Safe Santa on Christmas Eve ~ Picture of the Day ~ Pangrams ~ The Best Five Onion Soup ~ Christmas Eve History ~ National Eggnog Day

Good 35º dark cloudy/foggy morning. 

Christmas Eve.... let's hope Santa stays safe and this doesn't happen...

Picture of the Day...

Interesting about pangrams....

A pangram is a sentence using every letter of the alphabet at least once. Pangrams have been used to display typefaces, test equipment, and develop skills in handwriting, calligraphy, and keyboarding. The best-known English pangram is "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog". It has been utilized by Western Union to test data communication equipment for accuracy and reliability, and is now used by a number of computer programs (most notably the font viewer built into Microsoft Windows) to display computer fonts.

 Here are some more...

 Two driven jocks help fax my big quiz. (30 letters)

 Five quacking zephyrs jolt my wax bed. (31 letters)

 The five boxing wizards jump quickly. (31 letters)

 Crazy Fredrick bought many very exquisite opal jewels. (46 letters)

 We promptly judged antique ivory buckles for the next prize. (50 letters)

 A mad boxer shot a quick, gloved jab to the jaw of his dizzy opponent. (54 letters)

 Jaded zombies acted quaintly but kept driving their oxen forward. (55 letters)

 The job requires extra pluck and zeal from every young wage earner. (55 letters)

I've made this a number of times over the years...

The Best Five Onion Soup

1/4 cup butter

1 leek, chopped (white and pale parts only)

1 red onion chopped

2 shallots chopped

2 celery stocks chopped

1 garlic clove chopped

1/2 cup dry sherry

4 cups chicken stock

1 12oz russet potato peeled and cut into 1" pieces

croutons

Melt the butter in a heavy Dutch oven over medium heat. Add next 7 ingredients and sauté until translucent (6-10 minutes). Add sherry, simmer until liquid evaporated, about 3 minutes. Add the chicken stock and potato. Simmer about 20 minutes, until potato is very tender. Lightly puree soup in blender or food processor in small batches. Season with salt and pepper. Bring soup back to simmer. Thin with more stock if desired.

Historically this date.....

1818 – The first performance of "Silent Night" takes place in the church of St. Nikolaus in Oberndorf, Austria.

1826 – The Eggnog Riot at the United States Military Academy begins that night, wrapping up the following morning.

1851 – Library of Congress burns.

1865 – The Ku Klux Klan is formed.

1943 – World War II: U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower becomes the Supreme Allied Commander.

1968 – Apollo Program: The crew of Apollo 8 enters into orbit around the Moon, becoming the first humans to do so. They performed 10 lunar orbits and broadcast live TV pictures that became the famous Christmas Eve Broadcast, one of the most watched programs in history.

2000 – The Texas 7 hold up a sports store in Irving, Texas. Police officer Aubrey Hawkins is murdered during the robbery.

And births this date include...

1809 – Kit Carson, American frontiersman (d. 1868)

1905 – Howard Hughes, American film producer and inventor (d. 1976)

1922 – Ava Gardner, American actress (d. 1990)

1923 – George Patton IV, American general (d. 2004)

1971 – Ricky Martin, Puerto Rican singer

1974 – Ryan Seacrest, American television host

All I know. Nuff said. Happy Christmas Eve. Ciao.

xo Sue Mom Bobo

Christmas Eve on December 24 kicks off a series of holiday traditions. Some are ancient practices with a modern spin, while others date back hundreds of years.

Christmas Eve is filled with both religious and nonreligious traditions. Religious traditions center around the birth of Jesus. Different denominations have their own traditions. On Christmas Eve Roman Catholics and Anglicans hold Midnight Mass. Lutherans celebrate with candlelight services and Christmas carols. Many evangelical churches hold evening services where families celebrate Holy Communion.

Around the world, Christmas Eve is celebrated with a variety of foods. In Italy, they celebrate the Feast of Seven Fishes. Russians traditionally serve a 12-dish Christmas Eve Supper before opening gifts. Meanwhile, in Bulgaria, the Christmas Eve meal consists of an odd number of meatless dishes.

Besides food and religious services, the holiday is when Santa Clause takes to the sky in his sleigh to deliver Christmas gifts around the world. Other names for the white-bearded man in a red suit include Father Christmas, Kris Kringle, and Saint Nicholas. No matter what he is called, the legend of Santa is based on a real-life man named Saint Nicholas of Myra. The early Christian bishop was known for secret gift-giving, as well as many miracles. Through the years, the legend of Santa grew to include the North Pole, a sleigh driven by reindeer, a naughty or nice list, and his jolly laugh, “ho, ho, ho.”

HOW TO OBSERVE

What are some of your holiday traditions? How did they begin?

There are many ways to observe Christmas Eve. For many families, the most important thing is to make lasting memories with their loved ones. Here are some ways to celebrate:

• Attend church for a candlelight service or Midnight Mass
• Read the account of Jesus’ birth from the book of Luke
• Put out milk and cookies for Santa
• Pass out Christmas cookies and other goodies to your neighbors
• Host an ugly Christmas sweater party
• Gather around the tree with your family and cups of cocoa and share favorite holiday memories
• Go caroling in your neighborhood or at a senior center
• Make a gingerbread house
• Hang up Christmas stockings
• Read Christmas classics like The Night Before Christmas and A Christmas Carol
• Watch a fun Christmas movie like Elf, Home Alone, or The Grinch
• Rent a limo and look at Christmas lights

As you can see, there are many wonderful ways to celebrate Christmas Eve. 

CHRISTMAS EVE HISTORY

Hearkening back to the 16th century when Christian traditions were first influenced by winter solstice celebrations, decorating and preparing for Christmas Day took place the evening before. This included putting up the tree, decorating with mistletoe and holly, bringing in the Yule log and making dishes for the Christmas meal.

Jewish traditions have historically influenced Christian practices, too. One such practice is that the church day traditionally begins in the evening. Christian churches have celebrated Christmas Eve in part because it is believed that Jesus was born at midnight. Many churches today hold Christmas Eve services or Midnight Masses. They may also hold candlelight vigils, Nativity productions or sing carols.

And it's also.......

National Eggnog Day is observed once a year on the day before Christmas.  Also known as egg milk punch, eggnog is a very popular drink throughout the United States during the holidays.

Eggnog is a sweetened dairy-based beverage that is traditionally made with milk and cream, sugar, whipped eggs and spices.  When served at parties and holiday get-togethers, liquor is often added to the eggnog such as brandy, rum, whiskey, bourbon, vodka or a combination of liquors.  The filled glass is typically garnished with a sprinkle of cinnamon, nutmeg or pumpkin spice.

Eggnog may be added as a flavoring to food or drinks such as coffee, tea, breads, pies, cakes or puddings.

The origin of the eggnog drink is debated.  It is the belief of some that the drink was originally developed in East Anglia, England, while others believe it originated as a medieval European beverage made with hot milk.