DECK THE HOLIDAY'S

The Chinese New Year of the Fire Monkey will start on February 8, 2016 – the second New Moon after the Solstice. Following 12 months of the dignified and surefooted Goat, the New Year of the Red Monkey is going shake, rattle and roll!    Chinese New Year starts with the New Moon on the first day of the new year and ends on the full moon 15 days later. The 15th day of the new year is called the Lantern Festival, which is celebrated at night with lantern displays and children carrying lanterns in a parade. The Chinese calendar is based on a combination of lunar and solar movements. The lunar cycle is about 29.5 days. In order to "catch up" with the solar calendar the Chinese insert an extra month once every few years (seven years out of a 19-yearcycle). This is the same as adding an extra day on leap year. This is why, according to the solar calendar, the Chinese New Year falls on a different date each year. New Year's Eve and New Year's Day are ce

Robert Burns     Burns Night is annually, celebrated in Scotland on or around January 25th. It commemorates the life of the bard (poet) Robert Burns, who was born on January 25, 1759. The day also celebrates Burns' contribution to Scottish culture. Burns' best known work is "Auld Lang Syne". reading some poetry for Burns' night What People Do?     Many people and organizations hold a Burns' supper on or around Burns' Night. These may be informal, only for men, only for women, or for both genders. Formal events include toasts and readings of pieces written by Robert Burns. Ceremonies during a Burns' Night supper vary according to the group organizing the event and the location.     The evening centers on the entrance of the haggis (a type of sausage made from a sheep's stomach) on a large platter to the sound of a piper playing bagpipes. When the haggis is on the table, the host reads the "Addres

   This comes from www.chroniclebooks.com .  Save a deer make one out of cardboard and paper. I thing this is a real cool tutorial.  You could even make it more Christmasy by using some sort of holiday wrapping paper.  Oh Dear, Deer Head Excerpted from Dorm Decor (available May 2009) For the animal lover, activist, or simply anyone with a sense of humor, this faux buck will make any dorm-room dweller proud. Hang a scarf or hat on his antlers, keeping floors free and clear, or use him as witty wall art. YOU’LL NEED: Deer templates 1 20″ x 30″ piece (3/16″-thick) foam core 1 6″ x 7″ piece (1/2″-thick) foam core 60″ length (30″-wide) wrapping paper 1 6″ x 7″ piece of contrasting paper Craft knife Cutting board Spray adhesive Picture-frame hanging wire Awl Make the pieces 1. Using the deer templates: From the 3/16″ thick foam core, cut: 2 deer heads 1 deer body 1 deer nose 1 deer antler From the 1/2″ thick foam core, cut: 1 mounting board Cover t

The History of Up Helly Aa     Up Helly Aa is a relatively modern festival. There is some evidence that people in rural Shetland celebrated the 24th day after Christmas as "Antonsmas" or "Up Helly Night", but there is no evidence that their cousins in Lerwick did the same. The emergence of Yuletide and New Year's festivities in the town seems to post date the Napoleonic Wars, when soldiers and sailors came home with rowdy habits and a taste for firearms. Early years     On an old Christmas eve in 1824, a visiting Methodist missionary wrote in his diary that "the whole town was in an uproar, from 12 o'clock last night until late this night blowing of horns, beating of drums, tinkling of old tin kettles, firing of guns, shouting, bawling, fiddling, fifeing, drinking, and fighting. This was the state of the town all the night...the street was as thronged with people as any fair I ever saw in England". As Lerwick gre