Give to Wheels for the World This Christmas

      Joni Eareckson Tada is an evangelical Christian author, radio host, and founder of Joni and Friends, an organization "accelerating Christian ministry in the disability community."

Tada was born in 1949 in Baltimore, Maryland, the youngest of four daughters.

      As a teenager, Tada enjoyed riding horses, hiking, tennis, and swimming. On July 30, 1967, she dove into Chesapeake Bay after misjudging the shallowness of the water. She suffered a fracture between the fourth and fifth cervical levels and became a quadriplegic, paralysed from the shoulders down.

      During her two years of rehabilitation, according to her autobiography, she experienced anger, depression, suicidal thoughts, and religious doubts. However, Tada learned to paint with a brush between her teeth, and began selling her artwork. To date, she has written over forty books, recorded several musical albums, starred in an autobiographical movie of her life, and is an advocate for disabled people.

      Tada wrote of her experiences in her 1976 international best-selling autobiography, Joni, The unforgettable story of a young woman's struggle against quadriplegia & depression, which has been distributed in many languages. The book was made into a 1979 feature film of the same name, starring herself. Her second book, A Step Further, was released in 1978.

      She married Ken Tada in 1982. In 2010, she announced that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. She emerged successfully from cancer surgery and is hopeful of a positive prognosis.

      Tada founded Joni and Friends (JAF) in 1979, an organization for Christian ministry in the disabled community throughout the world. In 2006 the Joni and Friends International Disability Centre in Agoura California was established.

      Led by Tada and Doug Mazza, the Joni and Friends International Disability Center has four programs. Joni and Friends, a daily five minute radio program, heard in over 1,000 broadcast outlets. In 2002 it received the “Radio Program of the Year” award from National Religious Broadcasters. The Wounded Warrior program offers family retreats. Wheels for the World collects wheelchairs, which are refurbished by prison inmates and donated to people in developing nations where, physical therapists fit each chair to a needy disabled child or adult.

"Wheels for the World provides a free wheelchair, along with the Gospel of Jesus Christ to children and adults affected by disability worldwide. Visit www.joniandfriends.org/wheels-for-the-wo

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For The Christmas Goose

      "If you're looking for a stunning Christmas centrepiece, this roast goose recipe is it! The wild rice stuffing is deliciously different, studded with apples and nuts and flavoured with aromatic herbs. You could try using walnuts or pecans instead of hazelnuts, and in addition to apples you could add some dried currants. If there's any extra stuffing that doesn't fit in the goose cavity, simply place it in a buttered baking dish and bake covered for the last hour of cooking. "

 

Watch this video from AllrecipesUK to see how to roast a Christmas goose to perfection, complete with a delicious hazelnut, apple and wild rice stuffing. 

      Two excellent stuffings for the Christmas goose are made as follows: Mix two cupfuls of warm mashed potatoes with half a cupful of onion juice, half a cupful of walnut kernels rolled fine, a few spoonfuls of cream, a tablespoonful of butter, the yolk of two eggs and seasoning to taste. Mix well. Another is made with two cupfuls of bread crumbs, one large sour apple, a cupful each of raisins and boiled chestnuts, a stalk of celery and a small onion chopped fine, a large lump of butter, some pepper and salt and enough cream to give it the proper consistency. If more stuffing is made than needed, make the surplus into small balls and bake until golden brown, and use to garnish the platter. Apple sauce, or currant jelly is the proper accompaniment for goose. Try either of these stuffings and enjoy! (These two recipes date from 1911)

The Wassail Carols

"Here we come a-wassailing"

      Here We Come A-wassailing (or Here We Come A-caroling) is an English traditional Christmas carol and New Years song, apparently composed c. 1850. The old English wassail song refers to 'wassailing', or singing carols door to door wishing good health, while the a- is an archaic intensifying prefix; compare A-Hunting We Will Go and lyrics to The Twelve Days of Christmas (e.g., "Six geese a-laying").

      According to Readers Digest; "the Christmas spirit often made the rich a little more generous than usual, and bands of beggars and orphans used to dance their way through the snowy streets of England, offering to sing good cheer and to tell good fortune if the householder would give them a drink from his wassail bowl or a penny or a pork pie or, let them stand for a few minutes beside the warmth of his hearth. The wassail bowl itself was a hearty combination of hot ale or beer, apples, spices and mead, just alcoholic enough to warm tingling toes and fingers of the singers".

More Related Content:

• Lucie Skeaping investigates an ancient musical tradition
• Yule Songs and Feasting Songs
• Wassailing Through History from Colonial Williamsburg
• A Cup of Christmas Cheer by Anita Mae Draper
• Traditional cider: Here we come a-wassailing!
• Old Virginia Wassail Cider
• Traditional Wassailing (and, incidentally, Toasting)

"Wishing You and Yours a Very Happy New Years!
 I recorded all 4 parts using Garageband Application
 on my Macbook! Scenes are from around my backyard,
along the Oswego River,here in Upstate NY!"

"Oh, Here We Come a Wassailing"

      The tradition of wassailing (alt sp wasselling) falls into two distinct categories: The House-Visiting wassail and the Orchard-Visiting wassail. House-Visiting wassail, caroling by any other name, is the practice of people going door-to-door singing Christmas carols. The Orchard-Visiting wassail refers to the ancient custom of visiting orchards, reciting incantations and singing to the trees in apple orchards in cider-producing regions of England to promote a good harvest for the coming year.

      Some scholars prefer a pre-Christian explanation of the old traditional ceremony of wassailing. How far the tradition dates back is unknown but it has undeniable connections with Anglo-Saxon pagan ritual. Of recent times the word Wassail (from the Anglo-Saxon toast Wæs þu hæl, "be thou hale" — i.e., "be in good health") has come to be synonymous with Christmas. The word wassail is old English (OE) and so may predate the Norman conquest in 1066. According to the Oxford English Dictionary "waes hael" is the Middle English spelling parallel to OE "wes hal". The American Heritage Dictionary, fourth edition, gives Old Norse "ves heill" as the source of Middle English "waeshaeil". The correct response to the toast is Drinc hæl.

      Christmas was not celebrated anywhere before the third century, and only gradually moved northwards through Europe. It was probably the Normans who brought the celebration to England. Traditionally, the wassail is celebrated on Twelfth Night (mostly regarded as January 6, but more properly the evening of January 5). However most people insist on wassailing on 'Old Twelvey Night' (January 17) as that would have been the correct date before the introduction of the Gregorian Calendar in 1752.

      The practice has its roots in the middle ages as a reciprocal exchange between the feudal lords and their peasants as a form of recipient-initiated charitable giving, to be distinguished from begging. This point is made in the song "Here We Come A-Wassailing", when the wassailers inform the lord of the house that

"we are not daily beggars that beg from door to door but we are friendly neighbours whom you have seen before."

The lord of the manor would give food and drink to the peasants in exchange for their blessing and goodwill, i.e...

"Love and joy come to you,

And to you your wassail too;

And God bless you and send you

a Happy New Year"

... which would be given in the form of the song being sung. Wassailing is the background practice against which an English carol such as "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" dating back to sixteenth century England, can be made sense of. The carol lies in the English tradition where wealthy people of the community gave Christmas treats to the carolers on Christmas Eve such as 'figgy puddings'.

      Although wassailing is often described in innocuous and sometimes nostalgic terms, the practice in England has not always been considered so innocent. Wassailing was associated with rowdy bands of young men who would enter the homes of wealthy neighbors and demand free food and drink in a trick-or-treat fashion. If the householder refused, he was usually cursed, and occasionally his house was vandalized. The example of the exchange is seen in their demand for "figgy pudding" and "good cheer", i.e., the wassail beverage, without which the wassailers in the song will not leave; "We won't go until we get some, so bring some out here."

Above is a recipe for Wassail cooking over the stove, 7 pints of brown ale,
 1 bottle of dry sherry, cinnamon stick, ground ginger,
ground nutmeg, lemon slices.

      In the cider-producing West of England (primarily the counties of Devon, Somerset, Dorset, Gloucestershire and Herefordshire) wassailing also refers to drinking (and singing) the health of trees in the hopes that they might better thrive.

      An old rhyme goes: “Wassaile the trees, that they may beare / You many a Plum and many a Peare: / For more or lesse fruits they will bring, / As you do give them Wassailing.”

      The purpose of wassailing is to awake the cider apple trees and to scare away evil spirits to ensure a good harvest of fruit in the Autumn.{"England In Particular", Common Ground 2007} The ceremonies of each wassail vary from village to village but they generally all have the same core elements. A wassail King and Queen lead the song and/or a processional tune to be played/sung from one orchard to the next, the wassail Queen will then be lifted up into the boughs of the tree where she will place toast soaked in Wassail from the Clayen Cup as a gift to the tree spirits (and to show the fruits created the previous year). Then an incantation is usually recited such as

      “Here's to thee, old apple tree, That blooms well, bears well. Hats full, caps full, Three bushel bags full, An' all under one tree. Hurrah! Hurrah!”

      Then the assembled crowd will sing and shout and bang drums and pots & pans and generally make a terrible racket until the gunsmen give a great final volley through the branches to make sure the work is done and then off to the next orchard. Perhaps unbeknown to the general public, this ancient English tradition is still very much thriving today. The West Country is the most famous and largest cider producing region of the country and some of the most important wassails are held annually in Carhampton (Somerset) and Whimple (Devon), both on 17 January (old Twelfth Night).

Clevedon (North Somerset) holds an annual Wassailing event in the popularly attended Clevedon Community Orchard, combining the traditional elements of the festival with the entertainment and music of the Bristol Morris Men and their cantankerous Horse.

      Private readings about people in Somerset in the 1800s revealed that inhabitants of Somerset practiced the old Wassailing Ceremony, singing the following lyrics after drinking the cider until they were "merry and gay:"

      "Apple tree, apple tree, we all come to wassail thee, Bear this year and next year to bloom and to blow, Hat fulls, cap fulls, three cornered sack fills, Hip, Hip, Hip, hurrah, Holler biys, holler hurrah."

A folktale from Somerset reflecting this custom tells of the "Apple Tree Man", the spirit of the oldest apple tree in an orchard, and in whom the fertility of the orchard is said to reside. In the tale a man offers his last mug of mulled cider to the trees in his orchard and is rewarded by the Apple Tree Man who reveals to him the location of buried treasure.

 

"Print this recipe for Fireside Wassail. A wonderful holiday spiced drink brought to you by BoydTV and FireplaceVideosHD.com. This is a non-alcoholic variation of a traditional yule time classic. A perfect hot juice drink for those cold winter nights or family gatherings. Sometimes spelled Wassel."

FIRESIDE WASSAIL (a.k.a. Hot Weasel)

2 Quarts Apple Cider

2 Cups Pineapple Juice

2 Cups Orange Juice

¾ Cup Lemon Juice

½ Cup Sugar

2 Cinnamon Sticks

12 Whole Cloves

Cheesecloth

Optional Garnishes:
- Cinnamon sticks
- Lemon slices
- Whole cloves

      "Tie 12 cloves and 2 cinnamon sticks in a cheesecloth bag. Combine spice bag, apple cider, juices, and sugar in a Dutch oven, stirring well; cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Discard the spice bag. Pour wassail into serving mugs and serve hot. If desired, garnish each serving with a cinnamon stick and a lemon slice studded with whole cloves. YIELD: About 3 Quarts"

Christmas Stationary Perfect for A Letter to Santa

      Need to print stationary for that special letter either to or from Santa? Below I've included some lovely printables for this very purpose: in black, red or green. Don't forget to keep your child's letter to Santa in a scrapbook. If she or he expects to send one, just print another as a copy to send.

Include Cotton Batting and Powdered Mica in Your Christmas Decor!

Novel Ways of Trimming Interiors For The Holiday, 1899 American Press Association

      A Christmas without snow is not always a pleasant season. With our variable climate and the passing away of the good old fashioned winter of our grandfathers the "beautiful" can no longer be relied upon as an accessory to Christmastide celebrations.

      A New York artist who has the happy faculty of thinking out such things for himself has adopted a plan in his own house which has always a congenial Christmas within doors, no matter what the weather may be without.

      This plan for converting a home into a grotto of boreal attractiveness is as follows: When it is decided in which room the Christmas tree is to be erected, a white sheet should be spread over the carpet, covering the entire floor of the room. The picture molding should then be draped with bunches of cotton batting and sprinkled with powdered mica to represent snow. About the sashee of the windows also should be bunched masses of this glistening cotton wool.

      The Christmas tree itself should stand in a snow bank, and its boughs should be laden with flecks of the "beautiful" spread about as generously as though it were standing in a Maine forest in midwinter.

      The effect of such unique and at the same time inexpensive decoration is marvelous. It brightens and lights and cheers a room in a most wonderful manner. If there are a number of pictures in the room, the frames of these can also be done in white cotton wool and touches added wherever such would in crease the wintery illusion.

      This sort of decoration should be most acceptable in the south, where Christmas often comes without snow. It must be remembered, however, that this sort of decoration should not be left up after Christmas day. The white cotton very soon becomes dusty and draggled, and when once in this condition the charm is lost. The accompanying illustration will give a good idea of the general effect of a room so decorated.

      It is also fit and proper that the dining room should be well decorated on Christmas day. Ropes of evergreen, which can either be made at home with very little trouble or purchased from the dealers, should be suspended from the chandelier in the center of the room and caught up at its four different corners. The frames of the pictures should also be decorated with greens, and if there happens to be any old Dutch plates hanging on the walls a very pretty effect can be obtained by surrounding them with a holly wreath. These wreaths should be so made that the green will be on the outside of the circle and the berries inside next to the plates.

      Another unique idea is to have a number of well made holly wreaths in which to set the plates on the table during the Christmas dinner. Somewhere about the room, of course, should be the indispensable spray of mistletoe. If it is put on the chandelier over the table, the best part of the Christmas celebration is likely to be missed, as one can scarcely expect a young lady to climb up on a table, no matter how much she --well, we need not say the rest, but it stands to reason that the portiere or the arch over the door is the best place for the white berried parasite.

      Holly wreaths should also be hung in the different windows. In doing this a very fine wire should be used, tying the wreath to the window fastener so that it will hang exactly in the middle of the lower casement.     

Novel ways of decorating with cotton and bling today. Watch Annabelle's Cotton Candy Christmas Tree. The tree is white and flocked and filled to the brim with sweet long lasting treats!

More Decorating With Cotton:  

• From Snowy White Chairs to a Pimped Out Staircase: How to Decorate Like a Celeb This Christmas
• Ultimate Christmas Room Inspiration!
• How to flock a Christmas tree
• Cotton Batting Christmas Ornaments
• Craft an Old World Cotton Batting Santa

How To Make A German Feather Tree

An antique feather tree with wooden stand.

      A feather Christmas tree is a type of artificial Christmas tree that is one of the first artificial trees ever manufactured by cottage industry in Western Europe. They originated in Germany in the late 19th century and became semi-popular in the United States during the early 20th century.

      In the 1880s or 1890s there grew several environmental concerns involving the deforestation associated with the harvest of Christmas trees in Germany and so the handcrafting of feather trees grew into a popular alternative. The branches were made from sturdy wire and could hold many ornaments. The pine needles were made from goose feathers, that could also be dyed any color under the sun, thereby making the trees desirable as decorative items among more adventurous consumers.

       Although white, pink, and pale blue trees could be found among city dwellers in the later years of production, feather trees were initially made of green-dyed goose feathers which were attached to wire branches. The feathers were split and then secured with wire to form the branches. These wire branches were then wrapped around a central dowel which acted as the trunk. The branches were often widely spaced to keep the real candles clamped on the branches from starting a fire.

      The trees were stored separately from the stands. These stands were either made from turned wooden parts or metal cast music boxes. The fanciest music box stands would also rotate the tree as a little Christmas tune played. 

      Germans also built tiny elaborate villages to set beneath their feather trees. These were and still are called "putz" in Germany. The term was derived from the German verb putzen, which means "to clean" or "to decorate." The Nativity or the Journey of The Holy Family are the most common themes represented beneath German Christmas trees. Germans collect and add new figures to their putz every year and some older collections include many contemporary figures and farm animals that would not realistically be found in a traditional Nativity scene.

How to make a holiday feather tree in the German tradition.

      The enthusiasm for Christmas feather trees was brought to the United States by German immigrants in places such as Pennsylvania and Texas. Benefits touted for feather trees included the elimination of a trip to the tree lot and the lack of shed needles. Today, feather Christmas trees are valued as collectible antiques although there are small companies that still produce and sell them in the United States. 

Find Feather Trees:

• The Christmas Haus
• Tinsel and Feather Trees
• The Vermont Country Store
• My Old Historic House
• Feather Tree Kits

Include Cherry Hut Jellies in That Christmas Stocking!

      Something very sweet and special that my family includes both at the Christmas breakfast table and stuffed into the adult's stockings is Cherry Hut jelly or jam. Our family has vacationed in Northern Michigan for many summers and we never miss multiple visits to The Cherry Hut for cherry pie a la mode. I then usually sneak to the counter to purchase a few Christmas treats while the family is still lingering over their coffee. They have an online shop here.

Make your own jellies and jams for Christmas stockings:

• How to Make Jam, step-by-step
• Canning 101 and Strawberry 
• Kauffmans Homemade Amish Jams, Jellies, Salsa and Pickles
• I love the Amish Grocery in Jamesport, Missouri and often visit there to stock up on homemade jellies and jams for Christmas stockings.
• 100+ Homemade Jam, Jelly & Marmalade Recipes

Parlor Game: Jolly Cobweb Party

I actually hosted several parties for my children when they were young and played this game. It was a real crowd-pleaser.

      "A friend of Polly Evans did something last Christmas that was fine. She gave a Cobweb Party.

      This was really no new idea; cobweb parties were quite the fashion a good many years ago. For the boys and girls of to-day, however, it is a rather novel idea.

      She assembled all her guests in the large drawing room. Here each one was given the end of a string and told to follow the string to the other end, where he would find his gift. These gifts--oh! were they not hidden? In nooks of the attic, in corners of the cellar--here, there everywhere!

      The strings crossed and recrossed each other, and led through nearly every room and hallway in the house.

      You can imagine how often and how unexpectedly the various searchers came face to face and struggled to separate their intertwined strings. 

      The strings were of various colors, so as to be the more easily distinguished for each other. 

      Altogether, the Cobweb Party was a charming success. If not too late, why not try it yourselves to-day? " St. Paul Globe, December 25, 1904

Birds and Animals Share Christmas

      Christmas is not merely a festival celebrated by and for man alone. Among the folk lore of other countries are several quaint stories in which animals and birds give evidence of their adoration. A well-known Bosnian legend offers a version of world adoration --they claim that on the holy day "the sun in the east bowed down, the stars stood still; the mountains and forests shook and touched the earth with their summits, and the green pine tree bent; the grass was beflowered with the opening of blossoms; incense sweet as myrrh pervaded upland and forest; birds sang on the mountain tops and all gave thanks to the great God."

      In Bosnia on Christmas day a sheaf of rye is put into birds' nests and bird houses for the birds' Christmas. A stranger, stranded in a Michigan town was once startled to see a sheaf of rye in a bird box. He knew immediately that one of his kind lived there and was keeping Christmas in the old way.

      An old Indian (Native American) legend tells us that on Christmas night all the deer in the forest kneel in adoration before the Great Spirit. Woe to him, however, who tries to spy upon them. He is punished with perpetual stiffening of the knees.

      Many people of the old world claim that on Christmas night animals are gifted with speech, but none must trespass or eavesdrop.

More Related Content:

• Beautiful Slide Show of Old Serbian Orthodox Christmas 
• Iryna Bilay: In straw weaving each component means something
• Lejlas Story Operation Christmas Child, Bosnian girl, shoe box gift
• Birds in winter by Mrs. A. A. Whetstone

Craft A Wool Lollipop Christmas Ornament

The finished wool lollipop looks surprisingly attractive, I think. This project is ordinarily crafted by little ones, but it just goes to show that the quality of materials can change the appearance of a craft dramatically! I intended to sell these at a fair but my adult children absconded them after I took these photographs.

       This spiral Christmas lollipop craft is just sophisticated enough for ages 10 and up to enjoy making. Indeed, adult crafters may even wish to use up their old supply of yarn making these ornaments for a Christmas craft fair. The quality of yarn will dictate the pricing of this handcrafted ornament. 

      Simply braid two or three colors of yarn together and then twist the braid into a lollipop shape, taping the back with masking tape as you form the spiral disk. You will need to make two, identical shapes for one ornament. Sandwich a wooden dowel between the two with a sticky craft glue and then finish the edges with more braid glued along the edge. Allow this to dry for a day and then reinforce the braid with a transparent thread by hand. Wrap up your lollipop with plastic or cellophane and tie it in place with a bow. If you wish to hang the lollipop as an ornament. twist a plain green wire behind the bow and leave enough length to it so that the pop may be tied to the tree.

Left to right: The braided woolen yarn; choose any length you wish depending on the size of your lollipop. A wooden dowel rod or chop sticks may be used for the handle. Then make two identical disk shapes with the yarn. As you twist these together back the disk shape with masking tape. And last, you can see that I've sandwiched the dowel rod between the braided disk shapes to create a professional looking ornament. Don't forget to add extra braid on the edge.

 The Chordettes sing "Lollipop" & "Mr. Sandman"

 Saturday Night Beech-Nut Show. February 22, 1958. Re-uploaded by request. Both performances included in this upload instead of being separated.

More Lollipop Crafts:

• How to make a tissue paper lollipop
• Circles Lollipop
• Plastic bottle cap lollipops

Crafting Seed Ornaments for The Christmas Tree

Click on picture to see more detail.

   I made these seed ornaments by tracing around cookie cutters on top of some heavy weight cardboard. Then I applied a generous amount of white glue to one side of the cardboard and  arranged all kinds of peas, beans, rice and lentils in a design that pleased me. 

   Allow the glue to dry for a few days before brushing on additional coats of Mod Podge to the surface of these ornaments to preserve them. Then cover the back side of each ornament with heavy brown paper, sandwiching a rustic looking brown cord between the the two layers.

   This ornament project is an excellent craft for very young children during the holidays. It will preoccupy them for an entire afternoon while their parents are busy in the kitchen.

More Seed Crafts from My Blogs:

• Dangling Nut Head People
• A Walnut Strawberry Ornament
• A bean and seed mosaic
• Necklaces and Garlands made from seeds
• Eggs covered with seeds and beans

More Seed Ornaments For The Birds:

• DIY Birdseed Wreaths  - artistic and useful for the birds
• Cheerio Bird Feeder - Little ones can string these for fun
• Orange Bird Feeder  - an excellent use for fruits that weren't eaten soon enough
• Ginger Bird House - Feed the birds instead of your sweet tooth!

"God bless us every one!"

I've cleaned these lovely drawings from Arthur Rackham's illustrated version of "The Christmas Carol." If you use them, please give our little Christmas Journal a link in return.

Rackham's silhouettes from Charles Dicken's "A Christmas Carol."

Tiny Tim seated on his father's, Bob Cratchit, shoulders.

Tiny Tim and Bob Cratchit illustration by Arthur Rackham.

Christmas Silhouette Crafts:

• Christmas Silhouette 2010
• Christmas Silhouette greeting card
• Christmas Silhouette clipart by Kathy Grimm

"Carol of the Bells"

      "Carol of the Bells" is a popular Christmas carol, composed by Mykola Leontovych with lyrics created Peter J. Wilhousky. The song is based on a folk chant known in Ukrainian as "Shchedryk". Wilhousky's lyrics and the English name are copyrighted, although the original musical composition is not.

      The song is recognized by a four-note ostinato motif. It has been arranged many times for different genres, styles of singing and settings and has been covered by artists and groups of many genres: classical, metal, jazz, rock, and pop. The piece has also been featured in films, television shows, and parodies.

      The song is based on a traditional folk chant. It was associated with the coming New Year which, in pre-Christian Ukraine, was originally celebrated with the coming of Spring in April. (This explains the reason why the original Ukrainian text speaks about a swallow returning and lambs being born.)

      With the introduction of Christianity to Ukraine, and the adoption of the Julian calendar, the celebration of the New Year was moved from April to January, and the holiday with which the chant was originally associated became the Feast of Epiphany (also known in Ukrainian as Shchedry vechir). The songs sung for this celebration are known as Schedrivky.

      The original Ukrainian text tells the tale of a swallow flying into a household to proclaim the plentiful and bountiful year that the family will have. The title is derived from the Ukrainian word for "bountiful". The period for the birth of animals and the return of swallows to Ukraine however does not correspond to the current calendar season of winter.

1. "Quote from Rice University News". Media.rice.edu. Retrieved 2011-11-30.
2.  Carol of the Bells, Sean Spurr, Carols.co, Accessed July 26, 2011.
3. "Information about the piece". Cpdl.org. Retrieved 2011-11-30.
4. "The Muppets: Ringing of the Bells". YouTube. 2009-12-10. Retrieved 2012-01-09.

"Nimble Nicks" by George Whitney

      I've cleaned up these old "Nimble Nicks" by George Whitney for my visitors. If you use them, please give this little Christmas blog a link in return folks!

Nimble Nicks play in the snow.

Nimble Nicks Spread Christmas Cheer!

Nimble Nicks build toys for Santa.

More About George Whitney:

• The Nimble Nicks of Christmas Land

Berner Haselnusslebkuchen

Self-made photograph of a gingerbread showing the coat of arms of Bern.

      Berner Haselnusslebkuchen are Lebkuchen – traditional Christmas cakes – from Berne, Switzerland. Made from ground hazelnuts, they are not to be confused with the Berner Honiglebkuchen, another Bernese specialty.

      The Berner Haselnusslebkuchen are made of a marzipan-like mass of roasted and ground hazelnuts and about one eighth ground almonds, as well as a little sugar, honey, cinnamon, candied lemon and orange peel, held together by egg white. The addition of water or flour is not necessary, as the oil in the hazelnuts helps the mass stick together. The grinding of the hazelnuts requires extensive experience: if ground too hard, the hazelnut oils will liquefy and evaporate during baking, making the Lebkuchen hard like a zwieback.

      The hazelnut mass is rolled out into a spread of dough 12 millimeters (0.47 in) thick. The baker may then cut out DIN A5-sized rectangular pieces and press them into a form traditionally depicting a bear, Berne's heraldic animal (pictured above). He may also use cookie cutters in the shapes of a bear or Santa Claus, or he may cut the dough into small rectangular pieces called Leckerli. The Lebkuchen are then allowed to dry for a few hours, during which the crystallizing sugar forms a faint crust on the dough's surface. Afterwards, they are baked at 200 °C (392 °F) for 10 to 15 minutes. A well-made Haselnusslebkuchen should be crunchy on the outside, but remain soft and moist within. The Lebkuchen may then be decorated further with icing, hazelnuts or almonds.

"One of Switzerland's best-loved Christmas specialities -Lebkuchen or gingerbread cake - was first made by monks with access to exotic spices from the Mediterranean. Every canton has its own recipe, but one of the most popular contains roasted hazelnuts. It's made right here in Bern by the Tschirren confectioners, and exported all over the world. (swissinfo, Julie Hunt)"

      A sweet similar to the Haselnusslebkuchen, although still containing some flour, is first described in the 1835 Neues Berner Kochbuch, a cookbook by Lina Rytz. During the 19th and early 20th century, Bernese cookbooks record numerous recipes for Haselnussleckerli or Bernerläckerli, indicating that the sweet was initially only produced in the small Leckerli form, with the larger rectangular forms coming into use only in the second half of the 20th century. The now-common name of Haselnusslebkuchen is first used in a 1946 baker's manual.

      The Lebkuchen's expensive ingredients such as hazelnuts and sugar indicate that it was always a gift article and a holiday sweet – up until the later 19th century, sugar was largely unaffordable for the Bernese working class. Haselnusslebkuchen continue to be made by bakers in the entire canton of Berne during December. In the city of Berne, where tourists provide for a steady demand, they can be bought all year round.

Haselnussleckerli, the smaller variant of the Haselnusslebkuchen.

Lebkuchen Recipes:

• Lebkuchen from BBC Good Food
• German Lebkuchen from allrecipes 
• Compound cookies 

The Legendary Gift Givers

      A number of figures are associated with Christmas and the seasonal giving of gifts. Among these are Father Christmas, also known as Santa Claus (derived from the Dutch for Saint Nicholas), Père Noël, and the Weihnachtsmann; Saint Nicholas or Sinterklaas; the Christkind; Kris Kringle; Joulupukki; Babbo Natale; Saint Basil; and Father Frost.

      The best known of these figures today is red-dressed Santa Claus, of diverse origins. The name Santa Claus can be traced back to the Dutch Sinterklaas, which means simply Saint Nicholas. Nicholas was Bishop of Myra, in modern day Turkey, during the 4th century. Among other saintly attributes, he was noted for the care of children, generosity, and the giving of gifts. His feast on December 6 came to be celebrated in many countries with the giving of gifts.

      Saint Nicholas traditionally appeared in bishop's attire, accompanied by helpers, inquiring about the behaviour of children during the past year before deciding whether they deserved a gift or not. By the 13th century, Saint Nicholas was well known in the Netherlands, and the practice of gift-giving in his name spread to other parts of central and southern Europe. At the Reformation in 16th–17th century Europe, many Protestants changed the gift bringer to the Christ Child or Christkindl, corrupted in English to Kris Kringle, and the date of giving gifts changed from December 6 to Christmas Eve.

Above, an old postcard of Santa Claus bearing
 gifts for good boys and girls.

      The modern popular image of Santa Claus, however, was created in the United States, and in particular in New York. The transformation was accomplished with the aid of notable contributors including Washington Irving and the German-American cartoonist Thomas Nast (1840–1902). Following the American Revolutionary War, some of the inhabitants of New York City sought out symbols of the city's non-English past. New York had originally been established as the Dutch colonial town of New Amsterdam and the Dutch Sinterklaas tradition was reinvented as Saint Nicholas.

      In 1809, the New-York Historical Society convened and retroactively named Sancte Claus the patron saint of Nieuw Amsterdam, the Dutch name for New York City. At his first American appearance in 1810, Santa Claus was drawn in bishops' robes. However as new artists took over, Santa Claus developed more secular attire. Nast drew a new image of "Santa Claus" annually, beginning in 1863. By the 1880s, Nast's Santa had evolved into the robed, fur clad, form we now recognize, perhaps based on the English figure of Father Christmas. The image was standardized by advertisers in the 1920s.

      Father Christmas, a jolly, well nourished, bearded man who typified the spirit of good cheer at Christmas, predates the Santa Claus character. He is first recorded in early 17th century England, but was associated with holiday merrymaking and drunkenness rather than the bringing of gifts. In Victorian Britain, his image was remade to match that of Santa. The French Père Noël evolved along similar lines, eventually adopting the Santa image. In Italy, Babbo Natale acts as Santa Claus, while La Befana is the bringer of gifts and arrives on the eve of the Epiphany. It is said that La Befana set out to bring the baby Jesus gifts, but got lost along the way. Now, she brings gifts to all children. In some cultures Santa Claus is accompanied by Knecht Ruprecht, or Black Peter. In other versions, elves make the toys. His wife is referred to as Mrs. Claus.

Santa is checking his list inside this
 cozy wreath by candle light.

      There has been some opposition to the narrative of the American evolution of Saint Nicholas into the modern Santa. It has been claimed that the Saint Nicholas Society was not founded until 1835, almost half a century after the end of the American War of Independence. Moreover, a study of the "children's books, periodicals and journals" of New Amsterdam by Charles Jones revealed no references to Saint Nicholas or Sinterklaas. However, not all scholars agree with Jones's findings, which he reiterated in a booklength study in 1978; Howard G. Hageman, of New Brunswick Theological Seminary, maintains that the tradition of celebrating Sinterklaas in New York was alive and well from the early settlement of the Hudson Valley on.

      Current tradition in several Latin American countries (such as Venezuela and Colombia) holds that while Santa makes the toys, he then gives them to the Baby Jesus, who is the one who actually delivers them to the children's homes, a reconciliation between traditional religious beliefs and the iconography of Santa Claus imported from the United States.

      In South Tyrol (Italy), Austria, Czech Republic, Southern Germany, Hungary, Liechtenstein, Slovakia and Switzerland, the Christkind (Ježíšek in Czech, Jézuska in Hungarian and Ježiško in Slovak) brings the presents. Greek children get their presents from Saint Basil on New Year's Eve, the eve of that saint's liturgical feast. The German St. Nikolaus is not identical with the Weihnachtsmann (who is the German version of Santa Claus/Father Christmas). St. Nikolaus wears a bishop's dress and still brings small gifts (usually candies, nuts and fruits) on December 6 and is accompanied by Knecht Ruprecht. Although many parents around the world routinely teach their children about Santa Claus and other gift bringers, some have come to reject this practice, considering it deceptive. Wikipedia

Pizzelle Cookies

      Pizzelle (pronounced with ts sound, like "pizza") (singular pizzella) are traditional Italian waffle cookies made from flour, eggs, sugar, butter or vegetable oil, and flavoring (often vanilla, anise, or lemon zest). Pizzelle can be hard and crisp or soft and chewy depending on the ingredients and method of preparation. 

      Pizzelle were originally made in the Abruzzo region of south-central Italy. The name comes from the Italian word for "round" and "flat" (pizze); this is also the meaning of the word pizza. Many other cultures have developed a pizzelle-type cookie as part of their culture (for example, the Norwegian Krumkake). It is known to be one of the oldest cookies, and is believed to have developed from the ancient Roman crustulum. Pizzelle are known as ferratelle in the Lazio region of Italy. In Molise they may be called ferratelle, cancelle, or pizzelle.

      The cookie dough or batter is put into a pizzelle iron, which resembles a waffle iron. The pizzelle iron is held by hand over a hot burner on the stovetop, although some models are electric and require no stove. Typically, the iron stamps a snowflake pattern onto both sides of the thin golden-brown cookie, which has a crisp texture once it is cooled. There are also several brands of ready-made pizzelle available in stores. Pizzelle shaped into a cannolo and filled with an orange-almond creme 

      Pizzelle are popular during Christmas and Easter. They are often found at Italian weddings, alongside other traditional pastries such as cannoli and traditional Italian cookies. 

      It's also common for two pizzelle to be sandwiched with cannoli cream (ricotta blended with sugar) or hazelnut spread. Pizzelle, while still warm, can also be rolled using a wooden dowel to create cannoli shells

More About Pizzelle Cookies:

• Pizzelle Traditions
• History of Cookies

More Links to Christmas Sweets:

• Cookies and Milk For Santa and Me!

Two New Coupons for Personal Hygiene

Give a coupon for a pedicure at your favorite spa for Christmas.

Here is another coupon for a haircut or shave at the local barber's shop. My father in law would appreciate these two coupons for Christmas.

"Honey Do Handyman" Coupons

A "Honey Do Handyman" coupon for indoor repairs or chores in black and white.

       These printable "Honey Do Handyman" coupons make the perfect gift for your special someone. Give them at Christmas or any other time of the year for that matter.

A "Honey Do Handyman" coupon for outside repairs or chores in black and white.

Christmas Coupon for Mending And Sewing

      Do you have a special talent with a needle and a thread? You could give that skill as a gift for the upcoming holiday season. Gifts don't need to be a product; you can share the gift of your time or talents with those in need of a little extra attention. Many times members of my extended family ask me for sewing favors. They need a button sewn on or a zipper repaired etc... So I set aside a little time within the season to make these kinds of simple repairs to their clothing while they relax and watch a ball game or talk over coffee. You can slip this little coupon inside a card or stocking to serve as a reminder that you are willing to help someone with your sewing talents as well.

Christmas Coupons for Coffee and Donuts

Coupon for coffee and commiseration, black and white.

Give the gift of good coffee and candid conversation this Christmas. It is both affordable and will build solid relationships.

Coupon for coffee and donuts, black and white.

Christmas Coupons for A New Set of Tires

Full of Life tire coupon, vertical in black and white.

      Clip and print one of these coupons to stuff into a special gift for your adult child for Christmas. The gift of safety on the open road is by far superior to make-up or DVDs! In our home, several of the retired adults prefer to give more practical gifts for Christmas. For many years I have both received this gift personally and have also seen other very needy folks awarded the same kindness by those family members who have more lucrative incomes.

Survive the Open Road tire coupon, horizontal in black and white.

A Christmas Gift Tag Just for Dad!

Here's a little gift tag just for Dad; print it out and decorate his gifts for Christmas this year!

Dressing The Tree in 1902

This old illustration from 1870,
Harper's Bazaar depicts real candles
attached to a living Christmas tree.

How it May Be Done to Secure The Best Effects

      The Woman's Home Companion gives some hints on decorating a Christmas tree safely. It is well known that when tapers are fixed to the laden branches, after the gifts are taken off the lightened boughs spring up and often set each other on fire. The mode indicated here avoids all that. 

      "First," says the Companion, "thin cut the branches sufficiently to allow the gifts to show to good advantage. Then with an auger bore holes in a spiral row about four or five inches apart the whole length of the trunk. Have some flat sticks prepared, an inch wide and half an inch thick, and of varing lengths. Sharpen one end, and insert them according to their graduated lengths, giving each a blow or two with a hammer to insure its being firmly fixed. Paint them green. At the outer end the candle holder is firmly fixed."

      To the topmost branch before the tree is put up, affix the "Christ-child" --the winged doll, secured by slight rubber bands under the wings. Gilt paper stars and crescents are pretty, affixed here and there to the boughs. Gay silk and tarleton bags full of nuts and candy, oranges and apples, bundles of stick candy tied with ribbons, little baskets and cornucopias of figs and raisins, gilded walnuts, popcorn balls, strings of popcorn and cranberries, candy canes, paper chains--all these and other things they will suggest will decorate a tree so prettily that the children for whose pleasure it is constructed will forget, in their delight, that it is not weighted down with costly gifts. The Banner-Democrat. (Lake Providence, East Carroll Parish, La.), 25 Dec. 1902.

Decorating Early Christmas Trees:

• Christmas Tree Decoration and It's History
• Christmas Tree Traditions
• The Chronological History of The Christmas Tree

Assemble Victorian Scrap Ornaments for Christmas Fairs

Above is a photo of a Victorian child all bundled up
for Winter in her lovely white wool. I layered these
 images with tinsel rosettes and purchased glittery
snowflakes to create my version of this classic
 Victorian scrap ornament.     

       Sometimes I assemble Victorian scrap ornaments for Christmas fairs. These particular versions are both simple and inexpensive to assemble. I do not sell them for much, only a few dollars each. Whenever you are preparing for a craft fair, it is best to create a wide variety of Christmas ornaments that are priced from $2.00 and up. Some of my ornaments sell for $25.00 dollars and others for pocket change. This is because all kinds of people visit craft fairs. Some of them are looking for truely unique, one-of-a-kind pieces, but there are always patrons that spend more impulsively or that are looking for inexpensive trims for packages. The latter are the folks that I supply Victorian scrap to because these ornaments costs me very little time, energy, and supply to craft. Most folks who attend craft fairs rarely consider profit margins for artisans. Americans are so familiar with purchasing items from manufactures that they have unrealistic expectations when it comes to buying handmade product. They do not take into account the labor or the initial costs in the acquisition of materials. However, if you wish to profit from such ventures, these are important considerations to make on your own. You need to develop product that satisfies the impulsive nature of some folks in order to compete with what they are most familiar with. Don't waste time producing too much inexpensive product though, just have a bit of it for those who expect it. Spend more time producing collectable pieces, for this is the reason to attend excellent craft fairs after all.

       Above you can see that I printed Victorian scrap ladies and then cut them to layer on top of purchased glittery feathers. I cleaned images myself in Photoshop. These were in the public domain and are easy to find all over the internet.

       The finale Christmas ornaments were crafted and assembled for the Christmas fair that I attended last year. I displayed the ornaments in a giant, shallow cardboard box. The box was wrapped in a subtle brown paper so that the full attention of the customers would be focused on the product. I also filled the bottom of the box with wood shavings supplied by my husband's woodworking interests. The shavings added a subtle, pleasant odor and also gave a kind of a folksy ambiance to my displays that year.

• How to Successfully Price Your Crafts
• Save Time and Money, Choose Profitable Crafts
• How to Sell at Craft Fairs and Shows