Ahh, Rudolph--

Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer

The Chicago-based Montgomery Ward company, department store operators, had been purchasing and distributing children’s coloring books as Christmas gifts for their customers for several years. In 1939, Montgomery Ward tapped one of their own employees to create a book for them, thus saving money. 34-year old copywriter Robert L. May wrote the story of Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer in 1939, and 2.4 million copies were handed out that year. Despite the wartime paper shortage, over 6 million copies had been distributed by 1946.

May drew in part on the story “The Ugly Duckling” and in part from his own experiences as an often taunted, small, frail youth to create the story of the misfit reindeer. Though Rollo and Reginald were considered, May settled on Rudolph as his reindeer’s name.

Writing in verse as a series of rhyming couplets, May tested the story as he went along on his 4-year old daughter Barbara, who loved the story

Sadly, Robert Mays wife died around the time he was creating Rudolph, leaving Mays deeply in debt due to medical bills. However, he was able to persuade Sewell Avery, Montgomery Ward’s corporate president, to turn the copyright over to him in January 1947, thus ensuring May’s financial security.

May’s story “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” was printed commercially in 1947 and in 1948 a nine-minute cartoon of the story was shown in theaters. When May’s brother-in-law, songwriter Johnny Marks, wrote the lyrics and melody for the song “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”, the Rudolph phenomenon was born. Turned down by many musical artists afraid to contend with the legend of Santa Claus, the song was recorded by Gene Autry in 1949 at the urging of Autry’s wife. The song sold two million copies that year, going on to become one of the best-selling songs of all time, second only to Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas”. The 1964 television special about Rudolph, narrated by Burl Ives, remains a holiday favorite to this day and Rudolph himself has become a much-loved Christmas icon.

Why Christmas Trees Are Decorated?

The Christmas tree is a strong symbol of Christmas. It serves as the family’s center of attention. In fact, it is the center of most Christmas ceremonies all over the world.

Christmas is about traditions and memories, and symmetric and beautifully decorated Christmas trees are something that the entire family will always value and remember. Every year, between 25 and 30 million Americans celebrate Christmas with Christmas trees, thus, the scent of a freshly cut Christmas tree enlivens the Christmas spirit among most Americans.

Christmas trees have a long and exciting history. During the pre-Christian era, people and tribes often had holy groves and trees where they sacrificed to the gods. The trees were most often oak or ash, and they symbolized a connection between heaven and earth. Similar ideas are found in the Old Testament – trees symbolized wisdom and life.

In the 15th and 16th centuries, German tradesmen began to hold parties where a spruce was placed inside a home. Another story tells of how the German theologian and reformer, Martin Luther, put candles on the leaves as symbols of the stars twinkling among the forest’s trees. In the 17th century, the tradition of decorated Christmas trees in connection with festivities spread out to the German towns, and from there, to other parts of Europe.

Even if the first Christmas tree in the USA, perhaps, can be traced all the way back to 1777, Christmas trees did not become popular in the USA until the middle of the 18th century. An image of the English royal family standing in front of a Christmas tree was copied and brought to the USA in 1850. This resulted in the American upper classes embracing the Christmas tree. In the following decades, the tradition of Christmas trees in living rooms became popular among the rest of the population.

Why Are Red And Green Colors of Christmas?

Evergreen plants, like Holly, Ivy and Mistletoe have been used for thousands of years to decorate and brighten up buildings during the long dark winter. They also reminded people that spring would come and that winter wouldn't last forever!

The Romans would exchange evergreen branches during January as a sign of good luck. The ancient Egyptians used to bring palm branches into their houses during the mid winter festivals. In many parts of Europe during the middle ages, Paradise plays were performed, often on Christmas Eve. They told Bible stories to people who couldn't read. The 'Paradise Tree' in the garden of eden in the play was normally a pine tree with red apples tied to it.

Now the most common use of green at Christmas are Christmas Trees.

As mentioned above, an early use of red at Christmas were the apples on the paradise tree. They represented the fall of Adam in the plays. Red is also the color of Holly berries, which is said to represent the blood of Jesus when he died on the cross. Red is also the color of Bishops robes. These would have been worn by St. Nicholas and then also became Santa's uniform!

Gold is the color of the Sun and light - both very important in the dark winter. And both red and gold are the colors of fire that you need to keep you warm.

Gold was also one of the presents brought to the baby Jesus by one of the wise men and traditionally it's the color used to show the star that the wise men followed.

Silver is sometimes used instead of (or with) gold. But gold is a 'warmer' color.

White paper wafers were also sometimes used to decorate paradise trees. The wafers represented the bread eaten during Christian Communion or Mass, when Christians remember that Jesus died for them. White is used by most churches as the color of Christmas, when the altar is covered with a white cloth (in the Russian Orthodox Church Gold is used for Christmas).

Blue

The color blue is often associated with Mary, the mother of Jesus. In medieval times blue dye and paint was more expensive than gold! So it would only be worn by Royal families and very rich people. Mary was often painted wearing blue to show she was very important.

Blue can also represent the color of the sky and heaven. During Advent, purple and sometimes blue is used in most churches fort he color of the altar cloth (in the Russian Orthodox Church red is used for advent).

te of the Merry Net

Is There A Pickle On Your Tree?

The tradition of the Christmas Pickle has got to be one of the strangest modern Christmas customs in that no one is quite sure why it exists at all!

In the 1880s Woolworth stores started selling glass ornaments imported from Germany and some were in the shape of various fruit and vegetables. It seems that pickles must have been among the selection!

Around the same time it was claimed that the Christmas Pickle was a very old German tradition and that the pickle was the last ornament hung on the Christmas tree and then the first child to find the pickle got an extra present.

However, the claim that it's an old German tradition seems to be a total myth! Not many people in Germany have even heard of the Christmas Pickle! (Similarly in Russia virtually no one knows the supposedly Russian story of Babushka!)

Some families now have the tradition of hanging the pickle on the tree, with the first person/child to find it getting a present. But it probably didn't start in Germany!

There are two other rather far-fetched stories linking the pickle to Christmas.

One features a fighter in the American Civil War who was born in Bavaria (an area of what is now Germany). He was a prisoner, and starving, he begged a guard for one last pickle before he died. The guard took pity on him and gave a pickle to him. The pickle gave him the mental and physical strength to live on!

The other story is linked to St. Nicholas. It's a medieval tale of two Spanish boys traveling home from a boarding school for the holidays. When they stopped at an inn for the night, the evil innkeeper, killed the boys and put them in a pickle barrel. That evening, St. Nicholas stopped at the same inn, and found the boys in the barrel and miraculously bought them back to life!

There is an old legend about St. Nicholas rescuing boys from a barrel but the barrel was originally holding meat for pies - not pickles!

So it's most likely that an ornament salesmen, with a lot of spare pickles to sell, invented the legend of the Christmas Pickle!

The American city of Berrien Springs, MI (also known as the Christmas Pickle Capital of the World) has an annual pickle festival held during the early part of December.

Progress on Advent Knitting

I love this time of year; especially when I can relax and knit on my advent pieces.  There is something peaceful about these knitting projects.

Once I figured out the way of Mosaic knitting,

I'm on a roll!  It's fast and easy to knit.

This could be a male scarf with the colors I chose.

I know it's comes across as brown against this white

but trust me...

It's really a burgundy color--I wish I had used different

colors, but it is what it is

and I live with it.  This pattern is designed by Mosaic Advent Scarf 2016

by Tricia Weatherston 

The other Advent scarf is coming along nicely--

I enjoy knitting lace and this one will 

make a nice warm scarf for someone special

I wish--why do I always second guess my choices?--

I'd used lace weight yarn instead I

chose ..................

Fingering weight yarn--it does make a difference!

Fingering vs lace

Pan de Jamon--Traditional Venezuelan Bread

After Thanksgiving we had lots of leftover ham!  I'm not a big fan of ham!  Ham sandwiches were made!  I baked a ham quiche!  There was ham for breakfast!  And there was still plenty of

ham leftover!  Gee whiz, was it multiplying in the refrigerator?

Then it hit me--there was a jar of green olives in refrigerator too and I remembered this delicious bread

that was made when we lived in Venezuela--Pan de Jamon!

I had to find that recipe and make that bread.

Here is the recipe I came up with:

Pan de jamón is a traditional Venezuelan Christmas bread, but you can enjoy it any time of the year. A sweet, soft dough is rolled up around savory ham, sweet raisins and pimento-stuffed olives. The result is like a gift from heaven.

1 loaf, enough for 4 to 6 people

INGREDIENTS

• Warm milk -- 3/4 cup
• Butter -- 4 tablespoons
• Sugar -- 2 tablespoons
• Salt -- 1 teaspoon
• Active dry yeast -- 1 (1/4-ounce) package
• Lukewarm (110°F) water -- 1/4 cup
• All purpose flour -- 3 1/2 cups
• Egg, beaten -- 1
• Butter, melted -- 2 tablespoons
• Ham, thinly sliced -- 1/2 pound
• Raisins -- 1/2 cup
• Pimento-stuffed olives -- 1/2 cup
• Egg yolks -- 2

METHOD

1. Add the milk, 4 tablespoons butter, sugar and salt to a saucepan and heat, stirring until the butter is melted and the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and set aside to cool to lukewarm.
2. Mix the warm water and yeast together in a small bowl and set aside for 5 to 10 minutes to activate the yeast.
3. Add 3 cups of the flour to large mixing bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour and add the yeast mixture, warm milk and beaten egg. Stir with a wooden spoon to mix the ingredients and bring the dough together.
4. Remove the dough to a floured work surface and knead, adding extra flour as needed, until the dough is no longer sticking to your hands and is silky and elastic. Remove the dough to a large, lightly oiled bowl. Cover with a clean towel or plastic wrap and set in a warm corner until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
5. Preheat oven to 375°F. Remove the dough to a lightly floured work surface and punch it down with your fists to deflate it. Roll the dough out into a rectangle about 12 inches wide and 15 inches long.
6. Brush the top surface of the dough with the 2 tablespoons of melted butter. Spread the the ham, raisins and olives evenly over the dough, leaving a margin of about 1 inch around the edges. Starting from the bottom, roll the dough up into a loaf. Pinch the seam and fold under the ends to seal.
7. Place the loaf seam-side down on a baking sheet and cover it lightly with a clean towel. Set aside to rise for another 30 to 45 minutes.
8. Beat the egg yolks with a tablespoon of water. Brush the top of the loaf all over with the egg yolk wash. Place the bread in the oven and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the bread is golden brown on top and has a hollow sound when you tap on it. Remove and cool before serving.

Guess what?  There is still ham leftover!!

Fruitcake--Yes Or No?

The oldest reference that can be found regarding a fruitcake dates back to Roman times.  The recipe included pomegranate seeds.  Pine nuts, and raisins that were mixed into barley mash.  Honey, spices, and preserved fruits were added during the Middle Ages.  Crusaders and hunters were reported to have carried this type of cake to sustain themselves over long periods of time away from home.

 1400s – The British began their love affair with fruitcake when dried fruits from the Mediterranean first arrived.

 1700s – In Europe, a ceremonial type of fruitcake was baked at the end of the nut harvest and saved and eaten the next year to celebrate the beginning of the next harvest, hoping it will bring them another successful harvest.  After the harvest, nuts were mixed and made into a fruitcake that was saved until the following year.  At that time, previous year’s fruitcakes were consumed in the hope that its symbolism would bring the blessing of another successful harvest

In the early 18th century, fruitcake (called plum cakes) was outlawed entirely throughout Continental Europe.  These cakes were considered as “sinfully rich.”  By the end of the 18th century there were laws restricting the use of plum cake.

Between 1837 and 1901, fruitcake was extremely popular.  A Victorian “Tea” would not have been complete without the addition of the fruitcake to the sweet and savory spread.  Queen Victoria is said to have waited a year to eat a fruitcake she received for her birthday because she felt it showed restraint, moderation and good taste.

It was the custom in England for unmarried wedding guests to put a slice of the cake, traditionally a dark fruitcake, under their pillow at night so they will dream of the person they will marry.

 
Do you have a fruitcake on your Christmas table?