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Some things to consider about Christmas
An engineer speaks on Christmas...
1) No known species of reindeer can fly. But it is estimated that there are 300,000 species of living organisms yet to be classified, and while most of these are insects and germs, this does not COMPLETELY rule out flying reindeer, which only Santa has ever seen. 2) There are 2 billion children (persons under 18) in the world. But since Santa doesn't (appear) to handle the Muslim, Hindu, Jewish and Buddhist children, that reduces the workload to 15% of the total - 378 million according to the Population Reference Bureau. At an average (census) rate of 3.5 children per household, that's 91.8 million homes. One presumes there's at least one good child in each. 3) Santa has 31 hours of Christmas to work with, thanks to the different time zones and the rotation of the earth, assuming he travels east to west (which seems logical). This works out to 822.6 visits per second. This is to say that for each Christian household with good children, Santa has 1/1000th of a second to park, hop out of the sleigh, jump down the chimney, fill the stockings, distribute the remaining presents under the tree, eat whatever snacks have been left, get back up the chimney, get back into the sleigh and move on to the next house. Assuming that each of these 91.8 million stops are evenly distributed the earth (which, of course, we know to be false but for the purposes of our calculations we will accept), we are now talking about .78 miles per household, a total trip of 75-1/2 million miles, not counting stops to do what most of us must do at least once every 31 hours, plus feeding and etc. This means that Santa's sleigh is moving at 650 miles per second, 3,000 times the speed of sound. For purposes of comparison, the fastest man-made vehicle, the Ulysses space probe, moves at a poky 27.4 miles per second - a conventional reindeer can run, tops, 15 miles per hour. 4) The payload on the sleigh adds another interesting element. Assuming that each child gets nothing more than a medium-sized lego set (2 pounds), the sleigh is carrying 321,300 tons, not counting Santa, who is invariably described as overweight. On land, conventional reindeer can pull no more than 300 pounds. Even granting that "flying reindeer" (see point #1) could pull ten times the normal amount, we cannot do the job with eight, or even nine. We need 214,200 reindeer. This increases the payload - not even counting the weight of the sleigh - to 353,430 tons. Again, for comparison - this is four times the weight of the Queen Elizabeth. 5) 353,000 tons traveling at 650 miles per second creates enormous air resistance - this will heat the reindeer up in the same fashion as spacecraft re-entering the earth's atmosphere. The lead pair of reindeer will absorb 14.3 QUINTILLION joules of energy, per second,.each. In short, they will burst into flame almost instantaneously, exposing the reindeer behind them, and create deafening sonic booms in their wake. The entire reindeer team will be vaporized within 4.26 thousandths of a second. Santa, meanwhile, will be subjected to centrifugal forces 17,500.06 times greater than gravity. A 250-pound Santa (which seems ludicrously slim) would be pinned to the back of his sleigh by 4,315,015 pounds of force. In conclusion - If Santa ever DID deliver presents on Christmas Eve, he's dead now. |
Re: Some things to consider about Christmas
But A-b you are forgetting that Santa and his reindeer are magical.
Mind you, your theories may account in part for the strange glow associated with Rudolph's nose. |
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But Rudolph is not one of Santa's reindeer...
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The complete list:
Dasher Dancer Prancer Vixen Comet Cupid Donner Blitzen |
Re: Some things to consider about Christmas
There's no answer to that!
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Did you also know that Coca Cola are responsible for Santa's red suit?
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I have seen some Victorian type Father Christmases in green but thought that the red suit went back before Coca Cola's time. How long has Coke existed then?
My daughter used to think there was one reindeer called Olaf. Apparently he was the one who used to laugh at Rudolph and call him names. |
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Santa is quantum. It's official.
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:e19: I am refering to him as Father X because somewhere in the world, there will be a set of parents just a little overprotective & they would call on the authorities to prosecute this old stranger that breaks into childrens houses & leaves them pressies! (Ho, Ho, Ho!). |
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How comw that Christmas approaches in stockinged feet???? it seems ages away and then lo and behold it is breathing down your neck......is that part of the magic too?
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How come that Christmas approaches in stockinged feet???? it seems ages away and then lo and behold it is breathing down your neck......is that part of the magic too?
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>>How come that Christmas approaches in stockinged feet???? <<
Interesting image, Margaret. |
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I would call it the onset of blind panic, when you realise that it's Christmas Eve and you haven't got anybody's presents yet!!! Yes, I've been there, done that. Christmas Eve in Brighton is not particularly fun, as you can't move for people... |
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However the people that did spend time & bought something that was absoultely useless will be remembered & NOT invited next year! :cheers: |
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If we did that we would have an empty house most years - the only people I'd invite back would be the wife and kids...
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What present will you be bringing then?!?! :p
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:alc: |
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If you want christmas to last all year
Get a credit card :) . |
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I found this, it may be of interest...
"There is one Christmas Carol that has always baffled me. What in the world do leaping lords, French hens, swimming swans, and especially the partridge who won't come out of the pear tree have to do with Christmas? From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for the young Catholics. It has two levels of meaning, the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality which the children could remember. 1. The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ. 2. Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments. 3. Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love. 4. The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. 5. The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books. 6. The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creating. 7. Seven swans a swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit--Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership and Mercy. 8. The eight maids a milking were the eight beatitudes. 9. Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit- -Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control. 10. The ten lords a leaping were the ten commandments. 11. The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples. 12. The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles Creed. So there is your history for today. I found it interesting and enlightening and now I know how that strange song became a Christmas Carol.... " |
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Did you know that Santa is unable to remember all of our names, so we all have our own special Christmas name. Click here to find out yours..
http://www.bbc.co.uk/derby/fun_stuff...er_names.shtml Merry Christmas from......... Cutie Monster-Helper :D |
Re: Some things to consider about Christmas
I'll second that Lettie.
yours Giggely Dancing Elf |
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I'm a Giggely Dancing Fairy.Maybe i should sit atop of the tree this year.
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I was told time stood still on Christmas eve. to allow Santa to visit everyone.
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I'm Giggley Brandy Butter-Cracker. :)
I was beginning to think we must all be giggley until I tried Busman and he turned out to be: Squelchy Scrooge-Bum :D |
Re: Some things to consider about Christmas
A-B you are a font of knowledge.......I found that really interesting
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Do you know how we come to have a fairy on the Christmas tree????
Many years ago not only did Santa deliver the presents but he delivered and decorated each tree.....and there was a tree for every house in the world...so it was a pretty tough call, but he had a whizz of a fairy to help him. One year they had delivered all the presents and all the trees.....or so he thought. He was happily on his way back to Mrs Claus and a well earned break when the fairy noticed that there was one tree left in the bottom of the sleigh. She turned to Santa and said 'whoa.....we've got one tree left......what shall I do with it? And that's how come we have a fairy on top of the christmas tree.:hehetable |
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Now that's funny (and maybe appropriate for a southerner!!) :D :D :D A Squelchy Scrooge-Bum Busman..............Fits don't it???? (Sorry Busman..I just couldn't resist it!! :D :D |
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Giggley Dancing Cracker......with two left feet
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I have seen some Victorian type Father Christmases in green but thought that the red suit went back before Coca Cola's time. How long has Coke existed then?
If reindeers can fly then coke as been around for years!! |
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Coke has been around for awhile - they were founded in 1886, but Sundblom wasn't commissioned until 1931
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Re: Some things to consider about Christmas
A shortened version about old St Nick.
English Father Christmas became part of the greater European Santa Claus in the 1950's. But until then he was quite a different character. His origins were steeped in the Viking lore, brought by these people when they conquered Britain in the 8th - 9th centuries. Although the Celtic Christians were brought in line with Roman practice from a decree at the Synod of Whitby in the 7th century, Christianity was still somewhat isolated from mainstream Europe. Many of the images in the Saxon churches were Byzantine in style not Roman. Even after the Norman invasion in 1066, when the Normans effectively wiped out all the early imagery and replaced it with Roman style, still oaths were commonly sworn "By God and by Odin". Things changed only slowly. The Saxons welcomed King Frost, or Father Time, or King Winter. He would be represented by someone, given a fine hat or crown to wear and brought to their firesides. In England in the Middle Ages, a parish would hire an actor, or often a cleric from another parish, to dress in disguise, and visit homes to see how people were doing. Maybe someones children were sickly because they had no food, or a widow was not managing now her husband had died - He would report back to the Parish priest, who would keep an eye on the situation. Father Christmas was banned by the Puritans under Cromwell in the mid-17th century. He went 'underground' along with Minced Pies, Christmas games and the like. In the 18th century, he began to appear in the Christmas plays of itinerant players. In the middle of the play, he would appear, heavily disguised, shouting his challenge, "In comes I, Old Father Christmas. Be I welcome or be I not - I hope that old Christmas will never be forgot!" By the 20th century, he was a common figure in most Department Stores the length and breadth of the British Isles. He was often austere looking still, and he would ask children questions about their prayers, their reading, writing and arithmetic. If they had been naughty, he would tell them they must improve or he would not visit them at Christmas. But most people over the age of 50 will still refer to him as 'Father Christmas'. After WWII, there was a great deal of American influence, and that, together with increasing advertisements by the Coca-Cola Company in the British press, changed the image of Father Christmas permanently. Now, he is always fat, always jolly, never admonishes children about whether they are good to their parents, or questions them on their catechisms and schoolwork. He is just a 'Jolly Elf', who goes by the name of Santa Claus, which as everybody knows, is the popular nickname of Saint Nicholas - Santa - Saint; Claus - diminutive for Nicholas. |
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I'll still refer to him as Father Christmas.
I like some of the older green clad images which are starting to become popular again. Let's reclaim our own Father Christmas and let the American have Santa. Come to think of it I've got a green clad one which is a sweetie container. There is something very appealing to me about the Yuletide and King of Winter image rather than an overgrown pixie. |
Re: Some things to consider about Christmas
To understand the origins of Christmas you first need to understand that Christmas is a religious festival. Then you need to understand that all religions develop as a way of coming to terms with the often inexplicable facts of existence.
The modern Christmas, which takes place at the end of the year, is a synthesis of a bewildering assortment of religious traditions going back through the mists of time to the origins of human civilisation. It is relatively easy to appreciate that Christmas marks the turning of the year. It is the forms and rituals surrounding it that can be difficult. Our celtic ancestors inherited a body of religious traditions developed from the ancient civilisations which migrated from the Indus Valley. Chief among these traditions was the idea of a Mother Goddess who was responsible for for all fertility and growing things, She required annual fertilisation and so took a consort at the beginning of each year following the sacrifice of the previous incumbent. This tied the understanding of religion into the cycles of the year and the mystery of how life could spring from apparent death. The crops in the field produce seed and then die, the seed is scattered on the ground and hey presto springs back into life. Powerful Magick! Along with this idea comes the very basic human need to understand the nature of death and seek reassurance that it is not the end of existence. If the seeds that we harvest can spring into new life after death then, ipso facto, so will we. A lot of money has been made, and continues to be made, by explaining and attempting to manipulate this basic fact of life. Back to Christmas. The Celts split their year into eight main parts corresponding to the celestial cycle of equinoxes and solstices. The two which concern us here are Samhain 31st October, and Yule 21st December. Samhain (pronounced "sow-en" or "sav-an") was the old Irish New Year, the beginning of the dark time, and a "twilight" period between both the years and the seasons. The name likely means "summer's end," although there is some debated about this among the more linguistically inclined; it does indeed mark the transition from summer to winter. Like twilight and all in between times, it was (and is) a time when our world was very near the Underworld and the Otherworld; when we and those who inhabited the other two worlds could travel between them, whether we wanted to or not. It is a time when the Sidhe, the Gods and the Ancestors might come visiting and should be offered proper hospitality; food, drink, a place to rest. Or the time when those less kindly had to be held at bay or destroyed. This is the time when cattle and sheep where brought in from summer pasture, all but breeding stock being killed for winter food and to make fewer mouths to feed. The last fruit was picked, except that which would be left for the Sidhe, and the grain was already gathered and had been processed for fodder, flour, and beer. Fishermen put up their boats and stored their gear. Debts would be paid up. Young people who hired out as farm or herder help would return home, as would the warriors of the not-totally-mythological Fianna and any Bards or poets traveling about would find a household to attach themselves to. Many of the people would begin preparing for the long, dark winter of living almost constantly indoors in often crowded conditions. Farmers and other workers would be preparing to change their summer occupation in for one of logging, gathering wood for the next year (giving it a year to dry), much as their descendentss would well into the 20th century. The festival itself would be celebrated with bonfires, feasts, and animal sacrifices (which would be the killing of the livestock for the feasts and to be cured for later) at large gatherings as well as smaller local ones. The Gods, Sidhe, and Ancestors would be welcome and fed in ritual, as they would be by individuals at home and hall. Divination would be important, for not only was this a major turning point in the year but such things would be easier with the nearness of Otherworldly help. The fires of the old year would be extinguished to be replaced by new ones. Story telling started at this time and in many chieftains' halls it was mandatory that a story be told every night during the dark half of the year --from Samhain to Beltaine. After all, except for an occasional hunting expedition and the fixing of weapons and tools, there wasn't a lot to do at this time; while temperatures in the British Isles are kept relatively mild by the Gulf Stream it is dark most of the day during the winter months. Undoubtedly, not being driven by "Christian work ethic," the need for capitalistic gain, or artificial lighting people slept a lot through the winter. When the Romans arrived they brought with them their own traditions to mark the end of the year, the Saturnalia. which began the middle of December and ended on January 1. The celebration would include big festive meals, visiting friends, and the exchange of good-luck gifts called Strenae (lucky fruits). The use of Evergreen plants was also an important feature of the Saturnalia and is probably a convenient juncture to introduce the idea of Sympathetic Magic. Holly is a plant associated with lightening. I am afraid that lightening may strike my house. If I plant a holly tree near my house the lightening will recall it’s association with Holly and seek that rather than my house, thus I am protected; a crude form of Insurance. That in essence is Sympathetic Magick, like attracts like. Similarly if I wanted my children to grow up strong, I would choose names and symbols for them that had associations with the qualities I desired for them, and so on through every aspect of life. The use of evergreen plants in religion is symbolic of life continuing after death. When all the other trees have lost their leaves the evergreen endures and reminds us that there is life beyond death and encourages hope that the world will come back to life again. The early Christians understood that it would be an uphill struggle to ban and replace the ancient cycle of festivals, so engrained were they. So they adopted them instead and placed their own interpretation on them. In doing so they made much use of the associations and symbolism of sympathetic magic. The berries of the Holly represent the blood of Christ. The spines remind us of the crown of thorns etc.etc. The Yule log is a Scandinavian import, coming from the north of Europe where the sun would actually not rise above the horizon for many days. It is easy to see how important it was to keep the hope alive that the world had not ended and that the sun would eventually return. So a log was kept burning through the dark part of the year. It was accompanied with rituals to encourage the return of the sun and also decorated with sun symbols. The origins of the modern Christmas Tree, a decorated and illuminated evergreen, are clear. |
Re: Some things to consider about Christmas
Very interesting A-B! Where do you get all this stuff from?
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I am cursed with a lively and enquiring mind.:D
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What is Christmas ?
Christmas is a time of good will to all men. Who said anything about women ? What should Christmas be about ? Happyness,goodwill,magic,peace. What is Christmas ? To a lot of people it's a Sad,cold,miserable,costly and lonley time. A time to give, a time to cry a time to say goodbye. A time for thugs,theives and con men to do there worsed. I wonder if the world will ever get the Christmas magic back. Or will it be banned along with the fire works. |
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does santa have to be corgi registerd now with all the new regulations that are coming in???????:)
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Adolf Hitler's special Christmas name is...
Squelchy Brandy butter-Baubles I should imagine that it is kind of hard to maintain the aura of all encompassing evil with a name like that. |
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But not nearly as tough as poor old Ghengis Khan...
Wriggly Dancing-Bum One wonders how that would have gone down with the Mongol hordes. Hmmm..."Quick run for the hills, Wriggly Dancing-Bum and his men are coming!" Nah, doesn't do it for me. |
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Some more along the same lines:
Saddam Hussein - Scrummy Dancing-Elf Osama Bin Laden - Fuzzy Dancing-Punch George Bush - Cutie Holly-Bum And Paul McCartney - Frosty Monster-Sprout |
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mine is tumbleflump dancing crackr, they got the dancing right he he
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Well 'av yer? |
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I was Cutie Dancing Baubles.
Now a Cutie Berry Baubles. Mick is Sneezy Berry Cracker. |
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this was a very interestin read guys. I got the engineers speak on christmas ages ago as an email. It was entitled 'how engineers ruin christmas : )
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I'm in danger of sounding very corny but there's this "thing" for want of a better word which accidentally developed into a cult without the person who started it ever intending it to but its main aim is simply to do something nice once a week. It's not a bad idea. If I find the website I'll post a link. Maybe we all do nice things for others more often than once a week but just think how great it would be if once a week everybody did an extra something nice for someone else without a thought of getting anything out of it themselves. I'm trying to think of some positive resolutions for 2005 which aren't so selfish as they usually are. Maybe we can make the world a better place. At least I can live in hope. |
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I think that is really nice idea willow. I think next year for christmas day that i really want to help out with the homeless. Find somewhere that dishes out Christmas dinner. But I don't know anywhere that does it.
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Salvation Army????
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but WHY ONLY CHRISTMAS there are 365 days in a year?
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Good point Mez! But I suppose we all have to start somewhere, and Christmas seems as good a place as any other.
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Lots of little small cogs can be more important than big wheels anyway.
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This is the website I mentioned in post 50
http://www.join-me.co.uk/index.html I have never actually joined but read the book a while ago and was moved by the idea. I have to admit that I don't make a point of doing a nice thing for someone every Friday but on the other hand sometimes I do nice things for people on other days and I also must admit that some days I can be a downright nowty old ratbag but I do think it would be great if everyone tried to do something nice for others, no matter how small a thing. |
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http://www.join-me.co.uk/index.html
Very interesting Willow but I would be slightly worried that to join, they require a passport photograph????? With thousands of photo's flooding in, I wonder if they could be put to an illegal use such as fraudulent documents like passports? :rolleyes: |
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My nom-de-plume, alter ego, call it what you will, is Scrummy Holly-Bum.
I 'm not quite sure what that interpretation of my name says about me. :confused: :D |
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You can console yourself Sparky that it sounds better than Busman's "Squelchy Scrooge-bum. :p
And you ya pud'n (Busman) if people were making forged passports wouldn't they want their own photos on there not other people's?? :s_lol: |
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