thursday 13: seasons learnings

reading time: 3 minutes

I love the holidays! I love learning about the different holidays, the different traditions, So I present to you my Seasons Learnings for your holiday pleasure.

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1. In 2022, if you were to buy all the presents in The Twelve Days of Christmas you would spend…
   • $45,523.27 if you only bought the gift of the day on that day, 34 gifts. This is up 10.5% from 2021.
   • $197,071.09 if you repeat the gifts as the song does, 364 gifts.^[1]. The “Twelve Days of Christmas” Will Cost You More This Year. WFGR.
2. The first artificial tree was created in 1880 in Germany when Christmas trees were so popular that there was a threat of deforestation. They were made of goose feathers, dyed green. ^[2]The History and Evolution of Artificial Trees. Dambly’s Garden Center.
3. According to the US Census, there are ten places in the country with holiday names. ^[3]Fun Facts: The 2022 Holiday Seasons. US Census.
4. Kwanzaa was created in 1960 by Maulana Karenga, a Black nationalist, in order to unite and empower the Black community in the aftermath of the Watts Rebellion. It is a cultural holiday, rather than a religious one. ^[4]5 Things You May Not Know About Kwanzaa. History.com.
5. Hanukkah dishes are fried in oil in commemoration for the oil that burned for eight nights straight. ^[5]12 Facts About Hanukkah You Probably Didn’t Know. Town & Country.
6. The University of Minnesota used skunk spray to stop people from stealing evergreen trees from campus. ^[6]‘U’ Resorts To Unusual Methods To Thwart Evergreen Thieves, CBS Minnesota.
7. In 1988, Denny’s gave Christmas day off to all employees. The only problem was that the restaurant was generally open 24/7. Because of that, 700 of the then-1,221 locations had no locks, which then had to be installed last-minute. ^[7]37 Strange, Bizarre, & Hilarious Christmast Facts Yule Not Believe. The Reeves Law Group.
8. The Grinch costume was so uncomfortable that Jim Carrey said wearing it felt like he was being buried alive. To that end, he hired a Navy SEAL to teach him what was essentially torture resistance. ^[8]Claustrophobic Costume a Big Grind for Carrey. Chicago Tribune.
9. The first state to recognize Christmas as a legal holiday was Alabama in 1836. Oklahoma was the last, in 1907. ^[9]This Southern State Was the First to Make Christmas a Legal Holiday. Southern Living. Edited to add: Christmas was recognized in Alaska and Hawai’i prior to statehood, both before 1907.
10. The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) Santa tracker/website/app has been around for over 60 years, and it started because of a typo in an ad. In 1955, Colonel Harry Shoup received a call on the famous red phone, to which calls came only from the Pentagon or a general. But when he answered, a child asked him if he was Santa. It turned out a local department store typoed the phone numer in an ad. Dozens of kids called the Command Operations Center that night. Shoup is now gone, but now, every year a colonel and a team of volunteers track Santa for the kids of the world. ^[10]Here Comes Santa: The Adorable Origins of NORAD’s Santa Tracker. NBC News.
11. Every year, the winter solstice is celebrated at Stonehenge within the inner circle at sunrise for druid and pagan celebrations. This year it will be on 22 December. It’s on my bucket list to do this. ^[11]Stonehenge Winter Solstice Tour. Stonehenge Tours.
12. In 2021, approximately 62% of Christmas lights were imported into the US from Cambodia, or $321 million. ^[12]Fun Facts: The 2022 Holiday Seasons. US Census.
13. Rudolph entered holiday lexicon in 1939. A Montgomery Ward Department Store copywriter, Robert May, was asked to write a Christmas story that could be used as a giveaway promotion for shoppers. 2.4 million copies were given out during its first year of publication. Later, May’s brother-in-law, songwriter Johnny Marks, adapted the book into a song. That song was recorded by Gene Autry in 1949. ^[13]Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Smithsonian.

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