Sunday, November 30, 2014

December 2014


December 1, 2014

The holiday season is upon us. Christmas is evident in every town across the country, at every corner of your hometown lights are twinkling in the night. Joyous celebrations are getting ready to begin and we all give thanks for a wonderful year as the new one takes onto new adventures in our lives.  In Shannon Springs Park, the sounds of Christmas are heard 24/7 during December and the Christmas lights are spectacular. 
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and Happy New Year, everyone!

In this Issue:
          Christmas Legends
          News/Updates
          Recipes
          Coming next month

Christmas Legends:
The American version of the Santa Claus figure received its inspiration and its name from the Dutch legend of Sinter Klaas, brought by settlers to New York in the 17th century.
As early as 1773 the name appeared in the American press as "St. A Claus," but it was the popular author Washington Irving who gave Americans their first detailed information about the Dutch version of Saint Nicholas. In his History of New York, published in 1809 under the pseudonym Diedrich Knickerbocker, Irving described the arrival of the saint on horseback (unaccompanied by Black Peter) each Eve of Saint Nicholas.
This Dutch-American Saint Nick achieved his fully Americanized form in 1823 in the poem A Visit From Saint Nicholas more commonly known as The Night Before Christmas by writer Clement Clarke Moore. Moore included such details as the names of the reindeer; Santa Claus's laughs, winks, and nods; and the method by which Saint Nicholas, referred to as an elf, returns up the chimney. (Moore's phrase "lays his finger aside of his nose" was drawn directly from Irving's 1809 description.)

Santa Claus Legend: 

Celebrating Christmas without a richly decorated Christmas Tree would not seem right today.  But why do we have a Christmas Tree, and how did it originate?


Back in the 7th century a monk from Crediton, Devonshire, traveled to Germany to spread the Word of God.  Legend has it that he used the triangular shape of the Fir Tree to describe the Holy Trinity of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit to the German people. The German people started to revere the Fir Tree as "God's Tree". In the next 5 centuries, the tree became a symbol of Christianity, and was being hung upside-down from the ceiling as a sign of Christianity.     

Christmas Tree Legends:

Christmas Legends:

Christmas Movies:

Christmas Recipes/Treats:

News/Updates Exclusive to select Maxine’s Musings members (MMs) a release day (TBA) Kindle download of By the Blue Moon, the first in a series of adult novels inspired by the Beast of Bray Road in the Kettle Moraine Forest of Wisconsin.

One father.
Two mothers.
Four siblings.
One incredible story about that special night which changes them all.
Forever.

To become a MM member:  Facebook / Blog


Congratulations to the MMs who received a release day copy of my 5 in 1 Romances to Remember bundle! I hope you enjoy the five stories in the bundle.

Coming Next Month:  Two new features:  Recommended Read and Quote of the Month

With much gratitude, until next time…keep reading.

Maxine                                               
Spark your imagination and entice your mind
Be adventurous in your own home
Take a journey into a new world and be inspired
Enjoy the pleasures of reading ~~
It does the mind and body good.