Pre-Christian Roots Of Christmas

Many of the traditions and customs that are part of our current Christmas festivities have been with us since long before the birth of Christ. Christmas, as we know it today, evolved from year end and new year holy days that were celebrated in the Near East, Rome and Northern Europe.

Before Rome “converted” to Christianity there were three major holy days that were celebrated.

Saturnalia
Saturnalia began on December 17 and lasted for eight days. This festival was in honor of Saturn who was a prehistoric king and god that was believed to have taught their ancestors agriculture, civilization and peace. The celebration started with the sacrifice of a pig which was attended by…

Childhood Christmas Memories

My earliest Christmas memory is from 1966, I was only two years old but I still have a clear picture of that Christmas Tree with the presents and in particular a toy train, unwrapped and resting on a circular set of train tracks. I talked to my mother about this memory when I was about ten years old. She was amazed that I had such a clear memory and she told me how young I was and where we had lived at the time. I asked her if it was an upstairs apartment in a big white house, yes it was, she said. Why did my mind choose to remember going up those steps and…

Christmas Peppermint Bark

With these semisweet chocolate overtop that give it a two tone zebra color treats you are sure to want these in your stockings or gift baskets. They are sure to please kids of all ages.

Ingredients:

10 regular size candy canes
2 pounds (1 kg) white chocolate

Cooking Instructions:

Take wax paper or parchment paper and line your cookie sheet with this.

Let your kid(s) help you unwrap the candy canes then place them in a zip lock bag and then take a hammer or rolling pin and crush the candy canes into chunks of less than 1/4 of an inch then set aside.

To melt your white chocolate place in a boiler or…