The Top 40 Traditions of Christmas: The Story Behind the Nativity, Candy Canes, Caroling, and All Things Christmas by David McLaughlan Page A
Authors: David McLaughlan
Ads: Link
decorations and taken down when the other decorations are taken down.
Why?
The ancient Celts used the evergreen plant to increase fertility in livestock and neutralize poisons in humans, despite the fact that eating it raw would make most people very sick.
These days it is still an ingredient in some homeopathic medicines, but the most common use for mistletoe involves claiming kisses at Christmas!
In Washington Irving’s
The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon
, he states that a man may claim a kiss if he catches a woman standing under the mistletoe. According to Irving, the man should pluck a berry from the sprig each time he claims a kiss. When the berries run out, so do his kissing privileges!
25
NORAD Tracking Santa
Who?
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) is a joint initiative set up by the governments of Canada and the United States in anticipation of a possible Soviet nuclear missile strike during the Cold War. The shortest and quickest route for these missiles would have been across the North Pole and over Canada. Presumably Santa would have been the first to spot them, which makes it all the more ironic and appropriate that NORAD technology is now used to track Santa himself.
Colonel Harry Shoup was the right man in the right place when an unusual call to his command center gave him the chance to create a modern Christmas tradition.
What?
Each year NORAD keeps children the world over updated on Santa Claus’s epic journey around the world. A team of volunteers (taking the place of the original military personnel) have staffed phone lines, produced newspaper stories, recorded messages, and answered e-mails. Corporate sponsorships cover the costs.
These days NORAD Tracks Santa has a strong online presence ( www.noradsanta.org ) and features on various social media platforms. Those children (of all ages) with Internet access can now log on and see “real-time” footage of Santa flying his sleigh past well-known landmarks in cities all around the world. Sometimes Santa even takes the time to wave at the camera!
Where?
Well, the tracking is done by NORAD, whose headquarters are in Colorado Springs. But the journey itself covers every country in the world. All in a single night! Once Santa has completed his mission of joy, NORAD advises viewers, “Santa has completed his flight this year. Come back next December to see him fly again!”
While the first “operators” to answer the phone were USAF personnel, we needn’t worry about defense budgets being spent on the project these days. Various companies sponsor the operation, and a large team of dedicated friends of Santa Claus sit by the phones and operate the necessary technology on a voluntary basis.
When?
In 1955 a store advertised a phone number that they promised would get children through to Santa Claus. But someone somewhere in the advertising process made a mistake and published the number of CONAD, the Continental Air Defense Command (which became NORAD three years later).
The Santa-tracker program, which began in an unofficial way on that day, has continued, using various technologies.
As December begins, the NORAD Santa tracker begins a countdown to Christmas. On Christmas Eve the site updates each hour as midnight moves around the world.
Colonel Harry Shoup, USAF, affectionately known as “the Santa Colonel,” passed away in 2009, at age ninety-two.
Why?
It was an accident! It might have ended before it began if it hadn’t been for the good heart of the man in command on that day. When children started calling CONAD expecting to speak to Santa, Colonel Harry Shoup told his staff to give the children updates on how Santa was doing.
Why did they want to know? Well, children get excited about a visit from Santa. Just as on long journeys they will ask, “Are we there yet?” they want to know if Santa is almost here yet.
Lessons in geography and
Why?
The ancient Celts used the evergreen plant to increase fertility in livestock and neutralize poisons in humans, despite the fact that eating it raw would make most people very sick.
These days it is still an ingredient in some homeopathic medicines, but the most common use for mistletoe involves claiming kisses at Christmas!
In Washington Irving’s
The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon
, he states that a man may claim a kiss if he catches a woman standing under the mistletoe. According to Irving, the man should pluck a berry from the sprig each time he claims a kiss. When the berries run out, so do his kissing privileges!
25
NORAD Tracking Santa
Who?
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) is a joint initiative set up by the governments of Canada and the United States in anticipation of a possible Soviet nuclear missile strike during the Cold War. The shortest and quickest route for these missiles would have been across the North Pole and over Canada. Presumably Santa would have been the first to spot them, which makes it all the more ironic and appropriate that NORAD technology is now used to track Santa himself.
Colonel Harry Shoup was the right man in the right place when an unusual call to his command center gave him the chance to create a modern Christmas tradition.
What?
Each year NORAD keeps children the world over updated on Santa Claus’s epic journey around the world. A team of volunteers (taking the place of the original military personnel) have staffed phone lines, produced newspaper stories, recorded messages, and answered e-mails. Corporate sponsorships cover the costs.
These days NORAD Tracks Santa has a strong online presence ( www.noradsanta.org ) and features on various social media platforms. Those children (of all ages) with Internet access can now log on and see “real-time” footage of Santa flying his sleigh past well-known landmarks in cities all around the world. Sometimes Santa even takes the time to wave at the camera!
Where?
Well, the tracking is done by NORAD, whose headquarters are in Colorado Springs. But the journey itself covers every country in the world. All in a single night! Once Santa has completed his mission of joy, NORAD advises viewers, “Santa has completed his flight this year. Come back next December to see him fly again!”
While the first “operators” to answer the phone were USAF personnel, we needn’t worry about defense budgets being spent on the project these days. Various companies sponsor the operation, and a large team of dedicated friends of Santa Claus sit by the phones and operate the necessary technology on a voluntary basis.
When?
In 1955 a store advertised a phone number that they promised would get children through to Santa Claus. But someone somewhere in the advertising process made a mistake and published the number of CONAD, the Continental Air Defense Command (which became NORAD three years later).
The Santa-tracker program, which began in an unofficial way on that day, has continued, using various technologies.
As December begins, the NORAD Santa tracker begins a countdown to Christmas. On Christmas Eve the site updates each hour as midnight moves around the world.
Colonel Harry Shoup, USAF, affectionately known as “the Santa Colonel,” passed away in 2009, at age ninety-two.
Why?
It was an accident! It might have ended before it began if it hadn’t been for the good heart of the man in command on that day. When children started calling CONAD expecting to speak to Santa, Colonel Harry Shoup told his staff to give the children updates on how Santa was doing.
Why did they want to know? Well, children get excited about a visit from Santa. Just as on long journeys they will ask, “Are we there yet?” they want to know if Santa is almost here yet.
Lessons in geography and
Similar Books
