Themes: Holidays 2003

CHRISTMAS 2003

OBJECTS and TEXTURES by KATART, VINGIRL AND KIT
ALL WRITEN INFO by GREER

ADVENT CALANDAR

What is Christmas?
Christmas comes from the words "Cristes maesse" or Christ's Mass. It is the time of celebration of the birth of Jesus for members of the Christian religion. The first celebration of Christmas is believed to have been in Rome in 336 A.D.

DATE:
December 15 th

Set of advent calandar walls by KatArt.

There is one wall for each day of the month of December. Each sucessive wall reveals one additional picture for that day so your sims can keep advent too.

DOWNLOAD THIS WEEKS WALLS: DEC 16- DEC 25
DOWNLOAD LAST WEEKS WALLS: DEC 9- DEC 15
DOWNLOAD PREVIOUS WEEKS WALLS: DEC 1 - DEC 8
Walls will be distributed in weekly increments except the last week during which the final week and a half before Christmas will be made available.
For those of you who can't wait, :)
you can DOWNLOAD THE WHOLE SET HERE (1.56 MB).

(Jump to More Walls below Objects!)

PAINTINGS AND DECOR

(Requires LL)

(Requires LL)

(Requires LL)
Stockings - According to tradition, the original Saint Nicholas left his very first gifts of gold coins in the stockings of three poor girls who needed the money for their dowries. The girls had hung their stockings by the fire to dry. Until recently, small gifts of fruit, nuts or candy were left in stockings. Nowadays more expensive or substantial items are given. The tradition of leaving a lump of coal in the stockings of naughty children originated in Italy.

(Requires LL)

(Requires LL)

(Requires LL)
Mistletoe and Holly - Mistletoe has been used as a decoration in houses for thousands of years and is also associated with many pagan rituals, particularly the ancient Druids to whom it was sacred. The Church forbade the use of mistletoe and suggested holly instead. The pointed leaves symbolized the thorns in Christ's crown and the red berries drops of his blood. Hence, holly became a nativity tradition.

(Requires HP)

(Requires HP)

(Requires LL)

(Requires HP)

(Requires LL)
Santa Claus - The common, popular view of Santa including his sleigh, reindeer and jumping down chimneys all came largely from two publishing events in the 1800s and an advertising campaign in the 20th century. In 1822, Clement Moore wrote "The Night Before Christmas" for his family which was printed in a newspaper, then reprinted in magazines. If you read the poem you will find that he names the reindeer, invents the sleigh, comes up with the chimney and the bag of toys, etc.

Between 1863 and 1886, the magazine Harper's weekly ran a series of engravings by Thomas Nast. Nast's images became the base for Santa's workshop, Santa reading letters, Santa checking his list and so on. Coca-Cola also played a role in the Santa image by running a set of paintings by Haddon Sundblom in its ads between 1931 to 1964.

The red and white suit came, actually, from the original Saint Nicholas. Those colors were the colors of traditional bishop's robes.

Rudolf the red nosed Reindeer - The story of Rudolf appeared in 1939. Santas at Montgomery Ward stores gave away over 2 million copies of a booklet titled "Rudolf the Red-Nose Reindeer." The story was written by a person in the advertising department named Robert May, and the booklet was illustrated by Denver Gillen. The original name of the reindeer was not Rudolf, it was Rollo, but executives didn't like that name, or another suggestion, Reginald. The name Rudolf finally came from the author's daughter. In 1949, Gene Autry sang a musical version of the poem that became a hit. The Rudolf song is second only to "White Christmas" in popularity.

Christmas Trees - The Christmas tree is a German tradition, started around 700 A.D. which moved to England and then on to the U.S. via German immigrants.

In Victorian times, trees were decorated with candies and cakes hung with ribbon. In 1880, Woolworths was the first retailer to sell manufactured Christmas tree ornaments. Martin Luther, in the 16th century, is credited as being the first person to put candles on a tree, and the first electrically lighted Christmas tree appeared in 1882. In 1923, President Calvin Coolidge lit the first outdoor tree at the White House in Washington, DC a tradition that still continues.

Christmas Walls and Floor Set
5 Walls and 2 Floors
Click on the picture to see a larger view and download individual walls and floors or
DOWNLOAD THE WHOLE SET here.

Jen's note: Our staff spans several continents and recently we got to see what Christmas actually looks like in Australia through the magic of internet pics. Amazingly blazing! LOL That's where I want to be next year - sipping my holiday nog on the beach and basking in the sun! But seriously, here is a little taste of Christmas in some of our staff's native coutries - all written by Greer.

"America - Many Americans celebrate Christmas with gift giving and family visits. For some, Christmas begins on Christmas Eve with Midnight Mass. Dinner usually is roast turkey, goose, duck or ham served with cranberry sauce, potatoes, vegetables and pumpkin pie for dessert. Homes are decorated with holly, mistletoe, a Christmas tree hung with electric lights, tinsel, ornaments, strings of popcorn and candy canes.

Australia - Christmas falls during the summer heat in Australia. A traditional meal includes turkey and ham dinner. Christmas pudding is also served with a small favor baked inside bringing (it's said) good luck to the person who finds it. In Melbourne in 1937 the tradition of Carols by Candlelight was begun on Christmas Eve where thousands gather to sing Christmas songs.

England - Christmas began in England in AD 596 when St Augustine came to spread Christianity to the Anglo Saxons. In England Christmas dinner was usually eaten at Midday on December 25, during daylight. The only thing people ate on the day before was Frumenty, which is/was a kind of porridge made from corn. The recipe changed over the years and eggs, fruit, spice, meat and dried plums were added. The whole mixture was wrapped in a cloth and boiled. This is how plum pudding began. A traditional English Christmas dinner is roast turkey with vegetables and sauce, a rich, fruity Christmas pudding with brandy sauce for dessert and mince pie.

Switzerland - In Switzerland, CHristkindli (an angel dressed in white) arrives with the tinkling of a silver bell. As she enters the house, the tree candles are lit as she hands out presents from a basket held by her child helpers. The Chlausjagen Festival or Feast of St. Nichohlas is celebrated at dusk on 6 December with a procession of "lifeltrager' wearing gigantic illuminated lanterns in the shape of a Bishop's mitre on their heads."

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ADVENT CALANDAR
What is Christmas? Christmas comes from the words "Cristes maesse" or Christ's Mass. It is the time of celebration of the birth of Jesus for members of the Christian religion. The first celebration of Christmas is believed to have been in Rome in 336 A.D.					DATE: December 15 th
Set of advent calandar walls by KatArt. There is one wall for each day of the month of December. Each sucessive wall reveals one additional picture for that day so your sims can keep advent too. DOWNLOAD THIS WEEKS WALLS: DEC 16- DEC 25 DOWNLOAD LAST WEEKS WALLS: DEC 9- DEC 15 DOWNLOAD PREVIOUS WEEKS WALLS: DEC 1 - DEC 8 Walls will be distributed in weekly increments except the last week during which the final week and a half before Christmas will be made available. For those of you who can't wait, :) you can DOWNLOAD THE WHOLE SET HERE (1.56 MB). (Jump to More Walls below Objects!)
PAINTINGS AND DECOR
(Requires LL)	(Requires LL)
(Requires LL)				Stockings - According to tradition, the original Saint Nicholas left his very first gifts of gold coins in the stockings of three poor girls who needed the money for their dowries. The girls had hung their stockings by the fire to dry. Until recently, small gifts of fruit, nuts or candy were left in stockings. Nowadays more expensive or substantial items are given. The tradition of leaving a lump of coal in the stockings of naughty children originated in Italy.
(Requires LL)	(Requires LL)
(Requires LL)			Mistletoe and Holly - Mistletoe has been used as a decoration in houses for thousands of years and is also associated with many pagan rituals, particularly the ancient Druids to whom it was sacred. The Church forbade the use of mistletoe and suggested holly instead. The pointed leaves symbolized the thorns in Christ's crown and the red berries drops of his blood. Hence, holly became a nativity tradition.
(Requires HP)	(Requires HP)
(Requires LL)	(Requires HP)
(Requires LL)				Santa Claus - The common, popular view of Santa including his sleigh, reindeer and jumping down chimneys all came largely from two publishing events in the 1800s and an advertising campaign in the 20th century. In 1822, Clement Moore wrote "The Night Before Christmas" for his family which was printed in a newspaper, then reprinted in magazines. If you read the poem you will find that he names the reindeer, invents the sleigh, comes up with the chimney and the bag of toys, etc.


		Between 1863 and 1886, the magazine Harper's weekly ran a series of engravings by Thomas Nast. Nast's images became the base for Santa's workshop, Santa reading letters, Santa checking his list and so on. Coca-Cola also played a role in the Santa image by running a set of paintings by Haddon Sundblom in its ads between 1931 to 1964. The red and white suit came, actually, from the original Saint Nicholas. Those colors were the colors of traditional bishop's robes.
Rudolf the red nosed Reindeer - The story of Rudolf appeared in 1939. Santas at Montgomery Ward stores gave away over 2 million copies of a booklet titled "Rudolf the Red-Nose Reindeer." The story was written by a person in the advertising department named Robert May, and the booklet was illustrated by Denver Gillen. The original name of the reindeer was not Rudolf, it was Rollo, but executives didn't like that name, or another suggestion, Reginald. The name Rudolf finally came from the author's daughter. In 1949, Gene Autry sang a musical version of the poem that became a hit. The Rudolf song is second only to "White Christmas" in popularity. Christmas Trees - The Christmas tree is a German tradition, started around 700 A.D. which moved to England and then on to the U.S. via German immigrants. In Victorian times, trees were decorated with candies and cakes hung with ribbon. In 1880, Woolworths was the first retailer to sell manufactured Christmas tree ornaments. Martin Luther, in the 16th century, is credited as being the first person to put candles on a tree, and the first electrically lighted Christmas tree appeared in 1882. In 1923, President Calvin Coolidge lit the first outdoor tree at the White House in Washington, DC a tradition that still continues.
	Christmas Walls and Floor Set 5 Walls and 2 Floors Click on the picture to see a larger view and download individual walls and floors or DOWNLOAD THE WHOLE SET here.
Jen's note: Our staff spans several continents and recently we got to see what Christmas actually looks like in Australia through the magic of internet pics. Amazingly blazing! LOL That's where I want to be next year - sipping my holiday nog on the beach and basking in the sun! But seriously, here is a little taste of Christmas in some of our staff's native coutries - all written by Greer. "America - Many Americans celebrate Christmas with gift giving and family visits. For some, Christmas begins on Christmas Eve with Midnight Mass. Dinner usually is roast turkey, goose, duck or ham served with cranberry sauce, potatoes, vegetables and pumpkin pie for dessert. Homes are decorated with holly, mistletoe, a Christmas tree hung with electric lights, tinsel, ornaments, strings of popcorn and candy canes. Australia - Christmas falls during the summer heat in Australia. A traditional meal includes turkey and ham dinner. Christmas pudding is also served with a small favor baked inside bringing (it's said) good luck to the person who finds it. In Melbourne in 1937 the tradition of Carols by Candlelight was begun on Christmas Eve where thousands gather to sing Christmas songs. England - Christmas began in England in AD 596 when St Augustine came to spread Christianity to the Anglo Saxons. In England Christmas dinner was usually eaten at Midday on December 25, during daylight. The only thing people ate on the day before was Frumenty, which is/was a kind of porridge made from corn. The recipe changed over the years and eggs, fruit, spice, meat and dried plums were added. The whole mixture was wrapped in a cloth and boiled. This is how plum pudding began. A traditional English Christmas dinner is roast turkey with vegetables and sauce, a rich, fruity Christmas pudding with brandy sauce for dessert and mince pie. Switzerland - In Switzerland, CHristkindli (an angel dressed in white) arrives with the tinkling of a silver bell. As she enters the house, the tree candles are lit as she hands out presents from a basket held by her child helpers. The Chlausjagen Festival or Feast of St. Nichohlas is celebrated at dusk on 6 December with a procession of "lifeltrager' wearing gigantic illuminated lanterns in the shape of a Bishop's mitre on their heads."