Friday, December 31, 2021

 Volume 19 Issue 1, January 2022

What's New in January?

 

It’s hard to believe we’re beginning a new year again, but here we are. Our winter is milder this year than last, so it will quickly meld into spring without us noticing winter.

 

We try to hold onto as many of the cold days we can, which is hard for those who live in the colder climates to understand. I even felt this way when I lived in Montana. There is just something magical about the snow, and the way that you bundle up in a wool blanket while curling upon the couch to read or watch the snow fall.

 

Here, we see our flowers start to grow and the birds to visit the feeder. There is a painted bunting male in the feeder as I speak, and soon, we’ll see his mate show up. They became regular feeders last winter, and when they find a place they like, they return. I am glad they have found our yard.

 

I am not sure why this Blue Heron has decided to perch in the neighboring tree, but there he is thinking he’s a buzzard or something.

 


 What’s New

 

New Earrings:  In addition to fractal earrings, I added some pretty flowers and other colorful beads.

 

Thimbles: New Christmas and great grandma thimbles, as well as faith-based thimbles with bible verses.

 

New Book: The Joy of Jewelry Making Create for fun. Sell for Profit is now available on Amazon in both paperback and ebook formats.

 

You will find all of my beads, canes and finished jewelry on my website. www.bluemorningexpressions.com

 

Until next month,

Julie







 Things to Look Forward To:

 

New Products:

 

Pushpins: I have too many themes to mention here, but from teachers to nurses to friends, I am doing designs as quickly as I can.

 

Statement Beads: Working on large beads for ZOOM calls and being on camera. Both earrings and pendant necklaces.

 

Prints and Posters: Bible verse posters and other art featuring hot rods and more are in production.

 







 

Wednesday, December 8, 2021

Countdown to Christmas 2012 Midweek 12

 

Christmas Around the World – Y’all, Eh.

With all the traveling we have done, we have seen and experienced a cornucopia of traditions. Each post has been complete with comments from those who have found something within the post that they could relate to as part of their own celebrations. This brings us to two of the biggest melting pots of the world. Canada and the United States. Mexico is so rich in their own particular traditions that it would have been unfair to try and make our last stop North America. No, they needed to stand alone in their history and all their wonderfully uncompromised celebrations.

This brings our sleigh to a stop to the most northern country on our map. O’Canada is as filled with as many migrants and transplants as their southerly neighbor, which means that many of the celebrations surrounding Christmas are all a mixed bag of English, German, Italian, French and Scotch, but they have their own way of doing things that are still uniquely Canadian. This is going to be a long story, so get your hot chocolate and curl up.

Nova Scotia is home to the fir tree that is predominant in holiday decorations. They even deliver a fir to Boston every year. They pick the biggest and the best fir tree and truck it down to Boston as a token of their appreciation for some assistance during an event that they call the Halifax Explosion. In 1917, the SS Mont Blanc loaded with ammunition collided in the Narrows with the SS Imo. A fire started the explosion that killed 2,000 people in the area of the straits. The explosion was the equivalent of 2.9 kilotons of TNT, which sent a shockwave that flattened trees, and it destroyed everything within a half mile of the straits. It created a tsunami and the towns of Richmond and Dartmouth were extremely damaged. The USS Tacoma and USS Von Steuben were passing by and saw the smoke, altered their courses and came to assist in aid and rescue.





Merry Christmas Boston

The Bostonians light this beloved tree and start the celebration by thanking their neighbors for the gorgeous fir.

Mummering

This tradition is part Christmas caroling and part begging in the wren tradition. What started as a simple way to go from house to house singing has turned into more of an event of pestering folks for handouts.

Newfoundland and Nova Scotia is home to many a small town and village, and part of the tradition that has developed involves people dressing up in costumes and knocking on everyone’s door. They are mummering. They disguise their voices and ask if Mummers are allowed in. If the homeowner cannot determine who is doing the asking, they must grab a costume and go along with the group to the next stop. This adult activity starts on the 26th of December and follows the traditional 12 days of Christmas. Some towns have decided to ban the practice since it is now a way to beg from door to door.

Should the host guess who the noisemakers are, they must immediately remove their masks and stop being obnoxious.



A group of adults go mummering through the streets.

The northern areas of Canada pay homage to Saint Catherine, their patron saint of all single women. In honor, they conduct a Taffy Pull. This spectacular event is said to help single women find a mate. Yep, men find this incredibly attractive.


Santa Claus brings the gifts on Christmas Eve and all the children put out their stockings and pillowcases in hopes that Santa will fill them with goodies. Apparently, the separation by the Atlantic Ocean has kept Black Pete and his ilk from terrorizing children on this side of the ocean. Although, he may be lurking in a few homes.

The celebrations end in Quebec on the 6th of January with a ‘La Fete du Roi’, which is another derivative of the bean in the cake game. If you get the bean, you get to be queen or king for the day. Of what, remains to be seen.

Those who live along the Atlantic Seaboard will have lobster, fish or shellfish for their main meal, and those who live more inland and cannot get fresh seafood will dine on the more common turkey or ham. Those in Quebec dine on small meatballs or pork pies. The desserts again are fruit puddings and dried fruit cakes and breads of the English persuasion.

Barley Candy and Chicken Bones

Local candy companies make a barley candy that is shaped like Santa and his reindeer. They also make the treats to look like  Christmas tree or a sleigh. The barley candy is a sugar candy created from the sugar of barley. It does not taste like barley. The Chicken Bones candies are a pink candy that tastes like cinnamon, and if you leave them to melt in your mouth, the center is a creamy chocolate.

Barley Candy and Chicken Bones

Some Eskimos celebrate Christmas with gift giving in a celebration they call Sinck Tuck. There is a lot of dancing involved in the event. It may be to keep warm.

Canadian Trivia

  • Most of the movie, The Christmas Story, was filmed in Canada. Triple Dog Dare ya to find Ralphie’s flagpole.
  • You cannot send the Prime Minister a gift for Christmas. It is not allowed.
  • Those in Alberta spend the most money on their Christmas gifts. Those in the Yukon are number two, and those in the Northwest Territories are third in spending.
  • Canadian Santa answers all his letters thanks to the help of 200,000 hours that volunteers spend helping the old man.
  • Canadians enjoy their Egg Nog.
  • 5.5 million Christmas trees are harvested every year, and half of those are exported to places like Japan, Mexico and the United States.
  • Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer was recorded using Canadian actors.
  • The Nutcracker Ballet is a Canadian Christmas tradition with over 5,500 pairs of pointe shoes worn out by ballerinas from the National Ballet of Canada since 1994.

Southern Exposure

The further we travel south, the more the traditions all start to blend together. There are so many of the same things celebrated around the world because of all the happily integrated nationalities. While there are many similar customs, there are certainly some things that are very much United Statesian. Children help decorate the Christmas tree with strung popcorn, and when the holiday is over, they place the strings outside for the birds to munch on.

The citizens of the United States like to decorate their yards, lawns, houses, streets, roofs, dogs and small children in things that light up and need to be blown up. The use of blow up decorations put Griswold to shame. Can you say excessive?

Many communities, towns and subdivisions have contests every year to see who can add the most lights to their homes. Then they are judged by the Christmas committee. Bet the meter is just spinning like a pinwheel in a hurricane.





Mummering Philly Style

The Mummers Day parade in Philadelphia is a custom that lasts well over six hours. The groups that march spend months making their costumes. They are judged on their costumes, and it is a celebration of the New Year.


Mummer’s Day parade in Philadelphia. These marchers are just one of many, many elaborate costumes.

The customary Christmas Dinner is served on the 25th of December, and in most cases, consists of ham, turkey, chicken or seafood. There are desserts that are added to the meal that are from the culture of those who are celebrating. Those in the United States take all the rest of the world’s foods and drinks and embrace them as their own.

NORAD tracks Santa for all those little ones that need to know where Santa is at all time. The original GPS system started in 1955. Make your own connections between tracking Santa and the Cold War. It is a response to Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa.  The White House puts up a large tree every year, and the tree that graces Rockefeller Center is a donated Norway spruce. The angel found her way to the top of the tree because she was the one to herald in the coming of Christ. Likewise, the star is the star that guided the wise men. Another Victorian influence that was passed across the ocean. Click on NORAD and go see where Santa is today.

The family gathers round the television to watch Charlie Brown’s Christmas, The Grinch that Stole Christmas, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer complete with Canadian voices, It’s a Wonderful Life and Miracle on 34th Street. Post-war America is very commercialized and very glued to their televisions.




Choirs deliver the Christmas message

Christmas celebrations also consist of candle light services on Christmas Eve and caroling from home to home. Some churches put on nativity plays, and others gather their choirs together to do a Cantata, which is a usually sung as the story of the birth of Christ is being read from the book of Luke. Others round up their choirs and other musical members to sing Christmas carols to the shut-ins. This is followed by hot chocolate and cookies. Always, the cookies.

Those who live in Hawaii call Santa Claus Kanakaloka. Those who live in Florida and Southern California drape small twinkling white lights on the fronds of their palm trees. Those who live in small towns go on Christmas Strolls, which conjures images of wearing fur muffs and riding in a one horse open sleigh. Truthfully, it is an excuse to shop. Children crawl up on the laps of fat, bearded men in malls and give them their many pages of wants and desires There is nothing like the mall Santa to creep you out.


Southern style

Christmas Day is filled with football, church services, family fights and opening gifts.
Every family brings their own customs to the table during this Most Wonderful Time of the Year.

Greenery

Mistletoe, wreaths of fir and holly were introduced in England. These plants were prevalent within the landscape, which meant that there was no cost involved in gathering the leaves and adding them to the home. These were a favorite of the peasants. The kissing of someone under the mistletoe goes back to Washington Irving’s depiction of the Scandinavian custom of kissing when a couple meets under the mistletoe. Mr. Irving informed the rest of the world of the custom. It is rumored that mistletoe was once a thriving tree until it was used for the cross that Christ carried, and then it was cursed to be a parasite on other trees. Mistletoe actually goes back to Greek mythology, and when Christianity spread across the region, the mistletoe got reassigned to a new job.




Kiss me you fool

The Christmas wreath is relegated to mostly English speaking countries, and it is made of evergreen because the evergreen is considered a symbol of strength. Wreaths are a common decoration found throughout history. They were confiscated by those fun-loving Puritans as a symbol of too much fun. It has been adapted for use by Christians as a symbol of honor and moral virtue as it was used in the Roman Empire. Middle Age artwork uses the wreath as decoration for the Virgin Mary and the saints.

Cookies

You cannot talk about Christmas in the United States or Canada without talking about the oodles and oodles of Christmas cookies that are baked, boxed, eaten and distributed in record speed. Since each nationality brings their own cookies to the table, here are some yummy photos for you to enjoy.


Gingerbread

Sugar

Pinwheels

I could NOT stop putting cookies into this post. Now, here are a wonderful selection of things that you cannot pass up. Every item here is perfect for someone on your Christmas list. In the words of Catherine of ShadowDogDesigns , Shop now, shop often and let’s fill all those stockings that are hung by the chimney with care with things that will give someone a squeal of delight on Christmas morn.

Blue Purple Flower Enamel Earrings, Handmade Lampwork Jewelry
Victorian Style Treasures




4 x 6 inch Butterfly original watercolor paintings
WatercolorsNmore



Monster Door Sign for Kids Birthday or Baby Shower Party
Adore by Nat




Karaoke Microphone Wine Glass charms
The Singing Beader




Heart Flowers Earrings, Valentines Purple Red Copper Handmade Jewelry
Shadow Dog Designs 




Oliver The Otter's Christmas Throw Blanket
Photography & Digital By Colleen Cornelius 




Inlayed Gemstone Heart Red Jasper Malachite Mother of Pearl Pendant Necklace




Christmas Wine Charms - Glasswear Jewelry 
Lindab142


Set of 6 15mm Handmade Polymer Clay Beads Black, Green Jewelry Supplies



While the celebration of Christmas was originally of pagan origin, over the years the birth of Christ has become the central focus of the season, and it is widely celebrated as a day to glorify God and the birth of Jesus.

Kick back, enjoy the fire on your feet and have a sugar cookie with your coffee. We are not going anywhere else, and it is time to enjoy the season and share our travels with our families and friends.

Enjoy a mummer's dance by Loreena McKennitt



Thank you for coming along with us. It has been a wonderful tour, but we are ready to bake our cookies, stuff the boxes and warm our feet by the fire. We wish you all a wonderful holiday season filled with caroling, church services, friends around the table, full tummies, families that don’t fight and cookies that don’t add any pounds.

All our best!
And to all a Good Night!
Julie and Harry

Looking for something different?
Here are more links to additional beautiful, handmade gifts.

Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6

Week 7

Week 8
Week 9
Week 10

Week 11
Week 12 pt 1
Week 12 pt 2


Argentina
Australia
France
China

Mexico
Netherlands
Germany 
Italy
Russia
Ireland 

England


Friday, December 3, 2021

Countdown to Christmas 2021 Week 12

 

 


Here we are once again! 

Another year has gone by so quickly. 

Thank you for taking the time to share wares and encourage people to shop handmade in 2021. 

We hope that your holiday season is cheerful and filled with family and friends. Here's to 2022!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Wednesday, December 1, 2021

Countdown to Christmas 2021 Midweek 11

 

Christmas Around the World – 12 Days of the Yule Log

Light the Yule Log and begin the 12 days of Christmas. While Advent is solemn and more religious in nature, the 12 days of Christmas is for merry making and fun. Advent is a German tradition, but the English have adopted the Advent calendar and the Advent Candle. Advent begins four Sundays prior to Christmas, but the 12 days of Christmas begin on the 26th of December and end on the 6th of January. The 12 days are said to have started with Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night in the 16th Century. This tradition is steeped in urban legend and maybe some truth. The original story goes that the Catholics were prohibited from speaking of their faith during the medieval times. In order to get around that and still teach their youngsters about their faith, they developed the song version of the 12 Days of Christmas. Their True Love is God and me in the song means every baptized Christian. My true love gave to me ……. Other references place this song as a French song that was chanted and not sung.



 

Burn the Yule log for 12 days and do not let it go out!

True? Urban legend? The song lives on, and the tradition is still celebrated and kicked off on St. Stephen’s Day or Boxing Day. This day of celebration follows the traditional 25th of December and Boxing Day is rather an English tradition that has seeped over into other cultures. This is the day that employers would box up their leftovers and some random gifts for their servants or employees. It originated from the church as this was the day that the priest was to empty the alms box and hand out the proceeds to the poor. The Victorians took it to a higher degree by casting off their leftovers at their servants.

An interesting side note on St. Stephen’s Day, which was covered in the Irish traditions. The wren is said to have given him away when he was hiding in a bush, which is why the wren has been persecuted throughout the Irish history. Stephen was the first Christian martyr mentioned in the Bible. Those who know the old song Good King Wenceslas will recognize the verse about the feast of Stephen. Catchy tune that you may be humming the rest of the day.

Good King Wenceslas looked out
On the feast of Stephen
When the snow lay round about
Deep and crisp and even
Brightly shone the moon that night
Though the frost was cruel
When a poor man came in sight
Gath'ring winter fuel


"Hither, page, and stand by me
If thou know'st it, telling
Yonder peasant, who is he?
Where and what his dwelling?"
"Sire, he lives a good league hence
Underneath the mountain
Right against the forest fence
By Saint Agnes' fountain."


"Bring me flesh and bring me wine
Bring me pine logs hither
Thou and I will see him dine
When we bear him thither."
Page and monarch forth they went
Forth they went together
Through the rude wind's wild lament
And the bitter weather


"Sire, the night is darker now
And the wind blows stronger
Fails my heart, I know not how,
I can go no longer."
"Mark my footsteps, my good page
Tread thou in them boldly
Thou shalt find the winter's rage
Freeze thy blood less coldly."


In his master's steps he trod
Where the snow lay dinted
Heat was in the very sod
Which the Saint had printed
Therefore, Christian men, be sure
Wealth or rank possessing
Ye who now will bless the poor
Shall yourselves find blessing



Queen Victoria and Prince Albert are responsible for many of the current Christmas traditions in countries England occupied.

Every Christmas Day, the Queen addresses the British citizens as was first done by King George the Fifth. He broadcast a part of a speech by Rudyard Kipling that began with “I speak now from my home and from my heart, to you all..” Now the speech by the Queen is broadcast during the Christmas feast. Most are digesting food during her speech, and it is said that less than 35 percent actually listen to her at all.

As seems to be the case in most countries, there was a period of time when Christmas was illegal. In 1647, Cromwell put an end to the pagan holiday of Christmas, which has a lot of traditional roots in the celebrations by the Druids and winter holidays. The decision to outlaw Christmas was more along the lines of the fact that the Puritans were in control, and they did not like any celebrations or display of merriment as they considered it immoral and decadent. Less than 15 years later, they kicked old Cromwell to the curb and reinstated Christmas.

This is a law: The Holy Days and Fasting Days Act of 1551 that is still on the books today. It states that every British citizen MUST attend a Christian Christmas service on Christmas Day. They cannot use any vehicle to get to the service. According to the law, this was enacted to make the rich walk to church and be humble for one day out of the year. Naturally, this law is not kept, but interesting that they felt the need to enact it in the first part. The true service attendees run about 13 percent of the population, and they drive to church.

The Christmas Tree is set up in all the homes in the tradition of Prince Albert who brought the trees from Germany to Britain. He wanted to share his traditions with Queen Victoria, and he saw the tree as the way to do that. Some homes even have more than one tree. The decoration of the tree is a family affair. The decorations include holly, ivy and mistletoe. Queen Victoria made Christmas a time of gift giving and merriment for all. Martin Luther is said to be the first one who ever decorated a Christmas Tree.

Father Christmas brings gifts to the good boys and girls who have put out stockings or pillowcases. He traditionally likes to eat mince pie and a glass of sherry. The children write letters to Father Christmas, but many instead of mailing them, toss them in the fireplace in order for the ashes to go up the chimney and directly to Greenland where Father Christmas and his elves make toys.

Christmas Eve on the 24th is filled with candlelight services at church, caroling, family gatherings and pub runs. Not necessarily in that order. The celebration also includes Nativity Plays where a cast reenacts the manager scene and the birth of Christ.

Driving the turkeys

Christmas Day is filled with food, glorious food, we’re anxious to try some… oops, wrong song. It is Dickens though. The first course starts with prawns and smoked salmon. Victorian England roasted a turkey, goose or duck. In the Middle Ages, they roasted skinless peacocks and swans, using the very expensive saffron oil and butter to baste them before roasting. They were then wrapped in their own skin and feathers before popping them in the oven. 

Those who participated in roasting a goose had to save to buy the goose, and they were members of a Goose Club, which is the same as what used to be the Christmas Club in the United States. Instead of putting a couple dollars away in a savings account to buy Christmas presents, the working poor of London paid their butcher a couple pence a week towards a goose come Christmas.

When the geese and turkeys came to town on Christmas, they were herded down the streets towards the markets. Many of the fowl were from places like France or Germany, but some were raised in Norfolk. The turkeys wore boots to protect their feet from the cobblestones. There is a mighty goose dinner in the Dickens tale of a Christmas Carol.

Christmas dinner with a turkey that wore boots

The dinner is filled with potatoes, vegetables, nuts, parsnips, brussel sprouts, bread sauce, gravies and the famous Christmas pudding served in brandy. Figgy pudding is another one of Prince Albert’s contributions to the Christmas table. He loved the fruit pudding. It traditionally is a spiced porridge that is derived from the Celtic harvest legend of the god Dagda who took all good things from the harvest and stirred it up into a dessert. The more common place plum pudding served today has nuts, spices, black treacle and brandy. The pudding is filled with alcohol soaked dried fruit.

The pudding is a family event, and if the pudding is made from scratch at home, every member of the family must take a turn stirring the pudding and making a wish. It must be stirred from east to west since that is the direction that the wise men traveled. There are some who like to hide a token in the pudding, like the Christ child is hidden in bread in some cultures, which could even be a spin off of the Romans need to hide a bean in their food to appease the god Saturnalia. The pudding wish comes true if you get a mouthful of pudding and it contains a coin or other hidden object. Your wish may be for medical attention because you are choking.

Christmas cakes are also very rich and decadent. Dried fruit, nuts, black treacle, candied peel and marzipan or almond paste make up the basic cake served at the Christmas dinner. The royal icing, which is something most bakers are familiar with, was added to the top of the cake. The cake is more than a dessert, it is made up weeks in advance and used as a display throughout the holidays.

Most of the desserts served are made in advance, and there is a lot of preparation of the food that goes on prior to the big day. These preparations involve most family members, and it is a source of family time together.



Have some Christmas cake

This is just a small taste of the rich traditions that the English have served up for the holidays. Here are some lovely gifts that Queen Victoria would have been proud to give to her family members.

Crystal Golden Shadow Ink Drop Earrings, Victorian Style Jewelry

Victorian Style Treasures



Silver Pearl Earrings w Silk Swarovski Crystals



Montana Blue Crystal Teardrop and White Pearl .925 Sterling Earrings

Kats All That



Fairy Woodland Party Welcome Door Sign in Pink for Girl

Adore by Nat



Swarovski Crystal Necklace - Aquamarine Birthstone Crystals varies beads with ribbon closures




Bright Green Crystal And White Pearl Short Length Necklace With Sterling Silver

The Singing Beader



Red Green Crystal Choker Designer Necklace Holiday Christmas



Christmas Holiday Earrings, Silver Red Green Crystals Handmade Jewelry

Shadow Dog Designs 


Sea Turtle Bangle Bracelets for Women with Charms and Crystals

Blue Morning Expressions 



Looking for something different?
Here are more links to additional beautiful, handmade gifts.

Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6

Week 7

Week 8
Week 9
Week 10

Week 11


Argentina
Australia
France
China

Mexico
Netherlands
Germany 
Italy
Russia
Ireland 

Bring me some figgy pudding, bring me some figgy pudding, bring me some figgy pudding and make it to go!

We are off to our last stop of the season. Hope you have your mittens, hats and warm boots because it is going to get COLD!

Enjoy,

Julie and Harry