Clements Christmas 2012

Clements Christmas 2012 Clements Christmas 2012 As the 2012 year comes to a close I try to think positive and hope the Mayans are wrong and life as we know it will not end on 12-21-2012. Just in case I’m playing it safe and not going shopping until the 22nd. I do worry daily about the solar flares that might affect electronic communications and electrical systems though. I just don’t know if I can survive without my iphone, Pinterest and Facebook. What would I do with all that extra time each day? Joking aside it’s been a fun filled year for our family again. Elise kept us busy with all the events to celebrate Girl Scouts 100th Anniversary. We ended the year’s celebration with a trip to the State Fair to see their exhibit in the Hall of State building, have a deep fried Samoa cookie and get a picture of her with Big Tex before he went up in flames. I’m having a hard time dealing with this being Elise’s last year in elementary school. Where did the last 6 years go? I’m not too happy either about having to look up at her. She’s managed to grow taller than me this year. She joined orchestra this year playing the violin, pre middle school band playing the saxophone, also choir and 5th grade honor choir. I can always tell what she is practicing on. It either sounds like the cat’s got its tail stuck in the door or a sick duck. Thank goodness for those days when she practices choir, it gives our ears a break. We all tried something new this year and attended the Denton’s Day of the Dead celebration. After the coffin races we returned home to get in our costumes so we could join the parade that night. Anyone know where I can buy a used coffin dirt cheap? I have to try the races next year. December promises to keep us busy. We’ll be attending 2 orchestra concerts, 1 choir concert, Krum’s Lighted Christmas Parade, 3 Christmas caroling at nursing homes, making Christmas cards for Meals on Wheels, stuffing stockings for our soldiers overseas, Denton Tree Lighting Festival and Six Flags Holiday in the Park. I think after all this we will just enjoy a nice quite Christmas Eve night waiting on the arrival of Santa. Our family wishes each of you a very Merry Christmas!!! And pray we all have a 2013 New Year. Russ, Judy, Elise, Raleigh, Lulu, and Sissy

The Legends of Christmas Ornaments

The Glass Bird Ornament

- Birds are considered a universal symbol of happiness and joy and are regarded by many to be a necessity on the Christmas tree. Because bird ornaments were difficult to create, few glassblowing families in Germany specialized in the making of these special pieces. Birds represent messengers of love and are the harbingers of good things to come.

The Glass Cottage Ornament

- Cottages represented the heritage and culture of German glassblowers. The unique architecture of each village was a source of pride as cottage styles often varied greatly. Glassblowers frequently created images that reflected their day - to - day lives. Cottage ornaments were often based on the humble homes in which the artisans lived and worked, as well as after the fanciful gingerbread houses families made during the Christmas season.

The Glass Devil Ornament

- Devils with red faces, horns and tails often played a significant role in early German Christmas celebrations. Paradise plays performed during the holiday season in medieval times depicted life and death, the Garden of Eden, and good and evil. Devil heads were an important part of early Christian celebrations of Christmas to remind revelers of the consequences of living an unholy life. In some parts of Germany and Austria, St. Nicholas characters were accompanied by a figure called Krumpus. Krumpus looked very much like the devil and his purpose was to punish girls and boys who had misbehaved during the year. This ornament is symbolic of the devil figure common to early Christmas festivals, and the antique mold for the Devil Head ornament is believed to be one of the earliest molds made.

The Glass Apple Ornament

- Apples were the traditional German symbol of temptation. Apple ornaments were hung on evergreen trees during the presentation of the Paradise plays of the Christmas season in medieval times throughout Europe. Trees laden with apple ornaments were used during the re-enactment of the story of Adam and Eve on Christmas Eve, to reinforce the meaning of Christ's birth. Also, an early legend held that if an apple was cut during the holidays and there was a perfect star inside and the seeds were plump, good health and fortune would be assured during the coming year. As the earliest Christmas trees were adorned with natural fruits and nuts, glassblowers naturally patterned many of their first molds after these items.

The Glass Orange Ornament

- Oranges have always been considered a very special treat at Christmas time. Costly and scarce during the winter months many years ago, oranges were highly appreciated and were quite a delicacy. Santa would often leave on of these sweet fruits in the toe of a stocking of good little boys and girls as a delightful reward. Oranges were among the first figural glass ornaments produced.

The Glass Walnut Ornament

-Walnuts were frequently part of early Christmas celebrations in Europe that included evenings of games and merrymaking. Tiny candles, stuck in walnut shells, were set afloat in a pan of water. The little boy's candle which burned to the end without capsizing was promised a long life, and the girl's candle which stood upright the longest would have the best husband. During such celebrations, parents would crack walnuts trusting the nut would not be spoiled; if it was, death was foretold to that person. These traditions were memorialized through the years by the walnut ornament The walnut was one of the first "ornaments" to adorn the earliest Christmas trees.

The Glass Grape Ornament

- Grape ornaments were symbols of friendship. It was also symbolic of sharing a friendly glass of wine.

The Glass Acorn Ornament

. - Acorns have long been thought to be good luck symbols in Germany where oak trees are considered sacred. Acorns are also believed to represent the rebirth of life as witnessed by the coming of the Christ child. Early German Christmas trees were laden with cones, cookies and nuts, most notably the acorn, to commemorate this gift of life and luck. This tradition is celebrated today with the glass acorn ornament.

The Glass Carrot Ornament

- Long ago the glass carrot ornament was very popular in Germany as a traditional gift for brides. It was believed to bring the bride good luck in the kitchen.

The Glass Pickle Ornament

- This is probably the ornament which Christmas Days sells more of than any other ornament. Pickle ornaments are a symbol of good luck. They were considered a special decoration by many families in Germany, where the fir tree was decorated on Christmas Eve. It was always the last ornament to be hung on the Christmas tree, with the parents hiding it in the green boughs among the other ornaments. When the children were allowed to view the tree they would begin gleefullly searching for the pickle ornament. Whoever found the pickle ornament first would receive a special present. Unfortunately for the children, as they grew older, the pickles became smaller!

The Tulip Ornament

- Once upon a time a young man was enamored of a beautiful girl. Rumor reached him that his beloved had died. Mounting his horse, he galloped off the edge of a rocky cliff and plunged to his death. As his blood touched the soil, red tulips sprang up all around. Thus, the red tulip became a symbol of eternal love. A tulip offered by a young man to his beloved says " As the redness of this flower, I am on fire with love for you".

The Christmas Tree Ornament

- Fir trees are one of the most widely recognized symbols of the holiday season. The role of the fir tree in mid-winter celebrations dates back to pre-christian times when the tree symbolized nature's triumph over winter's darkness and deathly cold. Christians began using fir trees and other evergreens as a reminder of Christ's everlasting life. The fir tree was also popular because of its paternal nature. Thick fir boughs graciously protected delicate birds, and provided shelter to other animals in the dense Bavarian forests of Germany For more on the history of the Christmas tree click here

Christmas Cookies

Cookies have been part of celebrations long before the first Christmas. After Pope Julius declared December 25 as Christmas in 350 A.D., Christians adopted cookie baking as part of the Christmas celebration. There are many traditions inherited and adopted by Americans and the Christmas cookie is another one. The Christmas cookie actually came from the Dutch word koekje, which means "small cake." It was the Pennsylvania Dutch who first introduced holiday cookies to America. The rest of the Europeans continued to bake when they came to the United States introducing many treats that we enjoy today. We can thank Sweden for the spritz cookies topped with sugar crystals, Scotland for their shortbread, Greece for their Baklava and the Russian for their powdered sugar tea cakes. The German cookies, lebkuchen and springerle are favorites. Many of the Christmas cookie recipes we enjoy today came from European countries; each carrying generations of folklore and legend.

Christmas Cards

No one is sure where the tradition of sending Christmas cards first started. Some say it began in England, where schoolchildren away from home would write to their parents reminding them that the gift-giving time would soon be near. The first known artist to create a Christmas card was John Calcott Horsley, who designed a card for Sir Henry Cole, a London museum director. Sir Henry Cole decided that it would be easier to send pre-made cards than to labor over individual greetings, as he had done as a child. Sir Henry had 1000 cards printed and sold them for one shilling each. At first, only the wealthy could afford them, then later less-expensive printing soon became available. Queen Victoria loved the idea and soon it became quite fashionable. By the 1850s, Christmas cards were a well established tradition.
Christmas cards did not become popular in America until the 1870s when Louis Prang, a German immigrant who owned a small Massachusetts print shop, designed and printed such beautiful cards that he became known as, "father of American Christmas cards." The cards were favorable, but impractical to produce. By the end of the nineteenth century, less expensive cards were taking over and Prang was forced out of business. Before WWI, many of the cards sold in America came from Germany. After the war, the Christmas card business flourished. Today, over two-and-a-half billion Christmas cards are exchanged every year!

The Legend of the Christmas Tree   

There once was a poor woodcutter who lived with his family deep in the forest. On Christmas Eve they sat down for dinner when they heard a knock at the door. There stood a child in torn and ragged clothes, pale and hungry. The woodcutter invited the child in for food even though they did not have much to share and gave him a bed to rest. The woodcutter and his family prayed to God, thanking him for a warm and safe place to live. In the early morning they awoke to the most beautiful singing they had every heard. They went to the window and saw the orphaned child standing with a choir of angels singing a lovely Christmas carol. The child was no longer wearing the tattered clothing but dressed in a magnificent robe surrounded by a glowing light. When the child saw the woodcutter and his family he said, "I am the Christ Child, I have received your kindness and now this is my gift to you." He broke a branch from a small fir tree and planted it. He told them, "From this day forward, this tree shall bear fruit at Christmas and you shall have plenty even in the cold winter." As they stood listening, the branch grew into a beautify tree covered with fruit. The Christmas tree as we know it originated in Germany. In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, people in Europe performed miracle or mystery plays in front of cathedrals during the advent season. This was a means to teach the Bible since few people could read the scriptures. The evergreen tree was often used as a prop. Its image lasted in the minds of those attending and influenced the German people to bring trees into their homes at Christmas. The fir tree in the plays represented the tree of life as well as sin, so people first decorated trees with little religious figures on the branches. The Christmas tree spread to America when Hessian soldiers practiced the custom while fighting in the Revolutionary War. Later, the German born Prince Albert and Queen Victoria popularized the custom when they erected the first Christmas tree in Windsor Castle. By the early 20th century, the custom of decorating a Christmas tree was adopted by most Americans of European descent. The tradition of a Christmas tree in the White House started in 1856 with President Franklin Pierce. This cherished tradition of celebrating Christ's birth around a decorated tree is one of the most popular and beloved parts of our Christmas season.

The Legend of the Mistletoe

Baldur was the god of light and spring, purity and beauty. He was the son of Frigga, the Norse goddess of love and marriage. Baldur was often disturbed by dreams that his life was in danger. To protect her son, Frigga went about the land demanding promises from all the other gods and all the natural elements such as, fire, water, air and earth not to harm her son. But, in her haste, she forgot to speak to the mistletoe, which was considered too puny and insignificant to do him harm. Baldur had one enemy, Loki, a god known for causing evil toward his fellow gods. When he heard that the mistletoe was ignored, he ordered another god to hurl a mistletoe dart into Baldur's heart, killing him. Baldur's mother was heart-broken and cried many tears. Her bitter tears fell onto the mistletoe causing pearl-like berries. Because Frigga was liked by many gods, her plea for her son to come back to life was answered. She was so delighted that she went about the land kissing everyone under the white berries. She then declared that the mistletoe would never again be used as a weapon and said, "All who stand beneath the mistletoe must kiss in friendship and peace." It is said the myth of the mistletoe spread throughout the land, and whenever enemies met under it, they laid down their weapons and declared a truce. There were many beliefs associated with the mistletoe. In ancient times, it was believed to be sacred, to have come from heaven, possessing mystic powers because it grew without roots and never touched the ground. It was also considered as a giver of life and protector against disease and poison. The plant was believed to encourage romance, to bring happiness and good luck, and to promote peace. Despite all these positive beliefs, the English church banned the mistletoe around 1600 because of its pagan superstitions. Some Christians believed that the mistletoe was originally a tree whose wood was used to make the cross on which Christ was crucified. It then shrank from shame into a parasite bush. In the late eighteenth century, people in England began using the mistletoe in their home Christmas decorations. The pagan customs were forgotten and the plant was associated with happiness, peace, and good luck. It was hung in doorways where guests would walk under it providing an opportunity to kiss for no reason!

The Christmas Candle

Throughout medieval Europe, a very large candle, called the Christmas candle was burned until the twelfth Night, in remembrance of the arrival of the Wise Men to Bethlehem. In Victorian times, candles represented good

will for those less fortunate and were placed in windows December 25 to January 6 to indicate welcome to any passerby needing shelter and food. Certain beliefs were attached to candles. Some people believed the flames from the burning candles frightened away evil spirits during the darkest days of the year. The Norwegians believed that Christmas candles must not burn out on Christmas Eve or bad luck would plague the family. Legends tell us that candles in windows guide the Christ Child as he wanders from house to house on Christmas Eve looking for a place to stay. Thus, no traveler can be turned away on Christmas Eve in case the Christ Child might come by. The custom of lighting candles on trees indoors started in Germany. To them the candles represented the stars and is one custom that founded its way to America. Today, especially at Christmas, candles signify the message of the season. A candle burning in the window of some Christian homes symbolically lights the way of the holy family, as well as welcomed guests.