Happy New Year - About "The Ball"

Click the Photo for History of Times Square New Years Eve Ball

Wishing you all a happy, healthy and blessed New Year!

Christmas Cookies

I remember how fun it was to bake Christmas Cookies with my sisters during the month of December. Some of the types we would make year after year would be:

• Sand Tarts - we used our holiday cookie cut outs and brushed with egg whites and then sprinkles. Boy would I indulge in those!

• Springerle - the traditional German cookie that tasted like licorice and was a bit hard on the teeth!

  

  Linzer Tarts - the jam/preserve filled tart. Not one of my favorites from the past, but still tasty.
  

Great site for all your holiday cookie recipes! Here

History of The Advent Calender

I always had an advent calendar as a child and still love them today.

Here is some interesting information about the origins of the Advent Calendar.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------The origin of the calendar, like so many of our Christmas traditions, started in Germany back in the 19th century. Different methods of counting down the days to the celebration of Christmas were used.

Drawing a chalk line to mark off the days, later lighting a candle every night or putting up small religious pictures marked each day until Christmas. The first printed calendar was produced by Gerhard Lang in Germany. When he was a child, his mother attached little candies to a piece of cardboard and each day Gerhard would take one off. His first (printed) calendar consisted of miniature colored pictures that would be attached to a piece of cardboard each day in December. Later Advent calendars were made with little doors to open on each day.

The child might find a small piece of candy, a Christmas picture, a religious picture or a bible verse.

The German calendars were sold until World War II, at which time production was stopped due to the war shortages. After the war, the production of calendars resumed in 1946 by Richard Selmer. Selmer credits President Eisenhower with helping the tradition grow in the United States during his term of office. A newspaper article at the time showed the Eisenhower grandchildren with The Little Town Advent calendar. His company still produces calendars today and can be ordered online.