DECK THE HOLIDAY'S

    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. T...

The Christmas Cake as we know it today comes from two customs which became one around 1870 in Victorian England. Originally there was a porridge, the origins of which go back to the beginnings of Christianity. Then there was a fine cake made with the finest milled wheatflour, this was baked only in the Great Houses, as not many people had ovens back in the 14th century. PLUM PORRIDGE Originally people used to eat a sort of porridge on Christmas Eve. It was a dish to line the stomach after a day's fasting, which people used to observe for Christmas Eve, or the 'Vigil' as it was called long ago. Gradually, they began to put spices, dried fruits, honey etc in the porridge to make it a special dish for Christmas. Much later it was turned into a pudding, because it got to be so stiff with all the fruits and things, that they would tie it in a cloth, and dunk it into a large cauldron of boiling water and boil it for many hours. This turned into Christmas Pudding. ...

Snowy Pinecone Wreath This winter white wreath is the perfect decoration to greet guests with a warm, holiday welcome. Long, slender pinecones, such as those of a white pine, work best for this new take on a Southern holiday classic—the pinecone wreath. Materials • 9 flat wooden paint stirrers • 12-inch green wire wreath form • clippers • Gorilla Glue • long, thin pinecones • artificial snow spray • narrow and wide satin ribbons To Make 1. Make wreath base by weaving six wooden paint stirrers through the edges of a wire wreath form (like the rays of a sunburst). Cut remaining three stirrers in half. Place cut stirrers on top of already-attached stirrers in the center of the wreath to form a hexagon. Secure wooden stirrers with Gorilla Glue per label directions. Let it dry. 2. Glue a pinecone to the top of each stirrer so the tip points out. Glue pinecones to the wire frame between...

(I made 36 icicles out of 2 bottles, and I'm not counting those first few that I threw away because they were warped or burned) This is so easy, I can't believe there is no instruction on it yet :) I had this idea last year, when I saw those expensive glass icicles in stores, and wondered if they make plastic ones too (so they'd be catproof =^.^=). End of the story is, I looked on ebay, found they were either ugly (opaque white plastic with gold glitter, anyone? or maybe yellow glow-in-the-dark???) or expensive (15€ for some cheap cast plastic?!),   Instructions You Will Need Invisible Thread Candle Knife Something Sharp, Like A Needle Or A Pair Of  Scissors Scissors Plastic Bottle Step 1 1. remove the top and the bottom of the bottle (with the knife) and get rid of the label. 2. cut the bottle in thin strips (about 1-1.5cm at the wider end) that taper at one end (the shape of most bottles will do that automatically! You...