Family Day

                Family Day is a day held on the 2^nd Monday of each February; created to allow families to have a day dedicated to spending time with each other. In Canada, the provinces Family Day is celebrated in are: Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Saskatchewan, and now as of 2013, British Colombia. It wasn’t customary in Ontario until 2007.

                The first celebration of Family Day (in Canada) was held in Alberta in 1995 by the Pioneers who founded that province. They had this day because families and their customs were very important to the pioneers.

 The purpose of Family Day is to highlight the importance of families and family life to people and communities which they live in. Today, the purpose of family day has mostly remained the same. Few differences may include the activities families choose to partake in together. We celebrate Family Day to appreciate the value families contain and to give workers the opportunity to spend time with their families. Also, there was a big gap between new years and Good Friday which are 2 holidays which people get time off work and school. Family Day was placed in between them to shorten the gap where families get together and spend time with one-another.

sources:
http://www.statutoryholidays.com/family-day.php
http://www.hintonparklander.com/2008/02/18/family-day-history
http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/canada/family-day
http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=5&ved=0CEkQFjAE&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.canadianaconnection.com%2F2013%2F01%2Ffamily-day-canada%2F&ei=j5eBUsyqDuWu2AXEyIDIBA&usg=AFQjCNFFg0ibrXO77N7HguahAiRY0wXoHQ&sig2=1PEGTRicksrTJmW9IgBgBQ

Groundhog Day (this one's for you Nicola!)

Groundhog Day began in America around 1887.

It is theorized that Groundhog Day has its connections to the Ancient Celtic celebration of Candlemas (a feast that would happen every year on February 2^nd). The relation to these to is that on Candlemas, if it were sunny enough to cast a shadow that day, then winter wasn’t over. But, if it were a cloudy day without any shadows, then that meant spring had begun that very day. There’s an old British saying that best describes the event that took place and the purpose of Candlemas: “If Candlemas Day be bright and clear, there will be two winters in a year.” This is the first and the oldest document version of Groundhog Day that could possibly have its ties to the Groundhog Day we celebrate today.

            In the 1800’s, German Settlers (in Pennsylvania) brought their customs and traditions to the Unites States of America. In particular, one of these many traditions is believed to have been the practice of predicting the end of the wintery season and the coming of the spring season. They predicted this based on the hibernation routines of the bears and the badgers. This is an origin of where Groundhog Day began. Eventfully, Groundhog hunting became a popular event many participated in and somehow over the years, the groundhogs replaced the bears and badgers with the prediction of the end of winter and beginning of spring.

Sources:

hhttp://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/stories/why-do-we-celebrate-groundhog-day

http://mentalfloss.com/article/29889/where-did-groundhog-day-come

http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/canada/groundhog-day

http://www.groundhog.org/groundhog-day/history/

 

New Year's

The celebration and creation of new year's was first celebrated in Ancient Babylon about 4,000 years ago. In fact, new years is the oldest celebration out of all the celebrated holidays. Originally, new years was celebrated in March 9since march was the month that marked the beginning of spring and rebirth of nature, rebirth marking a new year) by people for 11 days, most commonly in temples. There, priests would make sacrificial offerings in hopes for a new year filled with good health, good luck, and good fortune.

                It wasn’t until Julius Caesar made created the Julius Calendar that new years was celebrated in January, due to the adjustments it made. Once the construction of the Julius Calendar was made, Roman Senate made January 1^st the official date of which new year's was to be held in 153 B.C.

                Romans celebrated new year's with festive such as “toga parties”. The custom of making loud noise at midnight came from these Roman parties. The ancient Romans would play loud music, sing loudly, cheer loudly, clap loudly, everything had to be loud. This was because it was there way of bringing good luck to the new year. They believed that by creating a lot of loud noise around midnight, it would ward off all evil spirits and negative energy. To them, that was a good way to welcome the new year. That tradition has still stuck to this day. The loud music being played, the cheering at time square when the ball drops, and the loud countdown to midnight with noise makers and horns were brought to us by the Romans, even though the purpose behind it may have changed a little bit, it’s still a celebration none-the-less.

Sources:

http://billpetro.com/history-of-new-years-day

htthttp://www.history.com/topics/new-years

http://www.infoplease.com/spot/newyearhistory.html

 

Boxing Day

  Boxing day is celebrated the day directly after Christmas day (December 26th). On this day, all stores put their merchandise on sale for really good prices. It tends to be a crazy and hectic time.

   The first Boxing day is believed to have started approximately 800 years ago in the United Kingdom. It was a day when churches would send out collection boxes. These boxes got opened on this day to reveal what was inside and distribute its contents amongst the poor so that they could get something special during the Christmas holidays as well. Also, on this day, servants got time off work to celebrate Christmas with their loved ones.

    Another theory as to how Boxing day began is that middle class working men, who made frequent delivery runs, would receive Christmas boxes or generous tips from their customers and co-workers.
 
  Today, it is only a celebrated holiday in as  few as 4 countries around the world. These countries are: Canada, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand.

Sources:
http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/canada/boxing-day
http://www.whychristmas.com/customs/boxingday.shtml
http://www.pauldenton.co.uk/Boxingday.htm

History of Christmas Stockings

   The tradition of people leaving out stocking Christmas Eve came from Amsterdam. In the 16th century, Children in Holland would put out a pair of their clogs (wooden shoes people in Holland wore)  in hopes that Sinterklass would fill them with treats. Dutch children would stuff their wooden clogs with straw for Santa or... Sinterklaas, to take to feed his reindeer. They also would leave a treat out for him near the fireplace. In return, Sinterklass would leave treats or small gifts in their sodden clogs to show his appreciation and to say thank you. Over time, the clogs became stockings and the name Sinterklaas became Santa Claus. 
 
    Another theory that isn't so popular is that the tradition of leaving out stockings also has it's ties to the kind act of the Fremch Nuns in the 12th century. It is said that French Nuns, who were inspired by the kind acts demonstrated by St. Nicholas who gave gold to the poor, would fill stockings with fruits and nuts and would deliver them personally to the poor. At the toe of the stocking, there would be an apple to grant good health. The heel of the stocking contained a tangerine as a special treat because tangerines were very expensive back then.

Sources:
http://www.christmaswithlove.com/stocking.html
http://www.plumpstocking.com/stockingstuffers/christmas-stocking.php
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/christmas-traditions-the-history-behind-crackers-187443
http://www.worldofchristmas.net/christmas-stockings/history.html
http://www.thehistoryofchristmas.com/trivia/stockings.htm

Christmas Trees

One of the most identifiable images of the Christmas season is the evergreen tree which we know was the Christmas tree. Many different cultures have used them for different symbolic purposes. They were first used as a decorative symbol of eternal life by the Ancient Egyptians.  Chinese, Hebrews, Europeans, Pagans, Vikings, Egyptians, and Druids all worshiped this specific tree. Before Christmas was Christmas and the celebration of the Winter Solstice was popular, Evergreen trees were seen as a blessing and reminder of all the nature and greenery that was soon to blossom and grow after the long winter season. This was because the evergreen tree was the only plant that survived the harsh weather conditions winter brings. People who worshiped the tree in ancient times looked to evergreen trees as a reminder. They believed the sun god wanted them to see the trees as a reminder that he would return soon. The original purpose of the trees was to give people something to look forward to during winter. It was the same thing with the Roman Tradition, Saturnalia. The only differences are that they took the worship to the next level. They would decorate their homes and temples with evergreen branches as a regular reminder (much like other cultures) to look forward to the greenery spring would soon bring. It was also seen as a sign of piece and equality since those were the two main things Saturnalia was about. Pine needles and branches were used as center pieces on tables when slaves and asters would feast together during this time.

                We associate the evergreen tree with Christmas because of its triangular shape.  In the Christian religion, the triangle represents the holy trinity. Since the trees were used symbolically to represent hope and peace, Christians used it in the 12^th century as a symbol to describe the holy trinity of the father, the son, and the Holy Spirit. It was first hung upside down from ceilings to better represent the relation tied to the holy trinity at Christmas and became the symbol of Christianity as well.

The first decorated tree was documented in 1846. Queen Victoria’s German Prince, Albert brought this custom to England from Germany. People noticed this tradition when the Queen and Prince were seen in a News paper standing around the decorated Christmas tree with their children. Almost automatically, the people of England began to do this since the Queen was doing it. And that is how its popularity grew.

Sources:

http://www.christmasarchives.com/trees.html

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/thepastinthepresent/storybehind/whychristmastrees.html

http://www.history.com/topics/history-of-christmas-trees

http://www.christmas-tree.com/where.html

http://www.whychristmas.com/customs/trees.shtml

The Tradition of Santa Clause

As a kid, we all believed in Santa Claus. But as we get older, we wonder how the idea of Santa Claus came to existence. There are many theories about Santa Claus, but all retain the important details of a man giving presents to others. This originated from the idea a man in the 4^th century named St. Nicholas, who was said to be a bishop in Asia.  He was said to protect children, protect sailors, and give presents to the poor. A holiday was made for him called St. Nicholas day placed on December 6^th.  But, this and Christmas were close enough together that they decided to merge the two holidays together. As the concept of Santa Claus evolved, many countries developed different names for him.

North America	Santa Claus
Netherlands	Sinter Klaas
Great Britain	Father Christmas
France	Pere Noel
Germany	Klaasbuur

In our current society, Santa has evolved from being a bishop in Asia to a fat jolly “elf” who lives in the North pole and on December 25^th every year goes around and gives presents to all the good boys and girls


Source:
http://www.cnn.com/EVENTS/1996/christmas/history.html