Poetry In A Pot Of Tea: Nutcracker

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Three French Hens~ 3rd Day of Christmas

I had one of those rare nights when you just lie awake knowing the dark is ticking away and you are trying to fall asleep. I got up and drank warm milk, which was good but did not have the desired soporific effect. Oh well, I got to see the sunrise and was actually up before my sweet hubby! lol (that is really rare!)~ Ran some errands, got groceries and stopped by Michaels to get a nose for Herr Nutcracker. Remember the Advent Nutcracker I got for a steal yesterday? Check out the 'before and after'; look at his nose...or lack of... won't pass muster here~

And now with his new nose he passes inspection!

My husband sanded one side of a wooden bead and I painted it with Adirondack Paint Dabbers in a mixture of white, brown and rose. Sehr gut!

Today is the Third Day Of Christmas, which means we sing about French Hens. Why?

From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote The 12 Days of Christmas carol as a catechism song for young Catholics. It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality which the children could remember. One belief is that three French hens represent faith, hope and charity. Some also believe the hens represent the three wise men or the Trinity. Gold, frankincense, and myrrh is another explanation, since like French hens, they were very costly during the 16^th century.

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Here is a quick card I made using an Inkadinkadoo Mad Hatter stamp and a Stampin' Up teacup stamp~

I used;

vintage book page, stamped with music score
sheer ribbon and bakery string
brads
Bazzill cardstock
houndstooth cardstock
Distress Inks
Foam dots to mount teacup
Recollections mini rose, inked
Zig H2O pen to color teacup and Mad Hatter

I am sharing this with~
Uncommonly Yours link party

Monday, December 26, 2011

Second Day of Christmas...Boxing Day~

I hope you had a lovely Christmas! Today is the second Day of Christmas; 'Turtle Dove' Day and Boxing Day.

I did a bit of research to find out the origins of Boxing Day but it seems nobody is quite sure of the actual beginnings. Some think it had to do with alms boxes in churches that were opened the day after Christmas and the contents distributed to the poor. One online source states, "The day after Christmas was the traditional day on which the aristocracy distributed presents (boxes) to servants. Both the church boxes and the servant presents existed, although historians disagree on which practice inspired the holiday. But Boxing Day's origins aren't especially important to modern-day Brits. Today's Boxing Day festivities have very little to do with charity. Instead, they revolve around food, soccer, visits from friends, and drinking at the pub. Boxing Day has been a national holiday in England, Wales, Ireland and Canada since 1871. The Irish refer to the holiday as St. Stephen's Day, also known as Wren Day. The Bahamas celebrate Boxing Day with a street parade and festival called Junkanoo, in which traditional rhythmic dancers called gombeys fill the streets with their elaborate costumes and headdresses. And there's the shopping. England and Canada's Boxing Day evolved into a major shopping event in the 1980s."

Speaking of shopping, I took a quick trip today to look for bargains and came home with a Nutcracker Advent box to add to our collection. He is missing his nose, but that is easily remedied and garnered me an additional 20% discount on the already low Christmas clearance price!