DECK THE HOLIDAY'S

  Christmas is all about gifts, snow and Santa Claus. However, there are certain facts about the holiday that you don’t know and probably wouldn’t even want to! 1.  The Myrrh Tree     Everybody is aware of the fact that Jesus received myrrh as a gift from the magi which is basically tree sap that is dried out. What people don’t know is that the first myrrh tree came into being because Myrrha was indulging in sexual activities with her father and once her father realized it, he tried to kill her. However, she escaped and was turned into a tree. 2.  The Defecating Caganer     Every nativity set consist of Mary, Joseph and their baby Jesus. The family is often surrounded by animals, shepherds and other figures. In places like Italy and Spain, one figure will be that of the caganer who will be placed away from the manger and will be seen defecating. 3.  Saint Nicholas  ...

This comes from  www.afieldjournal.blogspot.com  . Gool Luck. O Christmas Tree This year,  Green Valley Christmas Trees  kindly treated me to a mail-order tree to decorate and share with you here. I chose a  4 ft Fraser Fir  and it's just stunning, even at this small size. I love the neat definition of the branches in this particular type of tree. I knew it deserved some first rate trims. I decorated it with some store-bought finds as well as 32 handmade ornaments (whew!), in five styles (one of each is pictured below). I know, Christmas day has come to a close, but I wanted to provide templates and brief/informal tutorials just in case you'd like to try these next year. Click the photo above for a larger view. The  Felt Pinecones , were inspired by my mom's friend Denise who made little brown ones to top off a woodsy s'mores kit. I also used  Suzonne Stirling's tutorial for Family Circle  as guide...

    In Scotland, Christmas is known as Nollaig Beag, which means "Little Christmas". The date for Christmas was one of the many holidays chosen to take the place of a pagan holiday. Instead of pagan winter solstice festivals. Christmas was celebrated. Christmas was celebrated as a primarily religious festival during ancient times, and continues to remain a primarily religious celebration today. Christmas was celebrated in Scotland until the Reformation. The celebration of Christmas was banned in Scotland in the 1600's. Protestantism had spread throughout Scotland, and Christmas was considered a Catholic holiday. Prior to the Reformation, Scots did celebrate New Years' Day, called "Hogmanay", which included many characteristics of Christmas. Hogmanay is still a more important holiday in Scotland today than Christmas. Scottish Christmas Traditions, Decorations, and Foods    The Scots have always had a belief in the supernatural through the ages...