Holiday Trivia

[accemb]

Germans traditionally decorate their trees on Christmas Eve

 

[MASSIVEPKGO_CHUCK]

Although considered a romantic gesture for the season, Mistletoe in fact is a poisonous, parasite.

 

[accemb]

Likewise, Chuck, the beautiful Poinsettia is poisonous!

 

[ghb69]

Likewise, Chuck, the beautiful Poinsettia is poisonous!

And the flower is only the small yellow centers the red or showy part of a Poinsettia are actually leaves.

 

[nudeyorker]

Happy Hanukkah! In case you did not know!

 

[nudeyorker]

For some reason I think I would love to visit here on Christmas. 24 hours of sunshine! Christmas in Antarctica

 

[nudeyorker]

According to the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, the following are the Top 25 most-performed "holiday" songs written by ASCAP members for the first five years of the 21st century. The list does not include songs out of copyright (like "Jingle Bells") or written by members of Broadcast Music, Incorporated, known as BMI.

"The Christmas Song" (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire) – Mel Tormé, Robert Wells
"Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" – Fred Coots, Haven Gillespie
"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" – Ralph Blane, Hugh Martin
"Winter Wonderland" – Felix Bernard, Richard B. Smith
"White Christmas" – Irving Berlin
"Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" – Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne
"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" – Johnny Marks
"Jingle Bell Rock" – Joseph Carleton Beal, James Ross Boothe
"I'll Be Home for Christmas" – Walter Kent, Kim Gannon, Buck Ram
"The Little Drummer Boy" – Katherine K. Davis, Henry V. Onorati, Harry Simeone
"Sleigh Ride" – Leroy Anderson, Mitchell Parish
"It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" – Edward Pola, George Wyle
"Silver Bells" – Jay Livingston, Ray Evans
"Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" – Johnny Marks
"Feliz Navidad" – José Feliciano
"Blue Christmas" – Billy Hayes, Jay W. Johnson
"Frosty the Snowman" – Steve Nelson, Walter E. Rollins
"A Holly Jolly Christmas" – Johnny Marks
"I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" – Tommie Connor
"Here Comes Santa Claus" (Right Down Santa Claus Lane) – Gene Autry, Oakley Haldeman
"It's Beginning To Look a Lot Like Christmas" – Meredith Willson
"(There's No Place Like) Home for the Holidays" – Bob Allen, Al Stillman
"Carol of the Bells" – Peter J. Wilhousky, Mykola Leontovich
"Santa Baby" – Joan Ellen Javits, Philip Springer, Tony Springer
"Wonderful Christmastime" – Paul McCartney

Which one is your favorite?

 

[nudeyorker]

OK this one made me smile....

Shoe tossing

In the Czech Republic single women perform a very unusual ritual on Christmas Eve Day, to find out if they will marry in the following year. With their backs to the house door, they throw one of their shoes over their shoulder. If the shoe lands with the heel towards the door, she will definitely stay single for another year, while if the front of the shoe points towards the door, it means she will move out of her parents’ house, and she should start making wedding preparations.

Anyone ever try this?

 

[AquaEyes11010]

Likewise, Chuck, the beautiful Poinsettia is poisonous!

Actually, it's not. It was assumed to be so because the plant has a sticky white sap, and is related to other plants considered poisonous. But if you looked it up in modern lists of toxic plants, it is excluded.



Are poinsettias poisonous?

Are Poinsettias Poisonous?

Are Poinsettias Poisonous?


snopes.com: Poisonous Poinsettias

 

[nudeyorker]

This is interesting... I have heard gun shots on Christmas Eve and always wondered why...

Norwegian legend says that on Christmas Eve witches and evil spirits come out looking for brooms to ride on (a bad omen). To thwart the witches, all brooms in the house are hidden and men go outside and fire a shotgun to scare the bad spirits away.

 

[nudeyorker]

If you counted all the gifts that were given in the song “Twelve Days of Christmas” you would realize that the number of gifts being presented were 364 in total, thus a gift was given for each day of the year.

 

[VernalTiger]

3) It's the Triptifan and the carbohydrates together that make
people sleepy after eating turkey.
​

Chicken contains more tryptophan than turkey. It's also found in chocolate, oats and bananas, and is the amino acid precursor to seratonin.

In Australia, we most usually celebrate Christmas with a big meal, often involving a lot of seafood, followed by lying around until the hurting stops.

 

[nudeyorker]

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?
If luck is what you’re seeking, you should take a hint from the folks in Portugal. The ‘consoda’ feast takes place Christmas Day. You set extra places at your dinner table for the souls of the dead. Offer them food and they will bring you luck throughout the year.

 

[nudeyorker]

I think one of the best traditions of the holidays are spending time with family and friends! The beauty of having eight nights of Hanukkah is that there are eight nights to celebrate Jewish history and traditions...and have lots of family fun.
Sorry this a sort of a repeat post from another thread but I'm so tired. The holidays are exhausting.

 

[nudeyorker]

In Greek legend, malicious creatures called Kallikantzaroi sometimes play troublesome pranks at Christmas time. In order to get rid of them, salt or an old shoe is burnt. The pungent burning stench drives off, or at least helps discourage, the Kallikantzaroi. Other techniques include hanging a pig’s jawbone by the door and keeping a large fire so they can’t sneak down the chimney.

 

[nudeyorker]

Ever wonder why we hang stockings at Christmas?
According to legend, a kindly nobleman grew despondent over the death of his beloved wife and foolishly squandered his fortune. This left his three young daughters without dowries and thus facing a life of spinsterhood.

The generous St. Nicholas, hearing of the girls' plight, set forth to help. Wishing to remain anonymous, he rode his white horse by the nobleman's house and threw three small pouches of gold coins down the chimney where they were fortuitously captured by the stockings the young women had hung by the fireplace to dry.

 

[nudeyorker]

The origin of the Christmas wreath dates back to the ancient cultures of the Persian Empire. During that time, wreaths were believed to be a symbol of importance as well as success. They were much smaller in size than the present ones and were known as 'diadems'. People used to wear the wreaths as headbands, sometimes along with jewels also. Somewhere around the 776 BC, Greeks started placing wreaths, made of laurel, on the head of the athletes who came first in the Olympic Games.

 

[nudeyorker]

On Christmas eve the children of Spain leave their shoes on the windowsills filled with straw, carrots, and barley for the horses of the Wise Men, who they believe reenact their journey to Bethlehem every year. One of the wise men is called Balthazar, who leaves the children gifts. They call Christmas Eve Nochebuena, and families gather together to rejoice and share a meal around the Nativity scene.

 

[nudeyorker]

A form of Christmas card began in England first when young boys practiced their writing skills by creating Christmas greetings for their parents, but it is Sir Henry Cole who is credited with creating the first real Christmas card. The first director of London's Victoria and Albert Museum, Sir Henry found himself too busy in the Christmas season of 1843 to compose individual Christmas greetings for his friends.

He commissioned artist John Calcott Horsley for the illustration. The card featured three panels, with the center panel depicting a family enjoying Christmas festivities and the card was inscribed with the message "A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You."

 

[nudeyorker]

In Poland traditionally on Christmas, families carry oplatek (a special bread) to their friends, family and neighbors to share. As each person shares the bread, they would have to forgive any wrongdoings of the person from the past year as well as wish them lots of happiness for the upcoming year. This practice is still done, but is more limited to family involvement.