26. "SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN" is actually has a depressing back story. Songwriter James "Haven" Gillespie was broke and jobless and his brother had just died when he was asked to write a Christmas song. he was originally too overcome with grief but eventually found inspiration in his brother's death and the Christmas memories they had together. "Hence "You better not cry, You better not pout.")
27. The original lyrics to "HARK THE HERALD ANGELS SING" was "Hark! How the Welkin Rings." Welken is an old Englishe term for heaven.
28. "JINGLE BELLS" was originally supposed to be a Thanksgiving song.
29. Boston church leaders tried to have the song "I SAW MOMMY KISSING SANTA CLAUS" banned in 1950 because they thought it promoted "physical intimacy. Singer Jimmy Boyd had to fly to Boston to explain why it wasn't obscene.
30. Mariah Carey's "ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS YOU" is considered the most popular of the newer Christmas songs.
31. The highest grossing Christmas movie of all time is "HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS," the Jim Carrey version.
Who'd have Figured That? --DaChristmasCoot
Showing posts with label 31 Things About Christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 31 Things About Christmas. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 23, 2014
31 Things About Christmas-- Part 5: Noggin' That Egg
21. Over the years there have been OTHER REINDEERon Santa Claus' team named Flossie, Glossie, Racer, Pacer, Scratcher, Feckless, Ready, Steady and Fireball. (What, no GO?)
22. The first batch of EGGNOG in America was crafted by Captain John Smith's Jamestown settlers in 1607. The name eggnog comes from "grog" which means any drink made with rum.
23. "SILENT NIGHT" is the most recorded Christmas song in history with 733 different versions copyrighted since 1978.
24. Legend has "SILENT NIGHT" as being written by Father Joseph Mohr in Austria who was determined to have music at his Christmas service after his organ broke. In reality, a priest wrote it while stationed in a pilgrim church in Austria.
25. "WHITE CHRISTMAS" is the best-selling song of all time.
Jingle My Coot. --Cooter
22. The first batch of EGGNOG in America was crafted by Captain John Smith's Jamestown settlers in 1607. The name eggnog comes from "grog" which means any drink made with rum.
23. "SILENT NIGHT" is the most recorded Christmas song in history with 733 different versions copyrighted since 1978.
24. Legend has "SILENT NIGHT" as being written by Father Joseph Mohr in Austria who was determined to have music at his Christmas service after his organ broke. In reality, a priest wrote it while stationed in a pilgrim church in Austria.
25. "WHITE CHRISTMAS" is the best-selling song of all time.
Jingle My Coot. --Cooter
Monday, December 22, 2014
31 Things About Christmas-- Part 4: Reginald the Red-Nosed Reindeer
16. The image of Santa Claus flying in his sled started in 1819 and was drawn up by the same author who created the HEADLESS HORSEMAN.
17. RUDOLPH THE REINDEER was conceived by the Montgomery Ward's department store as a marketing gimmick to get kids to buy a holiday coloring book.
18. Rudolph almost didn't have a RED NOSE either. At the time, a red nose was considered a sign of alcoholism and Montgomery Ward's feared he'd look like a drunkard.
19. Rudolph was almost named ROLLO or REGINALD.
20. The poem "A VISIT FROM ST. NICHOLAS" actually named the reindeer: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Duner & Blixem. Donner and Blitzen are words from the German language meaning thunder and lightning.
In case you're wondering, Washington Irving was the guy in #16
--BlixemCooter
17. RUDOLPH THE REINDEER was conceived by the Montgomery Ward's department store as a marketing gimmick to get kids to buy a holiday coloring book.
18. Rudolph almost didn't have a RED NOSE either. At the time, a red nose was considered a sign of alcoholism and Montgomery Ward's feared he'd look like a drunkard.
19. Rudolph was almost named ROLLO or REGINALD.
20. The poem "A VISIT FROM ST. NICHOLAS" actually named the reindeer: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Duner & Blixem. Donner and Blitzen are words from the German language meaning thunder and lightning.
In case you're wondering, Washington Irving was the guy in #16
--BlixemCooter
31 Things About Christmas-- Part 3: Milk and Cookies
11. Stockings by the fireplace comes from this story. A poor man with three daughters couldn't afford the dowry to get them married. One night St. Nicholas dropped a bag of gold down the man's chimney so that the oldest daughter could get married and it fell into a STOCKING that was drying by the fire.
12. One reason for MILK and COOKIES is because Dutch kids would leave food and drink for Sinter Klaus on his feast day.
13. CARROTS are left for Santa's reindeer because in Norse mythology , people left hay and treats for Odin's eight-legged horse Sleipnir in hopes the god would stop by their home during his annual Yule hunting adventures. Dutch kids adopted the tradition.
14. The Santa Claus LOOK of today was created at an 1804 meeting of the New York Historical Society where member John Pintard handed out wooden cut outs of jolly old ST. NICK in front of a stocking filled with toys.
15. Though Santa Claus has WORN blue, white and green in the past but the now ever-present red came from a 1930s Coca-Cola ad.
--OdinCooter
12. One reason for MILK and COOKIES is because Dutch kids would leave food and drink for Sinter Klaus on his feast day.
13. CARROTS are left for Santa's reindeer because in Norse mythology , people left hay and treats for Odin's eight-legged horse Sleipnir in hopes the god would stop by their home during his annual Yule hunting adventures. Dutch kids adopted the tradition.
14. The Santa Claus LOOK of today was created at an 1804 meeting of the New York Historical Society where member John Pintard handed out wooden cut outs of jolly old ST. NICK in front of a stocking filled with toys.
15. Though Santa Claus has WORN blue, white and green in the past but the now ever-present red came from a 1930s Coca-Cola ad.
--OdinCooter
31 Things You Didn't Know About Christmas-- Part 2: St. Nicholas
6. People give GIFTS to symbolize the ones given to baby Jesus by the three wise men. But Saturnalia also required revelers to offer up rituals to the gods.
7. Christmas, because of its PAGAN roots, was not immediately accepted by religious groups. From 1859 to 1881, it was even illegal to celebrate Christmas in Boston. Fines were given, but no jail time.
8. Santa Claus came from ST. NICHOLAS, a Christian bishop in present-day Turkey in the 4th century A.D.. He had inherited a great deal of wealth and was known for giving it away to help the needy. When he was sainted, he became the protector of children.
9. After his death, the legend of St. Nicholas spread. The name St. Nicholas became Sint-Nicolas in Dutch, or SINTER KLAUS for short. Then, you know.
10. Santa Claus delivering presents comes from HOLLAND's celebration of St. Nicholas' feast day on December 6. Children would leave shoes out the night before and in the morning find little gifts that St. Nicholas would leave them.
--Sinter Cooter
7. Christmas, because of its PAGAN roots, was not immediately accepted by religious groups. From 1859 to 1881, it was even illegal to celebrate Christmas in Boston. Fines were given, but no jail time.
8. Santa Claus came from ST. NICHOLAS, a Christian bishop in present-day Turkey in the 4th century A.D.. He had inherited a great deal of wealth and was known for giving it away to help the needy. When he was sainted, he became the protector of children.
9. After his death, the legend of St. Nicholas spread. The name St. Nicholas became Sint-Nicolas in Dutch, or SINTER KLAUS for short. Then, you know.
10. Santa Claus delivering presents comes from HOLLAND's celebration of St. Nicholas' feast day on December 6. Children would leave shoes out the night before and in the morning find little gifts that St. Nicholas would leave them.
--Sinter Cooter
Saturday, December 20, 2014
31 Things About Christmas That You Didn't Know-- Part 1: Saturnalia
From the December 19, 2014, Yahoo! TV "31 Facts You Didn't Know About Christmas" by John Boone.
1. Christmas supposedly marks the birth of Jesus Christ on December 25th. There is no mention of this date in the Bible. Most historians now agree he was born sometime in the spring.
2. December 25th was probably chosen as the birth date because it coincides with the ancient pagan festival of Saturnalia which celebrated the agricultural god Saturn with partying, gambling and gift-giving.
3. Most popular Christmas traditions today have their roots in Saturnalia. Branches from evergreen trees were used during the winter solstice as a reminder that green plants again would grow in the spring.
4. Evergreen branches became the foundation of Christmas trees. The Germans were probably the first ones to bring trees inside and decorate them with cookies and lights (candles).
5. Christmas trees came to America in the 1830s but did not become popular until 1846 when Prince Albert of Germany brought it to England when he married Queen Victoria,
Many More to Come. --DaChristmasCoot
1. Christmas supposedly marks the birth of Jesus Christ on December 25th. There is no mention of this date in the Bible. Most historians now agree he was born sometime in the spring.
2. December 25th was probably chosen as the birth date because it coincides with the ancient pagan festival of Saturnalia which celebrated the agricultural god Saturn with partying, gambling and gift-giving.
3. Most popular Christmas traditions today have their roots in Saturnalia. Branches from evergreen trees were used during the winter solstice as a reminder that green plants again would grow in the spring.
4. Evergreen branches became the foundation of Christmas trees. The Germans were probably the first ones to bring trees inside and decorate them with cookies and lights (candles).
5. Christmas trees came to America in the 1830s but did not become popular until 1846 when Prince Albert of Germany brought it to England when he married Queen Victoria,
Many More to Come. --DaChristmasCoot
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