Interesting history of Christmas Trees
Posted By: see message on 2005-12-15
In Reply to: How many of you (Christmas question) - Nyer
Christmas Trees
How it All Got Started | Trees Around the World | Rockefeller Center
Related Links | Tree Trivia
How it All Got Started
Long before the advent of Christianity, plants and trees that remained green all year had a special meaning for people in the winter. Just as people today decorate their homes during the festive season with pine, spruce, and fir trees, ancient peoples hung evergreen boughs over their doors and windows. In many countries it was believed that evergreens would keep away witches, ghosts, evil spirits, and illness.
In the Northern hemisphere, the shortest day and longest night of the year falls on December 21 or December 22 and is called the winter solstice. Many ancient people believed that the sun was a god and that winter came every year because the sun god had become sick and weak. They celebrated the solstice because it meant that at last the sun god would begin to get well. Evergreen boughs reminded them of all the green plants that would grow again when the sun god was strong and summer would return.
The ancient Egyptians worshipped a god called Ra, who had the head of a hawk and wore the sun as a blazing disk in his crown. At the solstice, when Ra began to recover from the illness, the Egyptians filled their homes with green palm rushes which symbolized for them the triumph of life over death.
Early Romans marked the solstice with a feast called the Saturnalia in honor of Saturn, the god of agriculture. The Romans knew that the solstice meant that soon farms and orchards would be green and fruitful. To mark the occasion, they decorated their homes and temples with evergreen boughs.
In Northern Europe the mysterious Druids, the priests of the ancient Celts, also decorated their temples with evergreen boughs as a symbol of everlasting life. The fierce Vikings in Scandinavia thought that evergreens were the special plant of the sun god, Balder.
Germany is credited with starting the Christmas tree tradition as we now know it in the 16th century when devout Christians brought decorated trees into their homes. Some built Christmas pyramids of wood and decorated them with evergreens and candles if wood was scarce. It is a widely held belief that Martin Luther, the 16th-century Protestant reformer, first added lighted candles to a tree. Walking toward his home one winter evening, composing a sermon, he was awed by the brilliance of stars twinkling amidst evergreens. To recapture the scene for his family, he erected a tree in the main room and wired its branches with lighted candles.
Most 19th-century Americans found Christmas trees an oddity. The first record of one being on display was in the 1830s by the German settlers of Pennsylvania, although trees had been a tradition in many German homes much earlier. The Pennsylvania German settlements had community trees as early as 1747. But, as late as the 1840s Christmas trees were seen as pagan symbols and not accepted by most Americans.
It is not surprising that, like many other festive Christmas customs, the tree was adopted so late in America. To the New England Puritans, Christmas was sacred. The pilgrims's second governor, William Bradford, wrote that he tried hard to stamp out "pagan mockery" of the observance, penalizing any frivolity. The influential Oliver Cromwell preached against "the heathen traditions" of Christmas carols, decorated trees, and any joyful expression that desecrated "that sacred event." In 1659, the General Court of Massachusetts enacted a law making any observance of December 25 (other than a church service) a penal offense; people were fined for hanging decorations. That stern solemnity continued until the 19th century, when the influx of German and Irish immigrants undermined the Puritan legacy.
In 1846, the popular royals, Queen Victoria and her German Prince, Albert, were sketched in the Illustrated London News standing with their children around a Christmas tree. Unlike the previous royal family, Victoria was very popular with her subjects, and what was done at court immediately became fashionable—not only in Britain, but with fashion-conscious East Coast American Society. The Christmas tree had arrived.
By the 1890s Christmas ornaments were arriving from Germany and Christmas tree popularity was on the rise around the U.S. It was noted that Europeans used small trees about four feet in height, while Americans liked their Christmas trees to reach from floor to ceiling.
The early 20th century saw Americans decorating their trees mainly with homemade ornaments, while the German-American sect continued to use apples, nuts, and marzipan cookies. Popcorn joined in after being dyed bright colors and interlaced with berries and nuts. Electricity brought about Christmas lights, making it possible for Christmas trees to glow for days on end. With this, Christmas trees began to appear in town squares across the country and having a Christmas tree in the home became an American tradition.
http://www.historychannel.com/exhibits/holidays/christmas/trees.html
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Of all my Christmas trees..
In the 1960s we had the aluminum tree with the color wheel! I still remember it vividly today (I was a small child). I was in an antique shop the other day and they had one set up as decoration (not for sale). I wanted one! I'll have to check E-Bay!
See my post on Gab board about Christmas. Interesting stuff!
p
Merry Christmas! There is a story named Cat and Mouse Christmas...search Google and you'll find
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A Christmas Story is my fave Christmas movie...forgot that one!
/
Skip Christmas Day and do drinks/snacks Christmas
Eve and spend a peaceful Christmas doing whatever it is you want to do. If you're all of 47 years old you're evidently a slow learner : )
trees
Well, you just helped me make up my mind--I'm planning to buy a new artificial tree on the 26th (love clearance sales!) and was debating because while I don't really care to have a prelit tree, it's getting harder to find a pretty tree without it. Looks like I'll keep shopping until I find one that's not prelit.
poplar trees sm
They grow tall, grow fast, die easily, one fell during a storm and broke a fence on the next street, my neighbor had to pay for a new fence, as that's the way it works, not your liability, stay away from them, they make a mess, unless you have an enemy.
I live in the NE and let me tell you, there is NO shortage of trees.
cc
Too many trees to see forest? My point was
x
jobs don't fall off trees, have you noticed?
and the state labor board is like AAMT (s/b IAMT, Indian Assoc of Med. Trans.) not REALLY for the employee, if you know what I mean. Have they done anything for you?
The trees are the main concern in a hurricane (sm)
the lake didn't even get close to the house during that supposed "100-year flood" in 1993 (not allison, the other one). We went to the other side of Houston for Rita, came back the next day. It was a mess with limbs all over but no trees down on our property. Next-door neighbor had 3 down. We've decided for the next one, we will stay in the garage and hope no trees fall on the house.
i have wildblue and connection is very reliable to me with no trees, but sm
especially if you will be going through VPN, it won't be very productive for you cuz the VPN slows down the download rates. i am connected at 100 mbps but that is nothing. download rates are extremely slow, sometimes as slow as dial up.
I am am in a rural area with lots of trees - sm
so when I had Bluesky (or what ever the name it) come out they said too many trees for the satellite. My one neighbor just got Directv high speed.....she also has lots of trees. So I may be looking into that (have Directv now just not the internet hookup). But I currently use a Sierra Wireless Aircard 875U. Unlimited and costs me $67 a month. It is through AT&T but I know Verizon has it too, as well as Sprint. You need to make sure it works where you are first though, but their websites can help you there. I love it. Not as fast as DSL but a huge step up from dial-up. I have it set up to use on my desktop, laptop, my backup desktop, and my daughter's computer. The only thing I have with it is it does not work everywhere...when I try to use it on my laptop...unlike the commercial where they show the guy in the middle of Africa or wherever he is. But I have been very happy with it.
Would you walk three blocks in 110 degrees at 3 p.m. in Arizona - no trees, no breeze, no wet SM
except for sweat. It's brutal.
Now is 110 and supposed to get hotter. Yesterday was 113 in the shade
Anyone ever plant hybrid poplar trees? They are those fast grow ones
that are supposed to grow 8 feet a year. Some claim they send up too many "sucker" shoots from the root areas, some love em. I need a wind break on the N. and W. sides of my lot, and was thinking of these. Anybody ever plant these?
mostly trees limbs causing damage by falling on wires and rooftops
much minor roof damage and blew signs down around in those towns, enough to tell there was a storm, but NOTHING like further south!
I have two artificial flame resistant trees in my garage. Too bad you're not closer!
DH has to have the real thing, which I don't care for.
If you're a baby boomer, you certainly remember aluminum trees w/ color wheel.I
a
MT is history.
After doing this for 10 years, 3+ in house, I'm on the brink of hanging it up and forgetting it. The pay keeps getting worse for the MTs (and better for the corporatists), the platforms keep getting slower and more cumbersome, the quality of the dictation does not get any better and tends to get worse overall as the old masters of English retire and more ESLs move in to replace them.
I would strongly advise anyone who is young enough to find something with a future.
CPL History
Just a thought here. It seems we're all so consumed with making lines and working faster and faster, has anyone stopped to wonder about how the 8-10 cpl rate was devised?? It seems that with the amazing fund of knowledge we have to possess to function in this profession, I feel ridiculously underpaid and overworked. The companies are constantly begging for us to do extra work with no incentives - just the statement that "here's a chance to get extra lines". I realize that this is a production-based business, but COME ON!! Am I the only one who feels like the companies are profiting big-time from our skill and knowledge?? There's so much we have to know as well -- A&P, meds, extensive terminology, hardware, equipment, and on and on. Please tell me if I'm overlooking something obvious, because I'm getting really burned out. Thanks guys for listening.
Nothing like making up history
There are in fact many Hispanics who died and continue to die for this country. I am the daughter of a WWII veteran whose mail was confiscated because he wrote letters to his mother in Spanish. While my dad was literate in both English and Spanish, his mother could only read in Spanish, as was the primary language of New Mexico, Colorado, etc. 50+ years before the Mayflower landed. Also, my brother is a Sgt.Major who retired after 25 years in the army and 3 of his sons are also currently in the army (including Iraq). But as I said before, you can ignore all that 'cause you make up your own history....and telling Native Americans to get over it only displays your ignorance.
Learn from history
and think very carefully about this person and his sob story. Boo hoo!
His child is cruel toward animals, chances are this child is being mistreated in some way by someone. This is a red flag that something in not right in this child's life regarding the adults. Children are NOT naturally violent--it is learned behavior.
Be friendly, but takes things very, very slow and think of the safety of yourself, your children, and your pet (s). Better safe than sorry.
Click on history
It states that in Nov. 2004 Warburg Pincus and Soros Private Equity Partners acquired Spheris. It is right on their history page.
Family history
You bring up a great question. Personally, I don't think any of that is their business - it doesn't affect how they will educate their child. I would not answer any of that - just put family medical history unknown.
Where do you live? I have taught in 3 states and none of the school districts I taught in, or the private school where I worked, asked.
You know, in this country it is illegal to ask someone for their national origin - how can they get by with asking about such personal information as your family Hx?
This patient with a history of
Aids is status post Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia.
Criminal History?
Can a person with a criminal history, felonies within the last 7 years, still work as an MT?
Chucky, you're history
k
You want the history of how a line is defined?
I have a feeling you're going to need it.
Sheet of paper = 8-1/2 x 11 inches.
Courier font = 10 Keystrokes per inch
Type in Courier font from the left edge to the right edge (no margins) and you'll get 85 keystrokes. Create 1" margins on left and right side and you deduct 10 keystrokes per side. Therefore, 85 keystrokes less 10 keystrokes for left margin and 10 keystrokes for right margin leaves you 65 keystrokes a 1" left margin to a 1" right margin. That is considered a "real line," as opposed to a gross line where "anything on a line is a line." It doesn't matter if you type a whole sentence or just word. If it's on a line, it's counted as a line.
When we started using computers, people switched from Courier font to other fonts, but Times Roman 12 pt was the favored. So, to calculate a line when it's not running from left margin to right margin (Times Roman 12 pt is a smaller font than Courier (see below), you simply follow the rule: 65 keystrokes equals a line. This way, it doesn't matter what font you use, you're rate of pay will be the same. So, if you're getting 6 cents a line for a 65 char line (presuming that includes spaces), you'll be paid the same no matter if your font is:
My dog has fleas and he scratches his head. (Arial)
My dog has fleas and he scratches his head. (Courier)
My dog has fleas and he scratches his head. (Times Roman)
My dog has fleas and he scratches his head. (Verdana)
All of the lines are different lengths, but you will be paid the same no matter which font you use. You don't have to worry if the person who hires you wants you to use Gothic (huge font) and Mary Contrary to use Arial Narrow (very thin font). You will both be paid the same - 65 char/line.
You also need to do is find out if spaces are included. If spaces are included then every KEYSTROKE is counted. If not, then only what you actually see (the letters) are counted. So, be sure to ask if spaces are included.
But, as far as getting 6 cents for a 65-char line ... I'm going to presume you're new to the business (what they call a newbie). As such, 6 cents per line is decent. Just make sure you get raises over time.
However, if you have at least 2 years of experience doing acute care and they offered you 6 cents per line, you really should refuse the offer ... unless it's either that or the bread lines.
Unusual clinical history...
"The patient is status post gunshot wound to the head now complaining of headaches." Yes, bullets tend to cause headaches, I'm sure!
AI - I think Elliott is history tonight-NM
NM
"No history of TB exposure"? nm
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I agree with AnnuderMT because of the history....sm
of professional abuse suffered by the original poster...I mean, this young woman who has worked for such an indifferent company for 10 years without even any benefits....GEEZ! Even in these hard times, her professional skills and personal integrity are worth more than that. For heaven's sake get another job! There are still better jobs out there. If it were not for my extremely painful lower back, I'd find some PT work to do, just to keep my hand in, and even a retired MT could surely find a job with say, Medquist or some huge MTSO like that. I know what it's like to have one's professional self-esteem eroded and destroyed. Not worth it, not at all. Exit ASAP!
Any tip less than $1 is considered a cheap slight nowadays, and that is just for a piece of pie!
Allergies would be the child's own medical history sm
Not the family medical history.
As far as juvenile diabetes or similar diseases, genetically transmitted or otherwise, if the child is being taken to the ER the parents should have already been notified and be on their way. If the child's family physician is on record with the school (a legitimate request), then medical records can be sent to the ER. I still do not see any necessity of the school having anything other than the child's OWN medical history - allergies, shot records, current state of health, etc.
...The content stays the same - history, symptoms,
s
If the ESL doctor cannot understand English enough to get a history..sm
he does NOT need to be practicing medicine in the United States. I understood the OP to say that the patient was a white American female, so I assume she speaks pretty good English!
If you check the ownership history of the site
To be fair, history and other sections are composed, SM
analyzing and gathering in the process, with sometimes additional legal and political issues to consider, and the labs are mostly just read.
You're joking, right? That was WWII, read your history books.
fdfd
HEADERS....as in what? The things like HISTORY AND PHYSICAL headings?
or the heading at the top of the page that we don't type?
and do you find it a little offputting that they can't put in writing that they pay for spaces? it makes me think all is not kosher.
the history? nothing.. he is just advertising an Indian MT company and board
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I tell a complete stranger my whole life history practically.
I'm suddenly realizing that I have isolated myself and that I have no real friends and the only adult conversation I have is with my DH. While I love by DH dearly and he is my bestest friend, sometimes you need other conversations/relationships.
Rad is dictating what is written on requisition for History is why I would have left it along.
NM
Probably old question..history and physical plural or singular?
A history and physical was done OR A history and physical were done.
27-year-old born with no past medical history
I had that the other day. Is anyone actually born with a past medical history?
No offense, but you were unaware of the history of AAMT/AHDI
I would suggest that you learn more about the history and realities of these subjects before calling for a big strike or walkout. Credibility is an issue here.
Well, Pattie, think about this. All that family medical history you happily handed over? (sm)
When that information listing family medical history ends up in numerous computer databases, you've effectively hampered your child's future ability to obtain medical insurance, life insurance, and who knows what. Although they may not know anything about the identities of parents and grandparents, they sure do know what medical predisposition insurance companies may think are just too risky to sell a policy. Think about that.
Does Dave Navarro have the biggest head in history. So out of proportion. Smart guy though.
His piercings and tattoes are somewhat distracting but........ he's okay. Bruce? Back in the day.
Crash, The Chronicles of Narnia, War of the Worlds, Derailed, A History of Violence,
Brokeback Mountain, and Dreamer. All of them were good, although I think Brokeback Mountain would be on the bottom of the list for me. Crash and The Chronicles of Narnia were very good in my opinion.
Hospital work - history and physicals, op notes, discharge summaries,
s
Global warming my Aunt Fannie... Check history, there have been numerous cycles like this
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blood tests aren't bullet proof either. Must be matched up with history and sx. But you knew that
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