The origins of this are shrouded in the myseteries of time but what we do know is that back on Christmas Eve, 1948, The United States Air Force issued a communique stating that an 'early warning radar net to the north' had detected 'one unidentified sleigh, powered by eight reindeer, at 14,000 feet, heading 180 degrees'.  

Associated Press pass this 'report' to the general public and was intended as a one off event.

Today, 6th December, is the feast day of St Nicolas of Myra. 

​Amongst other things, he was known for his habit of secretly giving gifts and over the years following his death in 343CE, his name gave rise to varients of Santa Claus from such things as the Dutch; Sinterklass from Saint Nicolas.

We would always go to Shinners, the big department store, where my Grandmother worked.  It would either be for the staff children's party or to visit Santa's Grotto.  Either way, we didn't pay to visit Father Christmas as it was part of my Grandma's staff Christmas present.  Other people attending would pay.

I would sit on Santa's lap, tell him what I wanted for Christmas, promise to be good, have our photo taken and be given a gift.

Yesterday I looked at what Advent means, building on my blog from last year about what makes Advent Calendars so special.

​Today, I want to explore some Advent Traditions.

Advent marks the weeks before Christmas and is a time of anticipation, preparation and reflection leading up to Christmas Day.

Advent starts with the aptly named Advent Sunday.  This is the 4th Sunday before Christmas Day and usually falls between 27th November and 3rd December.  This year, 2023, it is 3rd December.

Churches and homes would have an Advent Wreath or Crown with a candle being lit on each Sunday.  Although the practice is traditionally a Lutheran practice, it has spread from it's origins in Germany to many other Christian denominations and countries.

Normally there are four candles, for the four Advent Sundays, often coloured and a fifth, white candle to be lit on Christmas Day.

Whilst the practice can be dated to the 16th Century, it wasn't until the mid 19th Century that the practice became more wide spread due to the the work of Johann Hinrich Wiehern.  During Advent, the children at the mission school, that he founded, would ask daily if it was Christmas yet.  

In the 20 years since Love Actually was released, I've rediscovered a love of Christmas movies.  

Part of me harks back to watching White Christmas with my Grandmother.  Cuddled up on the sofa, sipping proper cocoa made with jersey milk.  It would be so thick you could use it as grout, but it was rich, creamy and made, as with everything my Grandmother did, with love.

I’m down to just three physical Christmas cards a year now.  Gone are the years when I would make 20th or so cards.

Now, both of my parents are gone.  Hubby’s family don’t exchange cards (apart from one sister) and my Niblings are environmentally conscious. The last bastion of of physical cards was the office but the move to remote and hybrid killed that too.

I first started to make Christmas cards back in the late 80s.  
This was out of necessity.  I was suddenly living on my own and had very little money.  

Today, was a Spa day, a present from work for our team after completing a massive project. 

I was all warm and relaxed from my massage, snuggled in my complimentary robe, knitting and doing my other favourite activity, in these situations; listening to snatches of conversations. 

The two ladies, opposite we’re talking about Christmas and work secret Santas.  One of them asked if the other if they knew of this German tradition where you take a nice, unwanted gift, wrap it and then you play a game to see who will get which gift. 

UPDATE - want to search for a Christmas movie and see how I rated it?  Then use my new spreadsheet with all the movies watched, to date, and my ratings, along with links to find out more. Go to the spreadsheet →

71 = Total Watched To Date
23 = November
48= December​

The idea of making New Year's resolutions goes back to ancient times when people would make promises to the gods to improve their behaviour or to atone for past misdeeds. 

The ancient Babylonians are believed to be the first civilization to make New Year's resolutions, and they would make promises to their gods to pay their debts and return borrowed objects. 

In ancient Rome, the custom was to would make promises to the god Janus, who was the god of beginnings and endings. They believed that by making resolutions and keeping them, they could bring good luck and prosperity in the new year. 

The modern tradition of making New Year's resolutions has its roots in these ancient customs.

​Today, people around the world make resolutions as a way of setting goals and making positive changes in their lives. Some common New Year's resolutions include resolving to lose weight, quit smoking, save money, or spend more time with family and friends.