The History of the Christmas Tree

When searching for answers, I came across the video below from The History Channel. They summed up all the answers so nicely, I figured I would let them tell it. Check it out and learn the answers to the following questions:

• How the Christmas tree became the center place of our holiday celebration?
• Which Queen is responsible for this tradition?
• What were paradise trees?
• What happened in the Christmas of 1848?
• Who invented Christmas lights?
• How many lights are on the tree in Rockefeller Center?

Photo credit: Wikipedia

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year
With the kids jingle belling
And everyone telling you be of good cheer
It’s the most wonderful time of the year”

While I love that song, the idea of everyone telling you to be cheerful seems a little odd. We shouldn’t have to be told to be cheerful, should we? Shouldn’t it just come naturally?

The ideal answer would be yes, but when you mix in the cold weather, the long lines at the mall, and the extra traffic, it is easy to see why we may not feel like being cheerful during the holiday home stretch.

So maybe we do need to be told to be of good cheer. Or better yet, maybe we can spread the good cheer by our actions.

That is what one woman in Florida did last week at a McDonald’s drive-thru.

Fox News tells the story of  a woman who ordered her food and told the Golden Arches employee that she wanted to pay for the car behind her.

“She gave me her card, and she said I would like for you to tell her [the customer in the car behind her] a message. And I was like ‘Okay.’ She said I want you to tell her to have a ‘Merry Christmas’,” said McDonald’s cashier Marisabel Figueroa Lopez.

Lopez said the woman specifically requested her to say “Merry Christmas” and not “Happy Holidays.” This was the woman’s way of spreading a little Christmas cheer.

And the cheer had a great impact.

The chain of customers paying it forward continued from about 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.. In total 250 people paid for the car behind them.

All that because one woman wanted to wish a stranger a Merry Christmas.

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Why Fireworks On The 4th of July?

Fireworks have become as patriotic as apple pie, hotdogs, and seeing how many hotdogs & apple pies we can stuff into our mouth in one minute. I’ve always just accepted fireworks on the 4th, but how did that begin?

According to Slate.com, the tradition of having fireworks on July 4th is all thanks to one man…John Adams.

Adams felt that the best way to mark the signing of the Declaration of Independence was to use fireworks. In a letter to Abigail Adams on July 3, 1776, he said that the occasion should be commemorated “with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.”

One year later on July 4, 1777, the Independence Day festivities in Philadelphia included a fireworks show. The Pennsylvania Evening Post wrote, “The evening was closed with the ring of bells, and at night there was a grand exhibition of fireworks (which began and concluded with thirteen rockets) on the Commons, and the city was beautifully illuminated.”

Also, that same year, fireworks filled the sky in Boston. The Boston Gazette reported, “In the evening Col. Crafts illuminated his park on the commons, threw several shells, and exhibited a number of fireworks.”

As the years progressed, fireworks became available to the general public and more and more cities joined in on this colorful custom. Today you do not have to look hard to find a 4th of July celebration featuring, “Pomp and Parade” & Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.”

All thanks to John Adams.

Photo credit: Wikipedia

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How about on Cyber Monday?

If you have any money left, I would encourage you to be a part of GivingTuesday.

GivingTuesday is a new movement to create a national day of giving on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Created by New York’s 92nd Street Y, GivingTuesday has partnered with The United Nations Foundation to help spread the word on this awesome idea.

Today marks the third annual GivingTuesday.

According to GivingTuesday.org, the launch in 2012 saw more than 2,500 recognized GivingTuesday partners from all 50 states of the United States. “The collective efforts of partners, donors and advocates helped fuel a marked increase in charitable giving on GivingTuesday. Blackbaud processed over $10 million in online donations on 11/27/12 – a 53% increase when compared to the Tuesday after Thanksgiving the previous year. DonorPerfect recorded a 46% increase in online donations and the average gift increased 25%. More than 50 million people worldwide spread the word about GivingTuesday – resulting in milestone trending on Twitter.- from GivingTuesday.org“

I think GivingTuesday is an awesome idea!

I would encourage you all to help out by giving your time, money or support (or all of the above) to someone in need today.

If you want to learn more about this idea and how you can get involved, visit www.GivingTuesday.org.

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Photo credits: Wikipedia & Flickr

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The changing of the leaves was the sign that fall has come. It was (and still is) a beautiful sight. I think Albert Camus said it best:

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower

But, every good champion has an end to their run. The leaf is over. It’s the era of the pumpkin.

They rose to power on the back of our taste buds. Leaves are fun, but at certain points this fall you will probably partake in pumpkin coffee, pumpkin beer, pumpkin bread, pumpkin pancakes or pumpkin bagels. Hell, you might even have pumpkin cider (a word of advice, don’t try pumpkin cider).

What started this craze? While you can find pumpkin beer dating back a few decades, the pumpkin started to become a thing when this became a thing:

That’s Starbuck’s Pumpkin Spice Latte. It’s easily Starbucks most popular seasonal drink, as Micheline Maynard pointed out last year:

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Starbucks drink (now known by an acronym, PSL) and the company says it has sold more than 200 million thus far.

If you just do the math, that means Starbucks has sold an average 20 million beverages a year whose flavoring once belonged primarily in a seasonal pie, another accomplishment for the company run by billionaire Howard Schultz.

At the basic price of about $4 for a 12-ounce tall size, PSL means at least $80 million in revenue this fall for Starbucks, which serves it beginning in September. (That’s not including sales of pumpkin spice sauce, which we’ll talk about later). The company says the PSL is by far the most popular seasonal beverage in its lineup.

It’s only about to get more popular. This season, Starbucks can’t even wait until September to release this year’s batch of PSLs. The popular drink is coming back next week.

18 days until I’m back from vacay. Get ready to “fall” in love all over again.  #seewhatididthere

— Pumpkin Spice Latte (@TheRealPSL) August 7, 2014

That’s right, the drink even has its own Twitter account. It has almost 50,000 followers. Excuse me while I contemplate my own, personal self worth.

The PSL isn’t the only pumpkin-based treat arriving early this year. Pumpkin beers have been showing up in stores all month long. This is often referred to as the “seasonal creep,” as Brewnewyork.com explains:

It’s the last day of July, and the fall seasonal beers are already hitting beer shop shelves. In fact, some of them have been sitting on shelves for over two weeks now. “Seasonal creep” in the beer industry, as we’ve noted before, is getting out of control. Brewers continue to push up their timelines so they can be first to market with their top-selling seasonal beers. 

Seasonal beverages have become a big business, but will it translate into increased sales?

In my opinion, part of the reason these seasonal beverages sell so well is because they remind us of specific seasons that we love. I love drinking pumpkin beer because I love the fall. I don’t particularly get the appeal of pumpkin beer in August, when temperatures around the country are anything but fall-like.

But no, I think I do. Americans love fall. Last year, yougov.com released a poll that proclaimed fall as America’s favorite season. Spring gives fall a run for its money in these polls, but there are a number of reasons Americans look forward to fall:

• Halloween
• Football season
• New and returning TV shows
• The holiday season (Thanksgiving and Christmas)
• Fall festivals
• The World Series
• Back-to-school (more so for parents)

Summer can be great, but it gets boring in August. Our sports schedule gets light. We start to get tired of our kid’s summer vacations. There isn’t much to watch on television. Our friends are out of town. Honestly, after 4th of July weekend, it feels like the whole country seems to take a little break until Labor Day.

People want fall to come sooner. We may not be able to speed the passage of time, but we are able to produce our favorite fall drinks a little earlier each year. These drinks are a substitute for the season.

Now, if you will excuse me, I’m going to enjoy this:

Even though this is the weather in my hometown of Tempe, AZ:

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Now, I love America, but not this much. Joey Chestnut ate 61 hot dogs yesterday, which wouldn’t leave me room for:

Or leave me room for my favorite beer (from a cover art standpoint):

You’ve heard of Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA,” probably the most famous patriotic song after the National Anthem, but did you know it came from an album of his titled “American Patriot”?

Somehow, it’s MORE American than you would expect it to be.

4th of July is all about freedom:

And American propaganda movies:

And Summer blockbusters:

On the 4th, I take time to really admire the melting pot that is America:

And some of the great people we have produced:

Shout out to American heroes new:

And old:

It’s a time to put aside our political differences:

On the 4th we like to find a pool:

And maybe a burger:

And a beer:

This is the land of football:

And baseball:

And basketball:

And, of course:

America Animated GIF

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Check out this trailer for a new short film by David Henrie. The movie is a unique look at what it can cost (physically, emotionally & literally) for a son to acquire some time with his father. Appropriately named Catch, the film tells the story of a young boy who is trying to catch a ball, catch a break and catch the attention of his dad.

In just 10 minutes, the short film uncovers the layers of a father son relationship and how a simple thing like tossing around a baseball can have a huge impact.

For any sons out there that are still in need of a Father’s Day gift, I would definitely recommend buying this short film. For just a few bucks you can get the movie and watch it tomorrow with your dad.

For more information visit the film’s website here.

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With Father’s Day approaching, I started to wonder a few things. First, am I too old to give my dad a homemade coupon good for 1 hour of chores? And second, what came first, Mother’s Day or Father’s Day?

I’ll tackle the latter in today’s Wonder Why Wednesday…

Before I get to the answer, take a guess. What do you think came first? Now guess how many years were in between creation of the two holidays?

If you are anything like me, your guess was way off.

According to Wikipedia, Woodrow Wilson signed a proclamation in 1914 to make Mother’s Day a national holiday. So title of what came first, goes to Mom.

Wikipedia says that Father’s Day did not become a national holiday until 1972 when Richard Nixon signed it into law.

So not only did Mother’s Day come first, but it was around for 58 years before Father’s Day became official!

President Wilson wanted to make Father’s Day a holiday in 1916, but Congress resisted, thinking the day would become too commercialized. I guess, Congress did not think Mother’s Day would become commercialized. Did Congress expect kids to buy gifts for dads, but not for moms?

Boy were they wrong!

Check out this awesome infographic from 2012 via H&R Block that breaks down the spending on each holiday. This would blow 1916 Congress’ mind (partly because they had no clue what an infographic or the Internet was).

Source: H&R Block

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To get you ready for summer, here are 16 quotes, pics, vids and gifts to get you in the mood for inverse Christmas:

Summer is for roadtrips

And Michael Phelp’s epic celebration during the 2012 Summer Olympics 

And this epic lake house

This famous baseball speech in Field of Dreams

[blockquote]“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.” [/blockquote]

Summer is for finding creative ways to plunge into water

And previewing the next wave of NBA stars (or benchwarmers)

Oh, and crowning an NBA champ

And snow cones

Summer is for last days of school

And beers with limes in them

And for All-Star Games

And America

And of course:

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