I need your email address again, please. I have a photo of a sphere that my son-in-law made with popsicle sticks that you might enjoy. (He is also a Mechanical Engineer, designer, and inventor).
When you’re not quite ready to watch another Christmas movie but still want to engage in a family activity, trivia is always a solid game to turn to. Who doesn’t love a little friendly competition, right? We’ve rounded up some questions to test your family members on so that you can spend more time playing the game than creating it.
How did red and green become Christmas colors?
We mostly have holly and Coca-Cola to thank for the rise of red and green as Christmas colors. Holly, obviously, has bright red berries and dark green leaves. It was used long ago by the ancient Celts for winter solstice celebrations as a symbol of protection and good luck. Coca-Cola’s role in making the colors a widespread combo for the holiday began in 1931 with ads featuring Santa Claus in a red and white suit surrounded by a green background and accents.
What’s the most successful Christmas movie ever?
With a whopping $286 million at box office, 1990’s Home Alone is the highest-grossing Christmas movie ever. Coming in second is How the Grinch Stole Christmas, released in 2000 with a box office of $260 million, according to Forbes.
How many packages does the USPS deliver during the holidays?
In 2019, the USPS projected 800 million package deliveries between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. The postal service hasn’t specifically said how many packages are being delivered this year, but the package volume is at an all time high because of the pandemic.
True or false: "Jingle Bells" was written to be a Christmas song.
False! The song wasn’t intended to be attached to the holiday. Some historical reports say it was first performed at a Thanksgiving church service. In any case, the lyrics don’t mention any holiday at all.
When was the first tree put up at the Rockefeller Center?
Technically, the first Christmas tree was put up in 1931 when construction workers building the site decided to buy one to lift their spirits during the Great Depression. In 1933, it became a tradition with the first official lighting ceremony.
Has Christmas ever been illegal to celebrate?
Yes. The Massachusetts-Bay Colony ordinance of 1659 made Christmas illegal to celebrate in that specific colony. The law was repealed in 1681. Christmas didn’t become a state holiday in Massachusetts until 1856, though.
When was the term “Xmas” first used?
The term was first used in the mid-1950s. It comes from the Greek letter chi, the first letter in the word Χριστός, which means Christ.
What are two other names for Santa Claus?
Saint Nick and Kris Kringle.
How many Americans use artificial Christmas trees?
A survey conducted by Nielsen for the American Christmas Tree Association found that nearly 94 million U.S. households will display a Christmas tree this year. Of those, 85 percent are artificial.
What department store sold $50,000 chocolate advent calendars in 2007?
Harrods sold a 4-foot, Christmas-tree shaped advent calendar carved from wood that had compartments filled with organic chocolate. The proceeds from the calendars went to cocoa farmers in Belize.
Name the eight original reindeer.
Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen.
How much do Americans spend on holiday shopping?
The National Retail Federation reports that Americans plan to spend an average of about $998 this year on holiday shopping. That’s down from last year’s average of around $1,048.
True or false: People no longer send out Christmas cards.
False! The rate of sending any greeting card has gone down over the years, but this year especially, people are sending holiday cards as a way to connect with others during the pandemic.
Why is kissing under mistletoe a tradition?
The start of the tradition is up for debate, but many ancient cultures believed mistletoe to have healing properties—from potentially protecting against poisons to restoring fertility. There’s also a myth that mistletoe was used to kill the god Baldur, and his mother Frigg used its berries to bring him back to life. She then declared the plant a symbol of love and promised to kiss anyone who went underneath it.
Why are stockings hung?
The most popular legend tells of a poor man who was worried his three impoverished daughters wouldn’t have enough status to marry. St. Nicholas heard of his situation and wanted to help but knew the man wouldn’t take charity. Instead of directly handing him money, St. Nicholas put gold coins in the daughters’ stockings that were drying by the fire and disappeared.
Wishing everyone a joyous Christmas as we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ our Lord ! From our home to yours ... Merry Christmas and best wishes for a Happy New Year !!! Jim & Carol
Merry Christmas to all! It has been a very strange year to say the least. Thanks to Dave Long, those of us that participated and those that were just observers were treated to a very special series of Message Forum posts that brought us closer together during the year. It has been one the highlights of my year to enjoy getting to know many of you better. Hopefully we will continue staying in touch. Best wishes on this special day.
Jim - Beautiful tree! I guess a big family requires a big tree. Very nice.
Linda - I enjoyed the Christmas trivia and learned several things I did not previously know. I was most surprised by the fact that Jingle Bells was not originally a Christmas song. I recently heard a radio program on song writer Johnny Marks who made his living writing Christmas songs and found it interesting that this one man wrote Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree, A Holly Jolly Christmas, Silver and Gold, I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day and Run Rudolph Run.
Max - Are you hinting that you would like some of the scraps if I messed up on some the icosahedron parts Maybe I can put together a Picasso version .
Sandy - Sorry if I worried you, but my hip has done exceptionally well and I am able to comfortably do anything I did before the surgery and more. I will post some more pictures of my wood craft projects after Judy opens her Christmas presents.
In my new world this year there are no holiday decorations save a wreath on the front door and a leg lamp on the living room table (think "A Christmas Story"). But I did get to spend a little time with my daughter and granddaughter yesterday. We had a beautiful visit, opened presents, and shared lots of stories. To cap it off, my son is on his way over tonight. All in all, those are the things that matter most. I feel very lucky.
I see that you're on the website! Nice to see you here.
I look forward to seeing you communicating with our 3rd grade class. You'll be surprised how many remember you.
For those who don't know, Mickey lived next door to Suzy Probasco and went to Washington Street School with Jack Keefe, Sally Fox, Jane Wettaw, Linda Keller, Lynn Bishop, Terry Baxter, Nancy Prillaman, Dave Uban, Ron Shillington, John Shambach, Gary Tool, Paul Todd, Dennis Alexander, Tony Beich, me, etc.
What was the teachers name? I can remember 4th grade was Mrs Holcomb, 5th was Mrs Miller and 6th Mrs Bane but I can't remeber 3rd grade. It was my first year at Washington. Weren't Norma Graen and Mary Eisenberg also at Washington then?
3rd grade was Mrs Kay Kuchan. I stayed in touch with her through church and was even a Church Senior High Advisor for her son.
2nd grade, I think was Mrs Thomas and 1st grade was Mrs. Ringer. For Kindersgarten, we went to Oakland School and the teacher's name was Mrs Hertman (she got married during the school year)
Ooops, my mistake. You weren't asking about Nancy, but Norma Graen. I am not sure how far back she was with us,but definitely for some of grade school.
Sorry, I couldn't remember all of the names off the top of my head. I also did not include Paula Mueller, Gene Fuller, Carol Teagle, Diane Gardner, and both of you. I do remember that we had 30 in our class at the beginning of the year. I heard Mrs. Kuchen tell Mrs. Ringer.
Norma came to our class just after the beginning of 4th grade. She might be in our 4th grade photo.
Jack: Class photos had been taken for a few decades before us. Even my father, who was born 1900, had a school class photo when he was 8 years old.
Mrs. Kuchen, during the beginning of our 3rd grade class made a comment that I have always remembered: 'all of you should be living in the year 2000. Who knows, by then you might be driving space ships.'
In the 1990's I took a photo of my van and sent it to her with the caption 'my space ship'. She had retained photos from the newspaper that had anything to do with her students. She sent clippings, to me, of me and my horse, and my father and 2 of his horses.
Mrs. Kuchen asked me to play Mary in our Nativity for class. I asked why she chose me. She said because I was olive complected like Mary would have been. That was the first time that I became aware of my skin.
HAPPY NEW YEAR to all and best wishes for many blessings in your lives in 2021!!! Stay safe and COVID free!
It has been a real joy getting to know many of you the past year as we spent so much time on our site and especially posting such wonderful photos which really did help to see into the lives and homes of our classmates. Press on in 2021 with more of the same!
HAPPY NEW YEAR to one and all. Looking forward to a much better 2021 than last year... which shouldn't take much.
Dave... Lincoln School teachers... I don't remember K through 2 but the upper grades were... 3rd: Mrs. Hubble, 4th: Miss Gottachalk(sp), 5th: Miss Ayers, 6th: Mrs. Mauer. Maybe somebody else knows the K-2 teachers' names.