It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year [Photos and Fun History]

Welcome Steemians to the most Wonderful Time of The Year! For those of you who have been following my posts and comments this week, you'll notice I have been sharing a plethora of photos representing the holiday season. Every day I am finding examples of the decorations that make this holiday season warm and festive, and I am enjoying it more than usual. Instead of trying to plan to do all kinds of things, getting wrapped up in gifts and spending, I am taking some time out every day to appreciate the joys others are freely sharing for the world to enjoy. Some of you who are needing a break from the business and stress of daily life, I recommend you open your eyes like I have, and see the wonderful colors around you wherever you are, and remember to come back and visit these special attractions by yourself when nobody is around. Invite the Holiday spirit in.

Santa says, "Hello ho ho ho!"

Old Saint Nick, is a reference to St. Nicholas. He was a Christian Bishop who served as a Bishop in Myra (old name for Demre in present day Turkey). Legends tell of his generosity to help the poor and needy, women, and orphans. Long after his death believed to be in 343, stories of his gift giving spread far and wide, and the Catholic Church eventually recognized him as a Saint, and protector of children and sailors.

After Protestants abolished the praying to Saints in much of Europe, the traditions of St. Nicholas were preserved in Holland. Children would put their shoes outside at night for Sinterklaas to put toys in. Sinterklaas is a shortened name for Sint Nikolaas, and in America he would eventually be renamed as Santa Claus, and immortalized anew by the famous poem Twas the Night Before Christmas. One of my Dutch friends also swears that the "down the chimney" part of the story is also from Dutch lore, and represents how Saint Nikolaas became Sinterklaas, because the cinders turned his skin black. This part of the Dutch story is recently under fire, as the traditional black-face part of the story is considered too racist by many immigrants now living in The Netherlands. This makes me kind of sad to think that some people in the world are happier knowing that they can stop others from celebrating Christmas the way they have done for generations.

My favorite tree, the birch tree, all decked out in white. White is the symbol of snow and purity. The Holy Spirit and Angels are often depicted by the color white because of its dazzling, blinding brightness to the eye.

One of the most welcoming symbols is the wreath. The evergreen represents growth and everlasting life, and the circle is the unending infinity, circle of life. The lights are the stars of the heavenly universe. This is literally a window, inviting us to look inside, to a limitless reality, and a home reserved for us to be a guest within.

Perfect crystalline structures made of swirling water vapors in the sky in the absence of heat, also known as snowflakes. In the chaos of the winds, the elemental nature of water forms a uniform alignment of its own, and builds uniquely intricate shapes like little lego blocks. Even though they all follow the same rules of shape, no two flakes in nature are exactly alike.

Holly in Germany was revered by the Christians as a representation of the crown of thorns and the blood of Christ, from the red berries. In the ancient Saturnalia, celebrated by the Romans, they started the tradition of decking the halls with boughs of holly, as it was a holy symbol to the god Saturn, the agriculture, harvest, and fertility (gifts greatly desired during a time of year when nothing much grows). The holly-wood from which tinsel-town in California draws its name from, is a reference to the magical effects of this wood. Hollywood is known for using special effects in movies that seem magical, dating all the way back to the first uses of trick photography. Druids, witches, and magicians favored this wood as a mounting device for magical energies and crystals, and often formed it into a magic wand. A standard holly tree is one of the most valuable trees, and the wood is prized, because it can take many years for it to grow to a great size.

The star of Bethlehem in lore is believed to have led three Astronomers, known as The Magi, or the Three Kings, to the location of the Christ child. Upon finding the baby in a manger, Melchior gives the gift of gold, to represent the wealth of the future king. Caspar gives the gift of frankincense, a rich perfume, and perhaps a future foreshadowing of when Jesus would be honored as a king by having his feet washed and perfumed by a pious woman he would recognize as his most cherished disciple. Balthasar gives the gift of myrrh, an anointing oil, the same used to mark the kings of Israel since the time of Saul and David, and also used for embalming the dead. This possibly foreshadowing the eventual choice Jesus would make to give his body as a sacrifice to wash away all the sins of the world.

The great star in the sky is believed to be a miracle to have shown so bright that it could lead the Magi for two years on their journey to find the Christ of the prophecies. Some astronomers have theorized that it might have been a conjunction in the sky of Jupiter crossing over Venus, or perhaps a comet or supernova.

It has been theorized that there are over 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 stars in the universe.

Did you know that there is no limit to the number of Steem tokens that can be made? Even if Steem went down in value to almost zero, as we know Steem Dollars can be used to purchase a near-infinite amount of Steem. When Steem goes up in value, that same near-infinite amount of Steem purchased from Steem Dollars can add up to a lot of Bitcoin!

Dr. Seuss wrote one of the most popular Christmas stories ever written, How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Rumors state that a new animated film based on this classic children's picture book will be released in November 2018, with the prime villain voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch.

The Christmas tree is one of the most famous symbols of the season. Scandinavians first esteemed the evergreens as a symbol of the god of the Sun, Balder. In particular, on the Winter Solstice day, it was believed that the sun was reborn, as darkness would be defeated on this day, and the sun would return again to bring Spring and Summer. In the 16th century, Germans started decorating evergreens, and the tradition has spread across the world. However, singing carols of yule tide, and displaying decorated trees around the Christian holiday was viewed as an abominable pagan practice by Puritans in America for hundreds of years. It wasn't until Queen Victoria of England displayed her affectionate family around the Christmas tree, that is became a world-wide fashionable sensation. We can thank the German Prince Albert for winning the Queen's heart, and sharing tradition and his love of the Christmas tree with her.

In 1880 Thomas Edison created the first outdoor electric Christmas light display. He shared it for the whole world to see. The lights were placed outside of his laboratory, near a railroad so people could easily pass by and see it every night. It was the first time anything besides lighting the Christmas tree was done to celebrate the holiday season in an outdoor display.

A couple years later, Edward Johnson invented the first string of electric Christmas lights that could be used for decorating outside. He was an inventor who worked under the supervision of Thomas Edison. In only 10 years, nearly every major department store and government building was hanging strings of Christmas lights around their display windows every year. It was a huge success.

Believe it or not, "All I Want For Christmas Is You", by Mariah Carey is the number one hit Christmas song this year on the Billboard top 100 list. If you ever listen to the radio stations that play non-stop Christmas music, they play this song practically every hour. Mariah also owns the number 45 top song "Santa Claus is Comin' To Town". Personally I prefer the Jackson 5 version of the song, which is number 49 on the list.

The birch trees at night glow very brightly, as their papery white bark holds the colors along their trunks.

Daytime view.

Night-time view.

After finishing my own photos of the night, I saw a mother trying to take a selfie with her young son, and I offered to take the picture for her, and she was very gracious. Little things like that can set up memories for a lifetime, and they do not cost a thing.

Spend some time this week thinking about how you can better celebrate this holiday the right away. Which symbols carry the most meaning to you? Are you holding onto gifts waiting to be given others? Are you allowing yourself time to stop and appreciate the wonderland of seasonal joy and free gifts? How would you like to best remember those who have passed? Consider leaving a special treat outside for a pet you lost, or set up a candle and picture stand for a past loved-one who continues to make this season extra special for you.

Thanks for viewing my post. Hope you have a very Merry Holiday Season!