12 | December | 2014 | M'chelsMusings

Friday, the 12th of December, 2014 is the 346th day in 2014 and in the 50th calendar week.

General Events:

Jamhuri Day 2014
December 12, 2014 in Kenya

Jamhuri Day takes place on December 12, 2014. Jamhuri Day is a national holiday in Kenya. Jamhuri is the Swahili word for “republic” and the holiday is officially to mark the date of Kenya’s establishment as a republic on 12 December, 1964. However, the country also gained full independence from the United Kingdom one year earlier on 12 December, 1963, so Jamhuri Day is a double event and is generally regarded as Kenya’s most important holiday, marked by numerous cultural festivities which celebrate the country’s cultural heritage.

Where is Jamhuri Day?
Nationwide Kenya

Gingerbread Decorating Day
December 12, 2014 in the World

“Run,run as fast as you can! You can’t catch me. I’m the Gingerbread Man!”

December 13th means that Christmas is creeping closer and closer, and it’s getting to be time to prepare for this holiday associated with so many traditions. One of those traditions is the baking of gingerbread. What child hasn’t dreamed of baking, building and decorating an entire gingerbread house, that could then be inhabited by a colorful little gingerbread family? Gingerbread Decorating Day is here to help all kids, from ages 1 to 92, get as much fun out of the season as possible!

Gingerbread is though to have been brought to Europe by an Armenian monk named Gregory of Nicopolis in the 10th century who had brought the necessary spices back from the Middle East, and then taught the art of gingerbread making, what with the spices and the molasses, to French Christians until his death. Gingerbread then made its way around Europe–in the 13th century, it made its way to Sweden, where it was baked by nuns to help soothe indigestion. There, it slowly became popular to paint the cookies and use them as window decorations as well. The 13th century also saw gingerbread make its debut in the city of Torun in Poland, where the honey supplied by the local villages made the cookies especially delicious. To this day Pierniki Torunskie, as they are known in Poland, are an icon of Poland’s national cuisine. From the 17th century onwards, gingerbread was sold in monasteries and pharmacies in England, where it was thought to have medicinal properties, and gingerbread became the symbol of the town of Market Drayton, which was particularly known for it. In the play, “Love’s Labour’s Lost”, Shakepeare himself wrote, “And I had but one penny in the world, thou should’st have it to buy gingerbread.” In 1875, the gingerbread man was first introduced to holiday traditions through a fairytale published in St. Nicholas magazine, where he was depicted as a holiday treat that was eventually eaten by a hungry fox.

Needless to say, the best way to celebrate Gingerbread Decorating Day is to make your very own gingerbread cookies and then proceed to decorate them. This allows lots of room for creativity, and can be fun for the whole family! It can be most fun when each member of the family makes, bakes and decorates his or her own gingerbread man. Gingerbread can be decorated with many different things, from a simple icing made from just water and icing sugar, to more creative icings, like lemon or butter cream icing. Gingerbread men can also be made into cookie sandwiches, with delectable fillings made with vanilla or lemon cream, orange butter cream, or even ice cream! If you’re feeling particularly ambitious and confident, you could decide to make a gingerbread house. Gingerbread houses really allow for a lot of creativity, as they can be decorated with virtually anything that strikes your fancy, like gumdrops, candy canes, or peppermints, to name but a few.

After you’ve made and decorated your gingerbread, members of the family can exchange cookies, and the cookies can then be eaten or hung up on the Christmas tree as decorations. Gingerbread tends to keep for long periods of time, so there is no need to worry that the cookies will start to rot or crumble.

Where is Gingerbread Decorating Day?
Worldwide

Poinsettia Day
December 12, 2014 in the World

Poinsettia Day takes place on December 12, 2014. The poinsettia is a culturally and commercially important plant species of the diverse spurge family that is indigenous to Mexico and Central America. It is particularly well known for its red and green foliage and is widely used in Christmas floral displays.

The poinsettia derives its common English name from Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first United States Minister to Mexico, who introduced the plant into the United States in 1825. The Poinsettia Day in 1852 initiated by the U.S. Congress and commemorates the death of Joel Roberts Poinsett on December 12, 1851.

The plant’s association with Christmas began in 16th century Mexico, where legend tells of a girl who was too poor to provide a gift for the celebration of Jesus’ birthday. The tale goes that the child was inspired by an angel to gather weeds from the roadside and place them in front of the church altar. Crimson “blossoms” sprouted from the weeds and became beautiful poinsettias.

From the 17th century, Franciscan friars in Mexico included the plants in their Christmas celebrations. The star-shaped leaf pattern is said to symbolize the Star of Bethlehem, and the red color represents the blood sacrifice through the crucifixion of Jesus.

Where is Poinsettia Day?
Worldwide

National Poinsettia Day
December 12, 2014 in the USA

Celebrate National Poinsettia Day! The poinsettia is a blossoming plant with beautiful red and green foliage, which makes it a very popular decoration during the holiday season. Although it is native to Mexico, 90% of all poinsettias are exported from the United States. The Aztecs considered poinsettias a symbol of purity because of their brilliant red color.

Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first U.S. ambassador to Mexico, introduced these gorgeous flowers to the United States in the 1820s. While visiting Taxco, Poinsett found the flowers growing on a hillside and sent some of them to his home in South Carolina. The flowers grew well in his greenhouse and Poinsett began distributing them. The name “poinsettia” soon became the accepted name of the flower in English-speaking countries.

To celebrate National Poinsettia Day, purchase a beautiful poinsettia plant for a friend or for yourself!

Where is National Poinsettia Day?
Nationwide USA

National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day
December 12, 2014 in the USA

Today is National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day! Embrace this light-hearted, festive day and wear your tackiest ugly Christmas sweater. Let your personal sense of fashion shine with a sweater emblazoned with Rudolph’s face or a spirited Christmas phrase – the more over the top, the better!

Held on the second Friday in December, this fun-filled holiday is the perfect way to kick off the holiday season – in style! You may ask yourself, how did this holiday trend emerge? Chevy Chase is sometimes credited with starting the ugly Christmas sweater trend, thanks to his role in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. While the sweaters began to go out of fashion in the 1990s, they surged back to popularity around 2001.

To celebrate, wear your favorite ugly Christmas sweater to the office, the store, or where ever today’s day takes you. To really get into the spirit, host a fun ugly Christmas sweater party this holiday season!

Where is National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day?
Nationwide USA

Historical Events on 12th December:

1098 – 1st Crusaders capture & plunder Mara Syria

1408 – Order of the Dragon: The Order of the Dragon was first created on December 12, 1408 by Emperor Sigismund, then King of Hungary, and his wife Queen Barbara of Celje following the battle for possession of Bosnia.

1474 – Isabella crowns herself queen of Castile & Aragon

1800 – Washington DC established as capital of US

1822 – Mexico officially recognized as an independent nation by US

1871 – Jules Janssen discovers dark lines in solar corona spectrum

1900 – National Negro Anthem, “Lift Every Voice & Sing”, composed

1901 – Guglielmo Marconi sends the first transatlantic radio signal, from Poldhu in Cornwall to Newfoundland

1911 – Delhi replaces Calcutta as the capital of India.

1915 – 1st all-metal aircraft (Junkers J-1) test flown at Dessau, Germany

1925 – Arthur Heinman coins term “motel”; opens Motel Inn, San Luis Obispo

1925 – Last Qajar Shah of Iran deposed; Reza Shah Pahlavi takes over

1937 – Japanese aircraft shell & sink US gunboat Panay on Yangtze River in China. (Japan apologized & eventually paid US $2.2M in reparations)

1955 – 1st prototype of hovercraft patented by British engineer Christoper Cockerell