| Christmas Tree History | | Did a celebration around a Christmas tree on a bitter cold Christmas Eve at Trenton, New Jersey, turn the tide for Colonial forces in 1776? According to legend, Hessian mercenaries were so reminded of home by a candlelit evergreen tree that they abandoned their guardposts to eat, drink and be merry. Washington attached that night and defeated them.
CHRISTMAS TREE TRADITION HAS ANCIENT ORIGINS
King Tut never saw a Christmas tree, but he would have understood the tradition which traces back long before the first Christmas, says David Robson, Extension Educator, Horticulture with the Springfield Extension Center.
The Egyptians were part of a long line of cultures that treasured and worshipped evergreens. When the winter solstice arrive, they brought green date palm leaves into their homes to symbolize life's triumph over death.
The Romans celebrated the winter solstice with a fest called Saturnalia in honor of Saturnus, the god of agriculture. They decorated their houses with greens and lights and exchanged gifts. They gave coins for prosperity, pastries for happiness, and lamps to light one's journey through life.
Centuries ago in Great Britain, woods priests called Druids used... | |
| | How The Grinch Stole Christmas. | | How The Grinch Stole Christmas To most folks, he's the scheming, green sourpuss who hated Christmas so much he tried to make it vanish completely. But the Grinch inspired a little more sympathy in his creator. To Dr. Seuss, he wasn't a villain -- just a guy whose heart, "two sizes too small," needed a dose of the true spirit of the holiday. In fact, Seuss himself said that he identified with the fuzzy anti-hero. Just like the Grinch, Theodor Geisel, who wrote and illustrated dozens of books under the pseudonym Dr. Seuss, didn't go in for the fancy celebrations surrounding the holiday. According to his niece Peggy Owens, he wasn't "into the sentimentality" of the season. Still, he spent every Christmas at home with his family in Springfield, Massachusetts. For Morning Edition, NPR's Elizabeth Blair reports on the origins of one of the most famous -- and beloved -- modern Christmas stories, Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas. As part of the ongoing series Present at the Creation, Blair traces the evolution of the Grinch, from the sketch on the wall of Seuss' studio to the icon who steals down from Mt. Crumpit every year to steal Christmas from the Whos.... | |
| | christmas songs | | Has anyone noticed the severe lack of Modern Christmas songs that are actually any good, all of the songs that were released in say the 70s etc are still the ones that get played the most, and all the ones that are released now are generally depressive and I was under the impression that christmas was supposed to be a time of joy and celebration, not depression and loss.tmas stories, Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas. As part of the ongoing series Present at the Creation, Blair traces the evolution of the Grinch, from the sketch on the wall of Seuss' studio to the icon who steals down from Mt. Crumpit every year to steal Christmas from the Whos. Theodor Geisel was a private man, but those who knew him said he was a meticulous worker. He created his thought-provoking comic masterpieces in a house on Mt. Soledad, overlooking La Jolla, Calif., and the Pacific Ocean. Ted Owens, who is Geisel's great nephew, remembers the studio where the unmatched Seuss imagination was set free. "All the walls would just be plastered with rough tissue sketchings," Owens says. "Sketches of what the story would be, what the layout would be, with the... | |
|
