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Legend Of The Christmas Spider
The Legend of the Christmas Spider is an Eastern European Folklore, folktale which explains one possible origin of tinsel on Christmas trees. It is most prevalent in Western Ukraine, where small Christmas ornament, ornaments in the shape of a spider are traditionally a part of the Christmas decorations. Story A poor but hardworking widow once lived in a small hut with her children. One summer day, a pine cone fell on the earthen floor of the hut and took root. The widow's children cared for the tree, excited at the prospect of having a Christmas tree by winter. The tree grew, but when Christmas Eve arrived, they could not afford to decorate it. The children sadly went to bed and fell asleep. Early the next morning, they woke up and saw the tree covered with cobwebs. When they opened the windows, the first rays of sunlight touched the webs and turned them into gold and silver. The widow and her children were overjoyed. From then on, they never lived in poverty again. Variants Ot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Museum Of Science And Industry (Chicago)
The Museum of Science and Industry (MSI) is a science museum located in Chicago, Illinois, in Jackson Park, in the Hyde Park neighborhood between Lake Michigan and The University of Chicago. It is housed in the former ''Palace of Fine Arts'' from the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. Initially endowed by Julius Rosenwald, the Sears, Roebuck and Company president and philanthropist, it was supported by the Commercial Club of Chicago and opened in 1933 during the Century of Progress Exposition. Among the museum's exhibits are a full-size replica coal mine, captured during World War II, a model railroad, the command module of Apollo 8, and the first diesel-powered streamlined stainless-steel passenger train (''Pioneer Zephyr''). History The Palace of Fine Arts (also known as the Fine Arts Building) at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition was designed by Charles B. Atwood for D. H. Burnham & Co. During the fair, the palace displayed paintings, prints, drawing, sculpture, an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Folklore
Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging from traditional building styles common to the group. Folklore also includes customary lore, taking actions for folk beliefs, the forms and rituals of celebrations such as Christmas and weddings, folk dances and initiation rites. Each one of these, either singly or in combination, is considered a folklore artifact or traditional cultural expression. Just as essential as the form, folklore also encompasses the transmission of these artifacts from one region to another or from one generation to the next. Folklore is not something one can typically gain in a formal school curriculum or study in the fine arts. Instead, these traditions are passed along informally from one individual to another either through verbal instruction or demonstr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tinsel
Tinsel is a type of decorative material that mimics the effect of ice, consisting of thin strips of sparkling material attached to a thread. When in long narrow strips not attached to thread, it is called "lametta", and emulates icicles. It was originally a metallic garland for Christmas decoration. The modern production of tinsel typically involves plastic, and is used particularly to decorate Christmas trees. It may be hung from ceilings or wrapped around statues, lampposts, and so on. Modern tinsel was invented in Nuremberg, Germany, in 1610, and was originally made of shredded silver. According to the ''Concise Oxford Dictionary'', the word is from the Old French word ''estincele'', meaning "sparkle". History In the 16th-century the word "tinsel" was used for a variety of lightweight fabrics with a metallic effect made with silk and gold and silver thread. These tinsel fabrics were used in elite cothes, masque costume, and for heraldric banners and flags. Elizabeth of York b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christmas Tree
A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen conifer, such as a spruce, pine or fir, or an artificial tree of similar appearance, associated with the celebration of Christmas. The custom was further developed in early modern Germany where German Protestant Christians brought decorated trees into their homes. It acquired popularity beyond the Lutheran areas of Germany and the Baltic governorates during the second half of the 19th century, at first among the upper classes. The tree was traditionally decorated with "roses made of colored paper, apples, wafers, tinsel, ndsweetmeats". Moravian Christians began to illuminate Christmas trees with candles, which were often replaced by Christmas lights after the advent of electrification. Today, there is a wide variety of traditional and modern ornaments, such as garlands, baubles, tinsel, and candy canes. An angel or star might be placed at the top of the tree to represent the Angel Gabriel or the Star of Bethle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Western Ukraine
Western Ukraine or West Ukraine ( uk, Західна Україна, Zakhidna Ukraina or , ) is the territory of Ukraine linked to the former Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia, which was part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Austrian Empire, Austria-Hungary and the Second Polish Republic, and came fully under the control of the Soviet Union (via the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic) only in 1939, following the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. There is no universally accepted definition of the territory's boundaries (see the map, right), but the contemporary Ukrainian administrative regions or Oblasts of Chernivtsi, Ivano-Frankovsk, Lviv, Ternopil and Transcarpathia (which were part of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire) are nearly always included and the Lutsk and Rivne Oblasts (parts of the annexed from Poland during its Third Partition) are usually included. It is less common to include the Khmelnytski and, especially, the Vinnytsia and Zhytomyr Oblasts in this c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christmas Ornament
Christmas ornaments, baubles, "Christmas bulbs" or "Christmas bubbles" are decoration items, usually to decorate Christmas trees. These decorations may be woven, blown (glass or plastic), molded (ceramic or metal), carved from wood or expanded polystyrene, or made by other techniques. Ornaments are available in a variety of geometric shapes and image depictions. Ornaments are almost always reused year after year rather than purchased annually, and family collections often contain a combination of commercially produced ornaments and decorations created by family members. Such collections are often passed on and augmented from generation to generation. Festive figures and images are commonly preferred. Lucretia P. Hale's story "The Peterkins' Christmas-Tree" offers a short catalog of the sorts of ornaments used in the 1870s: The modern-day mold-blown colored glass Christmas ornament was invented in the small German town of Lauscha in the mid-16th century. History Invent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Father Christmas
Father Christmas is the traditional English name for the personification of Christmas. Although now known as a Christmas gift-bringer, and typically considered to be synonymous with Santa Claus, he was originally part of a much older and unrelated English folklore, English folkloric tradition. The recognisably modern figure of the English Father Christmas developed in the late Victorian era, Victorian period, but Christmas had been personified for centuries before then. English personifications of Christmas were first recorded in the 15th century, with Father Christmas himself first appearing in the mid 17th century in the aftermath of the English Civil War. The Puritans, Puritan-controlled English government had legislated to abolish Christmas, considering it papist, and had outlawed its traditional customs. Cavalier, Royalist political pamphleteers, linking the old traditions with their cause, adopted Old Father Christmas as the symbol of 'the good old days' of feasting and g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Santa Claus
Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a Legend, legendary figure originating in Western Christianity, Western Christian culture who is said to Christmas gift-bringer, bring children gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Christmas Eve of toys and candy or coal or nothing, depending on whether they are "naughty or nice". In the legend, he accomplishes this with the aid of Christmas elf, Christmas elves, who make the toys in Santa's workshop, his workshop, often said to be at the North Pole, and Santa Claus's reindeer, flying reindeer who pull his sleigh through the air. The modern figure of Santa is based on folklore traditions surrounding Saint Nicholas (European folklore), Saint Nicholas, the English figure of Father Christmas and the Folklore of the Low Countries, Dutch figure of ''Sinterklaas''. Santa is generally depicted as a portly, jolly, white-bearded man, often with spectacles, wearing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Child Jesus
The Christ Child, also known as Divine Infant, Baby Jesus, Infant Jesus, the Divine Child, Child Jesus, the Holy Child, Santo Niño, and to some as Señor Noemi refers to Jesus Christ from his nativity to age 12. The four canonical gospels, accepted by most Christians today, lack any narration of the years between Jesus' infancy and the Finding in the Temple when he was 12. Liturgical feasts Liturgical feasts relating to Christ's infancy and childhood include: * The Feast of the Nativity of Jesus Christ (25 December); * The Feast of the Circumcision of Christ (1 January – Eastern Orthodox Church, Latin Rite-Extraordinary Form); * The Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus (3 January – Latin Rite; others – various); * The Feast of the Epiphany (6 January or 19 January in the Gregorian equivalent of the Julian calendar) * The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord (2 February) Depictions in art From about the third or fourth century onwards, the child Jesus is frequently show ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ukrainian Museum
The Ukrainian Museum in New York City is the largest museum of its kind outside of Ukraine and is dedicated to the enjoyment, understanding, and preservation of the artistic and cultural heritage of Ukraine. For centuries Ukraine has been an epicenter for creative output - from traditional music, dance, and folk art to the birthplace of modern art and cinema. Today the country celebrates its cultural impact on the world for people of all backgrounds. The museum's building was designed by Ukrainian-American architect George Sawicki of Sawicki Tarella Architecture + Design in New York City, and was funded by the Ukrainian-American community. The museum is located at 222 East 6th Street between Second Avenue and Cooper Square in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan. The museum's collection falls into three primary groupings, "folk art", which includes festive and ritual attire and other items of clothing, ceramics, metalwork and carved wood items, as well as Ukrainian Eas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cultural Depictions Of Spiders
Throughout history, spiders have been depicted in popular culture, mythology and in symbolism. From Greek mythology to African folklore, the spider has been used to represent a variety of things, and endures into the present day with characters such as Shelob from ''The Lord of the Rings'' and Spider-Man from the eponymous comic series. It is also a symbol of mischief and malice for its toxic venom and the slow death it causes, which is often seen as a curse. In addition, the spider has inspired creations from an ancient geoglyph to a modern steampunk spectacle. Spiders have been the focus of fears, stories and mythologies of various cultures for centuries. The spider has symbolized patience and persistence due to its hunting technique of setting webs and waiting for its prey to become ensnared. Numerous cultures attribute the spider's ability to spin webs with the origin of spinning, textile weaving, basket weaving, knotwork and net making. Spiders are associated with crea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Fir-Tree
"The Fir-Tree" (Danish: ''Grantræet'') is a literary fairy tale by the Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875). The tale is about a fir tree so anxious to grow up, so anxious for greater things, that he cannot appreciate living in the moment. The tale was first published 21 December 1844 with "The Snow Queen", in '' New Fairy Tales. First Volume. Second Collection'', in Copenhagen, Denmark, by C.A. Reitzel. One scholar (Andersen biographer Jackie Wullschlager) indicates that "The Fir-Tree" was the first of Andersen's fairy tales to express a deep pessimism. Plot summary In the woods stands a little fir-tree. He is preoccupied with growing up and is thoroughly embarrassed when a hare hops over him, an act which emphasizes his diminutiveness. The women call him the baby of the forest and again he is embarrassed and frustrated. A stork tells him of seeing older trees chopped down and used as ship masts, and the little tree envies them. In the fall, nearb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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