DIANE'S CORNER ...
Celebrate Chocolate Covered Everything Day
Chocolate, a candy loved by both children and adults alike. But how much can it go on? What edible creations can molten chocolate create? Where in the world are certain chocolate dishes made a favorite staple? Well, in order to find the answers to all those questions, we must do a time hop into the past, for this is the search of the history of Chocolate Covered Everything Day!
History of Chocolate Covered Everything Day
We all know and love the dark and sweet bricks called chocolate, we even melt it down and put it on our ice cream! When was this delectable treat created? The history of chocolate begins in Mesoamerica. Fermented beverages made from chocolate date back to 1900 BC. The Aztecs believed that cacao seeds were the gift of Quetzalcoatl, the god of wisdom, and the seeds once had so much value that they were used as a form of currency. After chocolate’s arrival in Europe from oversea expeditions in the sixteenth century, sugar was added to it and it became popular throughout all of Europe, first among the ruling classes of the European societies, and then among the common people.
Word of the Day
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| Definition: | (noun) The state of being healthy, happy, or prosperous. | ||
| Synonyms: | eudaimonia, welfare | ||
| Usage: | Holistic medicine emphasizes the emotional as well as the physical well-being of the patient. | ||
The Germans made the first artificial Christmas trees out of dyed goose feathers.
Idiom of the Day
(Go) tell it/that to Sweeney!— dated A scornful or incredulous response to a story or statement that one does not believe or finds ridiculous. |
Each year more than 3 billion Christmas cards are sent in the U.S. alone.
This Day in History
Last Recorded Eruption of Mount Fuji Begins (1707)
| Majestic Mount Fuji, located about 60 mi (100 km) from Tokyo, is the tallest mountain in Japan. The beauty of the snowcapped symmetrical cone, ringed by lakes and virgin forests, has inspired Japanese poets and painters throughout the centuries. Though the volcano is classified as active, its last major eruption began on December 16, 1707, and ended in early 1708. As a sacred mountain, Mount Fuji is a traditional pilgrimage site. |
Margaret Mead (1901)
A prolific writer and avid speaker, anthropologist Margaret Mead was instrumental in popularizing the anthropological concept of culture in the US. Though many later anthropologists have questioned both the accuracy of her observations and the soundness of her conclusions, she remains highly regarded for her many contributions to the field. Over the course of her career, Mead made numerous field trips to observe the peoples of Oceania.
Posadas
This nine-day Christmas celebration in Mexico commemorates the journey Mary and Joseph (the parents of Jesus) took to Bethlehem. Reenacting their search for shelter (posada in Spanish) in which Jesus might be born, a group of "pilgrims" will knock on someone's door and ask the owner to let them in. The master of the house finally invites them to enter and the Posadas party begins. The children are blindfolded and given a chance to break the piñata by swinging at it with a stick. The posadas are repeated for nine evenings, the last occurring on Christmas Eve.
In Sanne De Wilde's photographs of Pingelap, a tiny coral atoll in the Pacific Ocean, nothing is quite as it seems. Her images depict a tropical paradise where the jungle vegetation is pale pink, the sea is gray and local inhabitants are seen in black and white.
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1653 - Oliver Cromwell became lord protector of England, Scotland and Ireland.
1773 - Nearly 350 chests of tea were dumped into Boston Harbor off of British ships by Colonial patriots. The patriots were disguised as Indians. The act was to protest taxation without representation and the monopoly the government granted to the East India Company.
1901 - "The Tale of Peter Rabbit," by Beatrix Potter, was printed for the first time.
1905 - Sime Silverman published the first issue of "Variety".
1998 - Eric Michelman filed the earliest patent for a scroll wheel for a computer mouse.
1999 - Sigourney Weaver received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
2000 - U.S. President-elect George W. Bush selected Colin Powell to be the first African-American secretary of state. Powell was sworn in January 20, 2001.
2009 - Astronomers discovered GJ1214b. It was the first-known exoplanet on which water could exist.
DAILY SQU-EEK
If You Were Born Today, December 16
You dislike planning ahead, preferring to wing it and then pick up the pieces, if necessary, later on. You see life as an adventure. Although your intuition is quite good, sometimes you act on impulse just for the sake of stirring things up. It's when you are acting on blind impulse rather than intuition that you are accident-prone (not just physically, either!). You are a natural psychologist, and your powers of observation when it comes to people are superb. Famous people born today:
1770 Ludwig van Beethoven, German composer (5th Symphony, Ode to Joy), born in Bonn, Electorate of Cologne (d. 1827)
1775 Jane Austen, English novelist (Pride and Prejudice), born in Steventon, England (d. 1817)
1917 Arthur C. Clarke, English sci-fi author (2001: A Space Odyssey, Childhood's End), born in Minehead, England (d. 2008)
READERS INFO
1.
SUNDAY'S INTERESTING FACTS
- Nowhere in the bible does it say there were three wise men, just three gifts.
- The draft for War and Peace, the 15th longest novel in the world with over a half a million words, was written out by hand seven times by Tolstoy’s wife, Sophia Tolstaya, before Tolstoy was happy with his novel.
- Prison and jail are technically not the same thing. In the U.S., jail is run by county sheriff’s offices, while prison is run by the Prisons and Corrections office of each state. In Canada, jail is run by the provincial government, while prison is run by the federal government.
- A popular additive to many high end perfumes, Ambergris, comes from the intestines of sperm whales. When it’s fresh, not surprisingly, it smells like crap, but then later begins to smell sweet and “earthy”.
- Contrary to popular belief, Prohibition did not make it illegal to drink alcohol, just to sell, transport, or produce the drinkable form of it.
2.
PATTERN BOOK SUNDAY
All the gifts in the Twelve Days of Christmas would equal 364 gifts.
Pictures of the day
Unfortunate events in the front seats of the ring of Madrid, and the death of the mayor of Torrejón is an etching with burnished aquatint, dry point and burin on paper by the Spanish painter and printmaker Francisco Goya. It is number 21 in a series of 35 etchings making up his Tauromaquia ("art of bullfighting") series, which he produced between 1815 and 1816. The etching details an event from 15 June 1801 when a bull broke through barriers at a bullfight in Madrid, killing two people including the mayor of Torrejón de Ardoz. The plate has been described by art critic Robert Hughes as among the greatest of Goya's graphic output.
The “true love” mentioned in the song “Twelve Days of Christmas” does not refer to a romantic couple, but the Catholic Church’s code for God. The person who receives the gifts represents someone who has accepted that code. For example, the “partridge in a pear tree” represents Christ. The “two turtledoves” represent the Old and New Testaments.
knit, Christmas
Hearty Holiday Santa
knit
thanks, Sheri
knit
thanks, Emma
knit
According to data analyzed from Facebook posts, two weeks before Christmas is one of the two most popular times for couples to break up. However, Christmas Day is the least favorite day for breakups.
crochet, Christmas
crochet
thanks, Helen
thanks, Sharon
crochet
DOUBLE WARM NECK WARMER
トラスト GReddy ハイパフォーマンスクーラントPG 17600002 20L：オートパーツエージェンシー2号店 - 3f384 - lilleliis.com
crochet
In A.D. 350, Pope Julius I, bishop of Rome, proclaimed December 25 the official celebration date for the birthday of Christ.
RECIPE
thanks, Shelley
Cheddar Beer Bread Rolls
The traditional three colors of Christmas are green, red, and gold. Green has long been a symbol of life and rebirth; red symbolizes the blood of Christ, and gold represents light as well as wealth and royalty.
CROCKPOT RECIPE
thanks, Patsy
Christmas trees usually grow for about 15 years before they are sold.
SWEETS ... Italian Holiday Cookies
thanks, Ruth
Each year there are approximately 20,000 “rent-a-Santas” across the United States. “Rent-a-Santas” usually undergo seasonal training on how to maintain a jolly attitude under pressure from the public. They also receive practical advice, such as not accepting money from parents while children are looking and avoiding garlic, onions, or beans for lunch.
COOKBOOK SUNDAY
Most of Santa’s reindeer have male-sounding names, such as Blitzen, Comet, and Cupid. However, male reindeer shed their antlers around Christmas, so the reindeer pulling Santa’s sleigh are likely not male, but female or castrated.
ADULT COLORING ... Christmas
In Poland, spiders or spider webs are common Christmas trees decorations because according to legend, a spider wove a blanket for Baby Jesus. In fact, Polish people consider spiders to be symbols of goodness and prosperity at Christmas.
CRAFTS ... Christmas
Alabama was the first state in the United States to officially recognize Christmas in 1836.
CHILDREN'S CORNER ... Christmas coloring
Christmas wasn’t declared an official holiday in the United States until June 26, 1870.
PUZZLE
Euphorbia Grandialata Jigsaw Puzzle
The British wear paper crowns while they eat Christmas dinner. The crowns are stored in a tube called a “Christmas cracker.”
WORD SEARCH
| acceptance admire alien darkness discipline easily genius | heard honor hotbed kinky lavish lint luxury | neutralize note pellet phone playful portal pursue | raise rein side snorkle sugar | taxes temptation unrequited verify viewpoint wreak |
Evergreens (from the Old English word aefie meaning “always” and gowan meaning “to grow”) have been symbols of eternal life and rebirth since ancient times. The pagan use and worship of evergreen boughs and trees has evolved into the Christianized Christmas tree.
SUDOKU ... very hard
solution:
Ancient peoples, such as the Druids, considered mistletoe sacred because it remains green and bears fruit during the winter when all other plants appear to die. Druids would cut the plant with golden sickles and never let it touch the ground. They thought it had the power to cure infertility and nervous diseases and to ward off evil.
QUOTE ... Christmas
A Yule log is an enormous log that is typically burned during the Twelve Days of Christmas (December 25-January 6). Some scholars suggest that the word yule means “revolution” or “wheel,” which symbolizes the cyclical return of the sun. A burning log or its charred remains is said to offer health, fertility, and luck as well as the ability to ward off evil spirits.
The poinsettia is native to Mexico and was cultivated by the Aztecs, who called the plant Cuetlaxochitl (“flower which wilts”). For the Aztecs, the plant’s brilliant red color symbolized purity, and they often used it medicinally to reduce fever. Contrary to popular belief, the poinsettia is not poisonous, but holly berries are.
CLEVER ... Christmas
Make adorable "elf" donuts out of Cheerios.
Santa Claus is based on a real person, St. Nikolas of Myra (also known as Nikolaos the Wonderworker, Bishop Saint Nicholas of Smyrna, and Nikolaos of Bari), who lived during the fourth century. Born in Patara (in modern-day Turkey), he is the world’s most popular non-Biblical saint, and artists have portrayed him more often than any other saint except Mary. He is the patron saint of banking, pawnbroking, pirating, butchery, sailing, thievery, orphans, royalty, and New York City.
EYE OPENER ... Christmas
Creative Wall Christmas Tree Designs You Can DIY
Easy DIY Christmas Tree
DIY Christmas Tree With Ornaments And Lights
Christmas Tree With Lights
DIY Honeycomb Christmas Tree
Rolled Paper Christmas Tree
Christmas Tree Wall Sticker
Wire Christmas Tree Wall Decor
Cool Wall Christmas Tree
Wooden Wall Christmas Tree
Christmas Tree Wooden Shelf
Garland Christmas Wall Tree
DIY Christmas Tree Advent Calendar
Creative Wall Christmas Tree
PVC Wall Christmas Tree
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