Christmas Flowers

Gifts of time and love are surely the basic ingredients of a truly merry Christmas.
 ~Peg Bracken

Have you all made it through the seemingly endless list of giveaways the last couple of days?  I'm not even half way through Quilting Gallery's Party Blog Hop with Giveaways and have barely put a dent in Sew, Mama, Sew! Giveaway Day.  There's just not enough hours in the day!  I have found some 'new to me' blogs that I have begun following that look like a lot of fun.  I'm way behind on responding to comments left for my giveaways.  Where was my brain when I decided to run two giveaways at the same time?  And once those are through, I have another giveaway coming up for the Traveling Stash.  Oh my! 

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LITTLE FACT OF THE DAY

Candy Canes

One of the most often seen symbols of Christmas is the candy cane. Not only are candy canes used as a sweet Christmastime treat but they are also used for decoration. How did this seasonal candy get its familiar shape, and when did it become part of Christmas tradition?

When the practice of using Christmas trees to celebrate Christmas became popular in Europe the people there began making decorations for their trees. Many of the decorations were food items including cookies and candy. Our modern candy cane appeared at about this time in the seventeenth century. These were straight, white sticks of sugar candy.
Part of the Christmas celebration at the Cologne Cathedral were pageants of living creches. In about 1670 the choirmaster there had sticks of candy bent into the shape of a shepherd’s crook and passed them out to children who attended the ceremonies. This became a popular tradition, and eventually the practice of passing out the sugar canes at living creche ceremonies spread throughout Europe.
The use of candy canes on Christmas trees made its way to America by the 1800′s, however during this time they were still pure white. They are represented this way on Christmas cards made before 1900, and it is not until the early 20th century that they appear with their familiar red stripes.
Many people have given religious meaning to the shape and form of the candy cane. It is said that its shape is like the letter “J” in Jesus’ name. It is also in the shape of the shepherds’ crook, symbolic of how Jesus, like the “Good Shepherd” watches over his children like little lambs. It is a hard candy, solid like a “rock”, the foundation of the Church. The flavor of peppermint is similar to another member of the mint family, hyssop. In the Old Testament hyssop was used for purification and sacrifice, and this is said to symbolize the purity of Jesus and the sacrifice he made.

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FINAL CHRISTMAS FLOWERS

I  have decided after these two flowers, I am not going to make anymore Christmas flowers.  After all, this isn't a Christmas quilt.

This flower is ablaze with Christmas candles.  It could almost be a Halloween flower with the colors that are in it.

Since we have two miniature dachshunds as part of our family, I just couldn't pass up the fabric with the doxie wearing a Santa hat.  This pup reminds me of our very first mini doxie, Schnitzel.  He was a red, short haired and oh so very smart.

Karen (over at Journey of a Quilter) has organized One Flower Wednesday and provides a linky for all of to share our hexagon flowers.  If you would like to see more flowers out there in blogland, just click HERE.

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TODAY'S GOAL

Today I will continue working on my Gardener's Journal

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GIVEAWAYS

Want It, Need It, Quilt is having a giveaway.  You could win a California Girl Layer Cake by Fig Tree Quilts.  This giveaway ends Saturday, December 31.

Jolly Jabber is having a giveaway.  You could win Blackbird Designs’s Designer Select Fat Quarter Bundle.  This giveaway ends Friday, December 16.

Sew Kiki is having a giveaway.  You could win a $25 gift certificate to Fat Quarter Shop.  This giveaway ends Monday, December 19.

The Jolly Jabber is having a giveaway.  You could win a mini mason jar pincushion sewing kits from Caroline Simas.  This giveaway ends Saturday, December 17.

Annie's Ruby Slipperz is having her Mystery Monday giveaway.  You could win 5 fat quarters and a pattern by Rosalie Asby.  This giveaway ends Saturday, December 17, at midnight MT.

I currently have two giveaways running.  First click HERE for a chance at a table runner kit from Connecting Threads.  Then click HERE for a chance at a Pure charm pack.

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FINAL THOUGHT

Posted by Bonnie of Quiltville on FB 12/10/11......