This digital paper is free for visitors to use in their personal
crafts only. I've created four different colors versions from an antique end paper, "Tiny Figure Print." This digital paper comes in: olive/black, antique rose/black, pine green/black, and a royal red/black. Pin the sample banner only please.
Have a question about the illustration?
Just type it in the comment box and I'll get back to you as soon as
possible. I only publish content that is closely related to the subject,
folks.
The following silhouettes from an antique design were restored by Kathy Grimm for the
purpose of reprinting on Christmas Cards or including a little print
with a handwritten letter for a loved one. Visitors should read The Terms of Use
before downloading them from here. Use them in your own personal crafts
and letters freely but do not redistribute them over the web or profit
from them by selling the work in it's original state. (This means
burning the jpgs. to CDs or using them to draw traffic to web pages.)
Click directly on one of the four options to download the largest files. The design is available in four colors: blue, black, green and red.
Have a question about the illustration?
Just type it in the comment box and I'll get back to you as soon as
possible. I only publish content that is closely related to the subject,
folks.
It was away back in the time of Alexander the Great that Germany was made known to the civilized world by an adventurous sailor named Pytheas, a man of more than ordinary talent, who was sailing northward and discovered a land inhabited by a then unknown people. He reported his discovery to the Romans, but the difficulty was that Pytheas had seen so much more than any of the Greeks or Romans of those days that they utterly refused to believe his statements. Time has proved that the sailor was nearer right in many of his apparently visionary statements than his countrymen dreamed, although it has taken centuries to prove the fact in some cases.
The people whom Pytheas then introduced to the polite world were Teutons, a branch of the great Aryan race and closely related to the early English. The men were simple, truthful, and brave, but were sadly addicted to drink, it was said, and consequently were often quarrelsome. The women were much like those of to-day in their characteristics: virtuous, proud, and dignified; very beautiful, with golden-hued hair, blue eyes, and fresh, fair complexions. Like most of the early peoples, the Teutons worshiped gods and goddesses, and so have many customs and traditions in common with other branches of the Aryans,
If England has enjoyed the merriest Yule-tides of the past, certainly Germany enjoys the merriest of the present, for in no other country is the day so fully and heartily observed. It is the great occasion of the year and means much to the people.
For a week or more before the day, loads of evergreen trees of all sizes may be seen coming into the cities and towns to be piled up in squares and open places until the entire place looks like a forest of small firs. One wonders where they all come from and for how many years the supply will last, but it is not likely to fail at present.
Toy-making in Germany. How the rough figures are chipped from the wooden
ring coming from the cross-section of a tree.
The Lutherans gave Martin Luther the credit of introducing the Christmas tree into Germany. He may have helped to make it popular, but certainly there is abundant evidence to prove that it was known long before the Reformer's time. It is generally supposed to have its origin in mythological times and to be a vestige of the marvelous tree, Yggdrasil.
Possibly Martin Luther thought of the old story of the tree and imagined, as he traveled alone one cold night, how pretty the snow-laden fir-trees along his path would look could they be lighted by the twinkling stars overhead. But whether he had anything to do with it or not, the tree is now one of the most important features of Yule-tide among the Germans of all denominations.
Nearly ten million households require one or two trees each Christmas, varying in height from two to twenty feet. Societies provide them for people who are too poor to buy them, and very few are over-looked at this happy holiday season.
The grand Yule-tide festival is opened on the eve of St. Nicholas Day, December sixth; in fact bazaars are held from the first of the month, which is really one prolonged season of merrymaking.
In Germany, St. Nicholas has a day set apart in his honor. He was born in Palara, a city of Lycia, and but very little is known of his life except that he was made Bishop of Myra and died in the year 343. It was once the custom to send a man around to personate St. Nicholas on St. Nicholas Eve, and to inquire how the children had behaved through the year, who were deserving of gifts, and who needed a touch of the birch rods that he carried with him into every home. St. Nicholas still goes about in some parts of the country, and in the bazaars and shops are sold little bunches of rods, real or made of candy, such as St. Nicholas is supposed to deal in. In some places Knight Rupert takes the place of St. Nicholas in visiting the houses. But Kriss Kringle has nearly usurped the place St. Nicholas once held in awe and respect by German children.
Because St. Nicholas Day came so near to Christmas, in some countries the Saint became associated with that celebration, although in Germany the eve of his birthday continues to be observed. Germans purchase liberally of the toys and confectionery offered at the bazaars, and nowhere are prettier toys and confectionery found than in Germany the country which furnishes the most beautiful toys in the world.
From the palace to the hut, Yule-tide is a season of peace, rest, joy, and devotion. For three days, that is the day before Christmas, Christmas, and the day after known as Boxing-day all business not absolutely necessary to the welfare of the community is suspended. Stores, markets, and bazaars present a festive appearance ; the young girl attendants are smiling and happy, and every one seems in the best of humor.
Many of the poorer class of Germans do not eat much meat, but at Christmas all indulge in that extravagance, so the markets are unusually crowded. They all like to purchase a plant or a flower for Christmas and the flower stores are marvels of beauty and sweetness.
Every one is busy preparing for the great occasion. Grown folks become children again in the simplicity of their enjoyment and enter into the excitement with as much enthusiasm as do the children.
Newspapers are not generally published during the three days of business suspension, for no one would have time or interest to read them at such a season.
In many places churches are open during the week before Christmas, for with all the bustle and excitement incident to the preparations, the people, young and old, are filled with a deep spirit of devotion, and never for an instant forget the significance of the occasion they commemorate.
Churches are not trimmed nor are they made attractive with flowers, songs, or in any special way, but the people go to listen with devotion to the telling of the old, old story of Christ's birthday and of the first Holy Night at Bethlehem.
The day before Christmas all are busy trimming up their homes and preparing for the great day. Usually the mother of the household trims the tree, not admitting any other member of the curious and expectant family into the room. Tables are provided for holding the gifts, as every one in the family is expected to make a gift to every other member, and it is surprising to note the interest taken in these simple gifts often a soap-rose, an artificial flower, knitted lace, even sausages, cheese, or butter and with each and all the ever-present Christmas cake. It is spiced and hard, cut into every manner of device men, women, animals, stars, hearts, etc. The Pfeffer Kuchen (pepper cakes) or some similar cakes are to be seen everywhere at Christmas time.
The gifts are often accompanied with short verses, good, bad, or indifferent, according to the talent of the giver, but all serve to make the occasion merry. In some families these simple inexpensive gifts are so carefully kept that collections may be seen of gifts received by different members of the family since their infancy.
On Christmas Eve the guests assemble early, and by six o'clock a signal is given for the door of the mysterious room to be opened to admit the family to the tree:
"O Hemlock tree ! O Hemlock-tree ! how faith-
ful are thy branches !
Green not alone in summer time,
But in the winter's frost and rime!
O Hemlock-tree ! O Hemlock-tree! how faith-
ful are thy branches !"
It is ablaze with tiny lighted tapers and radiant with shiny tinsel cut in pretty devices or in thread-like strips. Bright balls, gay toys, and paper flowers help to enhance its beauty, and sometimes scenes from sacred history are arranged with toys at the base of the tree.
With the distribution of the gifts the fun begins; each person is expected to kiss every other person present arid help make the occasion a merry one.
Holy Night, or, as the Germans term it, Weihnachtthe Night of Dedication- is the time of family reunions, fun, and frolic. Not alone in homes, hospitals, prisons, barracks, and elsewhere is the pretty betinseled tree to be seen on Christmas, but in burying-grounds, on the resting-places of the dead, stand these fresh green trees in evidence of keeping the loved one's memory green.
While the custom of having a tree is universal throughout Germany, and from thence has been introduced into other countries, there are many customs peculiar to certain sections. In some of the little out-of-the-way places in the Tyrolese Alps the old-time Miracle Plays are enacted in a most primitive manner. As the peasants rarely, if ever, attend the theatre or have any opportunity to see a modern play, this occasion attracts them from far and near. Where is the theatre, who are the actors, do you ask? The theatre is the largest place available, sometimes a large room, sometimes a barn, anything that will accommodate the crowd that is sure to come. In one description of a play given on Christmas Day it is stated that the people assembled in a barn belonging to the vicarage to witness the Paradise Play. The top of a huge pottery stove at least five feet high served for the throne of God the Father, the stove being hidden by screens painted to represent clouds. The play " began at the beginning," at Chaos. A large paper screen bedecked with a profusion of suns, moons, stars, and comets formed a background, while in front sprawled a number of boys in tights with board wings fastened to their shoulders to represent angels. The language was as simple and primitive as the scenery, yet for the credulous, devout peasants " no distance is too great, no passes too steep or rough, no march on dusty highroads too fatiguing, if a Miracle or Passion Play is their goal."
Does it seem sacrilegious? Not to those who attend it in the spirit of humility and devotion, as do these Tyrolese peasants. In some places plays are given in churches on Christmas as they were formerly in England, but these are not common, and are only found in remote places. Throughout this country there is always a church service in the morning which is very generally attended, Protestants and Catholics alike making Christmas the day of all the year in which they attend church.
The name Christmas probably originated from the order that was given for saying mass (called Christ-mass) for the sins of the people on the day that commemorates the Saviour's Birth.
One beautiful feature of a German Christmas is the wide-spread thought for the poor and the interest taken in them. Many wealthy families have charge of a certain number of poor families, and on Christmas Day invite them to their own luxurious homes to receive gifts and enjoy the tree prepared for them. An address, prayer, and song as they stand around the tree precedes the distribution of gifts, usually of clothing and food, with which the guests fill the bags and baskets they bring with them. And for all there is an abundance of Pfeffer Kuchen, or some other Christmas cake.
In the midst of all the excitement of lighted tree and pretty gifts, German children seldom forget to return thanks for what they receive. They are taught that all these gifts come through the Christ-child, and that the occasion is not for selfish enjoyment but to give pleasure to others, and that no one is too poor to give kindly thought and pleasant words to those around them.
In some parts of Germany Lorraine is one the people burn the Yule-log; sometimes a huge log that will last through the three days' festivity, sometimes one so small that the family sit before it until it is all consumed. Sometimes a part of the log is suspended from the ceiling of the room and each person present blows at it hoping to make a spark fall on some watching face; then again some carry a piece of the log to bed with them to protect them from lightning. But the Yule-log is not very generally known in this land of great pottery stoves and closed fireplaces, and that may be one reason why post wagons go rumbling about at Christmas time, carrying parcels from place to place and from door to door, blowing their post-horns continuously, instead of the parcels being dropped down chimneys by Santa Glaus.
It is customary, also, in some parts of the country, for the people and their animals to fast the day before Christmas. At midnight the people attend church and it is said that the cattle kneel; then both man and beast partake of a hearty meal. There are places in the German Alps where it is believed that the cattle are blessed with the gift of language for a while on Christmas Eve, but as it is a very great sin to listen, no one has yet reported any conversation among them. In another part of the country it is thought that the Virgin Mary with a company of angels passes over the land on Holy Night, and so tables are spread with the best the larders afford and candles are lighted and left burning that the angelic visitors may find abundant food should they chance to stop on their way.
Boxing-day, when boxes prepared for the poor are distributed, follows the Holy Day and after that business is resumed, although festivities do not cease.
Sylvester, or New Year's Eve, is the next occasion to be observed during Yule-tide. The former name was given in honor of the first pope of that name, and still retained by many. After the usual church service in the early evening, the intervening hours before midnight are spent in the most boisterous merriment. Fun of all sorts within the limit of law and decency prevails. Any one venturing forth wearing a silk hat is in danger of having his hat, if not his head, smashed. " Hat off," cries the one who spies one of these head-coverings, and if the order is not instantly obeyed, woe betide the luckless wearer. At midnight all Germany, or at least all in the cities and the larger towns, may be seen out-of-doors or leaning from windows, waiting for the bells to ring out the Old Year and welcome in the New. At first stroke of the bells there arises one universal salute of Prosit Neujahr (Happy New Year).
It is all good-natured fun, a wild, exuberant farewell to the Old Year the closing scene of the joyous Yule-tide. by Mary P. Pringle and Clara A. Urann
See a contemporary Christmas in Germany with Olga and Ehsan. "Olga from Belarus and Ehsan from Iran have a closer look at typical
German Christmas customs. (by Maël Frize). More Information about
studying and living in Germany on our Website www.study-in,de."
Here you can see there is a faux, cotton batting
candle for every branch. One hundred years
ago German's would have used real lighted
candles instead. I will include many more
cotton ornaments than this on the tree come
Christmas. Stay tuned for updates.
I know that there are some of you who would prefer to use real candles on your feather tree and wouldn't mind dousing it with a bucket of water should it catch on fire! However, I think I'll just do things my own way and relax; knowing that I can be sure the tree won't need such attention should I decide to take a nap or exit for a quick trip to the kitchen for cookies. Besides, my mother-in-law paid far too much money for this little feathered beauty for me to take chances with it!
Supply List:
old steel coat hangers with paper tube bottoms
cotton balls
masking tape
wooden tooth picks or wooden skewers
white school glue
Christmas feather tree candle holders, clip on type
Krylon Glowz, glow-in-th-dark white spray paint or another brand if you find it lasts longer
Exacto knife or single edged razor blade (You may need one of these to cut the cardboard tube.)
Step-by-Step Directions:
Gather the supplies. You may need to substitute alternative paper tubing if you do not have the old type of hangers that I used. If cannot find the appropriate size, simple use toilet paper tubes. Cut these length wise, curl them until they are the proper diameter to fit snug inside the candle holders and tape the edges together with masking tape.
Remove the tubes and cut them varying lengths to mimic real candles. I choose to make some of my candles shorter than others in order to give them the appearance of use.
Cover the exterior of your cardboard candle with a layer of masking tape. Leave to top end of your tube uncovered so that you will be able to insert a fake wick later.
Now cover the masked cardboard candle with white glue and carefully wrap each candle with two lagers of cotton batting. Add extra glue in between the applied layers.
Roll out long "snake like" pieces of cotton batting to create the twist of the candle. Apply more glue to the candle in a serpentine twist pattern, like you would see on a candy cane. Spin the these snake like pieces up the sides following the spiral glue trail. Let the candle dry upright inside the clip candle holders. Apply a generous fourth coat of white glue to the faux candles and let them dry.
Next you will need to twist tiny cotton batting flames onto the ends of your wooden tooth picks. These can be abstract in appearance as they are to look like tiny flames from a distance. I twisted two separate layers of cotton batting on the ends of each wick.
Spray paint your wicks separately from the candles. You will need to coat them with Glowz every year perhaps. Keeping the wicks separate from the actual candles will allow you to replace the wicks over time should you need to.
After following the specific guidelines given for the glow-in-the-dark paint, let these wicks dry and insert one into the top of each candlestick that is clamped onto your tree.
Left, old steel coat hangers with paper tube bottoms. Right, Christmas feather tree candle holders, clip on type.
"You may need to substitute alternative paper tubing if you do not have
the old type of hangers that I used. If cannot find the appropriate
size, simple use toilet paper tubes. Cut these length wise, curl them
until they are the proper diameter to fit snug inside the candle holders
and tape the edges together with masking tape."
Left, You will need to twist tiny cotton batting flames onto the ends of
your wooden tooth picks. These can be abstract in appearance as they are
to look like tiny flames from a distance. I twisted two separate layers
of cotton batting on the ends of each wick. Center, I poked holes into an old egg carton in order to keep my wicks upright while spraying these with glow-in-the-dark paint. I needed to use an entire can of this paint in order for the flames to be noticeably glowing. Come December I think I will try dipping them into a liquid form of the paint to see if this will help them glow even brighter. Right you can see the backside of the egg carton where the sticks are pocking through.
Left, here you can see I've put my pretend flaming wick into the hollow candle. Right, is a hollow, cotton batting candle without a wick.
more pictures of the completed cotton batting candles that I made for my feather tree this year.
I finally acquired a small, fence to set my feather tree inside. It was missing only one picket. I cut this out from an old piece of scrap wood and sanded it down to match the other pickets. Then I painted my fence a bright cherry red for Christmas. The project only cost me three dollars! I found the fence in a resale shop near my home.
I know some of you think I have lost my mind with the scale of these candles, rest assured, I just took the pictures from downward angles in order to get closeups of the textures and shapes. The candles are not too large for the tree. These were measured against the real ones!
Just right is a photo taken of the same set of candles without weird angles. Looks different doesn't it? You thought I'd lost it making all of these ornaments didn't you? Rest assured, I just thought this picture on the right was a bit boring. This little tree will be beautiful come Christmas, don't worry.
More Cotton Batting Christmas Displays and Ornaments For You to Explore:
Some of you may prefer to age your own versions of these candles. Just fill a spray bottle with some very strong brewed coffee and spritz the lot until you achieve the color that you like. I prefer to let my versions age naturally.
At a glance, the illusion of real legs is unusual and, with a
little practice, you can give lifelike interpretations of many dances.
Just a simple jigsawed cutout of 1/4 in. plywood, with hands and face outlined in pencil on the surface, this doll walks with the aid of legs formed by the first two fingers of your hand. Two shoes are carved from small blocks of wood and recessed to fit tightly on your finger tips. A short handle glued to the back of the doll, as shown in one of the photos, wedges between the fingers and supports the figure. Hands, arms, face, eyes and clothing are easily out lined with black paint.
Little girl playing with a home-made kaleidoscope.
By HARRY WALTON
Photographs by WILLIAM MORRIS and ROBERT SMITH
Visitors to London about 1816 were amazed to see people in the
streets gazing skyward through pasteboard tubes. But these watchers were
peering at no eclipse or comet. They were fascinated by a scientific
novelty that had taken London by storm the kaleidoscope, invented by
Sir David Brewster. First regarded only as a toy, it was soon adopted by
artists as an aid in originating new designs. Sir David named his
invention by combining three Greek words: kalos, meaning beautiful;
eidos, form; and skopeo, I see. Almost anyone who has looked through a
kaleidoscope will agree that the name is appropriate.
Two mirrors on facing walls create the familiar illusion of an endless
succession of walls. Multiple reflection also produces the patterns in a
kaleidoscope, but the mirrors are joined at one edge, so that the
reflections form a circle. Their number depends upon the angle between
the mirrors.
Because of the angle at which reflection occurs in a kaleidoscope,
ordinary mirrors will produce a blurred double image both the silver
backing and the glass surface reflect light. The mirrors must be of the
front-surface type. Unsilvered glass acts as such a mirror, particularly
if its back surface is blackened with paint or enamel. Small
kaleidoscopes can be bought at toy counters, but you can assemble one
from common materials, and learn much about this fascinating device.
Pictures on the following pages show step by step how to build a
two-mirror kaleidoscope that will form twelve-unit patterns similar to
those above. Three mirrors of the same size arranged triangle fashion
will form six-unit designs and multiply each into an allover pattern.
Make your own kaleidoscope, detailed instructions are below.
1: The kaleidoscope on page 110 was made from these parts: a 2″ by 9″
mailing tube, two glass strips 1-7/8″ by 8″, a frosted and a clear glass
disk, black paint, tape, cement, cardboard, plastic scraps, and
covering paper
2: Sizes are not critical if correct proportions are maintained. Any
tube can be used, provided the glass strips are cut to fit inside at an
angle of 30 deg. They should be about four times as long as they are
wide. Coat one side of each with black paint or enamel
3: While the painted glass is drying, cut a disk out of stiff
cardboard, making it a close fit inside one end of the tube. At the
center punch a 1/4″ peephole. If no punch is available, use a sharp
knife to cut a triangular hole 3/8″ on a side, as shown above
4: When the paint is dry, join the mirrors at one edge with adhesive
tape, the unpainted sides facing. Set them on a drawn angle of 30. deg.
or on the diagram below. Cut a cardboard spacer to fit closely within
the outer edges
5: Tape the spacing strip in place to hold the mirrors 30 deg. apart.
Be sure the painted surfaces are outside; then slide the mirrors into
the tube as in the photo below. If they fit loosely, wrap a sheet of
paper about them
6: Push the mirrors 1/8″ inside the end of the tube. So placed, they
should reach to within about 7/8″ of the other end. This will leave
ample room for the load. Apply cement thinly inside the 1/8″ space and
to the edge of the eyepiece, and press this into place
7: Turn the tube around and push the clear glass disk into it right
against the ends of the mirrors. A little cement may be spread around
the edge. Now cut a cardboard strip 5/8″ wide and long enough to overlap
inside the tube. Cement it fast as in the photo
8: You are now ready to add the load. Bits of colored plastic, broken
glass, beads, and scraps of celluloid are suitable. All should be
translucent or transparent. Carved pieces, notched edges, and saw cuts
yield odd effects
9: It is interesting to experiment by varying the amount of the load
and using scraps of different colors. To view the patterns, press the
frosted disk into place. When the load is satisfactory, secure the disk
by cementing it
10: You can improve the outward appearance of your kaleidoscope by
wrapping the tube in some gaily colored decorative paper. The kind used
for Christmas packages is ideal. Clear model-airplane dope, lacquer, or
varnish will prevent injury from frequent handling
That beauty is in the eye of the beholder is literally true of these kaleidoscope patterns, for only one twelfth of each is real, a jumble of bits of plastic and glass. Eleven twelfths are reflections, blended by repetition into a symmetrical whole. These designs were photographed in a kaleidoscope built especially for P. S. M. To minimize the loss of light in successive reflections, special mirrors are used. They consist of plate glass on which vaporized aluminum has been deposited in a vacuum to form the reflecting surface. For these photos, the kaleidoscope was illuminated by two 2,000-watt spotlights shining through a sheet of opal glass. One-second exposures were made on Kodochrome film at lens openings of from f/8 to f/16. Oct, 1944
Print this Christmas Word Search for a party or fun activity
during the month of December.
It is full of common gifts from mothers, grandmothers and aunts in the year 1920.
Here are some adorable vintage baby dolls and their sweet little owners to color while you are dreaming of Christmas this holiday season.
A little girl holds her Christmas doll. She is from a restored 1908 newspaper ad. Don't forget to drag these coloring pages into a Word Doc and enlarge
them before printing them out. The larger the image, the easier it is
for little ones to color.
The Children's Way
Of course, you little girls and boys All like good-things to eat; And when the box of sweets is passed, You think it quite a treat!
You say, "How many may we have?" And when I say, "One each," You always ask, "Can't we have two?" And how your eyes beseech!
And if I say, "Well, two apiece," (This never fails to be) You always ask in that same way, "Oh, please, mayn't we have three?"
And when I say, "Well, three apiece, And not a candy more!" A timid voice is sure to beg, "Please, let us have - just four!"
This little kewpie doll is someone's Christmas angel.
Now here's something fun to do... make a paper doll or two. Print as many as you like, cut and color, make things bright!
These vintage Santa wave, greeting tags come black and white. I have cleaned, redrawn and restored these designs from a
very old newspaper clipping. Use them in your personal
crafts only please.
Have a question about the illustration?
Just type it in the comment box and I'll get back to you as soon as
possible. I only publish content that is closely related to the subject,
folks.
It is not necessary to have a steel runnered sled to attain great
coasting speed on a snowy hill. A bobsled can be built of an ordinary
2×12 inch plank and barrel staves which will pass anything on any hill,
especially in deep snow. Besides the material just mentioned all that
will be needed are a few pieces of 2×4 and a couple of carriage bolts.
Saw a piece of 2 x 12 plank into a length of about 6 feet. If you
cannot secure 2 x 12, two 2 x 8’s laid side by side will do the trick
nicely and make a good stout body for the runners.
Under the backbone of planks, cross members of 2 x 4’s are placed and
spiked thoroughly as shown in the accompanying illustration. Two tiers
of the two by fours will be required to lift the bob far enough above
the ground to give good snow clearance. On the front cross beam the
lower 2 x 4 is separated from the upper by a few washers, and is pivoted
on a good 1/2 in. carriage bolt so that the runners will be able to
turn when they are put on.
Under the 2×4 cross members, fasten with spikes a piece of 2 x 8
plank. This is the final thickness of the cross members and is wider
than the rest so that the runners will have bearing forwards and
backwards. Saw out between the runners, which are of ordinary barrel
staves, and the sled will be ready for use. A good scheme for finishing
the sled to make it weather and ice proof is to paint it with boiled
linseed oil, wiping the surplus off. The sled is then ready for use.
The boiled oil, if generously applied to the runners, will make them
especially tough and will most certainly increase the speed of the sled,
as snow is wont to gather on the runners in weather which is this
sled’s special forte; namely, light snows freshly fallen—just when the
coasting fun is keenest!
The bobsled shown above, built of ordinary lumber and
barrel staves, can outspeed the fleetest of stell runnered bobsleds in
freshly fallen snow. Note the arrangement for steering the sled by
pivoting the forward runners on a large carriage bolt.
Description of Coloring Page: This Christmas angel is framed by a boarder of holly berries and leaves. She has large wings and holds an ancient instrument in her hands. Click on the coloring page to download the largest version of this coloring page.
You can also print it as a cover of a book and include many of the Christmas hymns and poems posted on this blog. Give your book as a gift or keep it full of special Christmas memories. Take pictures of your family and friends to paste inside your book of holiday memories as well. This makes a special keepsake that you will enjoy sharing year after year.
Don't forget to drag the png. or jpg into a Word Document and enlarge the image
as much as possible before printing it folks. If you have a question
about this coloring page, just type into the comment box located
directly below this post and I'll try to get back to you as soon as I
can.
A beautiful sample art journal about "Journal Your Christmas"
Christmas celebrations in New England were illegal during part of the
17th century, and were culturally taboo or rare in Puritan colonies from
foundation until the 1850s. The Puritan community found no Scriptural justification for celebrating Christmas, and associated such celebrations with paganism and idolatry. The earliest years of the Plymouth Colony were troubled with non-Puritans attempting to make merry, and Governor William Bradford was forced to reprimand offenders. English laws suppressing the holiday were enacted in the Interregnum,
but repealed late in the 17th century. However, the Puritan view of
Christmas and its celebration had gained cultural ascendancy in New
England, and Christmas celebrations continued to be discouraged despite
being legal. When Christmas became a Federal holiday in 1870, the Puritan view was relaxed and late 19-century Americans fashioned the day into the Christmas of commercialism, spirituality, and nostalgia that most Americans recognize today. Read more...
Traditional, Colonial-style Christmas
decorations at Williamsburg.
"The first century of colonial life saw few set times and days for pleasure. The holy days of the English Church were as a stench to the Puritan nostrils, and their public celebration was at once rigidly forbidden by the laws of New England. New holidays were not quickly evolved, and the sober gatherings for matters of Church and State for a time took their place. The hatred of "wanton Bacchanallian Christmasses" spent throughout England, as Cotton said, "in revelling, dicing, carding, masking, mumming, consumed in compotations, in interludes, in excess of wine, in mad mirth," was the natural reaction of intelligent and thoughtful minds against the excesses of a festival which had ceased to be a Christian holiday, but was dominated by a lord of misrule who did not hesitate to invade the churches in time of service, in his noisy revels and sports. English Churchmen long ago revolted also against such Christmas observance. Of the first Pilgrim Christmas we know but little, save that it was spent, as was many a later one, in work. . . .
By 1659 the Puritans had grown to hate Christmas more and more; it was, to use Shakespeare's words, "the bug that feared them all." The very name smacked to them of incense, stole, and monkish jargon; any person who observed it as a holiday by forbearing of labor, feasting, or any other way was to pay five shillings fine, so desirous were they to "beate down every sprout of Episcopacie."
Judge Sewall watched jealously the feeling of the people with regard to Christmas, and noted with pleasure on each succeeding year the continuance of common traffic throughout the day. Such entries as this show his attitude: "Dec. 25, 1685. Carts come to town and shops open as usual. Some somehow observe the day, but are vexed I believe that the Body of people profane it, and blessed be God no authority yet to compel them to keep it." When the Church of England established Christmas services in Boston a few years later, we find the Judge waging hopeless war against Governor Belcher over it, and hear him praising his son for not going with other boy friends to hear the novel and attractive services. He says: "I exhort mine from Christmas keeping and charge them to forbear."
Christmas could not be regarded till this century as a New England holiday, though in certain localities, such as old Narragansett, an opulent community which was settled by Episcopalians‚ two weeks of Christmas visiting and feasting were entered into with zest by both planters and slaves for many years previous to the revolution." Alice Morse Earle
Many American Colonists did actually celebrate Christmas but this depended entirely upon their history, beliefs and location. There were many Christians who were not Puritans and there were also Puritans who were not so particularly restrictive about holidays. As with much history, the records often reflect only a few opinions; so it is wise to remember that one must study a larger spectrum of civilization in order to glean a more accurate record of events and culture.
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Trace these early 1930s designs on transparent paper and fold paper over for the other side of each hanger. Use wood about 3/8 inch to 1/2 inch thick and jig-saw out. Then sand off all sharp edges shaping them to graceful contours. Decorate designs in center with water colors, paint or lacquer.
Download and print the above image of Little Miss Muffet on heavy stock paper, bright white is best. Lepage on wood1/4 inch or even 3/8 inch thick, if you prefer, and jig-saw on black lines. You can also make your own puzzles by tearing pictures from advertisements or magazine covers, drawing in the black lines and sawing out. Try it with a map of the United States cutting out on state boundary lines.
"Little Miss Muffet" is a nursery rhyme, one of the most commonly printed in the mid-twentieth century. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 20605. Read more...
Outside design for book ends. Child on her way to school carries both her books and a fistful of flowers for her teacher. She is wearing a hooded red cape and Mary Jane shoes, popular dress items of the late 1920s and early 1930s, for young children. There is an idealistic landscape behind her: home with a pitched roof, trees, birds, clouds etc...
Made entirely from 3/8 inch plywood. Trace the outside lines of these shapes over carbon paper on wood or paste page on wood and jig-saw out. Dado a groove 3/8 inch wide and 1/4 inch deep in end of base and nail and glue upright to it. Shave base off at one end with planer or sander.
"The Cherry-Tree Carol" is a ballad with the rare distinction of being both a Christmas carol and one of the Child Ballads (no. 54). The song itself is very old, reportedly sung in some form at the Feast of Corpus Christi in the early 15th century. The versions eventually collected by Francis James Child are thought to be a combination of up to three separate carols that merged through the centuries.
The ballad, "The Cherry Tree Carol," relates an apocryphal story of the
Virgin Mary, presumably while traveling to Bethlehem with Joseph
for the census. In the most popular version, the two stop in a cherry
orchard, and Mary asks her husband to pick cherries for her, citing her
child. Joseph spitefully tells Mary to let the child's father pick her
cherries.
At this point in most versions, the infant Jesus,
from the womb, speaks to the tree and commands it to lower a branch
down to Mary, which it does. Joseph, witnessing this miracle,
immediately repents his harsh words. The more contemporary versions
sometimes end here, while others often include an angel
appearing to Joseph and telling him of the circumstances of Jesus's
birth. Other versions then jump ahead several years, where the next
verse picks up with Jesus on his mother's lap, telling her of his
eventual death and resurrection. Read more...
In Defense of Joseph . . . Angels did appear to Joseph to explain to him what was
transpiring in his life and he shared this with Mary and others. So in
his defense I have referenced the scripture. However, the carol is still
quite lovely, however inaccurate it may be. (smile) The implications here are that Joseph actually had frequent directions from angels.
"But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him
in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary
home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy
Spirit." Matthew 1:20
"When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream.
"Get up," he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt.
Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child
to kill him." Matthew 2:13
And also the name of Joseph carries big news in scripture; any man selected by God and given the name is in for an unusual life story according to the Bible. The name literally means "to add to or give increase."
"Judy Collins sings this traditional nativity ballad, thought to date back
to the 15th century. The story tells of the fetus Jesus performing a
miracle by lowering the bow of a cherry tree so that Mary can reach and
pick the fruit. This clip comes from a 1996 performance at the Biltmore
Estate in North Carolina, available on the 1997 DVD release titled
"Judy Collins - Christmas at the Biltmore Estate." Look for more clips
from the concert here on YouTube's Judy Collins Channel."
