THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – LOST AT CHRISTMAS (2007)

 

This film is based on a true story about an estranged couple who find themselves lost in the Idaho wilderness after in impromptu snowmobile outing.

It was just before Christmas and when the weather turns they are trapped in a blizzard and the snowfall is so great all the trails are hidden.

Lost and alone Suzanne and Jim Shemwell (Jami Gertz and Dylan Walsh) are forced to confront the reasons why they separated.

Meanwhile their family, when they are not looking for Suzanne and Jim, are looking inward at themselves and re-evaluate their lives and their relationships.

TURKEY

 

A stuffed turkey still occupies pride of place on many a traditional Christmas table.

The Turkey was first brought to Europe from Mexico by the Spanish in the 16th century.

It was very quickly domesticated in Spain, France and England and soon dislodged the goose as the traditional festive bird.

MY PRETTY LITTLE MISS

The first time I met

My pretty little Miss

We needed mistletoe

To share a Christmas Kiss

 

Now when I meet

With my pretty Miss

We need no artificial aid

For us to share a kiss

 

And when we meet

And we share a kiss

Every day is Christmas

For me and my little Miss

CAROLING IN WALES

 

The Welsh are a very musical nation so Caroling is particularly popular in Wales where it is called eisteddfodde and is amongst other things often accompanied by a harp.

One custom in some rural areas a person is chosen to travel around the town draped in white and carrying a horse's skull on a long pole.

If anyone is given a "bite" by the horse's jaws they must pay a fine.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – THE THREE GIFTS (2009)

 

Jack Green (Dean Cain) inherited a southern Californian horse ranch from his father complete with an all-natural toy factory in the barn. Along with his wife Cherie (Jean Louisa Kelly) he is bullied into taking in the three “holy terrors” from orphanage run by his bossy aunt Rita (Mimi Kennedy).

It's only for a few weeks while renovations are done which would be completed before the holidays.

Mike (Dylan Sprayberry) and his buddies, Henry (Alex Zubarev) and Ray (Spencer Bridges), prove to be a handful, but Jack proves that he has father-potential and he and Cherie like having them around.

The trio go on their best behaviour after overhearing the couple are considering adopting just one of them, but that means they have to become rivals in order to be the one that’s chosen, resulting in trouble for everyone and fun for the viewer.

THE FESTIVAL OF SAN NICOLA

In Italy the big San Nicola festival commemorates the event of 1087 when the mortal remains of St. Nicholas were brought to Bari.

Many Christians were sufficiently concerned after the Turks occupied Myra they would no longer be permitted to visit the Saints tomb.

So, a group of Italian sailors spirited them away to Bari where a huge was Cathedral was built in his honor.

At the festival every May, Nicola's statue is taken out to sea for a day and then Thousands welcome it back to Bari with a lighted procession winding from the harbor to a public square.

The mayor and other dignitaries greet the statue and address the crowds. The week-long celebration includes a solemn high mass in the basilica which is filled to over-flowing with devout worshipers. 

CHRISTMAS IS A DEEPLY RELIGIOUS TIME

 

Christmas is a deeply religious time

That one and all thinks shouldn’t be missed

And observe it in his or her own way,

Thought normally by getting totally pissed