Christmas Ornaments

 

Early Christmas trees were decorated with apples, beads, paper, nutshells and tinsel.  Some were even pastries in shapes of stars, hearts and flowers. Glass ornaments were first made in Germany by a glassblower named Hans Greiner in the 1840's.

Other glassblowers in Lauscha recognised the growing popularity and began producing them in a wide range of designs. In the early 20th century, Americans decorated their trees with mostly hand made ornaments. In America, the first glass ornaments were produced by William DeMuth in 1870. Stores began selling ornaments and by 1910 Woolworths had over 1000 stores selling Christmas ornaments across America.

In 1973 Hallmark started making Christmas ornaments. Each year a line of limited edition ornaments are created. 

Most ornaments are used year after year, and are passed down from one generation to the next.  

I've had these ornaments since I was a child, over 50 years,

These were given to us by an aunt who is no longer with us.

Special occasions.

A skiing trip with the family 

When we bought our trailer.

A trip to Russia.

Baby's first Christmas 

They teach us about many things. Family, traditions, history.... 

Do you have any special ornaments that are a family tradition or treasure? 

Ref: Wikipedia 

Christmas Lights

 

Edward Hibberd Johnson is credited for stringing lights around a Christmas tree in New York City in 1882. Johnson was a friend and partner of Thomas Edison. Edison's Illumination company hand wired 80 red white and blue light bulbs and wound them around his Christmas tree. Before electric Christmas lights, families would use candles, which proved to be dangerous and often led to fires.

In 1895 President Grover Cleveland requested that the White House Christmas tree be illuminated with hundreds of multi-colored electric light bulbs.

On Christmas Eve 1923, President Calvin Coolidge started the Christmas celebration by lighting the National Christmas Tree with 3,000 electric lights. 

The Star of Bethlehem is the source for the presence of lights as ornaments. They are usually placed at the top of Christmas trees to convey the idea of  Jesus' birth in Bethlehem. The Bible pictures the world in spiritual darkness until the birth of Christ, and compares His birth to light penetrating a dark place. 

Some 150 million sets of lights are sold in the U.S every year.

reference: History

Library of Congress 

American Holidays - Bill Perry

Last minute gifts

 

Almost every year I post this. There are so many wonderful tutorials out there in blog land. If you have one that you enjoy, I'd love to hear about it. But for today, grab your coffee or hot tea and visit these interesting and informative blogs.

As always we love to read Karen's very creative Tool Time Tuesday.  Check out her repurposed gift tags. I just might have to get one of those big round punches.

This is one of my all time favorite Travel-sized Tissue Cozy patterns. Last year I made a ton of these. Kim shared her easy tutorial on "an oft traveled road".

I have all the fabric ready and waiting for this pattern by Tea Rose Home. It is a Modern Square Garden quilt.

The TipNut has 35 Fat Quarter project ideas.

How about NoodleHead's Gathered clutch.

And get a load of this!  Sew Sweetness Secretary Bag.

Have you got a little buddy to make a gift for? How about this TOO cute Softie doll from "60piggies".

Sigh...... zippers............. Noodlehead shares a tutorial on a sweet Lil Cutie Pouch. Make them by the dozens. For teachers and friends. And add a Notebook Cover from "My Patchwork".

And how about this adorable Rudolph Bag from Clover and Violet.

You can also check out my tutorial for making pillowcases listed on my sidebar.

Orange you glad you checked Cluck Cluck Sew for an Orange Quilt.

How about a pencil case.  Shared by A Spoonful of Sugar.

Whew, that should keep us busy! Go forth and SEW :-)

Cookie Exchange, Blog Hop and GIVEAWAY!

Welcome to Day 4 of the Virtual Cookie Exchange and Christmas Blog Hop. Today is my day!

First of all thank you to Carol of Just Let Me Quilt for hosting. I'm sure everyone has enjoyed visiting the blogs for cookie recipes and Christmas ideas. 

My recipe is one my daughter found a few years ago. It's a cookie bar and a Starbucks copy cat and let me tell you they are delicious.

The picture shows it on the right and is called Cranberry Bliss bars. 

	Cranberry Bliss Bars
	Makes 16 bars.

You can find the recipe here -

https://www.recipegirl.com/cranberry-bliss-bars/

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Let's get down to the Blog Hop. Today I'd like to share Scrappy Cards. You can see all the directions on my sidebar. But I made different Christmas trees for your to see how you can incorporate scraps for your cards.

These are from the original post.

You can be as creative as you want. You can find the directions HERE and HERE.

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OK for the Christmas Blog Hop I am hosting a GIVEAWAY for three of my US readers. These will be surprise packages but I can guarantee it will be worth it. Just leave a comment on this post and be sure I have a way to contact you if you are a no reply blogger. 

For a second chance,  I would love for you to FOLLOW my blog! Leave a second comment and let me know HOW you follow. 

And if you want a third chance, you can FOLLOW my Instagram (happycottagequilter), then leave a third comment. That's right. You have three chances if you follow along.

This will be a quickie giveaway, so I will close the comments on Sunday Dec. 6. Because of the cost of mail, the giveaway is for US readers. 

Please note, if I can't contact you I will draw another name. 

One last thing. I have a Handi Quilter Sweet Sixteen for sale. You can take a look HERE.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Be sure to stop by the others that are posting today.

December 4

Just Let Me Quilt

Quilt Fabrication

Seams To Be Sew

Happy Cottage Quilter

Pumpkin Patch Patterns & Quilting

The Darling Dogwood

Kathleen McMusing

Scrapdash

DesertSky Quilting   

Saint Nicholas/ Santa Claus

 

Saint Nicholas was a real historical figure of the 4th Century. He was a wealthy Christian pastor who became famous for his generosity. On Christmas he would anonymously deliver gifts to orphanages. 

The modern American Santa Claus was named by early Dutch Settlers in New York. Saint Nicholas Sinterklaas, thus became Santa Claus. In 1822, Clement Moore described Santa in a fur trimmed suit leading a sleigh pulled by reindeer in his poem, Twas the Night Before Christmas. Thomas Nast produced a series of sketches that showed Santa as a jolly, plump visitor, leaving toys for children.

Leaving treats for Santa dates back to Norse mythology. One of the first literary references to milk and cookies on Christmas in America appeared in the 1870s in the short story Polly: A Before-Christmas Story. During the Great Depression, parents wanted to inspire their children to share with others and as a sign of showing gratitude for blessings even in times of hardship.

Reference : American Holidays - Bill Perry

History

NPR

Christmas Trees

 Germany is credited with displaying the first Christmas trees. By the 1500's people began using fir trees for their celebrations. German Lutheran immigrants brought the custom to the United States around 1710. The first US Christmas tree lot opened in 1851 by a New York woodsman named Mark Carr.

Christmas trees are grown in all 50 states, including Hawaii and Alaska. IN New York City, Rockefeller Center displays a giant Christmas tree each year. The first tree was placed in 1931 by construction workers. The tallest tree displayed was in 1948, a Norway Spruce which reached 100 feet. The modern tree displays 25,000 lights. 

In 1923 President Calvin Coolidge began the National Tree Lighting on the White House Lawn.

Most trees are cut weeks before they are sold.

Christmas trees take between six to eight years to mature.

98 percent of all Christmas trees are grown on farms.

In the first week, the Christmas tree will consume a quart of water a day.

California, Oregon, Michigan, Washington, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and North Carolina are the top Christmas tree producing states.

The best selling trees are Scotch Pine, Douglas Fir, Frasier Fir, Balsam Fir and White Pine. 

What kind of tree graces your home? Is it real or artificial? 

Reference: History 

American Holidays - Bill Perry

American Christmas Traditions

As we start the Christmas season, I thought I would share Christmas traditions that are typical for our country. 

Christmas is the holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. Although it is a religious holiday, many modern American customs were brought about from other countries.The Christmas season usually starts the day after Thanksgiving. 

"Christmas" comes from the phrase Christes Masse , the name Roman Catholics used for worship service on December 25th. Another name is Advent, meaning "coming", awaiting the Messiah.  In A.D. 336 the Roman Emperor Constantine declared December 25th to be the celebration of Christ's birth.   When the Empire split between east and west, the church in the east recognized January 6th as the celebration date. The time between December 25th and January 6th forms what has become known as the "12 Days of Christmas."

The Advent calendar started in Germany as a way for children to count down to Christmas by opening a door revealing a small gift. The tradition of the Advent calendar has become a favorite with children. Not only for the treat, but for the anticipation of Christmas day. The whole Advent experience represents hope and anticipation.

The advent candles are lit each of the four Sundays before Christmas. The first one represents hope. The second represents faith.The third joy and the fourth represents peace. The optional fifth one represent light and purity. It is placed in the middle and lit on Christmas day.

refrence - American Holidays - Bill Perry 

Christmas traditions - Wikipedia

Crosswalk 

en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Christmas_traditions