Christmas 2009

Christmas is both a sacred religious holiday and a worldwide cultural and commercial phenomenon. For two millennia, people around the world have been observing it with traditions and practices that are both religious and secular in nature. Christians celebrate Christmas Day as the anniversary of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, a spiritual leader whose teachings form the basis of their religion. Popular customs include exchanging gifts, decorating Christmas trees, attending church, sharing meals with family and friends and, of course, waiting for Santa Claus to arrive. December 25–Christmas Day–has been a federal holiday in the United States since 1870.

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Please go to the events log for a listing of all the Christmas events. We really had a great Christmas including visiting Knotts Berry Farm , breakfast at Old Ranch , Scrooge and Robin's Birthday , Old Ranch Dinner Dance . introducing the Christmas Story to others , going to the Christmas Play , celebrating Paul turning 65 , Disneyland Christmas Eve , and the Quick Trip North .

Christmas 2009 Events Chronolically Listed

November 1 - White Christmas at Fullerton Civic Auditorium
November 11 - Robin, Bob, Nick, Sue and Paul are off the the El Capitan theater to see the new Disney Christmas movie "A Christmas Carol" .
November 24 - The Winter Wonderettes with Vicky & Del and Family
December 1, Christmas in Ireland at the Cerritos Performing Arts Center
December 4 - The Alley Cats
December 5 - Robin's birthday and a Christmas Carol (Scrooge)
December 5 - Dancing at the Elks
December 6 - Jimmy Dorsey And Home Tour
December 9 - The Irish Tenors at Cerritos
December 11 - The Heart Strings at Cerritos
December 12 - The Christmas Play
December 12 - San Pedro Elks Christmas Ball
December 14 - Knott's Berry Farm
December 15 - 1000 days of retirement & OC Pavillion & Peter Pan
December 16 - Paul's 65th birthday at Disneyland, Roger's Gardens, Five Crowns
December 17 - Xanadu
December 18 - Santa Ana Elks Christmas Ball
December 19 - Topper's Holiday Ball ( Full set of pictures )
December 20 - Nutcracker Ballet in Long Beach
December 20 - Dinner dancing at Old Ranch
December 21 - Dinner Party at Greg's Home
December 24 - Christmas Eve at Disneyland
December 25 - Quick road trip to the Porter's and Hale's
December 28 - Visit with Kat and friends join us for The Christmas Story
December 29 - California Adventure and Disneyland for fireworks
December 30 - The Porter's come to visit
December 31 - Panda Palace for lunch , A Movie, Santa Ana Elks
January 1 - Dinner at home
January 2 - Off to see the Rose Parade floats and then Frankie Valli at the OCPAC
January 3 - One last visit to see the Disneyland Christmas Parade

Christmas 2009
Paul puts a halo over his Christmas Angel while decorating!

We started right after Thanksgiving with decorating the house ... a two day job!

Trivia Anyone??

Christmas just wouldn’t be as magical without our favorite Christmas songs. Enjoy these little-known facts about your favorite carols:

“Jingle Bells,” originally titled “One Horse Open Sleigh,” was written to be a Thanksgiving song.

Buck Ram wrote the lyrics to “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” when he was a sixteen-year-old, homesick college student, although his original song was different from the one we now know and love.

Some historians believe that “Twelve Days of Christmas” isn’t the silly song we all think it is—it is actually filled with religious symbolism. Some religious symbols in the song include the two turtle doves (The Old and New Testaments), the six geese a-laying (the six days of creation), and the eight maids a-milking (the eight beatitudes).

The most recorded Christmas song is “White Christmas.” There are more than five hundred recordings, many performed in different languages.

Leroy Anderson, the composer of the popular song “Sleigh Ride,” was inspired to write the song during a heat wave in July.

Christmas 2009
Man made global warming indeed!