Real Christmas

Selecting the right Christmas presents can be exhausting and perplexing! Choosing to send a gift hamper is the ideal solution for Christmas presents and gifts for all adult members of the family, friends or work colleagues. Trudging round the shops becoming cold, tired and exasperated is becoming a thing of the past as more and more people are choosing to shop on-line.

On-line shopping offers great choices, gift packing and delivery right up to the week leading up to the Christmas holiday straight to your home or directly to the recipient of the gift without hassle and stress.

The Christmas tradition of sending wicker hampers and baskets crammed full of treats and goodies is seeing a huge revival in the UK. Christmas hampers are now available in a variety of different styles and designs each containing high quality products. The days of receiving a hamper full of food that no one eats are long gone, today the contents of hampers are carefully selected to bring traditional and unusual indulgences and treats from both local and international producers providing a gift which is delightful to both receive and send.

Themed Christmas hampers are seeing a whole new approach to addressing the problems of differences in individual tastes and eating habits to ensure there is a hamper to suit all preferences. Christmas hampers offer exceptional value for money with the wide range of sizes available.

Designed to treat individuals, a mini cheese hamper makes the ideal gift for singles of all ages, a wicker basket containing a bottle of port, two different quality cheeses and oatcakes makes a real change from night dresses or pyjamas! Once the goodies have been eaten the delightful basket provides a useful gift to treasure.

Uncles and men of sophistication will be overjoyed receiving a bottle of Special Reserve port and a ceramic jar containing Blue Stilton cheese to savour in the evenings rather than a pair of socks or a tie!

The perfect Christmas hampers for couples of all ages to share provides a taste of Christmas in traditional and contemporary gourmet goodies. Presented in a traditional lidded wicker basket and crammed full of sweet and savoury nibbles, slices of smoked salmon, white Stilton with juicy apricots, rich Christmas pudding with a choice of traditional brandy butter or contemporary chocolate fudge sauce to drizzle over the top and a bottle of fine wine to make a complete supper or lunch for two. Alternatively a striking wicker basket containing a variety of luxury treats, a bottle of both red and white wine, English afternoon tea and Columbia Arabica coffee, cakes and biscuits offers an exciting combination of tasty treats to share.

For those who prefer not to give alcohol as a gift the ideal Christmas hampers to have delivered is crammed full of luxury tasty treats and chocolates and also includes Christmas chutneys to accompany cold meats and cheeses for supper or Boxing Day lunch all beautifully presented in a red wicker and sea grass basket.

Millicent Jordan vividly recalls the first aluminum Christmas tree she ever purchased.

She was 22 years old when she saw the sad-looking little silver tree at a garage sale.

“It was marvelous,” says Jordan, 38, of Forest Hill. “It came with a rotating color wheel that changed the hue of the tree. I was fascinated by it.”

She purchased the tree – which she still owns – and 16 years later, it is part of a collection of vintage Christmas trees. Today, she is opening an exhibit at the Liriodendron featuring about 30 aluminum trees that are a kaleidoscope of colors, including green, blue, silver, blue and green, and pink. For the exhibit, the trees, ranging in height from 2 to 8 feet, are set up in color-themed rooms.

Aluminum trees were first made in 1958 by Modern Coatings Inc. of Chicago. From 1959 to 1969, more than 1 million aluminum trees, mainly the flagship tree called Evergleam, were produced by Aluminum Specialty Company, of Manitowic, Wis.

The trees were made using a thin painted wooden trunk with holes drilled into it at angles. When the branches made of colored aluminum foil were placed in the holes, they formed a tree shape.

These first trees could not be decorated with electric lights because of fire safety concerns. Although the aluminum foil branches shimmer brightly even without lights, the colors were enhanced with rotating color wheels.

To decorate the trees in the exhibit, Jordan uses vintage beaded ornaments and solid-colored balls that were popular in the 1950s. She also uses Jewel Bright plastic ornaments that she describes as hideously beautiful.

“The ornaments are just as aesthetically challenged as the trees,” she says.

“To me, the aluminum trees were little marvels of technology,” says Jordan, who founded an IT consulting company in 2001, called Z Squared. “The wheels were the microcosm of what people were striving for in the 1950s.”

Today, her collection of trees includes olive wood, German feather and aluminum trees, she said.

Mary Mares, Jordan’s mother, says she was with her daughter every step of the way as she built her collection.

“Her collection is eclectic, but once it’s up, it’s very beautiful,” says Mares of Bel Air.

On a recent afternoon, Mares helped her daughter set up the exhibit. She pulled the branches out of the paper sleeves they are packed in and placed them in rows on the floor according to their height. Each tree took about 15 minutes to assemble.

While her mother prepped the branches, Jordan sorted through original boxes, placing the trees in rooms based on their color.

“I want to put large and small trees in every room,” said Jordan as she walked from room to room looking at the trees. “The goal is to make it look like a forest of space age glory.”

Most years, she begins setting up trees at her house around Labor Day, she says. She showcases new acquisitions as well as trees she’s had for a long time. She puts up 10 to 100 each year, she says.

One year, she caused quite a stir when she set up a 9-foot white aluminum tree that she decorated with red lights, she says.

“It looked like my house was on fire from outside,” says Jordan, who earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree from the College of Notre Dame of Maryland.

The average cost of a vintage silver-colored tree is about $15 per foot, and the pink trees are the rarest, she says. Jordan purchased her most prized tree – a rare 8-foot tall pink one – on eBay for about $1,400, she says.

It started with A Charlie Brown Christmas, a children’s cartoon written in 1965 by Charles M. Schultz.

Although more than 1 million aluminum trees were made in the 1960s, sales began to decline in 1965 when Americans took to heart Charlie Brown’s refusal to get a pink aluminum Christmas tree. In the story, Lucy tells Charlie Brown to “Get the biggest aluminum Christmas tree you can find. Maybe painted pink.” But in the true spirit of Christmas, Charlie Brown refused.

Lucy’s request sparked a desire in Jordan to do the same, she says. She searched for the biggest pink tree she could find and she bought it. The tree is one of the highlights in the pink room of the exhibit.

Through the years, Jordan says, she has paid between $2 and $1,400 for her trees, though the value of some is substantially more. Jordan purchases them from antiques shops, garage sales and eBay.

Everyone has a different response when they see them, she says.

About five years ago, she exhibited some of the trees at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

“Some people saw the trees and got nostalgic,” she says. “Other people see them and laugh. It doesn’t matter to me how people respond. You can’t pick your passion, it picks you. Although some people see the trees and want to forget them, I want to show them to a new generation of people who have never seen one.”

The southern Indiana community known as Santa Claus, tucked into the scenic Ohio River Valley, acquired its distinctive name in 1852. It had struggled mightily with its lack of identity and the subject came up again after a church service on Christmas Eve.

According to local legend, churchgoers stayed on for a town meeting held around a wood-burning stove in a little log church and once again deliberated over what to call their then-nameless hamlet. Eerily, in the middle of their discussions, a wintry gust blew the door open and sleigh bells were heard jingling in the distance. Excited children in the church started to exclaim that it must be Santa Claus. Although the source of the bells was never uncovered, the community did acquire the name that was to become its claim to fame.

It also answers the question as to why people head for an outdoor water park in the middle of December. It is, of course, because Santa Claus is thereabouts — and, in fact, has a festival named after him (in the town that also bears his name).

Holiday World (which incorporates Splashin’ Safari water park) is a delightfully woodsy family-run theme park with award-winning wooden roller coasters and plenty of fun places to get your thrills in a water park. It is credited as the world’s first theme park, opened in 1946 as Santa Claus Land. (Disneyland, still but a gleam in Walt Disney’s eye, opened nine years later). Mark your calendars for May 2, 2009, when the park reopens, debuting what is billed as the world’s tallest water ride, with a drop of 131 feet.

Meanwhile, Santa Claus holds court at the hamlet named after him. He is the star attraction at the Christmas in Santa Claus Festival (Dec. 13 and 14), taking part in a parade and as guest of honor at an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast. One of the favorite photo ops is posing in front of many of the village’s many Santa statues — or, better yet, having a photograph taken with Ol’ Saint Nick himself.

Visitors can enjoy a family holiday movie and concerts and browse through three Christmas craft shows. For those who enjoy seeing how folks decorate their homes, this is the weekend that visitors are invited to follow a 9-mile trail into Christmas Lake Village, where close to 500 homeowners participate in a Festival of Lights.

The tiny Santa Claus Post Office (located, predictably, at Kringle Place) opened its doors in 1856 and started to pique wide interest in 1914 when Santa Claus’s 14th postmaster, James Martin, took it upon himself to answer children’s letters. Today, the post office is flooded with holiday mail — more than 500,000 pieces every holiday season — and enlists a team of volunteers to answer children’s letters to Santa. In addition, visitors flock to the post office to get a special postmark on their holiday mail.

Opened in 2006, the Santa Claus Museum traces the history of the community and includes memorabilia (including a collection of Santa Claus figures dating back to the 19th century), artifacts and a photo gallery of celebrity visitors. It is located in the same mall as the post office and, in keeping with the holiday spirit, admission is free. During the festival, Story time with Mrs. Claus starts at 4 p.m.

Tradition meets technology at Candy Castle, where kids sit at a computer and log into the North Pole Network. Youngsters receive a secret code and enjoy meeting Santa’s elves via this interactive computer lab and its “live North Pole Webcam.” Stop here to shop from an incredible variety of candy canes and to enjoy a mug of hot chocolate, offered in 25 flavors.

Find more holiday cheer at the Rockport Christmas Festival (Dec. 6). Located about 20 miles south of Santa Claus, Rockford also offers a parade, breakfast with Santa, and a craft show. A musical celebration of Christmas features local talent performing in the Spencer County Courthouse Auditorium. A beautiful lighted Christmas star is mounted 150 feet high on a bluff overlooking the Ohio River.

If you’re traveling the Ohio River Valley before the holidays, visit the Christkindlmarkt (Nov. 15 and 16) at Ferdinand, Ind. It is a holiday market based on the tradition that dates back to Nuremberg, Germany, circa 1545. Three buildings are packed with Christmas gifts, crafts and antiques, with plenty of food, wine and music.

Also, check out the quality German-style wines at Winzerwald Winery at Bristow. The labels are whimsical — depicting a colorful nutcracker figure clad in lederhosen — but the wines are well crafted and capture awards at wine festivals. The winery is one of eight on the Uplands Wine Trail, where you’ll find a variety of holiday events during November and December.

Also in Spencer County, the St. Meinrad Archabbey offers tours at 1:30 p.m. Saturdays (with self-guided walking tours at other times). Founded in 1854 by the Abbey of Einsiedeln, Switzerland, it is one of only two archabbeys in the United States. It provides a home for more than 105 Benedictine monks. More than 12,000 students have studied at its school of theology, 3,750 becoming priests, while alumni include one cardinal, 22 bishops and 27 abbots.

Action hero Mr. T once dressed up as Santa for a meeting with late former U.S.
President Ronald Reagan.

The A-Team star – real name Laurence Tureaud – was invited to meet the late leader and his First Lady Nancy Reagan at Christmas in 1983.

And, despite pleas from his mother to behave himself, the actor was determined to make his presidential visit as memorable as possible.

He tells British film magazine Empire, “When I was invited to the White House by Nancy Reagan in Christmas 1983, my mama told me, ‘Be good, son. You be on your best behaviour.’ “And I said, ‘Yes, ma’am. Yes, ma’am.’ I dressed up like Santa Claus and walked around with the President. That was an experience I will never forget.”

In Italy they have no Christmas trees, instead they decorate small wooden pyramids with fruit.

In Caracas, the capital city of Venezuela, it is customary for the streets to be blocked off on Christmas eve so that the people can roller-skate to church.

An artificial spider and web are often included in the decorations on Ukrainian Christmas trees. A spider web found on Christmas morning is believed to bring good luck.

It is a British Christmas tradition that a wish made while mixing the Christmas pudding will come true only if the ingredients are stirred in a clockwise direction.

A traditional Christmas dinner in early England was the head of a pig prepared with mustard.

Sending red Christmas cards to anyone in Japan constitutes bad etiquette, since funeral notices there are customarily printed in red.

In Norway on Christmas Eve, all the brooms in the house are hidden because long ago it was believed that witches and mischievous spirits came out on Christmas Eve and would steal their brooms for riding.

To arrive before Christmas, mail going to members of the military in Iraq and Afghanistan should be sent by December 4. Military mail headed to other overseas destinations should be sent by Dec. 11, the Postal Service said Tuesday.

“We have so much mail for the troops over the Christmas holidays,” said Pat Donahoe, deputy postmaster general and chief operating officer. “We are very, very cognizant of the importance that the mail has to the military.”

Those sending cards and packages within the United States have a little more leeway.

The Postal Service’s suggested deadline for sending domestic packages using the least expensive option, parcel post, is Dec. 15. For parcels sent first class or priority mail, the deadline is Dec. 20. Customers have until Dec. 22 to send Christmas packages by express mail.

The Postal Service expects to deliver about 20 billion cards, packages and letters between Thanksgiving and Christmas. It predicts that the volume processed each day will reach a peak of about 1 billion on the busiest day, Dec. 17. Most of this mail should be delivered two days later.

Donahoe advised customers sending all holiday packages to remove batteries from electronic items because they could turn on, which could prompt postal employees to open the package for inspection. People should not tie packages with string, as that, too could cause shipping problems. Donahoe also suggested placing a backup tag inside each package that specifies both the shipping and return addresses, in case the outer label gets damaged.

~ Winter was a time of celebration to pre-Christian Romans and they decorated fir trees in honor of this seasonal change.

~ The use of a Christmas wreath as a decoration on your front door, mantel or bay window symbolizes a sign of welcome and long life to all who enter.

~Today poinsettias are the most popular Christmas plant and are the number one flowering potted plant in the United States.

~ Real Christmas trees are an all-American product, grown in all 50 states, including Alaska and Hawaii.

Most artificial trees are manufactured in Korea, Taiwan, or Hong Kong.

~ For every real Christmas tree harvested, 2 to 3 seedlings are planted in its place.

~ In 1836, Alabama is the first state in the USA to declare Christmas a legal holiday.

~ The biggest selling Christmas single of all time is Bing Crosby’s White Christmas.

~ Due to the time zones, Santa has 31 hours to deliver gifts? This means that he would have to visit 832 homes each second!

~ In 1937, the first postage stamp to commemorate Christmas was issued in Austria.

~ For every real Christmas tree harvested, 2 to 3 seedlings are planted in its place. Each hectare provides the daily oxygen requirements of 45 people.

~ Epiphany, 6th January, is the traditional end of the Christmas holiday and is the date on which we take down the tree and decorations. To do so earlier is thought to bring bad luck for the rest of the year. From the middle ages until the mid-nineteenth century, Twelfth Night was more popular than Christmas day, and even today some countries celebrate Epiphany as the most important day of the Christmas season.

~ Three years after Thomas Edison invented the electric light bulb in 1879, Edward H. Johnson, who worked for Edison’s company, had Christmas tree bulbs especially made for him. He proudly displayed his electric tree lights at his home on Fifth Avenue, New York City. They caused a sensation although some years were to pass before mass-manufactured Christmas tree lights were widely available.

~ In America in 1822, the postmaster of Washington, DC, complained that he had to add 16 mailmen at Christmas to deal with cards alone. He wanted the number of cards a person could send limited by law. “I don’t know what we’ll do if this keeps on,” he wrote.

The Christmas holiday season in Spain is a truly magical affair. Although it doesn’t get going until seemingly the last minute, the Spanish throw themselves whole heartedly into the spirit of things and the festivities finally culminate on the 6th January.

The true mark of the beginning of Christmas in Spain is the Spanish national lottery draw held on December 22nd. ‘El Gordo’ or the fat one, is so called because it is the largest national lottery in the world with the total prize fund running into billions and it also has the best odds of winning. The draw takes place throughout the whole morning and the whole nation tunes in to watch the very elaborate drawing of the numbers. The tickets can cost up to 200 euros so many people club together to buy a share, although there are those who put aside a saving fund, sometimes up to 1000 euros to buy a few tickets for the family. The lottery draw is the moment when Christmas comes to Spain, this symbolic tradition has been going for centuries and Christmas just wouldn’t be Christmas without it.

Once the lottery draw has been made, the festivities really begin, students and children break up for the holidays and lights, decorations and trees suddenly appear overnight. The traditional Christmas decoration for a true Spanish Christmas is the ‘belén’ or nativity scene. Just like other countries across the world, where Christmas trees take centre stage in town and village squares, each town and village has its own belen. Some of these scenes are breathtakingly beautiful and elaborate and can be visited in town halls and churches across the land. Even personal ones can take over whole rooms in the house and just with the Christmas tree it is a magical family time spent putting it together and adding all the little touches. As well as the traditional religious characters and popular local scenes, one special character is paramount to the Spanish belen. He is known as ‘el Cagón’ and to be polite, he is a figure in a squat position doing a poo! His presence symbolises the fertilisation of the land for the coming year but of course provides much amusement for the children. Although an important and historical figure in the belén, he has been banned from public nativity scenes in many towns by local governments so as not to cause offence…

Just like other Christmas celebrations, here in Spain it is a time to gather the family together and celebrate with a meal. The main Christmas meal in Spain is held on Christmas Eve or ‘Noche Buena’

The meal on the eve of the 24th is the most important meal in the Spanish calendar and is always held in the evening, many people won’t even start until after midnight as the old saying goes, “ Esta noche es Noche Buena, y no es de dormir” this night is the Good Night, and is not meant for sleeping”

Generally, the celebrations usually begin early evening when friends and family meet in bars for a drink before returning home for the main event. Like most Christmas meals, the Spanish one involves a lot of preparation, many courses, lots to drink and lasts all night.

You can expect to find a large array of moth watering seasonal delights at the table during the meal. Popular foods for starters or appetisers are shellfish and cold cuts of meat which are usually followed by soup and then another fish dish. A traditional one is ‘besugo’ which is baked bream but you may also find lobster, crab, salmon, hake, sea bass or trout. Then for the main course the traditional roast is lamb or sucking pig although duck, or turkey served with truffles are becoming more popular. Dessert is traditionally a selection of sweets and cakes such as marzipan, ‘polvorones’ a sweet kind of bread or Spanish turrón which is nougat made with sweet toasted almonds and has been made in Spain for centuries. The only drink to accompany your meal is cava, the Spanish equivalent of champagne which many say is far better than its French counterpart.

Another must do for a true Spanish Christmas is midnight mass which people go to either before or after the meal, depending on the time they eat. Christmas midnight mass in Spain is known as ‘La Misa del Gallo’ or ‘Rooster Mass’ because the rooster was the first to announce the birth of Christ. Once the meal and mass is over, people return home to exchange gifts. Children will often only receive a small gift as ‘Papa Noel’ is less popular than the Three Kings who arrive on 5th January with presents for all the children. The evening, or morning, usually ends in a bar or disco where whole families gather to party and celebrate once the family festivities are over.

Christmas day is a quiet affair and the quietest in the Spanish calendar. People meet up for a walk or a drink and while many continue the celebrations with a meal in a restaurant, most people are still recovering from the evening before. In Catalonia, there is a wonderful Christmas day tradition which goes by the name of “El Tio.” Basically a decorated log or tree trunk is ‘fed’ with sweets and other goodies during the few days before Christmas and then on the day, Children sing the traditional catalan Christmas song and beat el tio with a stick when he produces sweets and other delights for all the family.

Shortly after Christmas day on December 28th there is another curious celebration unique to Spain called ‘The Day of the Innocents.’ Although the origins of this fiesta lie in murders of women and children committed by Herod in Judea, modern day celebrations are similar to those of April fools Day on a much larger scale. Newspapers print ridiculous stories and even prominent political figures get involved. Never believe anything you see or hear on this day and watch your step carefully!

New Year’s Eve or ‘Noche Vieja’ in Spain is celebrated much like everywhere else with a few unique exceptions. It is apparently tradition to wear red underwear which must be bought for you by someone else (although I’ve never been brave enough to check this one out for myself.) Another great and long standing tradition is ‘las doce uvas’ or the twelve grapes. At the stroke of midnight, one grape must be eaten with each chime of the bell or clock, anyone who manages all twelve are said to have good luck throughout the coming year. It is a tradition taken very seriously by many Spanish people and while some of us are still struggling at ten past twelve, there are lots of people well practiced in the art. Preparation is everything though, I remember helping to peel and deseed enough grapes for 10 people last year……. You can buy ready prepared grapes in tins but it is not the same somehow.

Once the grapes have been eaten and multiple kisses bestowed, the party really begins. Again, whole families from the young to the old can be seen in bars and discos celebrating the beginning of the New Year until the early hours.

For Spanish children, the best days of the festive season have to be the 5th and 6th of January. While the rest of us are packing away the trees and tired decorations, Spanish children everywhere are preparing for the arrival of the Three Kings. In Spain it is not Santa who brings the children their presents, but the Three Kings or ‘Los Reyes Magos’ On the 5th January, the eve of Epiphany children go to local parades which herald the arrival of the Three Kings. Each village parade consists of decorative floats with a variety of themes and sweets and streamers being thrown into the crowds. At the end of the parade, children get the opportunity to ask the Three Kings for their chosen gift and then leave their shoes out overnight in which their gift will be placed. In many villages though, the parade of the Three Kings culminates in a gathering at the local church or school hall where each child’s name is called out and they receive a small gift. The day of the 6th January is a national holiday, much like Christmas day and children wake up to presents left by the Three Kings. The typical dessert of the day is called “Rosca de los Reyes” and is a home baked ring style bread decorated with coloured jellies to symbolise the jewels worn by the three Kings. Inside is hidden a small surprise similar to what we find in Christmas crackers. Anyone lucky enough to find the hidden surprise may be crowned King or Queen for the day!

Christmas celebrations in Spain are fantastic and what I like is the way things are not commercialised as they are in the UK for example. Walking down the road at the beginning of December, you would hardly notice that Christmas is round the corner, there are very few Christmas adverts on TV and it seems ages before lights and decorations go up. However once the fever takes over, you are spoiled by the generosity of Christmas spirit bestowed on you by the locals, you get free gifts in the shops and free tipples in the town hall, lights and decorations appear as if by magic, there is music to be heard and people seem to suddenly take to the streets and squares just to wish you well and enjoy the atmosphere which goes on right until January.

The 6th January marks the end of the Christmas celebrations in Spain and then like everywhere else, it’s back to the same old. But don’t worry the next fiesta is just around the corner…

About the Author:
Gayle Hartley is a food writer living in rural Spain and co owner of Orce Serrano Hams. She regularly contributes to Spanish food and lifestyle magazines and newspapers. http://www.orceserranohams.com