Some Christmas Facts

$6.87 billion is the total online charitable gift giving in the United State in 2006, up 51% from the previous year.

Although typrically turned into mulch, recycled Christmas tress are also instrumental in rebuilding coastal marshlands and providing shelter in wildlife refuges.

Production of stollen, a sweet holiday bread that originated centuries ago in Dresden, Germany is still regulated by the Protection Association for Desden Christstollen. Each loaf made in the city comes with an official seal.

A Hanukkah menorah has nine candles, one for each day the oil lasted after the ancient Temple was reclaimed and one to light the rest. The original menorah only had seven, symbolizing creation.

December 19th is projected to be the busiest day of 2007 for the US Postal Service. More than twice the average number of cards, letters, and packages are expected to be mailed on that day.

Prescribed for more than just holiday cheer, Eggnog was considered a restorative in nineteenth century America and was commonly served to those who were recuperating from illness.

H/T to reader Michelle for the preceding facts

Although many believe the Friday after Thanksgiving is the busiest shopping day of the year, it is not. It is the fifth to tenth busiest day. The Friday and Saturday before Christmas are the two busiest shopping days of the year.

America's official national Christmas tree is located in King's Canyon National Park in California. The tree, a giant sequoia called the "General Grant Tree," is over 300 feet (90 meters) high. It was made the official Christmas tree in 1925.

Candy canes began as straight white sticks of sugar candy used to decorated the Christmas trees. A choirmaster at Cologne Cathedral decided have the ends bent to depict a shepherd's crook and he would pass them out to the children to keep them quiet during the services. It wasn't until about the 20th century that candy canes acquired their red stripes.

Christmas caroling began as an old English custom called Wassailing - toasting neighbors to a long and healthy life.

During the ancient 12-day Christmas celebration, the log burned was called the "Yule log." Sometimes a piece of the Yule log would be kept to kindle the fire the following winter, to ensure that the good luck carried on from year to year. The Yule log custom was handed down from the Druids.

Historians have traced some of the current traditions surrounding Father Christmas, or Santa Claus, back to ancient Celtic roots. Father Christmas's elves are the modernization of the "Nature folk" of the Pagan religions; his reindeer are associated with the "Horned God," which was one of the Pagan deities.

In Medieval England, Nicholas was just another saint - he had not yet been referred to as Santa Claus and he had nothing to do with Christmas.

St. Nicholas was bishop of the Turkish town of Myra in the early fourth century. It was the Dutch who first made him into a Christmas gift-giver, and Dutch settlers brought him to America where his name eventually became the familiar Santa Claus.

In North America, children put stockings out at Christmas time. Their Dutch counterparts, however, use shoes. Dutch children set out shoes to receive gifts any time between mid-November and December 5, St. Nicholas' birthday.

The actual gift givers are different in various countries:
England: Father Christmas
France: Pere Noel (Father Christmas)
Germany: Christkind (angelic messenger from Jesus) She is a beautiful fair haired girl with a shining crown of candles.
Holland: St Nicholas.
Italy: La Befana (a kindly old witch)
Spain and South America: The Three Kings
Russia: In some parts - Babouschka (a grandmotherly figure) in other parts it is Grandfather Frost.
Scandinavia: a variety of Christmas gnomes. One is called Julenisse.

Long before it was used as a "kiss encourager" during the Christmas season, mistletoe had long been considered to have magic powers by Celtic and Teutonic peoples. It was said to have the ability to heal wounds and increase fertility. Celts hung mistletoe in their homes in order to bring themselves good luck and ward off evil spirits.

The modern Christmas custom of displaying a wreath on the front door of one's house, is borrowed from ancient Rome's New Year's celebrations. Romans wished each other "good health" by exchanging branches of evergreens. They called these gifts strenae after Strenia, the goddess of health. It became the custom to bend these branches into a ring and display them on doorways.

Silent Night was written in 1818, by an Austrian priest Joseph Mohr. He was told the day before Christmas that the church organ was broken and would not be prepared in time for Christmas Eve. He was saddened by this and could not think of Christmas without music, so he wanted to write a carol that could be sung by choir to guitar music. He sat down and wrote three stanzas. Later that night the people in the little Austrian Church sang "Stille Nacht" for the first time.

The "Twelve Days of Christmas" was originally written to help Catholic children, in England, remember different articles of faith during the persecution by Protestant Monarchs. The "true love" represented God, and the gifts all different ideas:
The "Partridge in a pear tree" was Christ.
2 Turtle Doves = The Old and New Testaments
3 French Hens = Faith, Hope and Charity-- the Theological Virtues
4 Calling Birds = the Four Gospels and/or the Four Evangelists
5 Golden Rings = The first Five Books of the Old Testament, the "Pentateuch", which relays the history of man's fall from grace.
6 Geese A-laying = the six days of Creation
7 Swans A-swimming = the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, the seven sacraments
8 Maids A-milking = the eight beatitudes
9 Ladies Dancing = the nine Fruits of the Holy Spirit
10 Lords A-leaping = the ten commandments
11 Pipers Piping = the eleven faithful apostles
12 Drummers Drumming = the twelve points of doctrine in the Apostle's Creed
(Did not know this...can someone else verify its authenticity?)

The popular Christmas song "Jingle Bells" was composed in 1857 by James Pierpont, and was originally called "One-Horse Open Sleigh."

The poem commonly referred to as "The Night Before Christmas" was originally titled "A Visit From Saint Nicholas." This poem was written by Clement Moore for his children and some guests, one of whom anonymously sent the poem to a New York newspaper for publication.

Yuletide-named towns in the United States include Santa Claus, located in Arizona and Indiana, Noel in Missouri, and Christmas in both Arizona and Florida. There is also a Christmas in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
**Edited by comments from Kristine**

It Snowed over the Weekend

Quiet on the Set! Premiere Show

Our premiere show is January 8, 2008 at 8:00 p.m. EST. We are excited to have Ghaniya.



Visit Ghaniya's Myspace!

January is booked so stop by and check out our line-up. We are currently booking February and looks like March will fill-up quickly too. If you are an entertainer and would like to be a guest on our show, please visit us and drop us a note.

Visit Us on Talk Shoe!!!
Visit Us on Myspace!!!

Add us to your friends list so you don't miss upcoming announcements! Please repost!

The Q Crew
Steve(aka Dazd), Meleah, Sheila, Casey and Steve

Dazed Over the Holidays Reminder

Dazed over the Holidays!

Fellow bloggers...

Mark your calendars...

Don't miss the event of the year...

Make sure your well prepared...

When: December 22, 2007
Location: Indianapolis
Time: 12 noon until ?????
Who: Me of course!!! And Dragon!!! DNR!!! Goldbloom!?!?!? Any and all are welcome!!!

Everyone is invited! I realize it's the Holidays but I'm excited about this. If all goes well, I'll try and schedule one for the summer.

We will be meeting at Gray's Cafeteria at 12 noon December 22, 2007 for lunch. From there...who knows but at least we have a starting point. Excellent choice Dragon!
Here is a map: Gray Brothers Cafeteria.
And here is the address:
Gray Brothers Cafeteria
555 S. Indiana St.
Mooresville, IN 46158
317-831-5614

If you need directions, email me here and I will provide them to you. Let me know from what direction(town)you are coming from. Like I said...this is where we will start so if you have suggestions around Indy that'll be closer for some, email me or post a comment.

Join us for an afternoon of fun as Dragon takes Indiana by storm!!!

Nothing Thursday

HA...first I typed Nothing Turdsday. Fitting...

Ok...I was issued a challenge some weeks back to post a pic of myself. Although I see said pic is still present on the original post. So I'll be gracious enough to leave it until I feel compelled to remove it. (probably late Friday heh)

The nice part about posting a month later is I don't have to tag anyone else. And I don't have to follow the rules!




A little blurry...too much booze on the photographers part me thinks.

Wednesdays Thoughts

Philosophical Thought for the Day: If a man is alone in the forest and there's no woman around to hear him, is he still wrong?

It's Official

From WDAZ The Dazd Broadcasting Network...

No no no..its not official I'm insane, although some may debate the statement.

I'm doing a new Internet Radio show called Quiet on the Set.

A show dedicated to entertainers of the muses. We give you, the entertainer, an opportunity to showcase your talents. Whether you're an aspiring entertainer or a well-established one, we'd like to hear from you about being a guest on our show. Your host for the show is Steve. Known around the internets as Dazd, he sometimes truly fits his name. Steve is joined by 2 co-hosts; Sheila and Meleah. It promises to be fun and I hope you enjoy the show.

When: Tuesday Night at 8 PM EST
Where: Quiet on the Set

Our premeire show is January 8th and the featured guest is the talented singer/songwriter Ghaniya

January 22nd: We are thrilled to have a talented singer/songwriter Melissa Greenwood as our guest. Visit Melissa Greeenwod's Myspace Page

I am also fortunate to have as co-hosts two lovely talented ladies Meleah and Sheila. Also joining us just today, Casey and Steve. These two gentlemen will assist when their schedules allow.

Check out our Myspace page for more information and possibly a picture posted of yours truly.

Also check back here for more updates and show information. We will develop a website and a blog as well. Also, developing an external download site for podcasts.

I hope to see you during shows in the chat.

So stay tuned.

We now return you to our regularly scheduled programs.