Fun Facts About Christmas

Christmas has a rich history filled with lots of little-known facts. Consider these unusual facts ... or these fun facts you might not know:

Birth of the Sun: Christmas and the winter solstice have more in common than you think. The birth of Jesus was assigned to various dates for more than 300 years, but never much celebrated.

In the fourth century A.D., Roman Emperor Constantine moved the holiday to Dec. 25. The Julian calendar used at the time erroneously considered Dec. 25 to be the winter solstice.

Many early civilizations, including Ancient Rome, believed the winter solstice - the year's longest night - symbolized the birthday of the sun and the return of the light. The annual event was extremely important for these early cultures - depending as they did on the natural elements to survive. The solstice seemed an appropriate day to celebrate Christmas.

Here's a winter solstice menu, with delicious recipes from Helen Yoest, yours truly, Blue Moon Evolution Cafe, and Kelly Senser of the National Wildlife Federation.



The Giving Tradition: Today, it's hard to imagine Christmas without gifts. But it wasn't always so. The tradition dates back to the Ancient Roman festival of Saturnalia, held on the days leading up to the winter solstice. Kalends of January - the New Year - was another important gift-giving time.

As the Greek Libanius explained, "The impulse to spend seizes everyone ... a stream of presents pours itself out on all sides."

This was why the early Church considered gift giving to be a pagan holdover. And they frowned upon the practice for centuries. Instead, gifts were given on Twelfth Night (January 6) instead.

Since that's not the case now, here are last-minute gift ideas from the Nest in Style podcast.

"At Christmas we banquet, the rich with the poor,

Who then (but the miser) but openeth his door?

Thomas Tusser, 1524-1580

A Slow Start: Christmas ranked low as a holiday for centuries. Many traditions had pre-Christian roots and the early Church wasn't keen to accept them. It wasn't until the late Middle Ages that Christmas became popular.

Towns and cities often appointed a Lord of Misrule, who presided over the Christmas entertainment. (Santa didn't come until later.) This Lord of Misrule was typically dressed in colorful clothing and directed elaborate processions, plays and festivities. Their services were an important part of Christmas and these "lords" were hired by such royalty, as the English kings Edward VI and Henry VIII.

The largest Christmas feasts often included roasted peacock and swan ... painted with saffron and "refeathered" right before serving. In 1289, a boar's head served as a stylish centerpiece for the bishop of Hereford.

Want something easier for your holiday party? Here are last-minute entertaining tips from Nest In Style podcasts.

Four strange facts about Christmas you probably didn't know.



However, you decide to celebrate ... may you and your family experience joy, peace and prosperity this holiday season. 

Strange Facts about New Year's Day

Happy New Year! Or, is it? The fact is it depends on who you ask and when…In much of the world, it took quite a while before Jan. 1 was actually considered the start of the year.

Throughout history, different countries have celebrated the beginning of the year on different days ranging from March 25 to Sept. 1 to Dec. 25.

The French observed Easter as the start of the year for centuries. They introduced Jan. 1 as New Year's Day in 1564, ahead of many European countries.

Within Italy, different cities started the year on conflicting days. Venice celebrated on March 1 until 1797, when it was conquered by the French Emperor Napoleon.

Florence began the year on March 25 … as did England and the American Colonies until the end of 1751.

Until 1911, the Catholic Church started its ecclesiastical year on Dec. 25 at Christmas.

And the traditional Asian calendar begins the Chinese New Year sometime between mid-January and late-February, depending on the year.

So, as you can see, the issue of when to start the year has been anything but clear throughout much of history.

A Bit About Janus: The month of January is named after the double-faced Roman God Janus, who looks back to the old year and forward to the new one.

That makes it an appropriate symbol for those who like to spend time reflecting during the holidays on the past year and what they would like to attract for the next one.

Lunar Treat: A special bonus this year (2009) is the full moon, partial lunar eclipse occurring right before New Year's Day 2010. It's exact Dec. 31, 2009 at 2:13 p.m. EST. As the second full moon of the month, it's also a blue moon.

Images Credit: Although the moon isn't full in the delightful vintage card above, the festive mood is certainly appropriate as we enter a new decade. All of the cards in this post are from riptheskull at flickr.com. She has an amazing collection of old cards. Go check it out!

Happy New Year everyone! Here's to a peaceful and prosperous 2010 for us all.

For more about the calendar: Marking Time: The Epic Quest to Invent the Perfect Calendar.

Happy Summer Solstice

Since pre-Christian times, the Summer Solstice has been celebrated with seasonal rituals of major importance. Here are six things you might not know about the Summer Solstice:

Spring Equinox 2009

Spring began officially in the Northern Hemisphere with the spring equinox at 5:44 MT this morning. (That's mountain time, which is what we follow here in Idaho.)

From this point forward, the days will grow longer than the nights until the summer solstice on June 21, 2009.

Considering it's the start of spring, it's especially exciting to announce that President Obama announced yesterday that they will grow a Victory Garden at the White House. Learn more about this exciting initiative.

Cool trivia about the spring equinox:

• Some believe the spring equinox is when the days and nights are exactly the same length. That's not exactly true, according to National Geographic.

• Easter and the spring equinox have more in common than you may think. Easter falls on the Sunday on or after the full moon that follows the Equinox. Many of Easter's symbols (eggs and rabbits, for example) are spring fertility symbols that date back to pre-Christian times.

• The spring equinox is now considered the official start to spring. But in traditional calendars, spring's emergence was typically celebrated in early-February.

Here in Boise, we're having one of those warm, sweetly scented days that illustrate why people get "spring fever."

For those of you, who believe spring will never come. Consider these words from Henry Van Dyke:

"The first day of spring is one thing, and the first spring day is another. The difference between the two is sometimes as great as a month."

Keep the faith, spring will arrive for you too.

Welcome!

"As the day lengthens the cold strengthens."

Old Proverb

It seems only appropriate to begin this four-season gardening blog in February.

This month is often the year's coldest, depending on your location, but the days are growing longer. That's why many cultures in the Northern Hemisphere celebrated the increasing light and the emergence of spring in early-February. Here are a few examples:

• Imbolc, St. Brigid's Day (Celtic feast; Feb. 1)
• Candlemas Day (Catholic holy day; Feb. 2)
• Groundhog Day (United States and Canada; Feb. 2)
• Setsubun (Japanese holiday; Feb. 3 or 4)
• L'hom strom (Swiss village of Scuol; first Saturday in February)
  

Weather predictions are common now. Basically, the worse the weather is now, the faster spring arrives. For example, if the groundhog doesn't see his shadow, spring is around the corner. But if he does, (sigh!) six more weeks of winter.

So, keep the faith! Pull out those seed catalogues and start planning. Before you know it, you'll be in the garden.