For our Holiday Gathering last Friday, while members brought their Sweet Treats for our raffle, and bought tickets and chose which treats to try to win, President Mark welcomed 34 Canton Rotarians, and one guest, Bob Leibensperger. After mark's announcements, Paula's tidbits of info, and Happy Bucks, many of the attendees adjourned to the CPC sanctuary, where church orgnaist, heather Cooper, performed several holiday selections on CPC's pipe organ. heather was also gracious enough to spend a few minutes with part of our group explaining the organ, it's numerous keyboads and pedals, and demonstrated how the organ produces a vast variety or sounds! Thank you Heather!
From Secretary Paula:
Interesting Christmas Facts:
- Christmas wasn't always on December 25
While Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ, the actual date is lost to history. There's no mention of December 25 in the Bible and many historians say Jesus was really born in the spring. Some historians posit the date was originally chosen because it coincided with the pagan festival of Saturnalia, which honored the agricultural god Saturn with celebrating and gift giving.
- You can thank Prince Albert for your Christmas tree
Brew a cup o' tea when trimming your tree this year to pay homage to its origins. When Prince Albert of Germany got a tree for his new wife, Queen Victoria of England, it really took off across the pond. A drawing of the couple in front of a Christmas first tree appeared in Illustrated London News in 1848.
- Rudolph was a marketing ploy
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer first appeared in 1939 when the Montgomery Ward department store asked one of its copywriters to create a Christmas story for kids that the store could distribute as a promotion. The adorable movie featuring the island of misfit toys and Herbie the Elf hit the airwaves in 1964.
- Celebrating Christmas used to be illegal
From 1659–1681, anyone caught making merry in the colonies would face a fine for celebrating. By the Revolutionary War, the day had so little significance that Congress even held their first session on December 25, 1789. Christmas wasn't even proclaimed a federal holiday for almost another century.
- Christmas decorating sends nearly 15,000 people to the ER each year!
Happy Bucks:
Rick Taylor
Jenny George
Becky Clark
Bob Pattison