DECK THE HOLIDAY'S

The Original Christmas Tree Ship     The story of the beginning of the Christmas Tree Ship is the story of the Schuenemann family, and most particularly the story of Capt Herman Schuenemann and his last ship, the Rouse Simmons. In approximately 1885 August and his brother Herman Schuenemann moved to Chicago to seek out their fortune. Chicago’s Harbor was one of the busiest in the world at this time with over 20,000 vessels entering and leaving annually. As competition was fierce, the brothers became excellent businessmen as well as sailors. Although they made a relatively good living, two-thirds of their annual income was generated between Thanksgiving and Christmas with the sale of trees. August had become a truly competitive trader and by 1895 had a well-established reputation as a Christmas tree merchant. In early November of 1898, August was in Sturgeon Bay looking for trees that he would bring to Chicago on a ship named the S. Thal. He purchased 3,...

   Christmas in the  Democratic Republic of the Congo  is more of a religious festival than being commercial. Most people won't have any presents.    Christmas Eve is very important with Churches having big musical evenings (most churches have at least 5 or 6 choirs) and a nativity play. These plays last a very long time. They start at the beginning of the evening with the creation and the Garden of Eden and end with the story of King Herod killing the baby boys.    People taking part in the play really like to show off their 'best' acting skills and tend to go over the top and  'ham it up'!  King Herod and the soldiers are often figures of fun (like pantomime 'baddies') and Mary is often well advanced in labour before she arrives!    The birth of Jesus is timed to happen as close to midnight as possible and after that come the shepherds, the wise men and the slaughter of the innocents. This means the play norm...

   Boxing Day  is a bank or public holiday that occurs on December 26, or the first or second weekday after Christmas Day, depending on national or regional laws. It is observed in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and some other Commonwealth nations.    In South Africa, Boxing Day was renamed Day of Goodwill in 1994. In Ireland it is recognized as St. Stephen's Day (Irish:  Lá Fhéile Stiofáin)  or the Day of the Wren (Irish:  Lá an Dreoilín ). In the Netherlands, Lithuania, Austria, Germany, Scandinavia and Poland, December 26 is celebrated as the  Second Christmas Day .    Although the same legislation – the Bank Holidays Act 1871 – originally established the bank holidays throughout the UK, the day after Christmas was defined as Boxing Day in England, Scotland and Wales, and the feast day of St. Stephen in Ireland.    A "substitute bank holiday in place of 26 December" is only possible ...

 Most people can agree on what Santa Claus looks like---jolly, with a red suit and a white beard.  But he didn't always look that way, and Coke advertising actually helped shape the modern day image of Santa.    2006 marked the 75th anniversary of the famous Coca-Cola Santa Claus.  Starting in 1931, magazine ads for Coca-Cola featured St. Nick as a kind, jolly man in a red suit.  Because magazines were so widely viewed, and because this image of Santa appeared for more than three decades, the image of Santa most people have today is largely based on their advertising. 1931 Coke Santa Ad  Before the 1931 introduction of the Coke Santa Claus, created by artist Haddon Sundblom, the image of Santa ranged from big to small and fat to tall.  Santa even appeared as an elf and looked a bit spooky.    Through the centuries, Santa has been depicted as everything from a tall gaunt man to an elf.  He has worn a bishop's...

   One of my favorite parts of christmas is experimenting with festive holiday cocktails. Christmas parties are always packed with the regular beer and wine, but having a signature cocktail is a little more impressive. This infographic takes you around the world for some the signature christmas cocktails. Everyone seems just delicious to me, but that may mean something about my lifestyle. I would definitely go with a Gingerbread Sacrifice in Paris, Candy Cane Eggnog in New England and a Santa’s Stiff Hot Chocolate up in the North Pole.    These days, Pinterest allows us to find many delicious cocktail recipes at the drop of a hat. Each one is more original and unique than the rest. At a holiday party last week we tried out a holiday sangria, containing two bottles of wine, 5 cans of sprite, orange liquor (as much as you’d like, we put in a bunch), pomegranate seeds and lime slices. It was a huge, refreshing hit. Another christmas classic is a simple mulled wine, wi...

In  Albania , Christmas is one of the most popular festivals and celebrated with great merriment by the local people who observe the occassion as a commemoration of the birth of Lord Jesus. The population of the country is mixed with Muslems and Christians. But Christmas in Albania is unique, what with both the communities celebrating the occassion with almost equal fervor. Albanians  share  a wonderful  bond  with their family members and for them, family values stand above anything else. Hence Christmas in Albania is a family affair. Here, people love to celebrate the festival in  the company  of their entire family. The Christmas traditions observed here are more or less similar to that of the rest of the world. Popular customs such as  attending  the midnight mass on 24th night and going to the church in the morning is religiously followed by all the Christians of Albania. The  gift giving  tradition, as observed in oth...

I can remember the first time my mother showed me the beauty found in a single snowflake. Although teeny tiny, each one is uniquely different. Ever since, I’ve kind of adored snow. Some may say, even to the extreme (so what if I prayed for snow a time or ten). At the top of our stairs rested some empty apothecary jars. It seemed only fitting to make snow scenes. The first attempt did not include the lights. Still beautiful but not magical. But let me tell you, finding that extra strand of lights (ironically with white wire) at the bottom of our Christmas bin was like finding gold! Snowy Christmas magic all. day. long! Start to Finish Time – 10 minutes. Apothecary jars (old) – Home Goods and World Market. Snow, trees, and village pieces ($1.00 – $4.00) – Walmart, Mini Lights (100) – Target Add caption