The First Christmas Card

The world's first commercially produced Christmas card, designed by John Callcott Horsley for Henry Cole (director of the South Kensington Museum, later the V&A Museum) in 1843.

The central picture showed three generations of a family raising a toast to the card's recipient: on either side were scenes of charity, with food and clothing being given to the poor.

Commercially, the card was unsuccessful, not only due to its price but also because the center design was thought to incourage drunkenness. It was subsequently removed from the market.

Fascinating stuff!

Title: Did Christmas Copy the Sun God's Birthday? Channel: ReligionForBreakfast (Dr. Andrew Henry) Length: 51:10

Brief summary of the Sol Invictus origin theory for the date of Christmas, followed by an overview of Sol Invictus and the way he is depicted in art. Our information on Sol is lacking, but what we have suggests that he was a fairly minor deity for much of history. December 25th was not a long standing nor an especially important official feast day of Sol Invictus.

The earliest possible date for a Sol Invictus festival in December is 274 AD, and the earliest definite date is 354 AD. Evidence for Christians trying to calculate the date of Jesus' birth and deciding upon December 25th predates evidence for widespread celebration of Sol Invictus. The 25th was when Rome celebrated the Solstice, and while the importance of that date likely influenced the calculations for Christmas, it is more a matter of the objective symbolism of a solstice and not a direct attempt to coopt a pagan celebration.

The History of Christmas Traditions and How They Evolved

The History of Christmas Traditions and How They Evolved

Christmas is a holiday that is celebrated by millions of people around the world, and it has a rich history that stretches back over two thousand years. While many of the traditions that we associate with Christmas today have their roots in ancient cultures, they have also evolved and changed over time, making Christmas a holiday that is full of diversity and cultural significance. The origins…

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A few of the more creative spellings of Christmas I’ve come across while looking for Dear Santa letters in old newspapers this year.

The fact that we, Arabic-speaking average people(aka non-journalists), have to keep up with translating Palestinian posts from Arabic to English to avoid having Western Media/Pro-Zionists mistranslate on purpose, says enough about how we all lost trust in the media. From the "there's a list" guy who was standing in front of a calendar and condemning the days of the week, to the BBC's mistranslation of a freed Palestinian hostage's interview. I will try my best to keep translating whatever I can find, and I encourage my fellow bilingual/multilingual Arabs to do the same. It's already sad enough that Palestinian journalists and even children have to use English in videos instead of their native tongue in order to get the world leaders' attention.

Please keep speaking about Palestine.

"Goodfellows Fund Reaches High Mark - Autos Needed For Christmas Morning," Windsor Record. December 20, 1913. Page 1. ---- A Christmas Vision But it can only come true if those who have plenty remember those who have nothing.

Yule Be Surprised: Rediscovering Ancient Traditions in a Modern Christmas World

In a world adorned with twinkling lights and tinsel, where the air is filled with the carols of joy and the scent of pine, there exists a quieter, more ancient celebration rooted in nature’s embrace. For those who find their spirits awakened by the rustle of wind through evergreen boughs rather than the hymns of the season, Yule beckons—an ode to the solstice, a celebration entwined with the…

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A Brief History of Christmas Part 2

In part 1, I discussed a framework of the religious origin of Christmas, and the origin of Santa Claus. In this part, I’m going to discuss the full rise of modern Christmas, and how we see the holiday today.

In modern times, the celebration of Christmas is almost completely separated from its religious origins. Rather, the holiday is centered around social, cultural, and yes, economic focuses, with its connection to Christianity being almost an afterthought at this point. Despite some modern complaints about Christianity being removed from Christmas, the fact of the matter is that the cultural holiday and the religious celebration are two entirely separate things, with little to connect them. Even the Christmas tree doesn’t have a deep connection to the religious holiday.

Despite its well-known connection to the holiday today, the Christmas tree traces its origins back to the 18th century, as a popular trend among rich Lutheran Germans, who would decorate evergreens with nuts and berries. Eventually, the Lutherans brought the practice to the United States, where it became more and more popular, ultimately culminating in the tradition we have today.

In totality, the most powerful influences on Christmas growing into the holiday it is today were writers. Poets like William Gilley who invented Santa Claus and writers such as Charles Dickens with his “The Christmas Carol”. While the name and the religious aspect can be traced back over 2000 years, the modern holiday and its traditions are at most 200 years old. Despite various books and stories depicting the traditions of Christmas as approximating what they are today from the very beginning, the traditions are far younger than most people believe.

Check out these sources if you want to learn more or see where I got my information.

The Bystander, England, November 20, 1936

Winter Sunset in a Pine Forest (1898) by Yuly Yulyevich Klever ❅ A Sunset in a Winter (1900) by Nils Hans Christiansen

Title: Why is Christmas on December 25th? Channel: ReligionForBreakfast (Dr. Andrew Henry) Length: 8:54

Gives short background on Saturnalia, mentions birth celebration of Sol Invictus, and gives the evidence for Christians taking the date and replacing it with the birth of Jesus.

Problems: Christian leaders at the time did not have the control or influence to change what the people celebrated. The Eastern branch of Christianity also celebrated Christmas on January 6th, not December 25th, and there's no corresponding festival to explain this.

The explanation Dr. Henry gives is that the church calculated the crucifixion to have taken place on March 25h, and also believe that Jesus was conceived on the same calendar date that he died, and thus would have been born 9 months later on December 25th. The Eastern church did the same calculation from April 6th instead of March 25th. These discrepancies are probably due to trying to translate dates from the Lunar-Solar Jewish calendar to the purely Solar Roman calendar.

When you get your Dad the perfect present cuz he ROCKS!

Robert Moss was diagnosed with polio at the age of six, the year before he wrote this letter. He would spend the next nine years of his childhood in and out of hospitals.

He made a full recovery and was a decorated athlete in High School and College, as well as an Eagle Scout. After college, he became a junior high science teacher, while also coaching football, basketball and track.

During summer break from teaching in 1965, his childhood struggle with polio inspired him to spend the summer working at the Louisiana Lions Camp for Crippled Children. He went back the next summer and was hired as camp director.

Robert was the Executive Director of the Lions Camp for 41 years. Over his tenure he expanded the camp to include programs for children with pulmonary disorders, muscular dystrophy, diabetes and autism.

He assisted in programs to set up similar camps in Puerto Rico and Australia, as well as a camp for children with terminal illnesses in Texas.

The Lions Camp still operates and is 100% free of charge for all attendees.

(source: The Minden Herald, December 19, 1941.)