The Household COO

Just because Christmas is around the corner, I thought I would post these to spread a bit of general knowledge as well as good cheer:

1. Christmas trees were first lighted with actual candles.  Because it presented a fire hazard, containers filled with water had to be kept near the Christmas tree.

2. Workers in the construction industry are responsible for the tradition of having a Christmas tree on display at Rockefeller Center in New York City. They are credited with placing an undecorated tree at the site in the early 1930s.

3. Since the mid-1960s, The National Christmas Tree Association has maintained a presence in the White House at Christmas by donating a Christmas tree to the First Family.

4. The former Woolworth department store first sold manufactured Christmas tree ornaments in 1880.

5. Plastic became the primary material used to make tinsel after their use for decorative purposes became prohibited because of the presence of lead in the manufacturing process.

6. The idea of Christmas greeting cards began in Britain in the late 1830s when John Calcott Horsley started to produce small cards that had festive scenes and a holiday greeting written inside. Similar cards were also being made in the United States
at about the same time by R.H. Pease, in Albany, New York, and Louis Prang, who was a German immigrant. The idea of sending the greeting cards during Christmas gained popularity in both countries about 10 years later when new postal delivery services started.

7. The shortened form Xmas for Christmas has been popular in Europe since the 1500s. It is believed to be derived from the Greek word ‘Xristos’ which means Christ. (I found this particularly interesting to note because my R.E. teacher in Primary School used to tell not to shorten Christmas to Xmas because she felt it was taking away the real meaning of Christmas - that is Christ’s birthday.

8. According to the National Confectioners Association, for 200 years candy canes were only made in the color of white and it wasn’t until in the 1950s that a machine was invented that could automate the production of candy canes.

9. The day after Christmas is called Boxing Day in England and it is a national holiday. Several stories exist for the origination of the name. It is believed to have originated from the practice of boys who would go about collecting money in clay boxes. Another theory is that the term is derived from a custom in the Middle Ages, about 800 years ago, when
churches would open their ‘alms boxes’ and distribute the contents to poor people on the day after Christmas. Alms boxes are boxes in which donations of gifts and money would be placed. Yet another belief is that it comes from a custom of masters giving their servants Christmas presents in boxes on the day after Christmas.

10. Evergreen trees had special meaning in winter to people, particularly in Europe, before Christianity started. Ancient peoples would hang evergreen branches over their doors and windows because evergreens were believed to ward off witches, ghosts, evil spirits and illness. For worshipers of the sun god, evergreen plants were a reminder of all the green plants that would grow with the return of summer when the strength of the sun god would also return.

11. In ancient times, many people worshiped the sun as a god in December because they believed winter was a yearly occurrence because the sun god had fallen into ill health. They celebrated the winter solstice because it was a sign that the son god would begin to regain strength and return to good health.

12. Legislators in Congress did business on Christmas Day in 1789, which was the first one to be observed under the country’s new constitution. The reason for the Congressional session was because it had become unpopular to observe and take part in English customs following the American Revolution. And when Christmas celebrations were barred in Boston earlier in 1659 to 1681, it became a costly thing to be seen participating in any event or activity related to Christmas.  Anyone caught doing so had to pay five shillings.

As I grow older, I think I get more sentimental.  I look back at all my old photos in the archives of my external hard drive and get a little weepy-eyed as I recall the memories.  Then I wonder how time has flown and how much life has changed.  It seems a little sad to keep those pictures in the attic of my hard drive, so I’ve decided to start uploading them to slide and post them here.

Below are photos from Christmas three years ago when the hubby and I had our first holiday together in Melbourne.  It was a BBQ at Al’s house with my former dental colleagues. 

I recently saw the gang again in August…  It’s amazing how old everyone looks now.

Every year, The Crown Entertainment complex in Melbourne will run a lazer light shows in the foyer area between the hotel and the entrance to the casino. Like a moth to the lights, I would be drawn to see the colourful sights. Check out the photos in the slideshow below - can you tell I love night lights?

And every year, houses along The Boulevard in Ivanhoe would put up Christmas lights on their houses. It has become such a tradition that it has become a mini Christmas tourist attraction drawing crowds of people to visit every year. I still remember AP telling me that if you lived along The Boulevard, the neighbours with Christmas decorations would pressure the rest of the houses to decorate their homes with lights.

When I took Charlie to check out The Boulevard in December 2004, I was amazed to see the changes from the previous time I went to see the lights way back when I was still in University. For one, I had never seen so many people walking along a surburban street in the middle of the night. There were road side stalls selling ice cream, snacks, drinks and those glow-in-the-dark toys. The Boulevard had gone from a few houses putting up fancy Christmas lights for their own personal enjoyment to a Christmas feature with its own advertising billboard!

It’s rather impressive to see the lengths some houses go to with their decorations. If you watch until the end of the slide show, there’s a house with a bicycle stuck to the chimney! I have to hand it to the owner of that house - that’s dedication for you! I guess it took a person like that to coin the phrase “in the spirit of Christmas”.

More photos from my trip to Brisbane in December 2004, back in the days when the hubby was a lean, mean, fighting machine. Okay, maybe just the lean part.

We had a lovely turkey dinner served up by my SIL at her place in Brisbane.

Hubby tucking into the good stuff with HL and W.

Here’s a better shot, although he hates it when I take photos of him eating:

Even though everyone thinks hubby is the food guzzler, I think it’s probably me that hoovers just about anything and everything. When you analyse everything, the hubby is actually quite picky when it comes to food, while me, I’m DBKL (the name for the garbage team here).

Our delicious dinner - or what was left of it:

It was Mum’s birthday yesterday. Yup, Mum’s a Christmas baby. Despite her birthday falling on a public holiday, we often almost forget her birthday. So came Saturday night (bearing in mind that we are at three hours behind Melbourne time), I jumped online frantically looking for a florist that would deliver some flowers and chocolates to my mother on her birthday.

Even though it often gets left to the last minute, I usually always manage to get something in time for her birthday and to make the call on Christmas day to wish her “Happy Birthday” and not “Merry Christmas”. I only ever made that mistake once and it sent my usually aloof and nonchalant mother into tears for the whole day. My Mum’s like that. She often acts like these things don’t matter to her at all, but deep down inside, they mean a lot. She’ll pretend that she’s not moved by the gesture, but you can see how happy she is to get flowers.

Ordinarily, I would have done this a day or two earlier, but scatterbrained me (which I’m going to blame on the pregnancy - yet again!) only remembered while the hubby and I were in the car on the way home from dinner with the in laws. Luckily, I managed to find a local Melbourne florist that operated online called, “Floral Art“. I was especially delighted to read that they delivered “7-days a week” and prayed fervently that this included a public holiday like Christmas.

I selected the following box of orchids and chocolates and requested delivery on Christmas Day with a note wishing her “Happy Birthday” from the hubby, my brother and me. I figured my brother wouldn’t have remembered so I added his name in. The last time it was my birthday and I received a pot of flowers and a teddy bear signed by my brother and girlfriend, I was extremely surprised. When I dropped my brother a text message to say, “Thanks for the flowers,” I received a reply asking, “What flowers?” That’s when I realised the flowers and teddy were his gf’s handiwork…

Last night, I spoke to Mum on the phone and found out she received her flowers on Christmas Day. I could hear she was all smiles on the phone and about as bubbly as a bottle of champagne that had just been popped. After speaking to her, I texted a reminder message to my brother in Taiwan to wish her “Happy Birthday”.

The hubby asked whether it was really necessary to remind my brother. Well, I think the reply message from my brother spoke volumes on the necessity of such a reminder: “Oh s***! Thanks!”

The hubby couldn’t believe that anyone could forget their mother’s birthday, especially when it’s on Christmas Day. Well, he obviously never met anyone like my brother before… Although I feel a need to clarify that my brother’s not inconsiderate. He’s just absentminded.

So thanks Floral Art! You made my mother’s day!

Perhaps it’s the pregnancy hormones (there I go again, blaming the hormones for every little emotional tweak in my life…) but recently I’ve been feeling somewhat nostalgic over the turkey dinners that Dad used to make back when I was in Melbourne. Every year he would insist on getting a bigger and bigger turkey until we ended up eating Turkey for breakfast, lunch and dinner just to finish it!

Last night, the hubby and I were visiting PL and JV. Hubby is the god father of their baby girl, Emilie, so we often go over to visit. We joke that the only reason we see them so often is because of Emilie, but come to think of it, it’s probably half true. The same goes with god daughter Rachel - we’re never over there to see the parents, we’re always there for Rachel. I suppose the same thing will happen to me when Gavin is born. Gavin will be the one having all the visitors and I’ll just happen to be there because I’m his mother. Digressing…

Back to the point of this post… With Christmas approaching around the corner, PL has been playing Christmas songs on their old player. Keeping in mind that hubby has never grown up with the concept of Christmas or Santa Claus, he made a remark last night that sent us all roaring with laughter. When the song “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” came on, hubby exclaimed what a whore the mother was to be kissing Santa Claus and what a bastard Santa Claus was to be taking advantage of the situation.

Of course he wasn’t really aware that traditionally it is Daddy who dresses up as Santa Claus and the kid in the song was really watching Mommy kiss Daddy who’s wearing the Santa oufit. Being a child who still believes in Santa Claus, she wouldn’t know that the Santa she was looking at was really her Dad.

With Christmas around the corner, I was checking out some toys and cute clothes at The Curve yesterday and I thought of what the hubby should be getting for his god daughters. When I called the hubby, he said that he didn’t celebrate Christmas so he wasn’t going to buy presents. I suppose that is his perogative but it got me thinking about Gavin and how we’re going to raise him.

Just as the hubby’s family have their own traditions and festivals that I have agreed Gavin will be a part of, Christmas is one of my traditions and festivals. I want Gavin to know about the story of Christmas and all the fun things related to Christmas. Perhaps it’s time for hubby and I to have another discussion about Gavin’s upbringing…