• The UCC Council for Racial and Ethnic Ministries (COREM) released a statement: “’…more than 8,000 government web pages and 3,000 data sets have vanished…. This is not bureaucratic housekeeping.’ It is systemic silencing.” tinyurl.com/WNCC-25-04-20

• Hearts You Hold  http://heartsyouhold.org - supports migrants, immigrants, refugees, and asylees in a concrete material way, by taking the time to ask them what they need or want. HYH, a Vermont-based nonprofit, receives numerous requests from local workers in Vermont and New Hampshire, as well as from individuals across the United States.

• Aligning Your Money with Your Values: See Carolyn Marsh about this workshop. This information will help you identify highly rated financial institutions in Vermont that align with your environmental and social values.

Fun Christmas Facts

….Continued from our Christmas Eve Program of Worship

1.        Evergreens are an ancient tradition.

The iconic Christmas tree has deep roots (forgive the pun). Ancient Egyptians marked the winter solstice by decorating their homes with green palms, while the Romans celebrated Saturnalia with evergreen boughs. These green plants signified that spring would return with new life. The first Christmas trees as we know them today began in Germany in the 16th century.

2.        You can thank Prince Albert for your Christmas tree

Christmas trees have German roots, but they really took off in popularity thanks to Queen Victoria and her husband, German Prince Consort Albert. In 1848, the Illustrated London News sketched them standing in front of their tree with their children, which quickly made Christmas trees fashionable.

3.        Hanging stockings started by accident

The historic St. Nicholas heard about the plight of a local man who lacked the dowry money to marry off his three daughters. The generous St. Nick tossed some money down the chimney, which landed in the ladies' stockings that were drying by the fire. After that, the tradition stuck!

4.        Rudolph was a marketing ploy.

The reindeer was created by a copywriter for Montgomery Ward in 1939, who wrote Rudolph into a children’s story to promote the store. It was a hit, with over 2.4 million copies in its first year. In 1949, Gene Autry recorded the song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," and in 1964, there was a movie about the island of misfit toys.

5.        The eight tiny reindeer have had lots of names.

Rudolph was nearly called Rollo or Reginald, and his team has had names like Flossie, Glossie, Racer, Pacer, Scratcher, Feckless, Ready, Steady, and Fireball.

6.        Christmas wreaths are religious symbols.

The tradition of bringing evergreens into the home started in 16th-century in northern and eastern Europe, mainly among Germans, to clean and standardize Christmas trees. Instead of discarding cut greens, people wove them into wreaths. The circular shape and evergreen material of wreaths symbolize eternal life, representing God's eternity, the soul's immortality, and everlasting life in Christ.

7.        "Jingle Bells" was originally a Thanksgiving song.

8.        Astronauts broadcast "Jingle Bells" from space.

Nine days before Christmas 1965, Gemini 6 astronauts Wally Schirra and Tom Stafford told Mission Control they saw an unidentified flying object entering Earth's atmosphere from polar orbit. Just as tension rose, they interrupted with “Jingle Bells,” with Wally playing a small harmonica and Tom shaking sleigh bells.

9.        "Silent Night" is the most recorded song.

10.  Celebrating Christmas used to be illegal.

From 1659 to 1681, celebrating Christmas in the colonies could result in a fine. The Massachusetts Bay Colony created the Penalty for Keeping Christmas, deeming such festivals superstitious and dishonoring to God. The penalty was five shillings. By the Revolutionary War, Christmas had lost significance, and Congress held its first session on December 25, 1789. It wasn't made a federal holiday until nearly a century later, showing that disdain for the holiday persisted long before the Grinch.

11.  It's rumored that eggnog originated in medieval Britain.

Eggnog most likely originated in medieval Britain, where it was an upper-class luxury made with milk, sherry, and eggs. Monks added figs and called it "posset," while the wealthy used a simpler recipe for toasts and celebrations. It became associated with holidays due to the lack of refrigeration and later became popular among common people in America, thanks to increased farming and access to dairy animals.

12.  Santa has his own Canadian postal code.

Every year, letters to Santa flood post offices worldwide. Some kind Canadian workers responded by writing back. They created a special postal code, HOH OHO, as part of the Santa Letter-Writing Program.

13.  We ship a ton of packages at the holidays.

Last holiday season, the U.S. Postal Service handled over 11.7 billion pieces of mail, including gifts, cards, letters to Santa, and credit card bills.

14.  The term "Xmas" dates back to the 1500s

Contrary to popular belief, "Xmas" is not a trendy attempt to "take Christ out of Christmas." "Christianity" was spelled "Xianity" as far back as 1100. X, or Chi, is the first letter of "Christ" in Greek, so "X" was used as a shorthand version. Back in the fourth century, Constantine the Great often used the abbreviation. Some say the acronym "XPmas" was used as early as 1021 to refer to the holiday, which was later shortened to "Xmas."

15.  The majority of Americans celebrate Christmas.

The majority of Americans jingle-bell-rock their way right through the Christmas season: about 85% of us. Not all who celebrate Christmas observe the holiday's religious aspects, but you can bet that come December 25 most people are opening presents under the tree.

16.  Only about half of Americans attend Christmas services

You might have noticed that church attendance on Christmas Eve has felt less busy lately than when you were a kid. The Pew Research Center found that fewer people view Christmas as a religious holiday these days. More specifically, about 51% of American adults attend a religious service on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.

17.  Americans spend nearly $1,000 a year on gifts

18.  Mistletoe is an aphrodisiac

The holiday decoration isn't just pretty. It's also an ancient symbol of fertility and virility — and the Druids considered it an aphrodisiac.

19.  But Mistletoe isn't as sweet as it sounds.

Mistle thrushes eat the plant's berries, digest the seeds, and then help the plant germinate with their droppings. The Germanic word for mistletoe literally means "dung on a twig."

20.  Turkey outranks ham as the festive favorite.

Although Google searches for "ham" and "turkey" both spike in December, in the past few years the bird has edged out ham as the favorite to dig into for Christmas dinner.

21.  Candy canes originated in Germany.

The National Confectioners Association states that a choirmaster in 1670 gave red-and-white striped candies to children to keep them quiet during long church services. They became popular as Christmas treats in 1847 after a German Swedish immigrant decorated his tree with them. Today, they come in many colors and flavors, such as cherry, green apple, and watermelon.

22.  The Rockefeller Christmas tree started small.

The first Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, from the Depression era, was small and undecorated in 1931. By 1933, it was replaced with a lit tree, and each year it grew larger. Now, it’s adorned with over 25,000 lights and attracts millions of visitors.

23.  The gift of Decks of Playing Cards held a lifesaving secret.

During World War II, the United States Playing Card Company joined forces with American and British intelligence agencies to create a special deck of cards. They distributed them as Christmas gifts to soldiers, but they also helped Allied prisoners of war escape from German POW camps. When wet, individual cards peeled apart to reveal maps of escape routes.

Guild Christmas Shop Hours

Thursday - Sunday 10 am - 4 pm

&

December 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, & 24th

643 Bayley-Hazen Road, Peacham, VT 05862

Store and Gallery Hours

Tuesday - Saturday - 10:30 a.m - 5:30 p.m

430 Railroad Street, St. Johnsbury, VT