Christmas
We
never left out cookies for Santa Claus. Sorry, big guy.
Santa
Claus/St. Nick/Kris Kringle
I
never knew there was a real Saint Nicholas until I was well into
adulthood.
I
never realized that Sinterklass (Dutch) = Saint Nicholas.
Santa
Claus is simply a corruption of Sinterklass.
How
does he travel the world and deliver all of those presents in one
night? What if your house doesn't have a chimney and fireplace? He
lives at the North Pole with elves and flying reindeer? Oh, come on!
Kris
Kringle is a corruption of Christkindl (“Christ Child” - It is
the Christkindl who brings gifts on Christmas Eve in Germany, not
Santa!)
Three
Kings/Three Wise Men/Three Magi
The
Three Kings were actually pagan astrologers which makes the story
even more remarkable. These magi knew there was something special
about this baby born in Bethlehem and came to worship him.
This
might sound corny but I seem to recall asking my parents, “So, the
wise men gave gifts to the baby Jesus and that's why we give gifts to
each other?” I believe they answered in the affirmative.
The
Nativity Scene
Immaculate
conception?
No
room at the inn.
Away
in the manger.
Shepherds
The Three Wise Men shouldn't technically be there according to the Bible story. But, that's okay.
Nativity
scenes are intended to be representations of Jesus birth, not a
historically accurate depiction. In other words they are there to
remind us of the important elements of the birth, not to be a
photorealistic documentary. Therefore the shepherds, the wise men,
angels are all included because they were involved, even if they were
not all there at the same time.
What exactly is a Yule log anyway?
Yuletide
carols being sung by a choir?
Who
is this Jack Frost guy anyway?
Kissing
under the mistletoe?
Deck
the halls with boughs of holly?
Deck?
Boughs? Holly? Fa la la?
Twelve
days of Christmas?
FIVE
GOLD RINGS!
Charlie
Brown Christmas Special
Rankin/Bass
Christmas Specials
"Randolph
the two-gun cowboy had a very shiny gun and if you ever saw him you
would turn around and run."
"Jingle
bells, Batman smells, Robin laid an egg."
The
best version of A Christmas Carol (Scrooge) (1951) stars Alistair
Sim.
I
didn't care much for It's a Wonderful Life when I saw it as a kid.
George Bailey never gets to be an architect or engineer.
"A
Visit from St. Nicholas" ("Twas the Night Before Christmas")
We
didn't have a fireplace but we did each have a Christmas stocking.
"All I
Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth"
Going
to the Christmas Tree Farm
Trimming
the tree
Angel
or star on the top?
The
conventional story of the origin of "shopping days until
Christmas" is that the phrase was coined by Wisconsin-born
retailer Harry Gordon Selfridge, founder of Selfridge and Company in
Oxford Street (London).
G.I. Joe
Johnny West
Star Wars action figures
Lincoln Logs
Lego sets
Erector sets
John Deere toy tractors
Hot Wheels cars
Fire Engine
Train Set
A BB
gun? You'll shoot your eye out, kid.
Canned
ham is given and received as a gift.
Fudge,
divinity, nut clusters, chocolate covered cherries, peanut brittle,
sugar cookies
Gingerbread
men? Gingerbread houses?
Almond
bark covered pretzels
Almond
bark? Bark? Ha ha.
Mixed
nuts
Cheese
balls/cheese spread
Eggnog
Fruit
Cake
Remember
Johnny Carson's joke about fruitcake? There's actually only one
fruitcake. It just keeps getting passed around. Everyone keeps
regifting it. “What makes it so damned heavy. It's the damnedest
thing. Nobody eats them.”
Have
you ever heard the expression “nutty as a fruitcake?”
Christmas
can be stressful and make one feel kind of nutty I guess.
I've
spent Christmas on a psychiatric unit before. It's not so bad.
Christmas
is coming/the goose is getting fat.
Mom's
annual Christmas party for her lady friends.
School
Christmas Program.
Christmas
Pageant at church on Christmas Eve.
Singing
"Silent Night" with everyone in the congregation holding a small
candle.
Chili
and crackers and cheese on Christmas Eve unless we were at my
paternal grandparents' house. Then it was maid-rites, cheesy
potatoes, and Norwegian food like lefse and kringla.
Christmas
at home and at both grandparents' houses.
Oyster
stew and leftover turkey to cap off Christmas day at my maternal
grandparents' home.
"Isn't
there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?"
“And
there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field,
keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the
Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about
them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, ‘Fear
not: for behold, I bring unto you good tidings of great joy, which
shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the City of
David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign
unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying
in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of
the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, ‘Glory to God in the
highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.'”
