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one more! going to that market is now on my bucket list! I have got to see that!

2/10

Still at 1/10 today but I really want to go to the Market! It sounds amazing!

Also, my 4 year old is loving the vicar's telling of the Nativity.

I'm enjoying this game so far - and not just because I have two numbers already.

Oh, and I want to go to the Christmas Market - who's with me?

I have 1 out of 10. I'm also enjoying this Bingo.

I have been to a couple of the German Christmas Markets but did not realize that the UK has one as well. Well I am on board with whoever is going. Oh and I am at 3/10 so far.

fccs wrote:Oh, and I want to go to the Christmas Market - who's with me?

me me me me me me me me me me .........
Still at 0/10 but the YouTube video makes that very okay!

Carole

I guess we'll have to organise a Forum trip to the Frankfurt Christmas Market then!!

The third pair of numbers have been drawn. Sorry for the volume of material about Father Christmas, but it is rather interesting!

11. Father Christmas

Father Christmas is the traditional British name for a figure associated with Christmas, a forerunner of Santa Claus. The term is also used in many English-speaking countries outside the United Kingdom. A similar figure with the same name (in other languages) exists in several other countries, including Canada and France (Père Noël), Spain (Papá Noel, Padre Noel), almost all Hispanic South America (Papá Noel), Brazil (Papai Noel), Portugal (Pai Natal), Italy (Babbo Natale), Ireland (Daidí na Nollag), Armenia (Dzmer Papik), India (Christmas Father), Andorra (Pare Noel), Romania (Moş Crăciun), Turkey (Noel Baba), Hungary (Télapó), Bulgaria (Dyado Koleda, Grandfather Christmas), Ukraine (Svyatyj Mykolaj) and Belgium and Holland (Sint Nikolaas).
Although he has a quite different origin, in the English-speaking world, Father Christmas is now associated with the development in the United States of Santa Claus, and most people consider them to be different names for the same figure. In English Canada and French Canada, Santa Claus and Père Noël are the same character. In Brazil, the figure of a Father Christmas as an old embodiment of Christmas unrelated to modern Santa Claus is virtually nonexistent, having been completely replaced by Papai Noel, which, despite of keeping that name and etymology, is exactly the same figure of Santa Claus currently known in the US.
In England the earliest known personification of Christmas does not describe him as old, nor refer to him as 'father'. A carol attributed to Richard Smart, Rector of Plymtree from 1435 to 1477, takes the form of a sung dialogue between a choir and a figure representing Christmas, variously addressed as "Nowell", "Sir Christemas" and "my lord Christemas". He does not distribute presents to children but is associated with adult celebrations. Giving news of Christ's birth, Christmas encourages everyone to eat and drink: "Buvez bien par toute la campagnie,/Make good cheer and be right merry." However, the specific depiction of Christmas as a merry old man emerged in the early 17th century. The rise of puritanism had led to increasing condemnation of the traditions handed down from pre-Reformation times, especially communal feasting and drinking. As debate intensified, those writing in support of the traditional celebrations often personified Christmas as a venerable, kindly old gentleman, given to good cheer but not excess. They referred to this personification as "Christmas", "Old Christmas" or "Father Christmas".
Ben Jonson in Christmas his Masque, dating from December 1616, notes the rising tendency to disparage the traditional forms of celebration. His character 'Christmas' therefore appears in outdated fashions, "attir'd in round Hose, long Stockings, a close Doublet, a high crownd Hat with a Broach, a long thin beard, a Truncheon, little Ruffes, white shoes, his Scarffes, and Garters tyed crosse", and announces "Why Gentlemen, doe you know what you doe? ha! would you ha'kept me out? Christmas, old Christmas?" Later, in a masque by Thomas Nabbes, The Springs Glorie produced in 1638, "Christmas" appears as "an old reverend gentleman in furred gown and cap".
During the mid-17th century, the debate about the celebration of Christmas became politically charged, with Royalists adopting a pro-Christmas stance and radical puritans striving to ban the festival entirely. Early in 1646 an anonymous satirical author wrote The Arraignment, Conviction and Imprisoning of Christmas, in which a Royalist lady is frantically searching for Father Christmas: this was followed months later by the Royalist poet John Taylor's The Complaint of Christmas, in which Father Christmas mournfully visits puritan towns but sees "...no sign or token of any Holy Day". A book dating from the time of the Commonwealth, The Vindication of CHRISTMAS or, His Twelve Yeares' Observations upon the Times (London, 1652), involved "Old Christmas" advocating a merry, alcoholic Christmas and casting aspersions on the charitable motives of the ruling Puritans. In a similar vein, a humorous pamphlet of 1686 by Josiah King presents Father Christmas as the personification of festive traditions pre-dating the puritan commonwealth. He is described as an elderly gentleman of cheerful appearance, "who when he came look't so smug and pleasant, his cherry cheeks appeared through his thin milk white locks, like (b)lushing Roses vail'd with snow white Tiffany". His character is associated with feasting, hospitality and generosity to the poor rather than the giving of gifts.
This tradition continued into the following centuries, with "Old Father Christmas" being evoked in 1734 in the pamphlet Round About Our Coal Fire, as "Shewing what Hospitality was in former Times, and how little of it there remains at present", a rebuke to "stingy" gentry. A writer in "Time's Telescope" (1822) states that in Yorkshire at eight o'clock on Christmas Eve the bells greet "Old Father Christmas" with a merry peal, the children parade the streets with drums, trumpets, bells, (or in their absence, with the poker and shovel, taken from their humble cottage fire), the yule candle is lighted, and; "High on the cheerful fire. Is blazing seen th' enormous Christmas brand." A letter to The Times in 1825, warning against poultry-dealers dishonestly selling off sub-standard geese at Christmas time, is jokingly signed "Father Christmas".
In these early references, Father Christmas, although invariably an old and cheerful man, is mainly associated with adult feasting and drinking rather than the giving of presents. Since the mid-Victorian era however, Father Christmas has gradually merged with the pre-modern gift-giver St Nicholas (Dutch Sinterklaas, hence Santa Claus) and associated folklore. Nowadays in the UK, the figure is often called Santa Claus but also often referred to as Father Christmas: the two names are synonyms. In Europe, the figure is usually translated as Father Christmas (Père Noël, Papá Noel, Padre Noel, etc.) rather than "Santa Claus" and is often said to reside in the mountains of Korvatunturi in Lapland Province, Finland.
Under the Marxist-Leninist doctrine of state atheism in the Soviet Union, after its foundation in 1917, Christmas celebrations—along with other religious holidays—were prohibited as a result of the Soviet antireligious campaign. The League of Militant Atheists encouraged school pupils to campaign against Christmas traditions, among them being Father Christmas and the Christmas tree, as well as other Christian holidays, including Easter; the League established an antireligious holiday to be the 31st of each month as a replacement. The winter holidays concentrated on New Year's Day and Father Christmas was replaced by Ded Moroz, who also brought gifts to the children. The Christmas tree was replaced by the Winter tree which was decorated similarly.
Father Christmas often appears as a large man, often around seventy years old. He is dressed in a red suit trimmed with white fur, often girdled with a wide black belt, a matching hat or hood, often long and floppy in nature, and dark boots. Often he carries a large brown sack filled with toys on his back. It has been said that the red suit only appeared after the Coca Cola company started an advertising campaign depicting a red suited Father Christmas in the 1930s. However, the red suit was used long before, including by American illustrator Thomas Nast.
Father Christmas comes down the chimney to put presents under the Christmas tree or in children's rooms, in their stockings. Some families leave a glass of sherry or mulled wine, mince pies, biscuits, or chocolate and a carrot for his reindeer near the stocking(s) as a present for him. In modern homes without chimneys he uses alternative means to enter the home, such as a magical key that unlocks all doors. In some homes children write Christmas lists (of wished-for presents) and send them up the chimney or post them. He is often said to live at the North Pole.


20. Operation Christmas Child

Operation Christmas Child was created in 1990 by Dave Cooke and his wife Gill for children in Romania. Each November thousands of churches, groups and individual donors prepare and collect shoeboxes filled with toys, school supplies, personal items, and other small gifts. A booklet of bible stories is often distributed alongside the shoebox gifts which are given to children based on need alone, regardless of their faith. These boxes are then distributed overseas by volunteers. As of April 2015, over 124 million boxes have been delivered.
The program uses "follow-up" evangelism with pamphlets of bible stories that are given to families that receive the boxes, and an organizer for Operation Christmas Child says his goal every day is to "expand [God's] kingdom through Operation Christmas Child."
The Operation Christmas Child project has been criticized in several countries, most notably in the UK, but also in Ireland, India and Canada. In the United States, Ibrahim Hooper of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, has stated that such religion-and-relief groups are "using their position of power to try to persuade people to leave their faith.". In 2003, The British supermarket chain Co-op and South Wales Fire Service both suspended their support for the project after numerous complaints about its religious connections. Samaritan's Purse responded by stating that Christian literature was only handed out where it was deemed appropriate.
Children receiving their shoe boxes

Love the history of Father Christmas. the fact that this is the third day and I still am all Christmas Goose Eggs for my picks. 0/10

Carole

I'm up to 2/10 now! Eeps!

So much info though! Even if I wasn't playing this round, I'd be fascinated learning all about these things.

Operation Christmas Child gives me three!

I love the history behind Father Christmas.

I'm at 3/10! Yay! Also, I didn't know there was criticism about Operation Christmas Child, I've always enjoyed participating in it.

one more! that was a very interesting read about Father Christmas
3/10

Father Christmas puts me at 4/10. Having fun learning about the many different things of Christmas.

Today's numbers are out of the bag:

3. Carp

For centuries, families throughout much of central Europe have relied on one simple main course for Christmas Eve dinner: the common carp. But getting from river (or carp farm) to table is not so simple. As the tradition goes, the Christmas carp must first swim in the family bathtub for at least a day or two before being killed, cleaned and prepared. In Slovakia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Germany and Croatia the fish actually live in the bathtub for days. Kids name them. People can't bathe.
Carp are bottom feeders. The idea is that a few days swimming in clean water helps to flush mud from the fish's digestive tract, although it would probably take a lot longer than that for this trick to work. Some note that the tub time was a practical way to store fresh fish before refrigerators became common.
Bathtub carp is one of several traditions tied to Christmas Eve — a day that is the centerpiece of holiday celebrations for Slovaks and some others in central Europe. It is also the day, children are told, when baby Jesus brings a Christmas tree. (This requires some elaborate subterfuge from parents, who must hide and decorate the tree behind closed doors.) Later in the day, the little ones get their gifts. As magically as the fully decorated Christmas tree appears, the pet carp's life not-so-magically ends. Traditionally, the father takes the live fish from the family tub and, in most cases, slices its head off with a knife. It can be more difficult than it sounds and it may be necessary to first stun the fish with a mallet or a baton.
Once the fish has been killed, it is cleaned, then soaked in milk (and sometimes salt) to dull the smell, lessen the "fishy" taste and sweeten the meat. It is sliced top to bottom, creating pieces in the shape of horseshoes, intended to bring good luck. Legend has it that the carp itself brings luck, too, one of the reasons it is said to have become the Christmas meal of choice. Fish has long been a symbol of Christ and Christianity. The carp is usually served breaded and fried. Also on the menu is a cabbage soup that generally has at least four types of meat, including sausage. Traditionally, the only other dish is potato salad. Strictly observant Catholic Slovaks prepare a vegetarian version of the soup, and fast all day before the Christmas meal. (Drinks — including spirits — are fair game.)
In Slovakia, the holiday is steeped in superstition and symbolism. The table is set with all of the foods for the feast before everyone sits down, as no one is permitted to get up during the meal. If someone leaves the table — even to go to the bathroom — it means there will be a death in the family before the next Christmas arrives. Families also set an extra place for either an unexpected visitor or a departed relative. Once the meal ends, everyone checks under his plate to retrieve fish scales from the family carp. The scales signify luck for the year ahead, and people put them in their wallets and carry them until the following Christmas Eve.
Ask most people and they will tell you that the common carp is not a delicacy. It's fishy. It's full of little bones. Some say they only eat it on Christmas Eve because it's a tradition. A few have gone so far as to say it is "gross."
But carp crosses cultures — as does the bathtub ritual: Some European Jews have a similar tradition, as carp is often the gefilte fish eaten at Passover. And it seems that Jewish children, too, can get caught up befriending the carp in the bathtub.


23. Queen’s Christmas Address

The Queen's Christmas Message (Address) (also known as The King's Christmas Message in the reign of a male monarch) is a broadcast made by the sovereign of the Commonwealth realms to the Commonwealth of Nations each Christmas. The tradition began in 1932 with a radio broadcast by King George V on the British Broadcasting Corporation's Empire Service. Today, the message is read by Elizabeth II and broadcast on television, radio, and the Internet via various providers.
The idea for a Christmas message from the sovereign to the British Empire was proposed by the "founding father" of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Sir John Reith in 1932, as a way to inaugurate the Empire Service (now the World Service). That year, George V read the first Royal Christmas Message; the King was originally hesitant about using the relatively untested medium of radio, but was reassured after a summertime visit to the BBC and agreed to carry out the concept and read the speech from a temporary studio set up at Sandringham House. The broadcast was introduced from Ilmington Manor by 65-year-old Walton Handy, a local shepherd, with carols from the church choir and the bells ringing from the town church, and reached an estimated 20 million people in Australia, Canada, India, Kenya, South Africa, and the UK.
While his brother, Edward VIII abdicated just before his first Christmas as king, George VI continued his father's Christmas broadcasts; it was in his reading delivered in the opening stages of the Second World War that he uttered the famous lines: "I said to the man who stood at the Gate of the Year."
George's daughter, Elizabeth II, gave her first Christmas message to the Commonwealth of Nations from her study at Sandringham House, at 3:07 PM on 25 December 1952, some 11 months after her father's death. By 1957, the broadcast became televised, and, from then until 1996, was produced by the BBC; only in 1969 was no message given because a special documentary film - Royal Family - had been made during the summer in connection with the Investiture of the Prince of Wales. It was therefore decided not to do a broadcast at Christmas, but The Queen issued a written message instead.
The Queen ended this monopoly, however, announcing that the message would, from 1997, be produced and broadcast alternately by the BBC and its main rival, Independent Television News (ITN), with a biennial rotation. It was reported by The Daily Telegraph that this decision was made after the BBC decided to screen an interview with Diana, Princess of Wales, on its current affairs programme Panorama. This was denied by Buckingham Palace which said the new arrangements "reflect the composition of the television and radio industries today". Beginning in 2011, Sky News was added to the rotation.
Sky News recorded the Queen's Christmas message for Christmas 2012, the Queen's Diamond Jubilee year, and for the first time it has been recorded in 3D. Buckingham Palace are reported to have explained: "We wanted to do something a bit different and special in this Jubilee year, so doing it for the first time in 3D seemed a good thing, technology wise, to do."
The message typically combines a chronicle of that year's major events, with specific focus on the British Empire originally and later the Commonwealth of Nations, with the sovereign's own personal milestones and feelings on Christmas. It is one of the few instances when the sovereign speaks publicly without advice from any ministers of the Crown in any of the monarch's realms. Planning for each year's address begins months earlier, when the monarch establishes a theme and appropriate archival footage is collected and assembled; the actual speech is recorded a few days prior to Christmas.
In the United Kingdom and on the Internet, broadcast of the Queen's Christmas message is embargoed until 3:00 PM GMT. In other parts of the Commonwealth, the message is first broadcast in New Zealand at 6:50 PM local time by Television New Zealand, in Australia by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation at 7:20 PM local time, and in Canada by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation at 10 AM Eastern Standard Time, which is the same as 3:00 PM GMT. It is a tradition in many British households at 3 o'clock on Christmas Day to "Stop what you're doing. It's the Queen!" and the whole family will gather around and watch the speech on the TV. We still do it in ours!

Thank you to her majesty for broadcasting on Christmas so that I could finally get one of my Bingo Picks! Really interesting information about the speech. 1/10

Carole

Thanks to Her Majesty, as well as nasty bony smelly fish, I'm at 5/10.

As for the carp tradition - if not for the potato salad, I'd go hungry. And even though I'm not in any part of the Queen's realm, I'd like to hear her message after reading about the history.

Still at 2/10.

I'd heard of the carp tradition! My uncle married into a family from Czechoslovakia and they have carried on the tradition. It was quite, um, interesting when I was invited to spend Christmas Eve at their home. I "met" the fish in the bathtub - it had been brought from the family pond - and I was both horrified and enthralled when we sat down to dinner.

Debby, I've watched the Queen's Christmas messages on YouTube. I know the first one from '57 is on there, as well as several others from over the years. They're so interesting to watch!

Had a great time catching up today. Lots of fun learning about the different traditions. I am 2 for 10.

Fifth numbers are:

4. Christingle

A Christingle is a symbolic object, used in the Advent services of many Christian denominations.
Christingle means 'Christ Light' and is used to celebrate Jesus Christ as the "Light of the World".
Used primarily for Advent and Christmas, it is also used for Epiphany.
The history of the Christingle can be traced back to John de Watteville, who started the tradition in Germany in 1747 in an attempt to get children to think about Jesus. At that time it was just a red ribbon wrapped around a candle.
It was popularized in the United Kingdom by John Pensom in 1968. He was raising funds for the Children's Society charity. In the 2000s over 5,000 Christingle services were being held in the UK every year.
A Christingle usually consists of:
• An orange, representing the world,
• A red ribbon wrapped around it, or a paper frill around the candle, representing the blood of Christ,
• Dried fruits and/or sweets skewered on cocktail sticks pushed into the orange, representing the fruits of the earth and the four seasons.
• A candle pushed into the centre of the orange, then lit, representing Jesus Christ as Light of the World.
In 2006 Chelmsford Cathedral in the UK announced they would be replacing the candles with glowsticks.Wimps!!! We always use proper candles in our church. You can't beat the smell of singeing hair!


30. Yule Log

The custom of burning the Yule Log goes back to, and before, medieval times. It was originally a Nordic tradition. Yule is the name of the old Winter Solstice festivals in Scandinavia and other parts of northern Europe, such as Germany.
The Yule Log was originally an entire tree, that was carefully chosen and brought into the house with great ceremony. The largest end of the log would be placed into the fire hearth while the rest of the tree stuck out into the room! The log would be lit from the remains of the previous year's log which had been carefully stored away and slowly fed into the fire through the Twelve Days of Christmas. It was considered important that the re-lighting process was carried out by someone with clean hands. Nowadays, of course, most people have central heating so it is very difficult to burn a tree!
In Provence, France, it is traditional that the whole family helps to cut the log down and that a little bit is burnt each night. If any of the log is left after Twelfth Night, it is kept safe in the house until the next Christmas to protect against lightning! In some parts of Holland, this was also done, but the log had to be stored under a bed! In some eastern European countries, the log was cut down on Christmas Eve morning and lit that evening.
In Cornwall in the UK, the log is called 'The Mock'. The log is dried out and then the bark is taken off it before it comes into the house to be burnt. Also in the UK, barrel makers (or Coopers as barrel makers were traditionally called) gave their customers old logs that they could not use for making barrels for Yule logs.
The custom of the Yule Log spread all over Europe and different kinds of wood are used in different countries. In England, Oak is traditional; in Scotland, it is Birch; while in France, it's Cherry. Also, in France, the log is sprinkled with wine, before it is burnt, so that it smells nice when it is lit.
In Devon and Somerset in the UK, some people have a very large bunch of Ash twigs instead of the log. This comes from a local legend that Joseph, Mary and Jesus were very cold when the shepherds found them on Christmas Night. So the shepherds got some bunches of twigs to burn to keep them warm.
In some parts of Ireland, people have a large candle instead of a log and this is only lit on New Year's Eve and Twelfth Night.
Different chemicals can be sprinkled on the log like wine to make the log burn with different coloured flames!
• Potassium Nitrate = Violet
• Barium Nitrate = Apple Green
• Borax = Vivid Green
• Copper Sulphate = Blue
• Table Salt = Bright Yellow
The ashes of Yule logs were meant to be very good for plants. This is true, because the ash from burnt wood contains a lot of 'potash', which helps plants flower. But if you throw the ashes out on Christmas day it was supposedly very unlucky!
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A Chocolate Yule Log or 'bûche de Noël' is now a popular Christmas desert or pudding. It's traditionally eaten in France and Belgium, where they are known as 'Kerststronk' in Flemish.
They are made of a chocolate sponge roll layered with cream. The outside is covered with chocolate or chocolate icing and decorated to look like a bark-covered log. Some people like to add extra decorations such as marzipan mushrooms!