Well hello, everyone! I hope you all had a great Christmas. I most certainly did. I went to a wonderful Christmas Eve service with my family at a nearby church (our home church didn't have Christmas Eve service this year). This is my last blog post till after New Year's, so I hope you all enjoy it as you sit back and remember the amazing year we had in 2014.
Days till:
It is: 6 days till New Year's
It is: 10 days till my birthday
In the Spotlight:
No news on upcoming movies this week, but I recently finished my next episode of Animal Face-Off called: Carnotaurus vs. Cryolophosaurus. Please enjoy:
Topic of the Week by Christian Ryan
As a dinosaur enthusiast, I am commonly searching the
internet for the latest dinosaur discoveries. Man, was it worth is! 2014 has
been a terrific year for paleontology. Whether in barren deserts and scrub
lands across the world, or discovered in dusty museum fossil storerooms,
scientists discovered a myriad of new dinosaur species, as well as fossils of
dinosaurs that we previously knew very little about. Just like last year,
and the year before that, this article will feature some of the
many dinosaurs discovered in 2014, but also couple of dinosaurs that we knew
existed for decades, but we had so little fossil material, that we could not
learn much about them until now. Let's recap dinosaur discoveries of 2014!
New Discoveries Concerning Already-known Species
Deinocheirus
For decades, Deinocheirus was only known from a pair of arm bones; now that more fossils have been found, we know it was a large, hump-backed creature.
Deinocheirus (meaning “terrible hand”) is one of the
most popular dinosaurs among dinosaur enthusiasts, but until recently there was
a dinosaur shrouded in mystery. This was due to the fact that the only known
fossils of this dinosaur consisted of its giant arms that ended in sharp claws.
Originally, scientists believed Deinocheirus used its claws to rip into
the guts of giant herbivorous dinosaurs. But in 2013, two specimens of Deinocheirus
were discovered: one in Asia's Gobi Desert and the other in a museum storeroom
(as Deinocheirus' arms had only been discovered, scientists didn't know
that the museum's specimen – which lacked arms – was a Deinocheirus).
The specimens were scientifically described in 2014. We now know that Deinocheirus
is actually the largest known member of the ornithomimosaur, or “ostrich
dinosaur”, classification group. It was 12-15 feet tall, 36 feet long and
weighed about seven tons. It was also very unlike most other ornithomimosaurs,
which were ostrich-like in body shape and were swift and agile runners. Deinocheirus
was a stocky, humpbacked and omnivorous creature. Preserved with its fossil
remains are gastroliths (rounded stones used to grind up plant matter and
animal material), suggesting it ate vegetation and used its claws for bringing
vegetation toward its mouth. It also ate fish, because fish scales and bones
have also been discovered in this dinosaur's stomach content.
Spinosaurus
Instead of being a terrestrial, two-legged predator, Spinosaurus was semi-aquatic, hunting mainly aquatic creatures like fish and crocodiles.
Spinosaurus is another popular dinosaur that we have
only recently learned much about. When first discovered by German
paleontologist Ernst Stromer in 1912, Spinosaurus was thought to be a
large species of carnosaur that walked about on two legs. In fact, it wasn't very
different from the dinosaur known as Allosaurus when initially described
other than the fact that it had a sail on its back. (Click here to readmore about Spinosaurus' history) However, new fossil specimens were dug
out of the Egyptian soil of northern Africa in 2013 and the results from a
study of the remains was scientifically published in 2014. The new fossils (and
several other less complete fragments discovered between 1912 and 2013)
revealed that this dinosaur was very different from the initial depictions.
Instead of being a two-legged terrestrial carnosaur that preyed upon
herbivorous dinosaurs, Spinosaurus seems to have been a four-legged,
semi-aquatic carnivore not related to carnosaurs like Allosaurus. It was
in a family all its own: the spinosaurs. Spinosaurus spent much of its
life in the water, mainly hunting fish, crocodiles. However it is doubtful that
Spinosaurus would not have snacked on other dinosaurs on occasion.
New Dinosaurs Described in 2014
Anzu
Anzu is one of the largest species of oviraptorosaurs. It had a crest on its head, probably for display purposes. PHOTO CREDITS
Montana's Hell Creek Formation has yielded several relatively
large skeletons of an oviraptorosaur (dinosaurs related to Oviraptor;
once believed to be egg-thieves) over the years. Scientists thought this
oviraptorosaur remains belonged to the genus Chirostenotes, a species of
oviraptorosaur who's remains are normally found further north, in Canada and
Alaska. However, recent research has proven that instead of belonging to this
genus, paleontologists had a different species altogether! They named it Anzu
wyliei, after a mythological Mesopotamian feathered demon. It was rather
large for an oviraptorosaur – 9-11 feet long, 5-7 feet tall and weighing 660
pounds. Most oviraptorosaurs were no larger than a turkey. Anzu had a
toothless beak, a large bony crest on its head and long arms ending in clawed
hands. It made its home in what is now the northern United States, where it
lived alongside Triceratops and Tyrannosaurus. The scientists
that discovered the creature believe it would have probably eaten vegetation,
small animals and possibly eggs.
Changyuraptor
Changyuraptor was a large relative of Microraptor, complete with two sets of wings, one on each limb.
Dinosaurs weren't the only creatures roaming the planet in
the days before the Genesis Flood described in the Bible. Many birds living at
the time, like the recently discovered the Cretaceous Changyuraptor of
China, were unique among the fliers God created. Like its smaller relative, Microraptor,
Changyuraptor had four wings (one on each limb) but it did not use them for
powered flight. It was a glider, launching itself from trees and gliding
through its forest home. At four feet long and nine pounds in weight, it is the
largest four-winged bird yet discovered.
Dreadnoughtus
Dreadnoughtus was the largest dinosaur known from a relatively complete skeleton, weighing 65 tons! No predator would attack a fully-grown adult! PHOTO CREDITS
Argentinosaurus is the largest dinosaur known from
relatively good fossil remains and is estimated as weighing at least 75 tons
(with some estimates of over 100 tons). Unfortunately, this dinosaur's remains
are very incomplete, so there is some debate on how much the animal weighed.
The largest terrestrial vertebrate possessing the greatest mass of any land
animal that can be calculated with reasonable certainty is the intimidatingly-named
Dreadnoughtus schrani. Dreadnoughtus (which was named after a
warship and means “fearing nothing) was a colossal sauropod, or long-necked
dinosaur, from Cretaceous Argentina. This dinosaur was big, even by sauropod
standards. In life this beast stretched 85 feet long from nose to tail and
weighed an astounding 65.4 tons in weight! It stood about as tall a two-story
building when its neck was held in its normal posture, horizontal with the rest
of its body. This enormous herbivore surely struck fear into nearby predators!
The name “Dreadnoughtus” fits this animal well.
Laquintasaurua
Laquintasaura was a fox-sized dinosaur that might have lived in herds. PHOTO CREDITS
Straight from the lower Jurassic bone beds of Venezuela came Laquintasaura
venezuelae (meaning “La Quinta's Lizard from Venezuela”). It was a rather
small dinosaur, only standing three feet long and a little less than a foot
tall. The bipedal Laquintasaura is a special dinosaur to paleontologists
because it is the first dinosaur known from this region of Venezuela. It was
mainly an herbivore, but it also likely ate large insects and other small
animals. Because several specimens were found in the same place, scientists
believe this dinosaur lived in herds. Living in herds would have been a good
survival strategy for Laquintasaura, as scientists also recently discovered
a species of carnivorous theropod living in the same habitat called Tachiraptor,
which we will get to in just a minute!
Mercuriceratops
Mercuriceratops was a close relative of the larger Triceratops. PHOTO CREDITS
Mercuriceratops is a large ceratopsid (or horned)
dinosaur from Alberta, Canada's Dinosaur Park Formation. As its appearance
might suggest, it is a relative of the larger and much more famous Triceratops.
Ceratopsids are renowned for their horned heads and neck frills that vary in
shape and size depending on the species. Triceratops has three horns and
an average-sized neck frill; Styracosaurus has long spikes sticking out
of the sides of its frill; Pachyrhinosaurus lacks a nose horn, instead
possessing a bony lump. The shape of Mercuriceratops'frillis
unique, as it is shaped rather like a butterfly's wing and possesses wing-like
protrusions sticking out of the sides of its frill. Why ceratopsids had such
varied frill shapes is unknown by scientists, but there is evidence to suggest
that they were used to help protect the animal's neck from predators and/or for
display purposes, such as attracting mates and intimidating rivals or
predators. Maybe they were even used for species recognition. Mercuriceratops
is named after Mercury from Greek mythology, who had wings on his head and
feet.
Nanuqsaurus
Nanuqsaurus' name means "polar bear lizard". PHOTO CREDITS
Tyrannosaurus had a much smaller cousin who's fossils
were recently uncovered in the Price Creek Formation in the North Slope of
Alaska called Nanuqsaurus hoglundi. Nanuqsaurus (which means
“polar bear lizard”) was a member of the tyrannosaur family. Despite being a
relative of T. rex, it was less than half as large and only about 20 feet long.
However, its smaller size would have enabled this tyrannosaur to run very
swiftly after prey.
Rhinorex
Despite its name, Rhinorex was not a relative of Tyrannosaurus rex, but a hadrosaur. PHOTO CREDITS
Rhinorex was a species of hadrosaur discovered in
central Utah's Cretaceous Neslen Formation. Hadrosaurs are famous by their
duck-like mouths and were very widespread throughout the pre-Flood world. What
made Rhinorex unique was its large nose. Like other hadrosaurs,
paleontologists do not believe Rhinorex had a wonderful sense of smell,
so perhaps its large nose was used for display. If so, it would have been very
colorful. Many birds and reptiles living today have colorful head features that
are used to impress females. Rhinorex's nose might have also been used
for species recognition. In addition to a large nose, scientists also
discovered that their Rhinorex specimen had wonderfully preserved skin
impressions.
Tachiraptor
Tachiraptor probably hunted Laquintasaura, as their fossils have been found near each other. PHOTO CREDITS
Laquintasaura was a small and swift dinosaur. The
discovery of another dinosaur living in the same place as Laquintasaura
made it easy to see why being fast was a good thing. Scientists realized the
fossil teeth and bones they found along with the smaller dinosaur were a new
species, and upon describing the fossils, they named the animal Tachiraptor,
meaning “thief of Táchira”. Tachiraptor was about five feet long and
lived in the lower Jurassic pre-Flood environment. Its long legs helped it to
run swiftly after its swift prey.
Zaraapelta
Zaraapelta was a large armored dinosaur built like a tank. It would have been a difficult animal to kill, even by a tyrannosaur! PHOTO CREDITS
Straight from Mongolia's Gobi Desert, a new species of
ankylosaur was described. They named it Zaraapelta, meaning “hedgehog
shield”. Ankylosaurs are famous for the horny knobs and spikes covering their
bodies and the club at the end of their tails used for protection and defense
from predators. However, Zaraapelta had unusually elaborate spikes on
its skull, making scientists theorize that they were used for display purposes.
Zby
Zby, one of the largest dinosaurs, also has one of the shortest names of any dinosaur. PHOTO CREDITS
Another sauropod was described this year, called Zby (Zb-ee),
named after Georges Zbyszewski. Ironically, despite its extremely tiny name, it
was quite a large dinosaur, though its exact size is still unknown to date due
to the lack of fossil remains. It was discovered in Portugal's Lourinhã
Formation. To learn about Zby, scientists used a related species that has had
more fossils attributed to it, called Turiasaurus. Turiasaurus dinosaur is from
Spain and at over 90 feet long, it might be the largest dinosaur known from
Europe.
I hope you liked this recap of some of the most amazing and
interesting dinosaur discoveries of 2014. In fact, I hope you have enjoyed all
the articles I have written over the year 2014. Next year should be just as
exciting! There will undoubtedly be lots of new dinosaur discoveries coming up,
plus two awesome dinosaur movies coming out: Universal Studios' Jurassic
World and Pixar'sThe Good Dinosaur!
I hope everyone really enjoyed 2014 and may God bless all of
my faithful readers! Have a happy New Year
everyone! See you in 2015!
Disclaimer: Many (or in some cases all) of
the photographs and images above are not mine. If you own one or more of them
and would like them to be removed, politely let me know via one or both of the
email addresses above.
Merry Christmas everyone! This is my last blog post before Christmas, so let's make this post extra special! I hope everyone has been enjoying this Christmas season. I know I have, even though I've yet to set up my Christmas ladder (I do that instead of a Christmas tree because it's less messy), but I hope to do so really soon.
Days till:
It is: 6 days till Christmas
It is: 13 days till New Years Day
In the Spotlight:
For the longest time, one of the dinosaurs I've wanted to see most from Jurassic World is the Velociraptor, my favorite dinosaur of all time. We've really only gotten glimpses of most of the movie's dinosaurs, until a couple of weeks ago when several dinosaurs (T. rex, Apatosaurus and Triceratops) were revealed on the Jurassic World website. Yesterday, we've gotten our first official picture of a Velociraptor with Owen! Check it out:
"Happy holidays from the editing room, don't try this at home" - Colin Trevorrow
This image is from Trevorrow's twitter page. I personally love that raptor! The "clever girl" looks like she's ready to anything. As we already know, in the film, Owen will be doing behavioral studies on raptors. He has a very convoluted relationship with the raptors; they aren't friends, as if you make the wrong move, they'll rip you to shreds (as the director put it). This relationship reminds me of the one that took place between Chito and Pocho the American crocodile (who died in 2011). Pocho was adopted by Chito when he was just a hatchling, and ever since the two became friends. I mean seriously, take a look at the photos below:
While most American crocodiles are voracious carnivores, Pocho was best friends with Chito, a human being.
Now is that amazing or what? For those who think a relationship between man and a dangerous predator is unrealistic for Jurassic World, remember Chito and Pocho!
I regress. Jurassic World comes out on June 12, 2015. That's only 176 days before we get to see more of Owen and his raptors!
Topic of the Week by Joy Hammond
Disclaimer: I do not own this image! Needless to say, all the images regarding Club Penguin are from Club Penguin.
Hey guys, here's the inside scoop into
the small island known as Club Penguin. Last time I went over some
general information, such as how to register and what things you
might expect to find there. Now I'll discuss some of the places you
can explore within the island. Where to start? That's a good
question. I think I'll start with the Town. The Town is where you
have access to three different buildings; the coffee shop, the dance
club, and the clothes store. The coffee shop is were penguins just
chill out and have a drink of coffee. There are two mini games you
can play there as well; Bean Counters and Smoothie Smash. Bean
Counters is a game where you are moving bags of beans from a truck to
the store, avoiding the anvils and the heavy fish. In Smoothie Smash,
you fill smoothing orders for costumers, some important costumers
would be: Aunt Arctic, and Herbert. Before I even introduce you to
Club Penguin characters, I'm going to tell you more of Club penguin.
In the coffee shop, there's a newspaper office upstairs, called Club
Penguin Times. The paper is run by Aunt Arctic.
The Town is where you
have access to three different buildings; the coffee shop, the dance
club, and the clothes store.
Next stop is the Dance Club, this is
where you can jam to some tunes or even make music yourself like a
DJ. Some mini games (including a small arcade upstairs) include;
dance contests, Bits and Bolts, Hit the Target, Thin Ice, and
Astro-Barrier. Dance Contests are when you prove your moves and
follow the arrows (kind of like Guitar Hero, if you get what I mean).
Plus if you are really good, there's a secret hard level by clicking
on DJ Cadence, the penguin who gets you started with the contest.
Bits and Bolts is a fun mini game where you have to build bots by
adding up gears. In Hit the Target, you can verse against fellow
players and try to hit as many targets as you can with a snowball.
Thin Ice is another game where you try to get the puffle across to
the finish through a maze of ice that melts after every step you
make.
The Dance Club is
where you can jam to some tunes or even make music yourself like a
DJ.
The Clothes shop is where you can buy
neat clothes and cool accessories, but mostly you have to be a member.
Which way should I go next? Up, Down? Left, Right? I think I'll just
skip over to the Plaza, which consists of four buildings: The Pet
Shop; the Puffle Hotel, the theater, and the Pizza Parlor. In the Puffle shop, this is where you can adopt a puffle of your choice.
Later when your a member, you can go in search for the legendary
golden puffle. There are also two mini-games in the shop; Puffle Escape and Puffle Launch. Puffle Launch is where you can shoot your
puffle out of a cannon and collect o-berries while looking out for
evil crabs; yes the crabs are definitely evil. In Puffle Escape, your
puffle is stuck in a (hamster ball-like) plastic ball
and then has to go through different levels to unlock the door that
will eventually make it's escape. At the Puffle Hotel, there are
daily activities you can do with your puffles such as exercise,
groom, and in general pamper your puffle. If you complete certain
activities it may will eventually unlock the cannon at the top of the
hotel. From the cannon, you'll be launched into the clouds where the
Rainbow puffles live and you can adopt them (members only
unfortunately).
The Puffle Shop is where you can adopt a puffle of your choice.
At the theater, you and your fellow
penguins can act out an actual play with scripts, a set, and even
props, such as costumes. Then at the Pizza Parlor, many penguins hang
out and enjoy a little Karaoke or even some pizza making. Some other
fun attractions around club penguin are the new skate board rink, the
snow forts for snowball fights, the stadium for a little soccer, or
maybe you'd rather just enjoy a nice walk in the park. There's a
dock, this is where you can go play Hydro Hopper which is basically
you hanging onto a life preserver for dear life while you're being
pulled by a boat and you have to dodge or steer clear of all the
things in your way in the ocean. There's also the lighthouse where
you can go and play a musical instrument, look out into a telescope,
or play a little Jet Pack adventure. Well Next time, I'll dive into
a few more fascinating places you can go to. Some of those places
contains, mysteries, secrets, and even more fun. Stay tuned and
Waddle On!
At the Pizza Parlor, many penguins hang
out and enjoy a little Karaoke or even some pizza making.
Well, like I said before, this is my last blog post till Christmas itself. So how about we go through the last couple of dino-Christmas carols I have prepared:
Deck the Halls
with Stegosaurus(sung to the tune of "Deck the Halls")
Deck the Halls with Stegosaurus, Fa la la la la la la la la. Jolly dinos never bore us, Fa la la la la la la la la. Go put on your tux or ball gown, Fa la la la la la la la la. Dance with Steg and rock the hall down! Fa la la la la la la la la!
Merry Raptors join the party, Fa la la la la la la la la. Appetites are big and hearty, Fa la la la la la la la la. Games must end in time for dinner, Fa la la la la la la la la. Or the T. Rex will eat the winner! Fa la la la la la la la la!
Where's desert? The guest are waiting! Fa la la la la la la la la. Eggnog is refrigerating, Fa la la la la la la la la. Oh, too bad, the Gobisaurus, Fa la la la la la la la la. At the cake - there's no more for us! Fa la la la la la la la la!
Gather round the Songlingornis, Fa la la la la la la la la. Strike a merry dino chorus, Fa la la la la la la la la. Sing ye loudly, wake the neighbors! Fa la la la la la la la la. Calm them down with party favors, Fa la la la la la la la la.
Stop the music! Stop the jumping! Fa la la la la la la la la. Stop the dino-tails-a-thumping! Fa la la la la la la la la. Party's over, dawn is breaking Fa la la la la la la la la. Just in time, our heads are aching! Fa la la la la la la la la!
Lyrics by Anne Muecke
This next song is one that I wrote. I changed it a little from the previous version I wrote a couple of years before. Please enjoy!
Theropods ‘round the Christmas Tree (sung to Rockin’ Around the Christmas
Tree)
Chorus:
Ther’pods gather ‘round, the Christmas tree
At the Christmas party buffet.
Dinner bells rung everywhere you see
Every raptor tries to stop.
Ther’pods gather ‘round, the Christmas tree
Come hungry this holiday.
Later we’ll have some Tri-cera-tops pie and we’ll do tap some tail-thumping tunes!
Tyrannosaurus will get a hungry, hungry feeling when he
hears,
Voices roaring bring out dinner quick,
Before T. rex eats the other party guests!
Ther’pods gather ‘round, the Christmas tree
Come hungry this holiday.
The Oviraptors are dancing merrily
In that old, old, fashioned way!
Tyrannosaurus will get a hungry, hungry feeling when he
hears,
Voices roaring bring out dinner quick,
Before T. rex eats the other party guests!
Ther’pods gather ‘round, the Christmas tree
Come hungry this holiday.
The Oviraptors are dancing merrily
In that old, old, fashioned way!
Lyrics by Christian Ryan
We Wish You A
Dino Holiday(sung to the tune of "We Wish You a Merry
Christmas")
We Wish You A Dino Holiday; We Wish You A Dino Holiday; We Wish You A Dino Holiday; And a Happy New Year!
Our stockings are hug, our hearts filled with glee; We've wrapped up a Raptor for under the tree.
We Wish You A Dino Christmas; We Wish You A Dino Christmas; We Wish You A Dino Christmas; And a Happy New Year!
Eight candles we'll light this Hanukkah night, Dinosaur-a-Menorah will shine clear and bright!
We Wish You A Dino Hanukkah; We Wish You A Dino Hanukkah; We Wish You A Dino Hanukkah; And a Happy New Year!
Our kinara is lit, our Kuumba's increased; We're letting the dinosaurs join in the feast!
We Wish You A Dino Kwanzaa; We Wish You A Dino Kwanzaa; We Wish You A Dino Kwanzaa; And a Happy New Year!
We Wish You A Dino Holiday; We Wish You A Dino Holiday; We Wish You A Dino Holiday; And a Happy New Year!
Lyrics by Anne Muecke
To all people in every nation and town all over the world: MERRY, MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
Disclaimer: Many
(or in some cases all) of the photographs and images above are not
mine. If you own one or more of them and would like them to be removed,
politely let me know via one or both of the email addresses above.
Can you believe it's already the middle of the month? I can't! This month is moving so fast, and Christmas and New Year's will be here in a blink. Because Christmas is coming up, I've decided to post a Christmas-related article today that I hope you all will like.
Days till:
It is: 14 days till Christmas
It is: 21 days till New Year's Day
In the Spotlight:
Again, I have a little sliver of news concerning JurassicWorld. Recently, Irrfan Khan had an interesting interview with THR where he revealed several things about the role he would play, Simon Masrani, in the film. Here are his responses to the questionshe was asked:
What can you tell us about your upcoming role in Jurassic World?
I'm playing the park owner, a very flamboyant person. When the first
Jurassic Park came out, I barely had the money to see it and now I'm
playing a part. He's trying to entertain the world with good intentions,
but sometimes being flamboyant doesn't mean having much wisdom.
What can people expect from this film, different from the original?
For sure it will have more vibe. It's the Jurassic World of these times,
with all the technical experimentation. It has now become a
fully-bloomed dinosaur amusement park. Dinosaurs in this film will
definitely be scary, but this is not a horror film, so it will be like a
scary adventure.
Was the filmmaking process difficult, with so many CGI costars?
As an actor what's most important is how the story and the director make
you feel on the set and that's immaterial if you have CGI or real
partners. If you have a good chemistry with the director everything's
fine and I really loved the playfulness of the script and Colin's
approach.
I am rather glad that Jurassic World is a scary adventure, like the other three movies, rather than a horror film. Jurassic World comes out on June 12, 2015...that's in 182 days away!
Topic of the Week by Christian Ryan
Christmas trees are one of the most widespread Christmas traditions.
Christmas is a wonderful time of the year for me! As a matter
of fact, it's really my favorite time of year. I love everything about
Christmas. One of my favorite traditions is decorating the Christmas tree. I
love to put on the lights and the little decorations. It's loads of fun. But do
you know how this tradition got started? If you're a curious mind who needs an
answer to this question, keep reading!
In order to understand the history of Christmas trees, you
have to know about a very special day of the year: Winter Solstice. This day
takes place on the longest night of the year, usually December 21. In ancient
times, many people of the Northern hemisphere celebrated this day because they
believed that the sun was a god. They thought that every winter the sun-god
would get terribly ill and begin to grow weak. But the shortest day of the year
(December 21) represented the time when the sun-god begin to heal from his
cold, growing stronger until it was finally summer. During the winter solstice
celebration, evergreen boughs were a way for the people to remember all the
green plants that had gone into a period of suspended animation for the winter
and how their greenery would return in the summer. This tradition was carried
out in different ways in the various cultures – the ancient Egyptians decorated
their houses with green palm rushes and early Romans filled their homes and
temples with evergreen boughs; the Druids of northern Europe decorated with
evergreen boughs in their temples; the Vikings of Scandinavia believed
evergreens were their sun god's, Balder's, special plant.
Several cultures in the northern hemisphere, such as the druids, celebrated Winter Solstice.
The importance of winter, green plants (mostly evergreens)
and the sun was very important to many northern cultures. But when did the
tradition of decorating actual Christmas trees begin? Well, the answer is that
no one really knows. However it is likely that it started in northern Europe
about 1,000 years ago. The first person to not only bring a Christmas tree into
a house, but also add lighted candles to the tree might be the Protestant
Christian reformer Martin Luther. According to legend, in the 16th
century, Luther was walking through a forest at night. He looked up and saw all
the beautiful stars shining above him. He was so amazed by the sight that he
wanted to share the beauty before him with his wife. Luther cut down a tree and
brought it home with him. He decorated it with tiny lighted candles on the
branches as a symbol of the sky at Christmastime.
Martin Luther might be responsible for putting the first lights on a Christmas tree.
Many of the Christmas tree traditions varied greatly from our
own. Some traditions featured getting a Christmas tree and hanging it upside
down from the ceiling by the use of chains! Many early Christmas trees weren't
even really “Christmas trees” at all. At least, they didn't use your typical
evergreen trees; for these traditions, cherry or hawthorn plants were used in
the hope that they would flower by Christmastime. Poorer people who couldn't
afford to get real plants created wooden pyramids that were designed in the
shape of a tree and decorated with paper, apples and candles.
An interesting Christmas tree-like tradition concerns the
Paradise Trees. These trees were used in medieval German Mystery Plays that
were performed Bible accounts outside of churches on December 24. The date of
the 24th of December was decided because that was Adam and Eve's Day
on early church calendars of saints. In order to bring attention to the plays,
a Paradise Tree was paraded around the town. This tree represented the Garden
of Eden and was decorated in apples and wafers. As you might expect, fruits
such as apples were replaced with ball ornaments that we hang on the trees
today.
Before the decorations we're familiar with came around, people decorated Christmas trees with fruit.
The very first use of a tree used at Christmas/New Year
celebrations ever documented occurred in 1510 in the town square of Riga, the
capital of Lativia. We don't know too much about this event, but we know that
the men attending the ceremony wore black hats and burned the tree once the
festivities were over; this event was similar to the Yule Log custom.
Early Christmas trees in Germany were decorated in edible
items, including gingerbread and gold-covered apples. An unidentified German
described a Christmas tree tradition in 1605:
“At Christmas they set up fir trees in the parlours of
Strasbourg and hang thereon roses cut out of many-colored paper, apples,
wafers, gold foil, sweets, etc.”
In those early years, people put a figure of baby Jesus
Christ at the top of the Christmas tree. This was changed over the years to
either an angel (like the one that told the shepherds about Jesus' birth) or a
star (like the one God used to lead the wise men to Jesus), both of which are
used today.
Everything from figures of baby Jesus, to stars and angels have been used as tree-toppers over the years.
But traditional and typical Christmas trees like the ones we
decorate today started getting popular worldwide in 1841, when Queen Elizabeth
I's husband Prince Albert had a Christmas tree set up in Windsor Castle. A
drawing entitled “The Queen's Christmas tree at Windsor Castle” was published
in the Illustrated London News in 1848 and people of the UK and USA caught on very
quickly.
An illustration of the Queen's Christmas tree at Windsor Castle
Between this time and now though, the Christmas tree still
went through many changes. Tinsel was originated in Germany. Initially tinsel
was formed from thin strips of beaten silver. This all changed when a plastic,
man-made tinsel was created. People liked the plastic tinsel better because it
was cheaper and much lighter (which you'll know is very important if you've
ever tried hanging heavy ornaments on your Christmas tree!). Another major
change to the Christmas tree as you might have noticed is the type of lights
that are used. Traditionally lighted candles were hung on the the trees; as you
might guess, this is quite a fire hazard. This was especially realized in 1885,
when a Chicago hospital was burned down to the ground due to lighted candles on
their tree! Fortunately, in 1895, American telephonist Ralph Morris realized
the danger candles on Christmas trees posed and invented electric Christmas
lights. Thanks Ralph Morris!
Until Ralph Morris invented electric Christmas lights in 1895, people used lighted candles.
Today, the tradition of decorating Christmas trees is a
favorite part of the holiday for a lot of people. They come in all shapes and
sizes – fake trees are mass-produced so that they can come in a variety of
different colors (white artificial Christmas trees became popular in the year
1900; yes, they're that old!), and some are made of paper mache,
plastics and in the Edwardian period, some Christmas trees were even made of
colored ostrich feathers! Christmas trees aren't only big in terms of
popularity, but many are actually really big! The tallest artificial
Christmas tree of all was 170.6 feet tall and was covered in green PVC leaves!
Called the “Peace Tree”, it was displayed in Moinhos de Vento Park, Porto
Alegre, Brazil from December 1, 2001 until January 6, 2002.
Fake Christmas trees are popular with people who don't like cleaning up pine needles.
Now that we know the truth about the history of Christmas
trees, start decorating yours if it hasn't been done already! But in doing so,
don't become distracted by the glitz and glimmer of this time of year, often
dealing with presents and Santa Claus. Remember that Christmas is really about
the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Disclaimer: Many (or in some cases all) of
the photographs and images above are not mine. If you own one or more of them
and would like them to be removed, politely let me know via one or both of the
email addresses above.
