DECK THE HOLIDAY'S

   Tracing the roots of the artificial Christmas tree, we find they did not start out as being purple, nor did they start out costing the high dollars they do today.    The first artificial Christmas tree appeared in the Sears and Roebuck catalog.  It had a wooden base, 25 branches, five candle attachments, and was decorated with red berries.  The price for this tree was .23 cents.   By 1915, Sears and Roebuck offered artificial Christmas trees mounted in large white pots.  The thick branches were covered with artificial foliage and the price had skyrocketed to an unbelievable .98 cents.  In addition to the price of the artificial Christmas tree, the biggest change over the past few decades has been how the tree is put together once the consumer gets it home.  Back then, the artificial trees consisted of many small pieces that had to be fit together like a jigsaw puzzle.  Dad's across the country spent many long, frustrating ho...

    Now I know that some of you may not know exactly what a Christmas cracker is or what it does, but let me start out by assuring you that it is not something that you can spread cheese on and eat!  Well, you could, but you might regret it a short while after....    Perhaps not as well known in the United States. , The humble Christmas cracker has been a staple ingredient in every household in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Australia since time immemorial.  They are loved by children and adults alike and are always the first part of the traditional Christmas dinner every year.    They are basically a party favor, a small cylindrical cardboard tube, wrapped in festive paper and filled with a small prize, a paper hat and usually an awful joke.  There is a long, thin peice of paper that runs through the cracker that, when broken, produces a loud snapping sound, or "crack"-hence the name.  The idea is that you hold one end ...

300 million turkeys get cooked for Thanksgiving celebrations in the U.S. every year. The most extraordinary Thanksgiving dinner feast ever was the first meal eaten on the moon, celebrated with a turkey and all the trimmings by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. The person responsible for making Thanksgiving into a national holiday was Sarah Hale, who was the editor of the woman's magazine, Godey's Lady's Book.  She wrote to congress over a period of many years, petitioning for Thanksgiving to be made into a national holiday. The original Pilgrims were Puritans, who wished to purify the Church of England.  They were also known as Separatists for wanting to separate them selves from the Anglican Church The Indians that participated in the first Thanksgiving were the Wampamoag tribe and their leader or chief was Massasoit. Turkey is said to have come from the Hebrew word "Tukki", which means parrot or fowl. The original Plymouth Rock is cracked because during the ...