Hello Friends,
The healing of my left knee moves on at a slow pace. I am being very dutiful in the exercise to help the healing on my left leg. I want to share you some peaks at the release scheduled for next week. As of Friday, January 6 at 12:00 PM EST you will not be able to purchase and old sets bt Marcella Hawley and Sam Pritchard. If you want you must act now.
I came upon some articles that were in the internet and though you would enjoy them so I am sharing them to share with you. First in our home we celebrate 12th night. Also known as “little Christmas or Epiphany. We save the best gift of Christmas that we are giving each other, as the 3 Magi brought Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh. All things a true king would deserve. We keep our Christmas decorations until January 6 each year. Most of us know the lyrics of the song “The 12 days of Christmas” I found this imagery of this song and the meaning behind them. This is the first of two tidbits about Christmas. Here is the imagery, the meaning of each verse on the lyrics
From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics.
It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality which the children could remember.
* The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.
* Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments
* Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.
* The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.
* The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.
* The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.
* Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit – Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.
* The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.
* Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit-Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control.
* The ten lords a-leaping were the ten commandments.
* The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.
* The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles’ Creed.
My second tidbit is about Santa Claus which I found on the history channel. If your like me and think about Santa Claus a a jolly old man dressed in red. Here I am sharing with you the history and evolution of Santa Claus.
“The man we know as Santa Claus has a history all his own. Today, he is thought of mainly as the jolly man in red, but his story stretches all the way back to the 3rd century. Find out more about the history of Santa Claus from his earliest origins to the shopping mall favorite of today, and discover how two New Yorkers–Clement Clark Moore and Thomas Nast–were major influences on the Santa Claus millions of children wait for each Christmas
THE LEGEND OF ST. NICHOLAS
The legend of Santa Claus can be traced back hundreds of years to a monk named St. Nicholas. It is believed that Nicholas was born sometime around 280 A.D. in Patara, near Myra in modern-day Turkey. Much admired for his piety and kindness, St. Nicholas became the subject of many legends. It is said that he gave away all of his inherited wealth and traveled the countryside helping the poor and sick. One of the best known of the St. Nicholas stories is that he saved three poor sisters from being sold into slavery or prostitution by their father by providing them with a dowry so that they could be married. Over the course of many years, Nicholas’s popularity spread and he became known as the protector of children and sailors. His feast day is celebrated on the anniversary of his death, December 6. This was traditionally considered a lucky day to make large purchases or to get married. By the Renaissance, St. Nicholas was the most popular saint in Europe. Even after the Protestant Reformation, when the veneration of saints began to be discouraged, St. Nicholas maintained a positive reputation, especially in Holland.”
“SINTER KLAAS COMES TO NEW YORK
St. Nicholas made his first inroads into American popular culture towards the end of the 18th century. In December 1773, and again in 1774, a New York newspaper reported that groups of Dutch families had gathered to honor the anniversary of his death.
The name Santa Claus evolved from Nick’s Dutch nickname, Sinter Klaas, a shortened form of Sint Nikolaas (Dutch for Saint Nicholas). In 1804, John Pintard, a member of the New York Historical Society, distributed woodcuts of St. Nicholas at the society’s annual meeting. The background of the engraving contains now-familiar Santa images including stockings filled with toys and fruit hung over a fireplace. In 1809, Washington Irving helped to popularize the Sinter Klaas stories when he referred to St. Nicholas as the patron saint of New York in his book, The History of New York. As his prominence grew, Sinter Klaas was described as everything from a “rascal” with a blue three-cornered hat, red waistcoat, and yellow stockings to a man wearing a broad-brimmed hat and a “huge pair of Flemish trunk hose.”
On to the subject of stamping, we have just celebrated the holidays filled with peace, love and hope. As we move to our January in just a few days, our release is all about the love in the air. In seems to me that all of those good wishes usher in to Valentines Day. I love to look into the things we do and the history behind them. It is pretty sure that I will share with you the history of Valentines Day.
I wish for each of you to have a year of prosperity, love and peace.
auf Deutch, “Frohes neues Jahr”.Frohes neues JahrGutes.
in French, Bonne Annee,
Spanish Feliz Año Nuevo,
Italian, Buon anno / Felice anno nuovo,
Japanese,あけましておめでとうございます,
Korean:새해 복 많이 받으세요
Finish, hyvää uutta,
Flemish: Zalig Kerstfeest en Gelukkig nieuw jaar
Vietnamese ‘Chuc Mung Nam Moi
Until Later, Ciao,