15 days till Christmas

15 days till Christmas
December 10th
Movie of the day: Mupet Christmas Carol
Ah I love this one. Michel Caine is my favorite Ebenezer Scrooge of all. You can't beat the playfulness of the Muppets. Muppet Treasure Island is the only other Muppet movie I like as much as Christmas Carol. When I was really little I thought the two old men who play Marley and Marley were the funniest Muppets.



Christmas Carol of the day:
Oh Come all ye Faithfull
http://www.christmas-carol-music.org/Lead_Sheets/OComeAllYe.html
We usually sing verses 1, 3 and 6 when we do this one in church or out caroling. My family on my dad's side used to go caroling. We would all pile into Grandma and Grandpa's van and drive to their friends houses, pass out the sheet music and sing out a tune or two. We usually chose our harmonies depending who all was along. As we grew older we started going to a nursing home around Christmas to sing carols. It always brought a smile to all their old faces. I miss singing in harmonies. I was in choir in church from fourth or fifth grade through college. The adult choir was a bit to intense for me. I enjoyed the laid back fun of the younger choirs. Maybe I can convince some friends to sing carols around Christmas time this year.

Christmas Trivia
(brought to you by howstuffworks.com)
What is Boxing Day in England?
Although the exact origin of Boxing Day is unknown, it is believed to date back to England during the Middle Ages. The most widely accepted theory is that even though servants were required to work on Christmas Day, they were given a reprieve the day after to visit family, with their employers sending them off with a box containing gifts and food, hence the term "Boxing Day."
Today, people continue to celebrate by taking the day off to visit family and friends and to give presents to those who have helped them throughout the year. Traditional Christmas festivities in England include tables laden with pine boughs, holly, mistletoe, juniper berries, cinnamon sticks, oranges with fragrant cloves, bowls of fruit, and tiny Christmas trees scattered throughout.
Party favors are placed on plates. These include English "crackers," which are colored paper tubes filled with candy and small gifts.
The typical English Christmas feast consists of:
Pheasant or chicken
Turkey
Assorted sausages
Stuffing
Roasted potatoes
Yams
Filo crackers
Mince pies
Poached pears
Scones and muffins with berry butter
Christmas (plum) pudding
Fruitcake
http://christmas.howstuffworks.com/games/christmas-trivia3.htm

Every year, on my dad's side, at Christmas dinner the tables would be set beautifully with a Christmas cracker on each plate. We would pull them as we chose our seats. We would wear our party hats and read the trivia. The prizes were hit or miss depending on the year. One year we got musical crackers. Each one had a different whistle in it. All the cousins lined up and my brother conducted a slightly out of tune Christmas carol. After we all choose our seats and pull our crackers we stand and sing grace in harmony.

Be present at our table lord
Be here and everywhere adored
these mercies bless and grant that we
may strengthen for thy service be
amen

When we were very little, the cousins and I would love to mimic grandpa's very low note at the end of amen. It was all good fun.