Monthly Archives: December 2015
HISTORIC ROYAL PRETENDER: BONNIE PRINCE CHARLIE
Charles Edward Louis Philip Casimir Stuart was born in Rome, Italy on December 31, 1720. Known as ‘the Young Pretender’, as in pretender to the English throne, he was, technically, not a pretender, as his father was the eldest son of the English king, James the Second. According to the laws of primogeniture then in […]
CHRISTMAS TRADITION: CHRISTMAS PANTOMIMES
Britain’s Christmas Pantomimes usually begin on Boxing Day and run well past New Year. For those who don’t know, pantomimes are child/family-oriented theatre productions based on well-known fairy tales or nursery rhymes, such as Jack & The Beanstalk, Cinderella, and Puss-In-Boots. Traditional pantomimes have heroes and villains, slapstick comedy, song and dance numbers, and quite […]
CHRISTMAS EVE LEGEND: TALKING ANIMALS
A popular Christmas legend in Europe is that, on the stroke of midnight on Christmas Eve, animals can speak with human voices, a gift bestowed upon them because animals knelt around Baby Jesus in the stable and helped to keep Him warm. Akin to this are legends claiming that bees assemble to hum Christmas carols […]
BRITISH CHRISTMAS TRADITION: CHRISTMAS ANNUALS
As a child in England, Christmas would not have been Christmas if Father Christmas and assorted relatives had not come across with the hard cover annuals of my favourite comics. Published weekly, some comics, like Beano, Buster, Dandy, and Sparky were geared to children in general, others like Bunty, Diana, and Judy specifically to girls, […]
CHRISTMAS TRADITION: FATHER CHRISTMAS GROTTOS
The little English market town I lived in as a child (Wantage), offered many Yuletide activities, such as Christmas bazaars, school nativity plays, carol singing round the huge Christmas tree in the market square, and children’s parties hosted by churches and assorted political parties. (My parents voted Labour, but I was not averse to going […]
HISTORIC CONTROVERSY: BIRTHPLACE OF JESUS
Some interesting speculation regarding the stable in Bethlehem. https://roberthorvat30.wordpress.com/2015/12/14/celebrating-christ-where-was-jesus-born/
HISTORY TIDBIT: CANDY CANES
When children open their stockings on Christmas morning, it’s quite common for a candy cane to be amongst the goodies therein. I was never quite sure why there was always one in mine since I’ve never liked the things, but, tradition will out. Hard candy sticks have been around for centuries, but it was in […]
HISTORIC FIRST: FIRST CHRISTMAS TREE LIGHTS
Pretty though they looked, the lighted candles that used to adorn Christmas trees were quite a fire hazard. Incandescent light bulbs came into being in 1879, and a year later, their inventor, Thomas Edison, celebrated the Christmas season by hanging strings of electric lights outside his laboratory. In 1882, Edison’s close friend, Edward H. Johnson, […]
Time Travelling With Kids 