Posh Thoughts

As I was looking for Christmas related topics, I was pretty amazed when a friend of mine forwarded an article to me. It discusses 12 things that are not commonly known about Christmas and it’s traditions. Check out the twelve things below, you might find some cool things about this holiday season.

1. Christmas trees were first lighted with actual candles, which presented a fire hazard. As a result containers filled with water had to be kept near the Christmas tree.

2. Workers in the construction industry are responsible for the tradition of having a Christmas tree on display at Rockefeller Center in New York City. They are credited with placing an undecorated tree at the site in the early 1930s.

3. Since the mid-1960s, The National Christmas Tree Association has maintained a presence in the White House at Christmas by donating a Christmas tree to the First Family.

4. The former Woolworth department store first sold manufactured Christmas tree ornaments in 1880.

5. Plastic became the primary material used to make tinsel after their use for decorative purposes was at one time prohibited because lead was used in the manufacturing process.

6. The idea of Christmas greeting cards started in Britain in the late 1830s when John Calcott Horsley started to produce small cards that had festive scenes and a holiday greeting written inside. Similar cards were also being made in the United States at about the same time by R.H. Pease, in Albany, New York, and Louis Prang, who was a German immigrant. The idea of sending the greeting cards during Christmas gained popularity in both countries about 10 years later when new postal delivery services started.

7. The shortened form Xmas for Christmas has been popular in Europe since the 1500s. It is believed to be derived from the Greek word ‘Xristos’ which means Christ.

8. According to the National Confectioners Association, for 200 years candy canes were only made in the color of white and it wasn’t until in the 1950s that a machine was invented that could automate the production of candy canes.

9. The day after Christmas is called Boxing Day in England and it is a national holiday. Several stories exist for the origination of the name. It is believed to have originated from the practice of boys who would be about collecting money in clay boxes. Another thought is that the term is derived from a custom in the Middle Ages, about 800 years ago, when churches would open their ‘alms boxes’ and distribute the contents to poor people on the day after Christmas. Alms boxes are boxes in which donations of gifts and money would be placed. Yet another belief is that it comes from a custom of masters giving their servants Christmas presents in boxes on the day after Christmas.

10. Evergreen trees had special meaning in winter to people, particularly in Europe, before Christianity started. Ancient peoples would hang evergreen branches over their doors and windows because evergreens were believed to ward off witches, ghosts, evil spirits and illness. For worshipers of the sun god, evergreen plants were a reminder of all the green plants that would grow with the return of summer and the sun god being strong again.

11. In ancient times, many people worshiped the sun as a god in December because they thought winter occurred yearly because the sun god had fallen into ill health. They therefore celebrated the winter solstice because it was a sign that the son god would begin to regain strength and return to good health.

12. Legislators in Congress did business on Christmas Day in 1789, which was the first one to be observed under the country’s new constitution. The reason for the Congressional session was because it had become unpopular then to observe and take part in English customs following the American Revolution. And when Christmas celebrations were barred in Boston earlier in 1659 to 1681, it became a costly thing to be seen participating in any event or activity related to Christmas. Anyone caught doing so had to pay five shillings.

Most of my friends online have found the love of their lives through internet dating sites and to be honest, many of them are having a great marriage life. But of course, there are few scary stories that abound. Some got scammed by posers and pretenders and most of them met in chat rooms where transparency is nowhere to be found.

So, if you’re planning to engage in some internet dating. Always put in mind that it’s better safe than sorry because prevention is always better than a cure. Most scammers abound in chat rooms, so stay away from them. The safest way to meet people is to join internet dating sites that allow all members to be transparent. That means you can view each other’s dating profiles. At least seeing their profiles will give you a little knowledge to whom you are talking to. You can also use this to test a person if what he or she has written is true and that he/she remembers it.

Anyway, I am not an expert on this but I was able to get some of these internet dating tips as shared by my friends from their experiences. You can always check out some sites that can help you with this just like www.theinternetdatingguide.com. They are experts on internet dating.

Are you a sensual person? Do you love to smell, feel, hear and taste in some extent? Try this quiz at BlogThings.com to find out how sensual you are!

Here is my result. I guess I totally passed as a sensual woman!

If you remember, I posted about the money making ideas for women last September. Now, this is another installment of the other ideas from that long list. I will post the remainder of the list next time.

CACTUS CULTURE. Propagate, grow, groom and arrange native and exotic cacti for retail and wholesale market. Prepare little information booklets for each species.

CAKE DECORATING. Take orders to bake and decorate special occasion cakes. Retail through small, constant ads (”CAKES- phone number”). Offer to decorate bakery cakes.

CALLIGRAPHY. Easily learned by artistic person: work through ads and stationary stores. Print fancy menus, show cards, place cards, invitations, announcements, etc.

CAN ART. Make and sell pincushion chairs and other unique, decorative items from tin cans and bits of cloth. Write down your plans and sell kits with instructions.

CANDLE MAKING. Turn a hobby into a profitable business. Design your own line, offer custom styling, scents and special effects. Between orders, make standard items.

CANDY MAKING. Specialize in one or more types of candies that you can make in your kitchen. Package with you brand and wholesale to stores or sell through ads.

CANNING SERVICE. Preserve customer’s home grown (or purchased) garden products with your canning operation. Use your recipes or theirs, apply personalized labels.

CARPET CLEANING. With steam shampoo equipment, clean and renew residential and commercial carpets. Contact rental agencies, apartments and condos for wholesale jobs.

CATERING SERVICE. Prepare old fashioned, gourmet or special occasion meals for clients to pick up. Use insulated canisters to keep the food hot (charge deposit).

CERAMIC FLOWERS. Learn to fashion, color, fire and arrange ceramic flowers, both singles and in arrangements. Display them for sale; teach the art in your ceramic shop.

CERAMICS. Make ceramic pieces to retail, wholesale and display in your “school”. Hold classes, sell greenware, kits and supplies. Charge for finishing and firing pieces.

CHEESE MAKING. Make your own brand of unusual or gourmet cheeses from your cow or goat milk. Sell from your place, on a route to area stores, or in mail order kits.

CHILD PICK-UP SERVICE. Pick up and deliver client’s kids after school, theater, games. Pick-up, deliver to parties, charge extra to stay with them until mom returns.

CHILDREN’S TOWN HISTORY. Write and illustrate a booklet about your town just for kids. Sell copies to doctors, dentist offices, stores, hospitals and nursery schools.

CHILDREN’S BOOKS. With licensed equipment, “publish” children’s books with their name appearing in print throughout the book. Set up booth in malls for holidays.

CHILDREN’S ROOM DECORATOR. Specialize in decorating nursery and children’s rooms. Offer varied “package” motifs. Work with or through suppliers for a commission.

CHILDREN’S CLOTHING. Specialized in new (stylish and/or closeout) and outgrown children’s clothes, accessories. Alter hand-me-downs, “wash” jeans, monogram sweats.

CHINA and GLASS DEALER. Collect and deal in antique and interesting china and glass items. Buy at auctions, private and public sales and through you advertisements.

CLIENT LISTINGS. Contract to keep customer (or business) information lists: customer birthdays, purchases, credit records, price records, employee records.
MAKE-UP ARTISTRY. Make up women, actors for formal or entertainment situations. Offer classes for beauty or actor application and sell “your” line of make-up supplies.

CLIPPING SERVICES. Review newspaper publications for contracted subjects (wedding announcements, graduations, mention of client products). Sell to agents and merchants.

CLOTH LABELS. Make and sell small orders of fabric labels for small businesses and home crafters on your embroider machine. Offer lower prices for repeated orders.

COMMUNITY COOK BOOK. Publish a theme or organizational oriented recipe collection with entries from each family/member/department. Print and distribute for a fee.

COMPANION SERVICE. Accompany lonely, ailing or elderly people alone temporarily, on shopping trips, to and from the doctor, on short tours or when traveling longer distances.

COOKBOOK PUBLISHING. Publish a cookbook of your own favorite recipes (usually a catchy, interesting subject collection). Promote and sell through ads and stores.

COOKING LESSONS. Give gourmet/ethnic/regional cooking, canning, baking lessons in your specialty from your kitchen, or by appointment in your student’s kitchen.

COOKING SERVICE. Prepare complete meals at home, from your traditional or customized (gourmet, ethnic, traditional) menu to be delivered and served hot, or picked up.

COOKING, CUSTOM. An overseas treat: offer genuine American style home-cooking. Prepare and deliver (serve?) complete meals to parties, banquets and private homes.

CURTAIN LAUNDRY. Wash, stretch and pleat curtains in your home laundry. Be sure to learn fabric requirements and have insurance. Offer installation and sell liners.

CUSTOM COOKBOOKS. Assimilate, decorate (personalize the cover) and custom print (on computer), client recipe collections — into their own “family heirloom” cookbook.

CUSTOM HANDICRAFTS. Use your talents to embroider, tat, sew, crochet product for customers with limited time or talent. Make extra good sellers between custom orders.

CUSTOM CLOTHING DESIGNS. Paint, block print or transfer unique or custom designs on clothing for smocks, aprons or fabrics to be used for clothing, curtains or even upholstery.

CUSTOM KNITTING. Take orders for hand-knitted sweaters, stockings and sets (ski outfits?). Make more fast sellers between orders; attach your labels to all products!

CUSTOM TAILORING. Offer the luxury of hand made clothing: shirts, skirts, coats, uniforms, suits. Good service to add to alteration business when you feel competent to start from scratch.

CUT FLOWER BUSINESS. Grow and supply freshly cut flowers to markets and florists in your area. Offer a variety of seasonal or specialize in one (or two) greenhouse/ shade house grown varieties.