Ho ho huh Merry Christmas!

Ho ho huh Merry Christmas! Ho ho .. oh? Well, Christmas is coming at break neck speed. Are you ready! Im not. I can give you one suggestion; do not watch the news reports of the masses in the shopping malls crazy for the fifty percent off weed whackers, or trying to get a parking spot that could cost you your life. Never mind Target, Macys is so busy the handicap placards are going for top dollar over there. And don’t forget the extra wrapping paper and the decorations to replace the ones the dog chewed up yesterday. OK, maybe it isn’t all that bad but that’s how it looks to me. I’m always busy judging everybody knocking themselves out to meet the Christmas expectations and specifications. Ho ho ho! Hey who you calling a … alright I’ll stop right there. But once again I want to know; why is everyone going mad on December 25th? Christmas! I get it; I’m not a Druid you know (at least I don’t think so?). But how come Christmas is celebrated on different dates in different countries? And how come everyone has so many different traditions. My research found some answers and created a few more questions, but here are a couple of tid-bits for Christmas in America. Did you know that … Each year, 35 million Christmas trees are sold in the United States. There are approximately 21,000 Christmas tree growers in the United States, and it takes about 15 years to grow a Christmas tree that’s ready to be sold. The Christmas tree idea really started in Germany. In fact in 1846 queen Victoria and her German prince, Albert was shown in a newspaper sketch standing with their children next to a Christmas tree. Of course that was all that was needed for the British and The East coast well to do Americans to get into the tree thing. Today, in the Greek and Russian orthodox churches, Christmas is celebrated 13 days after the 25th, which is also referred to as the Epiphany or Three Kings Day. This is the day it is believed that the three wise men finally found Jesus in the manger. In the Middle Ages, Christmas celebrations were rowdy and raucousâ€"a lot like todays Mardi Gras parties. The churches and the rich put a stop to that. From 1659 to 1681, the celebration of Christmas was outlawed in Boston, and law-breakers were fined five shillings. The first eggnog made in the United States was consumed in Captain John Smiths 1607 Jamestown settlement. Poinsettia plants are named after Joel R. Poinsett, an American minister to Mexico, who brought the red-and-green plant from Mexico to America in 1828. The Salvation Army has been sending Santa Claus-clad donation collectors into the streets since the 1890s. The Red Santa outfit he wears today came from a Coke commercial. Rudolph, the most famous reindeer of all, was the product of Robert L. Mays imagination in 1939. The copywriter wrote a poem about the reindeer to help lure customers into the Montgomery Ward department store. So Christmas in America has been more of an evolution of many combined ancient holiday’s and foreign cultures and money.   Who knew?   Ho ho ho! Merry Christmas?