There are reports of decorated fir trees before the Middle Ages. Some believe that the real beginning of the Christmas tree as we know it may be attributed to the 16th Century German theologian Martin Luther or another clergyman of his time.
The clergyman, according to legend, was walking through a forest at night and was overcome by the beauty of the green fir trees against the starlit sky above. When he arrived home, he wanted to recreate the beautiful scene for his children as he told them about his walk. So he brought a small fir tree into the house and decorated it with lighted candles.
From this beginning, the custom of decorating a Christmas tree spread throughout Germany and into the rest of Europe.
It was introduced into England by Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s German husband, in 1841.
The German immigrants brought the treasured tradition with them to America, and Christmas trees have been a cherished part of our holiday season ever since.
The Christmas tree has gained in popularity in America since the middle of the 19th Century and is perhaps the foremost feature of Christmas celebrations.
Along with the bright lights, now much safer that the earlier candles, trees are decorated with colorful balls, religious symbols such as angels and crosses, glittering tinsel and chains of popcorn and cranberries.
Under the tree, in Christian homes, will frequently be found a creche of the nativity scene reminding us of the night Christ was born.
Anyone who has seen the beauty of a Christmas tree reflected in the wonder of a little child’s eyes knows it is among the most treasured of our traditions.
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The Traditions of Christmas
The traditions of Christmas in America have their roots in many lands, a reflection perhaps of the many nationalities and cultures that make up our nation of immigrants. In this blog we will take a look at the traditions emanating from Rumania and Syria.
From dawn until after sunset on Christmas Eve, Rumanian boys visit neighboring homes to sing a Christmas greeting, Colinde, for which they receive apples, cakes and coins. On Christmas Day they parade through the streets carrying a great wooden cross which is hung with little tinkling bells. The star is illuminated from within by a candle, and is decorated with a transparency of the Baby Jesus and the Magi. Roast pig is the principal food of Christmas dinner.
An ancient Rumanian custom, still practiced today, is called “Blessing the Danube.” Clad in costumes depicting Pontius Pilate, Herod and other biblical characters, people gather at the river bank to sing carols. A young boy breaks the ice and a wooden cross is thrown into the water. All scramble after it for the rescuer will have extraordinary fortune in the coming year.
Christmas Eve in Syria is spent in worship and prayer. A bonfire of vine stems is made in the middle of each church in memory of the Magi who were cold from their journey.
Many Syrians journey to Bethlehem to attend midnight services in the Holy Land. Christmas Day is observed chiefly in the home with prayers and quiet rejoicing.
Young Syrian boys and girls, masked and dressed in gay costumes, go singing from door to door and receive coins, eggs and candies in return.
Legend tells that the youngest camel who carried the Wise Men to Bethlehem fell down, exhausted by the journey. The Christ Child blessed the camel and conferred immortality upon it. For this reason, a camel brings gifts to the children on New Year’s Day. Before going to bed that night, boys and girls set a bowl of water and wheat outside the house for the camel. In the morning, the good find gifts and the naughty find a black mark on their wrists.
The Traditions of Christmas
The traditions of Christmas in America have their roots in many lands, a reflection perhaps of the many nationalities and cultures that make up our nation of immigrants. In this blog we will take a look at the traditions emanating from Poland, England and Ireland.
In Poland families end a fast on Christmas Eve and gather for a dinner to honor the Holy Child. Before supper is served, the father of the house breaks the Christmas wafers, which are marked with Nativity scenes and have been blessed by the church. The father distributes the pieces to all who are present as tokens of peace and friendship. The meatless meal that follows has 12 courses, one for each Apostle.
In England, Christmas is a day of family gaiety and of feasting on turkey with roast potatoes, mince pies and plum puddings. Turkey also is the Christmas meal most chosen by Americans.
In Mexico, the flower of Holy Night, the poinsettia, is seen everywhere during the Christmas season and everywhere, in doorways and arches, there are pinatas. On Christmas Eve, children roam the streets breaking the pinatas with a long stick. When each is broken, a profusion of peanuts, fruits and candy showers down.
On Christmas Eve in Ireland, candles are lighted and placed in every window of the house and doors are left ajar. The candlelight and open door are symbols of welcome, assuring the Irish people that no couple seeking shelter for a Baby who is the son of God will be homeless. The candlelight must shine forth all night long, and may be snuffed only by those having the name of Mary.
A cup and saucer is placed on the table in each Irish home for the entertainment of wandering souls from purgatory, who are believed to come home for Christmas.
The Traditions of Christmas
The traditions of Christmas in America have their roots in many lands, a reflection perhaps of the many nationalities and cultures that make up our nation of immigrants. In this blog we will take a look at the traditions emanating from Scandinavia and Spain.
In Sweden, pagan customs mingled with Christian ritual. In heathen times, it was believed that at Christmas the dead returned to earth, so food and drink were set out for them. Today, children set out food for Santa Claus.
In villages throughout Sweden young girls vie each year for the honor of portraying Saint Lucia on Dec. 13. On that day, a young girl clad in white with a crown of candles on her hair is followed by other young people carrying burning candles as sleeping families are awakened at dawn with an offering of wheat cakes and coffee.
Of course, the famous Scandinavian smorgasbord of cheeses, breads, salads and meats is replicated at holiday open houses and gatherings throughout America each Christmas season.
After weeks of Christmas preparations, homes in Finland are ready for holiday celebrations by noon on Christmas Day. A straw framework, decorated with paper stars suggestive of heaven, is suspended from the ceiling. Lighted from below by the glow of firelight and the Christmas tree, the framework produces a mysterious effect. Straw is heaped on the floor and, like the Christ Child, the children sleep on this manger-like bed.
In honor of Christmas Eve celebrations, each member of the Finnish family takes a traditional sauna or steam bath. After the sauna, all gather about the table while the head of the family solemnly reads the Christmas prayer and sermon. Little children visit other homes during the evening, but return early to see if the man dressed as a yule goat, Father Christmas, has left any presents for them.
Throughout Spain, Christmas is a time of devout religious ceremony that begins on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on Dec. 8. Before midnight Mass on Christmas, little Spanish children dress in peasant costumes and enact an age-old Christmas Eve tradition of dancing around the Nativity scene to the musical accompaniment of tambourines.
The Christmas observance ends with the children receiving their gifts on Jan. 6. The gifts are said to be left by the Magi passing through on their way to Bethlehem. In the big cities, elaborate parades are held honoring the Three Kings.
Spanish children have no Christmas tree and do not hang up their stockings on Christmas Eve. Instead they hide slippers and shoes for Balthasar and the Wise Men to fill with goodies.
The Traditions of Christmas
The traditions of Christmas in America have their roots in many lands, a reflection perhaps of the many nationalities and cultures that make up our nation of immigrants. In this blog we will take a look at the traditions emanating from Germany, Italy and France.
Many of the most cherished Christmas traditions have their roots in Germany. In Europe from time immemorial evergreen trees were brought into homes during the winter as symbols of unending life. It was in the Black Forest of Germany that the evergreens were first used as part of Christmas. And when Alsace was German, the tradition of adorning the fragrant firs and spruces with sparkling glass balls and garlands of tinsel began.
The colorful Advent calendars, with little windows to open for each day of the season, also originated in Germany as did the evergreen Advent wreath with four candles that is displayed in many homes with one candle lighted each Sunday until Christmas Eve.
Father Christmas, the kindly bearer of gifts, originated in the Teutonic lands and in Austria good Saint Nicholas parades through the streets in bishop’s regalia.
The Ceppo was the early Italian equivalent of the Christmas tree. Constructed of cardboard and three or four shelves, it was pyramidal in shape and stood about three feet tall. At the top, a pine cone or puppet was placed. Wax candles were lit along the sides and at the bottom, a Baby Jesus, made of wax or plaster, lay in a cradle amidst shepherds, saints and angels. The shelves held candy, fruit and small presents. Objects similar to the Ceppo often are displayed in American homes today, sometimes with the heat of candles placed on the lowest level providing heated air currents to turn an upper level causing chimes to strike.
In France, on Christmas Eve a glass of wine is poured over the Yule Log before it is ignited, and a late supper, to be eaten after midnight Mass, may be cooked over the blaze. In cities, where fireplaces are not common, the tradition is maintained by eating cakes shaped like logs and covered with chocolate icing to resemble tree bark. The luxurious meal eaten following midnight Mass consists of oysters and special wines and sausages. In some American homes, a light meal of oyster stew may be a holiday highlight following midnight Mass.
Many of the most cherished Christmas traditions have their roots in Germany. In Europe from time immemorial evergreen trees were brought into homes during the winter as symbols of unending life. It was in the Black Forest of Germany that the evergreens were first used as part of Christmas. And when Alsace was German, the tradition of adorning the fragrant firs and spruces with sparkling glass balls and garlands of tinsel began.
The colorful Advent calendars, with little windows to open for each day of the season, also originated in Germany as did the evergreen Advent wreath with four candles that is displayed in many homes with one candle lighted each Sunday until Christmas Eve.
Father Christmas, the kindly bearer of gifts, originated in the Teutonic lands and in Austria good Saint Nicholas parades through the streets in bishop’s regalia.
The Ceppo was the early Italian equivalent of the Christmas tree. Constructed of cardboard and three or four shelves, it was pyramidal in shape and stood about three feet tall. At the top, a pine cone or puppet was placed. Wax candles were lit along the sides and at the bottom, a Baby Jesus, made of wax or plaster, lay in a cradle amidst shepherds, saints and angels. The shelves held candy, fruit and small presents. Objects similar to the Ceppo often are displayed in American homes today, sometimes with the heat of candles placed on the lowest level providing heated air currents to turn an upper level causing chimes to strike.
In France, on Christmas Eve a glass of wine is poured over the Yule Log before it is ignited, and a late supper, to be eaten after midnight Mass, may be cooked over the blaze. In cities, where fireplaces are not common, the tradition is maintained by eating cakes shaped like logs and covered with chocolate icing to resemble tree bark. The luxurious meal eaten following midnight Mass consists of oysters and special wines and sausages. In some American homes, a light meal of oyster stew may be a holiday highlight following midnight Mass.
Police, Volunteers Work Together for Community
Sparked by the Omaha Police Department’s northwest precinct, volunteers from the community joined together last Saturday to beautify an Omaha neighborhood. More importantly they showed that police and community members can work together for the common good.
The cleanup focused on North 48th Street from Taylor to Sahler Streets.
“The discussion started at an Empowerment Network Omaha 360 weekly meeting,” said Jim Hubbard, northwest precinct crime prevention specialist. “Various members of the community, elected officials, representatives from nonprofits and the Police Department started a discussion, and we kept the ball rolling as a team.”
The goal of the event was to reduce crime in the neighborhood, promote ownership of the neighborhood among residents, encourage productive neighborhood partnerships and create a safe area for youths to walk during Halloween for trick-or-treating.
About 60 volunteers from across Omaha joined neighborhood residents in the cleanup effort. Volunteers included representatives of the Police Department’s northwest precinct, Benson Plant Rescue, Black Police Officers Association, Embrace the Nations, Empowerment Network, Keep Omaha Beautiful, Landmark Group, Dino’s Storage, More Than Just a Village Academy, Omaha Home for Boys, Omaha Public Schools and the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
Real Estate’s Hot New Sector: Storage Units
It’s a good time to be in the storage unit business: Rents are rising, vacancies are limited and competition has been muted due to limited new construction, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Storage unit companies are finding business is booming at a time when other commercial real estate sectors are still mostly flat. Investors are buying up shares in storage unit companies too; Extra Space Storage Inc. saw its stock rise 33 percent in the past year. The Salt Lake City-based company reports that 94.5 percent of its space was occupied at the end of the second quarter, up from 92.1 percent one year prior. Public Storage, which is the largest publicly-traded storage firm, reported a 7 percent increase in rental income year-over-year.
The number of self-storage locations in the United States is more than triple the number of McDonald’s outlets. Seeing opportunity, some investment firms are rushing to complete new projects, although storage facilities tend to take years to build. For example, Carlyle Group LP is spending $80 million to build new facilities in Southern California, the Pacific Northwest and elsewhere.
The industry’s stability may be thanks to the fact that storage space is in demand in good times and bad. Some in the industry use the 4Ds – death, divorce, downsizing and dislocation – as reasons consumers might utilize their services. Because these events aren’t necessarily tied to the economic cycle, the industry “isn’t recession-proof, but it is recession-resistant,” says Ryan Burke, an analyst at real-estate research firm Green Street Advisors.
Analysts said storage can be a good long-term business because once people rent storage units, they are unlikely to move to a different facility even if the rent is slightly lower, and they tend to keep the units longer than they anticipated.
Dino’s Storage owns facilities in Omaha, Bellevue, Papillion and Elkhorn, Nebraska, Bondurant and Des Moines, Iowa, and Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Stealing or Sharing?
It’s no secret that young people like to consume entertainment they don’t necessarily pay for.
Money magazine notes that when business and tech types talk about this reality, they tend to use neutral or even flattering language: Millennials, they say, like to “swap” files and “share” subscription passwords. After all, super-earnest, bike-commuting, coffee-sipping twenty-somethings don’t look like dangerous criminals. And let’s face it, no business wants to alienate the work-force’s largest generational cohort, with billions, if not trillions, worth of spending ahead of it.
Now, however, some Wall Street analysts have decided to come right out and use another S word – steal – in discussing the problems facing some traditional media enterprises.
“The millennials are a generation that grew up (and will likely grow old) ‘sharing’ (read stealing) passwords for access to content if it continues to be ignored,” wrote analysts Mike McCormack, Scott Goldman and Tudor Mustata in a note to clients. “We believe it is the most significant cause of the declining pay TV subscriber base.”
The problem, the analysts suggest, is that all this sharing or stealing could quickly destroy the cable TV business. Similar trends already have gutted the music and news industries, Money magazine reports.
The analysts argue password sharing is already “the most significant cause of the declining pay TV subscriber base.” They compare the current situation to a time when people rigged access to cable with “illegal cable drops, third-party set tops and reprogrammed satellite cards.” Revenues returned only when the industry cracked down.
Of course, no one likes to be called a crook. Millennials might counter that the situation isn’t totally black and white. The music industry has evolved, and sharing streaming TV passwords isn’t clearly against the rules. Passwords for the streaming service HBO Now, for instance, are limited to a household, but the company has been vague about what that means. Netflix, Amazon and others all have policies that similarly attempt to both acknowledge and limit sharing.
The solution, the analysts say, is for companies to adopt tougher rules with emphasis on “authentication limits” – restrictions on how many people can use a log in at the same time. Some sites like Netflix and Hulu already do this.
The analysts acknowledge the scope of the problem – and the fact that it’s not just millennials. People of all ages have used or allowed others to use content passwords, they note.
Whatever Happened to Common Sense?
Lately schools seem to be “giving out suspensions like they’re pencils,” says Jacqueline Burt at The Stir, with arguably well-meaning students being punished for a smorgasbord of what critics are calling trite and ridiculous reasons, ranging from giving hugs to Tebowing.
Here are a plethora of examples:
A creative haircut. Patrick Gonzalez, a 12-year-old student at Woodlake Hills Middle School in San Antonio, recently received an in-school suspension after his enthusiasm for NBA star Matt Bonner went too far. Gonzalez had the San Antonio Spurs forward’s likeness shaved into his hair, which school officials claimed was a violation of the school dress code. To return to school, Gonzalez had to shave his head bald, removing traces of the tribute. But all was not for naught: Bonner was so flattered by Gonzalez’s devotion that he called it “the nicest thing a fan has ever done for me,” and sent the middle schooler playoff tickets and autographed swag.
Hugging a friend. Florida middle schooler Nick Martinez thought nothing of giving his best friend, a female student, a quick hug between classes – until he was suspended for the embrace. As it turns out, Southwest Middle School in Palm Bay has a strict no-hugging policy, in order to prevent harassment and keep students focused on learning.
Tebowing. Matt Bonner isn’t the only athlete indirectly responsible for a student’s suspension. A group of high schoolers in Riverhead, N.Y., was suspended after mimicking NFL quarterback Tim Tebow’s “Tebowing” stance in the hallway of Riverhead High School. Four boys struck the kneeling pose between classes, inspiring upwards of 40 other classmates to join in. School officials cited the quartet for causing a traffic jam in the hallway, an apparent violation of school rules.
Growing hair for charity. Michigan teen J.T. Gaskin is a leukemia survivor, and he knows firsthand the crucial confidence that a wig from the Locks of Love charity can give an ailing cancer patient who has gone bald. After hearing that a friend’s sister had been diagnosed with cancer, Gaskin decided to grow the 10-inch ponytail required by Locks of Love for a donation in her honor. But Gaskin was only able to grow his hair about 2.5 inches before he was suspended by his school, Madison Academy, for violating a dress code stipulation that boys’ hair be “off the collar, off the ears, and out of the eyes.” Despite the punishment, Gaskin said he has no plans to stop growing his hair in preparation for a donation.
Singing a hit song. Hip-hop group LMFAO’s popular single “I’m Sexy and I Know It” is “so catchy, even a 6-year-old boy can pick it up, says Amanda Sloane at HLN TV. That’s what happened in Colorado, where young D’Avonte Meadows started singing the tune – which includes lyrics like “Girl, look at that body” – to a classmate in his school’s lunch line, and was promptly suspended for sexual harassment. While the lyrics were undeniably inappropriate, it’s easy to see how the student is familiar with the track. After all, it’s featured in a frequently aired M&M’s commercial, and was parodied by Elmo on Sesame Street.
Calling a teacher ‘cute’. A 9-year-old North Carolina boy was also suspended for arguably dubious claims of sexual harassment, only his offense was calling a teacher “cute.” A substitute teacher overhead Emanyea Lockett give out the compliment chatting with a friend and reported him.
Chivalry. A student at Southampton Middle School in Virginia was given a one-day suspension for holding an exterior door open for an adult who had her hands full. The student knew the adult, but the school has a policy that prohibits letting a visitor in before he or she is vetted by a security camera. According to the school district’s superintendent, the strict rule is essential to ensure that the high-tech security system is effective.
Disarming a would-be shooter. In February 2013, three high school students were suspended from school for disarming a would-be shooter on the school bus. The teens, all students at Cypress Lake High School in Fort Myers, Florida, were on a school bus when two students got into a heated argument. One of them then pulled a loaded .22 caliber revolver on the other, and aimed it at his head. The three unnamed students didn’t wait to watch someone die. Instead, they tackled and disarmed the suspect, who was later arrested for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The three students who prevented a possible murder did not receive a hero’s welcome at their school. Instead, they were suspended for the remainder of the week because they were involved in a gun “incident.”
Brandishing a pizza slice. A ten-year-old boy at the David Youree Elementary School in Smyrna, Tennessee, was punished with social isolation at lunch time because he brandished a pizza slice at his school friends. It wasn’t just any pizza slice, of course. As Nashville’s News 2 Investigates reported, it was a half-eaten slice of pizza that vaguely looked like a gun. When a fellow student commented on the slice’s resemblance to a gun, the 10-year-old picked it up and pretended to fire shots into the air. School officials suspended him.
Strawberry mountains. Josh Welch, 7, got in trouble at Baltimore’s Park Elementary School when he tried to make a strawberry mountain. Josh, who has ADHD decided that it would be fun to mash up his strawberry tart and sculpt a mountain. Being only 7, things didn’t go quite as planned. As Josh explained, “All I was trying to do was turn it into a mountain but, it didn’t look like a mountain really and it turned out to be a gun (kind of).”
Accidental teacher touching. Seventh grader Je’Terra Bowie was suspended for 180 days from Wilkinson Middle School in Detroit for allegedly accidentally touching her teacher as she reached back to stretch, WDIV reports. “I didn’t know she stopped behind me,” Bowie told the station. “She stopped, and I stretched back. I turned back and said, ‘Sorry. I didn’t mean to.'” After the teacher demanded Bowie leave the classroom, other students wrote letters asserting the incident was an accident. The teacher maintains the poke to her inner thigh was not an accident.
Check what you buy. Jack Persyn, 13, was in chess club before class when he discovered a short knife in the bag he brought to his Georgia school, station WXIA reports. Persyn’s aunt had bought the bag from a yard sale, and gave the purchase to the teen without checking inside first, the Atlanta-Journal Constitution reports. After Persyn told his Lanier Middle School teacher that he accidentally brought the weapon to class, the teen received four days of in-school suspension, a punishment his father Bill Persyn says is excessive.
“There was never a safety issue,” Persyn told WXIA. “No harm was done. It was a genuine honest mistake, yet he got pulled out of class for four days. I can see a one-hour detention if they had to do something, but this is nonsensical.”
Failure to report bullying. Essance McDougald, a student at Lithonia High School in Lithonia, Ga., claims she was suspended for not reporting to school officials that she was being bullied, CBS Atlanta reports. McDougald alleges two female students sent her threatening letters and locked her in a school bathroom.
WSBTV reports that the student wrote a three-page letter to her school counselor, but was still suspended for two days. McDougald’s grandmother told WSBTV that since her granddaughter is too afraid to return to school, she is considering home-schooling the teen.
Pink (as for cancer) hair. South Carolina mother Denise Sargent is upset that her daughter Rheanne was suspended for dying her hair pink to support National Breast Cancer Awareness month. The Belton Middle School student tells WYFF that she wanted to recognize those who have battled cancer. But the school’s assistant principal said she was violating the dress code, which prohibits non-human hair color, and placed Rheanne in in-school suspension.
The butter knife. A Massachusetts middle school student was suspended after she brought a butter knife to school in her lunch, Fox 25 Boston reports. According to the 13-year-old’s mother, Morgan LaPlume was taken to the office and handed a one-day suspension after Wamsutta Middle School’s assistant principal spotted the butter knife, the Sun Chronicle reports. LaPlume packed the butter knife with her lunch in order to cut a pear, explaining to Fox 25 that she can’t bite into the fruit because of her braces.
Digital Library Opening in November
A technology lovers dream is coming to Omaha. And it’s all free to the public. Expectations are that Do Space, a philanthropic funded digital library, will open Nov. 7 on the southwest corner of 72nd & Dodge – Omaha’s prime crossroads intersection.
Do Space 
will offer a plethora of computers – Macs and PCs – along with high-speed Internet access, 3D printers, digital TVs and desktop work stations equipped with dual monitors. Rounding out the offerings will be the latest software from basic Photoshop to advanced computer-assisted drawing. Do Space will include a 3D printing lab, surrounded by glass, where people can learn how to use the printers and make inventions come to life.
Sue Morris, president of Heritage Services, the nonprofit group behind the project, says Do Space will be open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. Heritage Services raised the funds for the project with donations led by ome of Omaha’s top philanthropists. The funds are expected to pay for renovating the former Borders bookstore at a cost of around $5 million, plus $2 million in technology and operations for four years.
The Community Information Trust, a private nonprofit corporation, was established to run Do Space.
Do Space is being wired for internet access with the capacity for hundreds of people to use it at a time, on Do Space equipment or their own, without slowdowns. “We will offer the public free access to ultrafast gigabit bandwidth,” said Rebecca Stavick, executive director of Do Space.
The facility also will have video gaming equipment for teen-agers with an interest in learning how to create games. Users will have access to normally expensive software. The space is intended to be useful to a wide range of people, Stavick said – “little kids, families, seniors, middle schoolers, job seekers, working people looking to upgrade their skills.” There will be a hangout space for teens, a tech help desk and a conference room that can be reserved, plus other group work spaces.
Young children can have high-tech story time with parents. Bigger kids are likely to have a workshop in which they learn how to use 3D printers by making their own creations.
“Like a public library, we serve everybody,” Stavick said. “From someone who has never used computers before, to an advanced programmer who knows three programming languages and wants to learn more.”
Metro Community College will offer classes and computer user training on the building’s second floor, beginning in January. Conversations also are under way with public school officials.
Users do not have to be from Douglas County to use Do Space. The digital library will issue Do Space cards.