What Should You Give Your Parents At Christmas?… A List Of What You Want!
I can’t believe this weather is still so mild with finally a sprinkling of snow that may or may not last this weeks mild weather. Unlike the incredible amount of snow that has fallen on Saskatchewan and Alberta with a huge drop in temperature which is great for the farmers out there that didn’t get this amount of all moisture all last winter. With the lake affect and buried in snow some are not enjoying it as much as some others. The daytime temperatures this far may not keep the snow cover for long but the night time temperatures are becoming cold enough and more snow is coming soon.
My Christmas lights are almost finished and one of my favourite annual celebrations upcoming is the wreath making party and gathering at a good friends place. With the mail strike and such little progress in settlement I have no idea what to do so I will do as I have for the last few years and get them tax deductible receipts for contributions for our food bank and send them when I can. All good! Other than the tree to set up my only other tradition is to watch A Christmas Carol staring Alastair Sim for such an old movie I am always awed by the acting, cinematography, lighting and the entire concept of this movie.
In our family Christmas dinner was a feast of Turkey ( my father called it Card Bird) and all the trimmings which my mother laboured over and which fed us for days. My favourite part was the Turkey soup! All of us probably have certain traditional ways to celebrate Christmas and hopefully we all shall have and excellent celebration even if it is not our normal way. But what does it all mean. I have done a little research and here are some of the results. Christmas is widely celebrated throughout the world although many do not celebrate it on the 25th of December.
Many, like in China, celebrate Christmas on the 25th of December but it is not a religious event but a commercial one but has become a major celebration now more so than Chinese New Year which is huge! Russia, Serbia, Egypt and several other countries celebrate Christmas on the 7th of January as did the Ukraine until 2022 when they changed it to the 25th of December. Israeli’s do not really celebrate Christmas however Palestinians the Muslim population are very proud of the fact that Jesus was born in their city of Bethlehem.
In the year 221 a man by the name of Sextus Julius African-us determined that this was the date (December 25t) that Jesus was born. By the 9th century it was more widely acknowledged but it was more in the spirit of giving to the needy and poor without expectation of receiving anything in return. By the 15th century Christmas gift giving within the family became popular and by the 18th century it grew even more to include card giving and more of the celebration we see today although I’m sure that they did not envision the commercial bedlam it has become today,
Santa Claus was first introduced to the world in the year 228 although he was called St. Nicholas and was a monk who is known as the Patron Saint of Children and Sailors. He was a symbol of piety and kindness. The Santa Claus that has become a big symbol of our modern Christmas came about in the mid 1800’s his debut being in New York. However we celebrate our Christmas we should definitely impress upon our children and keep sacred in ourselves the hope, faith, kindness and joy we can enjoy and share.
This will be the last article for the Year and I wish to thank everyone for their support I will be back in the New Year and look forward to it!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Happy Gardening!
Samantha Nason
BS Ranch & Greenhouses
250 547 6567
sam1nason@gmail.com
