Today is...

[IceWizard]

Monday 26 Dec 2016

National Candy Cane Day



A lot of things have their own day dedicated to them; one you may not have known about is the candy cane. Yes, this veritable symbol of tasty festivity has a dedicated day, so if you ever needed an excuse to stockpile them or indulge, now you have one. So let the deliciousness begin!

The History of Candy Cane Day

Candy canes are so ubiquitous during the holiday season that they are practically considered part of Christmas itself. However, very few people know when, where or how candy canes came into existence, though it is a very interesting story.

According to German folklore, the first candy canes were made in the 17th century when a choirmaster in Cologne, Germany, needed to find a way to keep the children quiet during the exceptionally long Christmas Eve Mass. So he ordered peppermint-flavored candy sticks from a local confectioner, but with a few twists of his own, steeping them in religious symbolism.

Firstly, he requested the sticks to be on the shape we know them so they could be a visual representation of sorts of the canes that the shepherds coming to visit the baby Jesus might have had. Some also say that when turned upside-down, the candy cane becomes the letter J, which stands for Jesus.

Furthermore, the choirmaster asked for the sticks to be white (to represent the sinless, pure life Jesus lived) and red (to represent the blood Jesus lost when he was crucified for the sins of mankind).

Of course, there is no solid evidence for this, and modern candy cane historians, or whoever looked into it, have disputed the ideas presented here. Luckily, however, you can enjoy the candy cane on its special day with or without this kind of expert knowledge.



And



Thank You Note Day

“Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” -Marcel Proust

Thank You Notes, the cards we see lined up on store shelves. Some have those silly little tunes and others are silent but filled with words that have a whole lot of meaning. They’ve been around for as long as we can remember, perhaps even longer, but do we know the true history behind them and their origins?

Let’s delve deep into the past to uncover the truth of the origin behind these cards.

History of Thank You Note Day

Starting in ancient times with Egyptian and Chinese societies, these two groups would use papyrus papers to write friendly letters or letters of good luck to those they cared about.

Now let’s do the Time Warp to the early 1800’s, where Europeans would write social notes and deliver them to friends and family, now this is what started the beginning of another card, the greeting card!

But let’s remain focused on what we’re here for, the history of these notes. Quite a while after the Europeans began using greeting cards, a man born in Prussian Silesia by the name of Louis Prang emigrated to America from Switzerland in 1850 after escaping the Prussian Government.

Why was he being pursued by his own government, we might ask?

He was involved in revolutionary activities in 1848. He then settled down in Boston, Massachusetts and on Christmas of 1873, Prang began to produce and sell greeting cards to the popular market of Europe and began selling the Christmas card in America around 1874, and since that day both Christmas cards and thank you cards have increased in popularity around the world.

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December 26 Birthdays


Lars Ulrich - 53



Chris Daughtry - 37



Mao Tse Tung - (1893-1976)



John Walsh - 71






December 26th

1991: Ted Nugent gave an anti-drug message to fans before a concert in Saginaw, MI telling fans “Jimi Hendrix thought I was stupid, and I thought he was a god. Now he’s dead, and I’m still Ted.”

1981: AC/DC reached number one on the Billboard 200 Album Chart for the first time with For Those About to Rock (We Salute You) which began a three-week run on top of the chart. They didn’t top the album chart again until 2008’s Black Ice.

1976: The Sex Pistols recorded “God Save the Queen” at Wessex Studios in London. The song went on to reach number two on the U.K. Singles Chart the following year.

1970: George Harrison reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart for the first time as a solo artist with “My Sweet Lord” which topped the chart for four weeks.

1968: Led Zeppelin began their first North American tour at the Denver Auditorium supporting Vanilla Fudge and the MC5.

1967: The Doors and Chuck Berry began a three night stand at San Francisco’s Winterland Ballroom.

1967: The BBC premiered The Beatles’ self- directed movie Magical Mystery Tour. The following day the British press and viewing public pronounced the movie a disaster. The U.S. television deal for broadcasting the movie was cancelled soon afterwards.

1966: Jimi Hendrix wrote the lyrics to “Purple Haze” in the dressing room of The Uppercut Club in London before a concert.

1966: John Lennon appeared on the British television show Not Only…But Also as a men’s room attendant.



Birthdays:

Phil Spector born in 1940

Lars Ulrich - Drummer for Metallica born in 1963