Christmas Feel Good Movies

It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

Plot: A rather unlikely looking angel helps a desperately frustrated man (James Stewart) by showing what life would have been like had he never existed.

Despite being an old black and white movie (there are digitally colorized versions available), It's a Wonderful Life remains a Christmas classic to this day. It demonstrates the ways in which we touch the lives of others and to some extent, the butterfly effect that our actions can have.

We give this movie ***** - five Christmas stars!

The Twelve Days of Christmas - huh?

We all know the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas", or at least parts of it, but what are the roots of this festive tune and what actually are the twelve days of Christmas?


Although the song predates it, the earliest known printed version of it is in the 1780 book "Mirth without Mischief" which presented the song as a forfeit game whereby in each round an additional verse was added to the song. Whomever made an error in recalling the previous verses, had to pay a forfeit. Some make claim that the song is a actually a catechism song, written in England during a time when the Catholic faith was prohibited but no evidence has been shown to support this claim and furthermore there is evidence that there may well be French origins to the song.



The Twelve Days actually refers to the festive days beginning Christmas Day (25 December). This period is also known as Christmastide. The Twelfth Day of Christmas is 5 January, the day by which you should take down your Christmas decorations and tree. The twelve days of Christmas are followed by the Feast of the Epiphany on 6 January.

St. Stephen's Day is 26th December in the Western Church and 27th December in the Eastern Church. Boxing Day, the first weekday after Christmas, is observed as a legal holiday in the United Kingdom and parts of the Commonwealth. It was traditionally marked by the giving of Christmas boxes to service workers. The 28th December is Childermas or the Feast of the Innocents (a commemoration of The Massacre of the Innocents; an episode of infanticide by Herod the Great.

The comedy play “Twelfth Night” by William Shakespeare is believed to have been written specifically for the close of the festive season.

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Christmas fun with Candy

This is a cute idea for christmas tree decorations using candy. Very sweet indeed! Se below for some additional variations on this idea.

Variations:

1. If you don't have easy access to a craft store to purchase the foam cones, make one from a sheet of card, securing with hot glue or tape. Stuff the inside of the cone with old rags to add some weight and make it more stable.

2. Another variation on this idea would be to use buttons instead of candy, that way your decoration will last for years to come.

3. Instead of using hot glue, make up some royal icing to stick the candy to the cone, that way the candy can still be eaten after Christmas.