Many people enjoy receiving Christmas cards each year, but have you ever stopped to wonder how the tradition of holiday greeting cards began? They tradition began in England. Sir Henry Cole, a British inventor and civil servant, produced the first commercial holiday cards in 1843. He commissioned an artist named John Horsley to illustrate them, [...]
Posts Tagged ‘christmas history’
Christmas Greeting Cards Have Come a Long Way
October 2nd, 2011La Posada and the Christmas Poinsettia
July 9th, 2011Mexico’s main Christmas celebration is known as La Posada, which is a faith based procession that reenacts the search for shelter by Joseph and Mary before the birth of Jesus. Throughout the actual procession, the celebrants proceed from home to house with the photos of Mary and Joseph searching for shelter in Bethlehem. Despite the [...]
History of the Christmas Candy Cane
September 18th, 2010The history of Christmas candy canes starts in Germany in the 17th century with some restless children and an imaginative choir master. In 1670, the choirmaster at the Cologne Cathedral decided he’d give the kids in his choir some candy sticks to keep them happy during the long Christmas services. He bent straight white candy [...]
Does Xmas Take the Christ Out of Christmas?
September 9th, 2010Recently, there has been an increasing number of people who object to the idea of “taking Christ out of Christmas.” Use of the generic “Happy holidays” greeting rather than “Merry Christmas” is on the short list of objectionable behavior, while others bemoan the use of Xmas in place of the word Christmas. I’ve always assumed [...]
Holiday Traditions: Egg Nog
September 2nd, 2010Egg nog, that tasty concoction of milk, sugar, cinnamon and eggs, is quite popular during the holidays. All of the ingredients to make the drink are available year-round, but typically we only indulge ourselves during winter festivities. One reason we traditionally drink egg nog during the Christmas season could be because historians think the drink [...]
The Tradition of the Advent Wreath
August 30th, 2010Centuries ago, long before the birth of Christ, the wreath was always a part of festive processions. The evergreen wreath has always been a Christian emblem of eternal life and God’s faithfulness to all humanity because of its hardiness and ability to withstand the cold winter temperatures. An advent wreath is a ring or set [...]
Fun Facts About Favorite Christmas Movies
August 16th, 2010Each year, millions of people watch classic family holiday movies such as A Charlie Brown Christmas, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town and other movies that have became annual favorites. But do you know the story BEHIND these stories? Here is some fun trivia about a few of our favorite [...]
All About Mrs. Claus
June 18th, 2010Mrs. Claus is the wife of Santa Claus. Unlike Santa Claus, however, she does not have a counterpart in folklore or mythology, but was the creation of American authors. She was popularized by poet Katharine Lee Bates in Bates’ poem, “Goody Santa Claus on a Sleigh Ride” (1889). The character has since appeared in story, [...]
History of Mrs. Claus
April 12th, 2010While Santa can trace his roots back hundreds of years to Saint Nicholas, Mrs. Claus has a much shorter history. Here’s what Wikipedia has to say about her evolution: The wife of Santa Claus is first mentioned in the short story “A Christmas Legend” (1849), by James Rees, a Philadelphia-based Christian missionary. In the story, [...]
