Okay Get Your Cocoa Warm Up There Is More... Queen Victoria

Christmas trees are known to have been popular in Germany as far back as the sixteenth century. In England, they became popular after Queen Victoria's husband Albert, who came from Germany, made a tree part of the celebrations at Windsor Castle. In the United States, the earliest known mention of a Christmas tree is in the diary of a German who settled in Pennsylvania

Cultured Christmas trees must be shaped as they grow to produce fuller foliage. To slow the upward growth and to encourage branching, they are hand-clipped in each spring. Trees grown in the wild have sparser branches, and are known in the industry as "Charlie Brown" trees.

During the ancient 12-day Christmas celebration, the log burned was called the "Yule log." Sometimes a piece of the Yule log would be kept to kindle the fire the following winter, to ensure that the good luck carried on from year to year. The Yule log custom was handed down from the Druids

During World War II it was necessary for Americans to mail Christmas gifts early for the troops in Europe to receive them in time. Merchants joined in the effort to remind the public to shop and mail early and the protracted shopping season was born

Electric Christmas tree lights were first used in 1895. The idea for using electric Christmas lights came from an American, Ralph E. Morris. The new lights proved safer than the traditional candles.

Relax and Enjoy More Christmas Trivia - Cards and Crackers

An average household in America will mail out 28 Christmas cards each year and see 28 eight cards return in their place

Animal Crackers are not really crackers, but cookies that were imported to the United States from England in the late 1800s. Barnum's circus-like boxes were designed with a string handle so that they could be hung on a Christmas tree

Candy canes began as straight white sticks of sugar candy used to decorated the Christmas trees. A choirmaster at Cologne Cathedral decided have the ends bent to depict a shepherd's crook and he would pass them out to the children to keep them quiet during the services. It wasn't until about the 20th century that candy canes acquired their red stripes.

Every year there are 1.76 billion candy canes produced

Christmas trees are edible. Many parts of pines, spruces, and firs can be eaten. The needles are a good source of vitamin C. Pine nuts, or pine cones, are also a good source of nutrition

Grab Your Cocoa Sit Back And Relax - Christmas Trivis

According to the National Christmas Tree Association, Americans buy 37.1 million real Christmas trees each year; 25 percent of them are from the nation's 5,000 choose-and-cut farms.

During the Christmas buying season, Visa Cards alone are used and average of 5,340 times every minute in the United States.

After "A Christmas Carol," Charles Dickens wrote several other Christmas stories, one each year, but none was as successful as the original.

Alabama was the first state to recognize Christmas as an official holiday. This tradition began in 1836.

The last state to declare Christmas as a national holiday was Oklahoma in 1907.

American's official national Christmas tree is located in King's Canyon National Park in California. The tree, a giant sequoia called the "General Grant Tree," is over 300 feet (90 meters) high. It was made the official Christmas tree in 1925.

Christmas Usless Information - Victorian England

Postmen in Victorian England were popularly called "robins." This was because their uniforms were red. The British Post Office grew out of the carrying of royal dispatches. Red was considered a royal color, so uniforms and letter-boxes were red. Christmas cards often showed a robin delivering Christmas mail.

Dear Santa - I am Naughty

Christmas Fact - Lifestyle Management

Per the results of a three-year Christmas study performed by the Center for Lifestyle Management, an average of 10 hours are spent the last week of December arguing and bickering with family members about holiday-related activities.

Why Can't We Say Christmas ??

Dear Santa - Does being Good Now Count

Strange Christmas Facts - Christmas Carols

Christmas Carols are great, right? Wrong, well at least according to some folks down in Pensacola Florida.
In 1996, Christmas caroling was banned at two major malls in Pensacola, Florida. Apparently, shoppers and merchants complained the carolers were too loud and took up too much space.
   Maybe it wasn't so much the carols as the horrible singing that may have sullied the performance.

Japanese Christmas Rings

These wonderful handmade rings are perfect gifts for Christmas

Strange Facts - The Legendary Christmas Pudding

The legendary Christmas pudding is actually an off shoot of the Celtic dish frumenty. The strangeness of the pudding is inspired by the myth that surrounds it. Supposedly people believed it was unlucky to cut a Christmas cake before Christmas Eve. But, the pudding wasn't the only thing that was guarded by a long-standing myth. Mince pie was said to be unlucky if cut with a knife, additionally it was considered to encourage bad luck when eaten outside of the period between Christmas Eve and Twelfth Night. The great thing about Mince pie however, is that it somehow had the magical power to give you good luck if you ate one every day for the twelve days of Christmas.

The True Meaning of "Twelve Days of Christmas" Truely Shocking !!

The "Twelve Days of Christmas" was originally written to help Catholic children, in England, remember different articles of faith during the persecution by Protestant Monarchs. The "true love" represented God, and the gifts all different ideas:
The "Partridge in a pear tree" was Christ.
2 Turtle Doves = The Old and New Testaments
3 French Hens = Faith, Hope and Charity-- the Theological Virtues
4 Calling Birds = the Four Gospels and/or the Four Evangelists
5 Golden Rings = The first Five Books of the Old Testament, the "Pentateuch", which relays the history of man's fall from grace.
6 Geese A-laying = the six days of Creation
7 Swans A-swimming = the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, the seven sacraments
8 Maids A-milking = the eight beatitudes
9 Ladies Dancing = the nine Fruits of the Holy Spirit
10 Lords A-leaping = the ten commandments
11 Pipers Piping = the eleven faithful apostles
12 Drummers Drumming = the twelve points of doctrine in the Apostle's Creed

Useless Information - Yelling

If you yelled for eight years,

seven months and six days,

you would have produced enough

sound energy to heat one cup of coffee.

Quote of the Day - Teenagers

Children are born as babies

to give parents time to develop

a love for them before

they become teenagers.

Al Batt

Usless Information - Impeachment

The only three U.S. presidents who ever had to deal with

real or impending impeachment -

Andrew Johnson,

Richard Nixon,

and

Bill Clinton -

all have names that are

euphemisms for

"penis"

Johnson, Dick and Willie

Quote of the Day - Memory

One woman to another:

"My husband has three kinds of memory -

good, bad and convenient."

Vintage Hina Matsuri Miniature Doll Festival Wood Bowls

I love all things miniature and Japanese.
Hina Matsuri is a doll festival or Girls Day in Japan.
It is usually around March the 3.
This is a very old festival. Originally it was believed that the dolls kept bad spirits away.
And in the beginning the dolls where made from paper - but gradually they started making beautiful
dolls dress in fabulous fabrics. The dolls are set up on a layered stag and there is a very exact order to
the different dolls that are on it. At the top is the prince and princess and then the less important  down the different lays.
Some of these layers  have plants, furniture and dishes on them.
As you can see the dolls and other items are miniature.

I was able to obtain some vintage Hina Matsuri wood bowls
In my OishisoBitsandBites store on Etsy I have a sections of rings made with these vintage bowls. Below are some pictures and if you click on the title it will take you to that sections of my store.

Quote of the Day - TV Commercials

Be kind to TV Commercials.

It's nice to know some company is willing

to spend a fortune so you can go to the

bathroom wihout missing anything.

- Alice Waldron

Quote of the Day - LOVE

Anyone can come into your life and say how much they love you.

 It takes someone really special to stay in your life

 and show how in love with you they really are.

Sale SouthamptonCreations on Bonanza Store Wide Sale plus Mailing Discounts

Daily Quote - Victim

When you are immune to the

opinions and actions of others

you won’t be the victim of

needless suffering.................

                   Don Miguel  Ruiz

OishisoBitsAndBites Store Wide Sale, and Mailing Cost Discounts

SouthamptonCreations on Etsy, Store Wide Sale - Plus Shipping Discounts