Christmas Facts and stuff

[trubble]

Origins of the 3 Kings/ wise men explained and explored by Ian Hislop: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00g1rmq

Nice little programme.

It has made me want to start a new tradition of celebrating epiphany rather than christmas. In Spain they do wonderful epiphany celebrations with special cakes and parties and religious parades.

[Patrick]

I thought we celebrated epiphany last year on The Orchard!

Anyway - don't talk with your mouthful! ;D

Heard the prog. Sort of.

Of course if we were Pagans we'd have opened our pressies already - today!

Sounds good to me!

No, hang on - I haven't wrapped any yet!

[trubble]

Can't find the sellotape? ;D

[Patrick]

My wrapping is a carefully planned procedure!

I will lay everything out on the floor and cut out my paper.

Then I will try and find where the Pritt stick has gone, to hold the paper whilst I find the sellotape.

Then I find I have to cut some more off the paper so I have to look for the knife that I just brought in five minutes ago......

By which time the Pritt has rolled underneath something else and I have to look for that.

Now the sellotape has disappeared!

Next piece.

Now the knife has gone again.

Ah, there it is with the Pritt Stick.

Hang on, where's that bit of paper gone?? Oh, I'll just use this bit anyway.

Hang on - I had the sellotape a minute ago!!

Now where's that bloody Pritt!

OK, It was there with the knife?

I know, perhaps I took it downstairs again..........

Downstairs:

Not there - Oh this big one will do.

Upstairs:

Huh! There it is - Now then - Where's the sellotape?!..........

Every year, Nothing changes.

[trubble]

;D ;D


I always imagine that wrapping will be quick and fun. It just isn't. It's a stupid invention.



I blame the Italians.



Q: What is the history of gift giving?

Answer :
The history of gift giving can be traced back to about the Romans. On the first day of January, around the Winter Solace, people gave each other gifts during a celebration. The gifts were originally evergreen branches, and later developed into cakes, to symbolize prosperity and sweetness in the coming year.


The custom of gift giving seems to stem originally from the Roman tradition of presenting the Emperor and each other with good luck tokens, called strenae.

As is often the case, this practice escalated perhaps in an effort to receive special favours or impress, so that more precious gifts were given, clothing, gold or silver items. This occurred during Saturnalia.

However the tradition probably goes back even further to the Babylonians, when the reincarnation of Nimrod as his own son, by his wife Semiramis, was born at the Winter Solstice (late December).

In honour of this event Semiramis organised the cutting down and decorating trees (in Roman tradition they used decorated fir trees).

By AD324 the custom of Saturnalia was ingrained in the culture and the new Christian Emperor, Constantine, needed to satisfy both his new religion and the masses. So he converted Saturnalia into Christmas.

Part of the gift-giving tradition of the western world is tied up with the gifts of the Three Wise Men who brought gifts at the birth of Jesus. Outside of the Judao-Christian world the Druids used to make a gift of their holy plant mistletoe at the beginning of each new year.

[Alpha Hooligan]

Mince Pies & Turkey - ILLEGAL!!!

Did you know it's illegal to eat Mince Pies on Christmas Day?

Oliver Cromwell banned Christmas pudding, mince pies and anything to do with gluttony. That law has never been rescinded so mince pies are illegal.

Having turkey this Christmas? You'd better think again and eat goose instead, as in 1588 Elizabeth I enacted a law making it an offense to eat any other bird on Xmas day.


AH

[motorist]

Turkey (kalkkuna here) is bleh

[motorist]

While we are putting up facts...

Pope Julius I moved Jesus' supposed birthday to December to try and "override" the normally extremely sinful Saturnalia (tut tut Romans) in 350 AD. Astronomers tracing back the comet that would have been seen place the actual day somewhere in June

King Herod died in 4BC of a very painful illness. Medical experts analysing the descriptions think it was a chronic kidney infection complicated by Fournier's Gangrene, though more recent experts think it could have been scabies

How's that for karma, you traitor-to-Jews type person?

[Patrick]

Dec 22, 2008 10:44:56 GMT Alpha Hooligan said:

Mince Pies & Turkey - ILLEGAL!!!

Did you know it's illegal to eat Mince Pies on Christmas Day?

Oliver Cromwell banned Christmas pudding, mince pies and anything to do with gluttony. That law has never been rescinded so mince pies are illegal.

Having turkey this Christmas? You'd better think again and eat goose instead, as in 1588 Elizabeth I enacted a law making it an offense to eat any other bird on Xmas day.


AH

Heard of the former, but not necessarily the latter.

Funny innit, how old Ollie never caught on. innit! Now if he said that we were hereby allowed to have as many husbands and wives as we liked, and every home should have it's own brewery - Do you think he might have been a bit more of a hit?

[trubble]

I'm beginning to think he was under appreciated. Ok, so he massacred millions of Irish or something but he had a good and practical point about Christmas. Mince Pies ain't all that, I swear no one likes them, we are just all eating them to spite him, and taking down Christmas Decorations is a bore and takes twice as long as you plan for.

[Patrick]

Jan 5, 2009 22:40:08 GMT trubble said:

I'm beginning to think he was under appreciated. Ok, so he massacred millions of Irish or something but he had a good and practical point about Christmas. Mince Pies ain't all that, I swear no one likes them, we are just all eating them to spite him, and taking down Christmas Decorations is a bore and takes twice as long as you plan for.

You have to be doing something, er, complicated! Taking them down's as easy as "1-2-3 Pull!!!!"

_{and mincey pieysis is lovely!}