aloha friday

today i give you the history of mele kalikimaka, for a very happy and joyous friday.

The Hawaiian people did not celebrate Christmas prior to the arrival of Captain Cook in 1778. It was, however, the protestant missionaries from New England who first arrived in 1820 who first introduced Christmas to the Hawaiian people.

The missionaries reduced the Hawaiian language to written form, enabling the Hawaiian people to read and write in their own language. Many words for which there were no clear Hawaiian language equivalents were translated phonetically.

Mele Kalikimaka - Merry Christmas. The words "Mele Kalikimaka" are a phonetic translation. When the missionaries and other Westerners first brought the custom of Christmas to the islands the Hawaiians had difficulty pronouncing Merry Christmas and turned it into words that rolled more easily off their tongues.

trivia thursday

in the Charlie Brown Christmas special, just before her remarks about Christmas being a big commercial racket, Lucy refers to Charlie Brown simply as Charlie. This is the only time she does this in any of the TV specials: every other time it's Charlie Brown.

christmas elf spotlight

we all know that santa claus is one amazing person, but he gets a lot of help from the elves up at the north pole as well. the elves do much of the toy-making, as well as processing of the letters and emails from folks from all over the globe.

in my research, i have found that there are the following elves helping santa claus out:

1. Alabaster Snowball - Administrator of the Naughty & Nice list.
2. Bushy Evergreen - Inventor of the magic toy-making machine.
3. Pepper Minstix - Guardian of the secret of where Father Christmas's village is located.
4. Shinny Upatree - The oldest friend of Santa and the cofounder of the secret village in Lapland.
5. Sugarplum Mary - Head of the Sweat Treats, she is also known as Mary Christmas. She is an assistant to Mrs Claus and helps her in the kitchen.
6. Wunorse Openslae - Designer of Father Christmas's sleigh and responsible for its maintenance. He also looks after the reindeers and it is believed that his reindeers reach speeds faster than Christmas tree lights.

cranberry orange scones from pamela

i did get a chance to try the gluten free scone recipe yesterday on rudolph day, so here is the recipe:

Cranberry Orange Scones

2-1/3 cups Pamela's Baking & Pancake Mix

1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup cranberries

4 tablespoons butter

1 egg, beaten

2/3 cup milk

1 tablespoon orange zest

Yield: 10 to 12 scones

Mix the dry ingredients together. Cut in the butter using two knives. Add the milk and beaten eggs. Mix together with a fork. Dough will be thick. Drop large, tall dollops of dough (scones will spread when baking) onto lightly greased baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 375° oven for 15-17 minutes

[source: http://www.pamelasproducts.com/recipes/printrecipes/printSconesCranberryOrange.html © 2006 Pamela's Products, Inc.]

may 2009 rudolph day

i just got back from michaels craft store since i had a special 20% off coupon for memorial day + a 40% off coupon for one item. i bought a glitter stamping set from the martha stewart crafts line. it came with some really cute deer stamps that i can use for holiday stamping!

i am going to watch "love actually" tonight. i was going to make gluten free cranberry scones (test run!) but i am not sure i will have time or the ingredients since our refrigerator has been acting up lately. as for christmas gifts, i have definitely started an ideas list. i am holding off on buying - i have to get through my husband's birthday first.

trivia thursday

here are some fun reindeer facts for trivia thursday...

• Reindeer are one of several subspecies of caribou found around the world.
• Reindeer are herbivores, which means they eat vegetation. In the summer, they eat leaves and herbs. In the winter, they eat lichen and moss.
• Reindeer generally don't run very fast. In fact, a white-tailed deer could outrun a reindeer.
• Reindeer use their antlers like a shovel to break through the crust of snow to reach the vegetation underneath.

[source:http://christmas.howstuffworks.com/christmas-trivia4.htm]

the santa express

one of my favorite christmas traditions in chicago is when the L trains get decked out for the holidays.

The Chicago Transit Authority pulls out all the stops to spread Yuletide cheer and good will to its customers with CTA's Santa's Express Train!

The train -- a festive six-car model decked with ornaments, holiday music and Santa riding a sleigh aboard a flatcar -- operates around the outer Loop 'L' between 4:00 p.m. and 5:20 p.m. The impressive display is decorated by CTA's Rail Operations employees and has more than 30,000 lights.

CTA customers paying regular fares are welcome to ride on any of the six passenger cars on the train.

The CTA's Santa's Express Train pulls up to rail stations throughout the city on selected dates and times, with CTA employees on hand spreading holiday cheer by distributing candy to customers along the routes.

For over 20 years, the CTA also uses the train to distribute food baskets to needy families. CTA elves team up with Santa Claus to distribute more than 150 holiday meal boxes to needy families at three stations along the Blue Line: Division, 18th Street and UIC-Halsted.

[source: http://www.transitchicago.com/news/default.aspx?Archive=y&pg=93&ArticleId=1716 ©2009 Chicago Transit Authority]