumpkin Pie
No "L" Day (get it....No..L Noel)
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Christmas Facts
Those letters to Santa don't always go unanswered! In Canada, the postal code "H0H 0H0" is designated for Santa at the North Pole. Every year, Canadian children can send their letters to this address to receive a personalized reply from "Santa" through Canada Post's Santa Letter-Writing Program.
There are a few mailboxes around, I see one on Walnut by the elbow Room, and I was granted the key to the one in Centerway Square for a few years when I worked there. We read some on the air, and got them right off to Santa.
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Christmas Stockings
This custom is believed to have originated in the early 19th century in Europe. One popular legend involves St. Nicholas, who, according to folklore, put gold coins in the stockings of three poor sisters. Over time, this evolved into the cherished holiday tradition of hanging stockings by the fireplace and filling them with small Christmas gifts.
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Candy Canes
According to History.com, the choirmaster at the Cologne Cathedral in Germany gave the red and white sugar sticks to young singers to keep them quiet during the Living Creche tradition on Christmas Eve.
Many say the shape is to resemble the shepherd's crooks.
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Xmas
The word actually dates back to the mid-1500s, and gets its roots from the Greek letter X—which is the first letter in the Greek word for Christ.
So it is completely acceptable.
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Mistletoe
This popular kissing tradition may have its roots in Norse mythology. The History Channel reports that Frigg, the goddess of love, promised to kiss anyone who passed under the berry-laden plant after it saved her son's life. It wasn't until the 18th century, however, that the Christmas custom picked up steam in England.
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Christmas Trees
Germany started the Christmas tree tradition in the 16th century, when Christian families set up trees in their homes and decorated them with lighted candles, according to the History Channel. (that doesn't sound safe)
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Krampus has scary Christmas competition.
Christmas time is upon us, and though children loathe getting new clothes for gifts, they best put on that new itchy sweater or slide on those unwanted socks. Or else risk being eaten alive by a giant cat, at least according to Icelandic folklore.
The tale of Jólakötturinn, which translates to Yule Cat, is an Icelandic Christmas classic dating back to at least 1932.
Jóhannes úr Kötlum, an Icelandic poet.
Kötlum's poem tells the tale of a cat that's "very large" with glowing eyes. It roams the countryside, going from house to house looking for children who aren't wearing the new clothes they got for Christmas, according to the poem.
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