📅 NOTES - HOLIDAYS Christmas ----------- Legend of the Christmas Spider Older European superstition about spiders bringing luck or conversely that it is bad luck to destroy a spider's web before the spider is safely out of the way Ukrainian spider web ornament Best Christmas trees * Fraser Fir (Abies fraseri) - long lasting, doesn’t shed; sturdy; 6 weeks; 2nd most fragrant; SE US * Balsam Fir (Abies balsamea) - most fragrant; smells piney; drys out fast; 4 weeks; NW US * Noble Fir (Abies procera) - sturdy, flexible branches; very tall; NW US * Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) - smells nice; weak tree; doesn't hold ornaments; 2 weeks * White fir (Abies concolor) - smells nice; handles neglect; Western US * Grand Fir (Abies grandis) - smells nice; NW US * Scotch pine (Pinus sylvestris) - sturdy; tolerate neglect; mostly widely planted tree; good scent * Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus) - not sturdy NE US * Colorado blue spruce (Picea pungens) - bluish; pyramid shape; sharp needles; little odor * Virginia pine (Pinus virginiana) - smells good; sturdy; sticky as fuck * Norway spruce (Picea abies) - one of first trees; good color shape; little odor; northern * White Spruce (Picea glauca) - study; unpleasant odor when crushed * Nordmann Fir - newest variety to be grown by Northwest Christmas tree farms and one of the few not native to the Pacific Northwest evergreens—fir (Abies), pine (Pinus), and spruce (Picea); 35 different species of trees grown for Xmas; Fraser most popular - Southeastern Pacific Northwest - Douglas; Grand; Noble; Fraser Nobles are native to the Siskiyou Mountains of northern California and the Cascade and Coastal ranges of Oregon and Washington. Long considered an excellent Christmas tree because of its beauty, stiff branches and long keepability, the species is growing in popularity (between 25% and 30% of the fresh tree market in the Pacific Northwest) To preserve its longevity, always make a 1-inch cut straight across the base of your Christmas tree's trunk before placing in water. This gets rid of any dried resin and assures proper water absorption. Christmas tree an unusual crop is its extremely long production cycle: one tree takes 8-10 years to mature to 6 feet. Christmas tree farmers still have to forecast what the market is going to look like 10 years out: History has shown that the industry is a case study in supply and demand: * In the 1990s, farmers planted too many Christmas trees. The glut resulted in rock-bottom prices throughout the early 2000s and put many farms out of business. * During the recession in 2008, ailing farmers planted too few trees. As a result, prices have been much higher since 2016. Average retail price of a Christmas tree in 2019 was $75 https://thehustle.co/the-economics-of-christmas-trees/ Jolabokaflod (a ritual of gifting books and reading on Christmas Eve) December 5 marks the traditional Krampusnacht, or night before St. Nicholas’ Day (December 6). Before the days of candy factories, these confections could take several days to make. Their labor-intensive production made them a luxury good reserved for special occasions. This may explain how sugar plums got linked to the holidays, and why they were special enough to dance through children's heads on Christmas Eve. Assigning a Lord of Misrule Donner and Blitzen were instead Dunder and Blixem, which is a Dutch way to refer to "thunder and lightning." Christmas Market in Nuremberg, Germany, A long time ago, Pope Julius I decided that Christmas should be celebrated on Dec. 25, however, History points out it wasn't because that was the date that Jesus was born. Instead, many people believe it was to overshadow a pagan festival called Saturnalia which also happened on that day. In fact, Jesus may have actually been born during the spring! The North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, has been tracking Santa's journey around the world since 1958. According to their website, the innovation was set into motion in 1955, when "a young child [accidentally] dialed the unlisted phone number of the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) Operations Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, believing she was calling Santa Claus after seeing a promotion in a local newspaper." The commander on duty, Colonel Harry Shoup, saw an opportunity to create a little Christmas magic, and assured the youngster that CONAD would guarantee Santa a safe journey from the North Pole, sparking the idea to track Santa's travels each year to the delight of children all over the world. Yule Cat (Icelandic: Jólakötturinn or Jólaköttur) Jólabókaflóð, which translates roughly into English as ‘Christmas book flood’. How to Buy Gifts That People Actually Want https://www.willpatrick.co.uk//articles/how-to-buy-gifts-that-people-actually-want Deadweight Loss of Christmas https://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/blogs/freakonomics/pdf/WaldfogelDeadweightLossXmas.pdf A finial d'arbre is a decorative ornament that sits at the top of a Christmas tree, often referred to simply as a tree topper. The term comes from French, where "arbre" means "tree" and "finial" refers to the decorative shape or design of the ornament. On average, consumers plan to spend $627.93 on gifts for family, friends and coworkers. The rest typically goes to seasonal extras like food, decorations and greeting cards HALLOWEEN jack-o’-lantern pumpkins called Howden pumpkins phytophthora capsici pumpkin fungus