Jody Victor: One of my favorite Christmas stories is actually a poem written by Clement C. Moore.

 

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.

 

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads.

And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,

Had just settled our brains for a long winter's nap.

 

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,

I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash,

Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

 

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow

Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below.

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,

But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer.

 

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,

I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.

More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,

And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name!

 

"Now Dasher! Now, Dancer! Now, Prancer and Vixen!

On, Comet! On, Cupid! On, Donner and Blitzen!

To the top of the porch! To the top of the wall!

Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!"

 

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,

When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky.

So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,

With the sleigh full of Toys, and St. Nicholas too.

 

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof

The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.

As I drew in my head, and was turning around,

Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.

 

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,

And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot.

 A bundle of Toys he had flung on his back,

And he looked like a peddler, just opening his pack.

 

His eyes - how they twinkled! His dimples how merry!

His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!

His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,

And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow.

 

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,

And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.

He had a broad face and a little round belly,

That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly!

 

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,

And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself!

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,

Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.

 

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,

And filled all the stockings, then turned with a jerk.

And laying his finger aside of his nose,

And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose!

 

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,

And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.

But I heard him exclaim, 'ere he drove out of sight,

"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!"

 

Merry Christmas!

Jody Victor

 

Jody Victor: The days have been getting shorter and the nights longer, which makes us appreciate the few hours of daylight we get. Even though to us it ends up being a minor inconvenience, it is a scientific phenomenon that has been happening like clockwork every year, well before even dinosaurs roamed the earth.

In the United States and the rest of the northern hemisphere, the first day of the winter season is the day of the year when the Sun is farthest south (on December 21st or 22nd - this year the 21st). This day is known as the Winter Solstice.

The declination of the Sun on the winter solstice is known as the tropic of capricorn (-23 degrees 27'). In the southern hemisphere, winter and summer solstices are exchanged so that the winter solstice is the day on which the Sun is farthest north.

A common misconception is that the earth is further from the Sun in winter thatn in summer. Actually, the Earth is closest to the sun in December which is winter in the northern hemisphere.

As the Earth travels around the Sun in its orbit, the north-south position of the Sun changes over the course of the year because of the changing orientation of the Earth's tilted rotation axes. The dates of maximum tilt of the Earth's equator correspond to the Summer Solstice and Winter Solstice, and the dates of zero tilt to the Vernal Equinox and Autumnal Equinox.

So, this Sunday when your day just seems to fly by, it is. But don't be sad - the days start getting longer by about a minute a day on Monday!

Happy Winter Solstice!

Jody Victor

Jody Victor: Most children ( and we are all children at Christmas) know Santa Claus as a big, round, red-cheeked, joyous, old gentleman who delivers Christmas gifts clad in black boots and a red red suit trimmed in white. The old gentleman we all love, has come from a long line of stories and truths.

The legend of Santa Claus dates all the way back to the 4th century when a child named Nicholas was born. At that time, nobody knew that he was to become world renowned as Santa Claus, but Nicholas soon showed signs of special abilities.

As a grown-up  he became bishop of Myra in Lycia, a province of the Byzantine Anatolia, now in Turkey, where, according to legend, he only did good deeds.

One of the deeds later associated with Nicholas as Santa Claus or gift doner took place when he saved a family from poverty one night by throwing money through their window. But Nicholas was capable of much more than that. He could, by the power of God, bring the dead back to life and save sailors from storms. Therefore, Nicholas was beatified and initially, was mostly honored by the sailors.

At first, Nicholas became a Catholic saint, but during the Reformation hagiolatry was abandoned by the Protestants. However, it was difficult to just drop St. Nicholas due to his popularity, so he was portrayed without a bishop's miter and was named Santa Claus. Since Nicholas had died in December, it was easy to associate him with Christmas and gift-giving.

That's how St. Nicholas became known under the name Santa Claus in Europe and later on, in the USA. His story was spread by the Dutch sailors berthing in New York. They called St. Nicholas "Sinterklaas", and through translations to American English, he became the American "Santa Claus".

Today, Santa Claus is famous all around the world as the kind, old man who brings Christmas gifts to the children. Santa Claus has been widely used as a commercial eye catcher in particular after 1930, when Coca Cola used him in their advertisements for the first time. He had a big, white beard, black boots, a big red coat, and an infectious laughter - exactly as we know and love him today.

Jody Victor

Jody Victor: Some of the best things about Christmas are the memories we have from childhood and our senses. Smells evoke very strong memories. One of my favorite parts of Christmas is all the live plants we use to decorate. Granted, most of our decorations are plastic or silk to keep from cutting so many trees - but the fresh smell of cut pine makes me think of Christmas past - a simpler and more joyous time. The use of many of our traditional Christmas plants started a long time ago.

Two hundred years before the birth of Christ, the Druids used mistletoe to celebrate the coming of winter. They would gather this evergreen plant (actually a parasite on trees) and use it to decorate their homes. They believed the plant had special healing powers for everything from female infertility to poison ingestion. Scandinavians also thought of mistletoe as a plant of peace and harmony. They associated mistletoe with their goddess of love, Frigga. The custom of kissing under the mistletoe probably derived from this belief. The early church banned the use of mistletoe in Christmas celebrations because of its pagan origins. Instead, church fathers suggested the use of holly as an appropriate substitute for Christmas greenery.

Poinsettias are native to Mexico. they were named after America's first ambassador to Mexico, Joel Poinsett. He brought the plants to America in 1828. The Mexicans in the eighteenth century thought the plants were symbolic of the Star of Bethlehem. Thus the Poinsettia became associated with the Christmas season. The actual flower of the poinsettia is the small yellow center. The large, bright red leaves surrounding the flower are often mistaken for the petals.

The Christmas Tree originated in Germany in the 16th century. It was common for the Germanic people to decorate fir trees, both inside and out, with roses, apples, and colored paper. It is believed that Martin Luther, the Protestant reformer, was the first to light a Christmas tree with candles. While coming home one dark winter's night near Christmas, he was struck with the beauty of the starlight shining through the branches of a small fir tree outside his home. He duplicated the starlight by using candles attached to the branches of his indoor Christmas tree. The Christmas tree was not widely used in Britain until the 19th century. It was brought to America by the Pennsylvania Germans in the 1820s.

Jody Victor