Did you know that Sweetest Day is observed on the 3rd Saturday in the month of October? And that’s a PERFECT REASON to send a gift of flowers or plants or something sweet. Of course, some people don’t need any reason to send flowers. On the other hand, some people need to be gently nudged or a holiday has to be created before he or she will even consider sending flowers or plants or even chocolates.

Speaking of chocolates, Sweetest Day got its origins in Cleveland Ohio back in 1922 during the Great Depression. Herbert Birch Kingston, a philanthropist and candy company employee wanted to spread some joy to the lives of orphans, shut-ins and others who were often forgotten. With the help of friends, Kingston began to distribute candy and small gifts to the underprivileged.

Even the stars got involved! Ann Pennington, a movie star of that era pesented 2,200 Cleveland newspaper boys with boxes of candy to express gratitude for their service to the public.

Theda Bara, another popular movie star of the time, distributed 10,000 boxes of candy to people in Cleveland hospitals. She also handed out candy to anyone who came to watch her film in a local theater.

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Arabic: Kul ‘aam u antum salimoun

Brazilian: Boas Festas e Feliz Ano Novo means “Good Parties and Happy New Year”

Chinese: Chu Shen Tan

Czechoslavakia: Scastny Novy Rok

Dutch: Gullukkig Niuw Jaar

Finnish: Onnellista Uutta Vuotta

French: Bonne Annee

German: Prosit Neujahr

Greek: Eftecheezmaenos o Kaenooryos hronos

Hebrew: L’Shannah Tovah Tikatevu

Hindi: Niya Saa Moobaarak

Irish (Gaelic): Bliain nua fe mhaise dhuit

Italian: Buon Capodanno

Khmer: Sua Sdei tfnam tmei

Laotian: Sabai dee pee mai

Polish: Szczesliwego Nowego Roku

Portuguese: Feliz Ano Novo

Russian: S Novim Godom

Serbo-Croatian: Scecna nova godina

Spanish: Feliz Ano Neuvo  and Prospero Ano Nuevo

Turkish: Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun

Vietnamese: Cung-Chuc Tan-Xuan

Want to translate something? Check out www.FreeTranslation.com.

Order flowers for New Years, in January or anytime at www.EdenFlorist.com

In Venezuela, Argentina, Bolivia, and Mexico, those with hopes of traveling in the New Year carry a suitcase around the house at midnight

In China on New Year they burn crackers to scare the evil spirits

The doors and windows of every home in China are sealed with paper to keep the evil demons out

The Dutch believe that eating donuts on New Year’s Day will bring good fortune.

The hog, and its meat, is considered lucky because it symbolizes prosperity.

Cabbage is another “good luck” vegetable that is consumed on New Year’s Day by many.

Cabbage leaves are also considered a sign of prosperity, being representative of paper currency.

The ancient Persians gave New Year’s gifts of eggs, which symbolized productiveness

Many cultures believe that anything in the shape of a ring is good luck, because it symbolizes “coming full circle,” completing a year’s cycle.

In China, many people wear in the new year a new pair of slippers that is bought before the new year, because it means to step on the people who gossip about you

Did you know that a raisin dropped in a glass of fresh champagne will bounce up and down continuously from the bottom of the glass to the top

In Burma there is a three day New Year festival called Maha Thingyan, which is celebrated with prayers, fasting and fun.

In Denmark old dishes are saved year around to throw at the homes where their friends live on New Years Eve ~ many dishes = many friends

In Northern Portugal children go caroling from home to home and are given treats and coins

In Switzerland people believe good luck comes from letting a drop of cream land on the floor New Years Day.

Ditch New Years Resolutions Day is January 17th, generally when most people abandon theirs

Check out http://www.fathertimes.net/recipes.htm for great New Years Recipes

Check out New Year Songs http://www.fathertimes.net/songs.htm

To order flowers for New Years, visit: www.EdenFlorist.com today!

The first New Year’s Eve ball drop in Times Square happened in 1907

The Jewish New Year is called Rosh Hoshana

Auld Lang Syne means time gone by

The largest annual New Year’s Eve celebrations happens in Sydney Australia

More than 80,000 fireworks are set off from the Sydney Harbour Bridge

Hogmanay is the celebration of the new years Scottish style

The centenary clock is lowered at 23:59:48 on new years eve in Madrid Spain

Tournament of Roses it the most popular New Year’s Day parade

Pasadena’s Valley hunt clubs first tournament of roses parade took place in 1890

New York’s Waterford crystal ball weighs 1,070 pounds

In Flagstaff Arizona a pine cone dropped on New Year’s eve

Bangor Main drops a purple beach ball decorated with Christmas lights

In Seattle, the New Years countdown done with an elevator

The Chinese New Year is known as the Lunar New Year or the Spring Festival

Apples and Honey are eaten to symbolize a sweet new year in Rosh Hashanah

Thailand celebrates from April 13 to 15 by throwing water

In the ancient Roman calendar the new year began on March 1st

The first new year holiday observed was celebrated in Babylon about 4000 years ago

The baby was first used to symbolize the New Year in Greece around 600 BC

In Colombia, Cuba and Puerto Rico families stuff a life-size male doll with things that have bad memories or sadness associated with them, and then dress it up in old clothes from each family member. At the stroke of midnight, ‘Mr. Old Year’ is set on fire.

In Spain people eat 12 grapes as the clock strikes midnight (one each time the clock chimes) on New Year’s Eve

In Japan, Buddhist temple bells are rung 108 times at midnight

In Brazil people wear white clothes on New Year’s Eve to bring good luck and peace for the year to follow

In Greece children leave their shoes by the fireside on New Year’s Day in hopes that Saint Basil will come and fill their shoes with gifts.

Want to send Flowers on New Years Day? Visit: www.EdenFlorist.com today!

• The story of Jesus Christ’s birth is told in New Testament’s gospel of Saint Luke and Saint Matthew.

• Some Christians celebrate Jesus Christ’s coming on January 6, the Epiphany, when they believe he was baptized.

• Church officials, “impressed with the ritual’s symbolic bringing back of light into the world,” claimed the date of December 25. Roman Emperor Constantine officially recognized it as the celebration of Jesus’ birth in the 4th century A.D.

• The song “The Twelve Days of Christmas” refers to the 12 days between Christmas and the Epiphany.

• The word Christmas comes from the Old English Cristes maesse, which means Christ’s mass.

• The Middle Ages marked the origin of many traditional Christmas symbols such as the Yule log, holly, and caroling. The burning Yule log (Yule comes from the Scandinavian jol or jul which means “jolly”) symbolized the time in which bonfires raged to “beckon the reappearance of winter’s holy light.”

• The word Xmas is sometimes used instead of Christmas. In Greek, X is the first letter of Christ’s name.

• In the early 19th century, German and Dutch Protestant immigrants resurrected the Christmas holiday to its original status. St. Nicholas also gained prominence during the Victorian era.

• In 1969, the Roman Catholic church dropped St. Nicholas’ Feast Day from its calendar because his life is so unreliably documented.

• The German word Christkindl, which means Christ child, eventually turned into Kriss Kringle.

• Santa Claus generally was depicted as an elf until 1931, when Coca-Cola ads portrayed him as human-sized.

• Rudolph didn’t become Santa’s ninth reindeer until 1939 when an advertising writer for the department store Montgomery Ward created him.

Sources: Encarta 96 Encyclopedia, World Book, Encyclopedia Britanica

Check out the Holiday Tips and Ideas for the History of Santa Claus, Origins of Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa and more here: http://www.edenflorist.com/articles.php?tPath=7

Order your holiday flowers at Eden Florist & Gift Baskets Online or by phone 954-981-5515

Read the Origins of Christmas here: http://www.edenflorist.com/article_info.php?articles_id=14

The Candy Cane
Candy canes have been around for centuries, but it wasn’t until around 1900 that they were decorated with red stripes and bent into the shape of a cane. They were sometimes handed out during church services to keep the children quiet. One story (almost certainly false) that is often told about the origin of the candy cane is as follows:
 
In the late 1800′s a candy maker in Indiana wanted to express the meaning of Christmas through a symbol made of candy. He came up with the idea of bending one of his white candy sticks into the shape of a Candy Cane. He incorporated several symbols of Christ’s love and sacrifice through the Candy Cane. First, he used a plain white peppermint stick. The color white symbolizes the purity and sinless nature of Jesus. Next, he added three small stripes to symbolize the pain inflicted upon Jesus before His death on the cross. There are three of them to represent the Holy Trinity. He added a bold stripe to represent the blood Jesus shed for mankind. When looked at with the crook on top, it looks like a shepherd’s staff because Jesus is the shepherd of man. If you turn it upside down, it becomes the letter J symbolizing the first letter in Jesus’ name. The candy maker made these candy canes for Christmas, so everyone would remember what Christmas is all about.

Santa Claus
The original Santa Claus, St. Nicholas, was born in Turkey in the 4th century. He was very pious from an early age, devoting his life to Christianity. He became widely known for his generosity for the poor. But the Romans held him in contempt. He was imprisoned and tortured. But when Constantine became emperor of Rome, he allowed Nicholas to go free. Constantine became a Christian and convened the Council of Nicaea in 325. Nicholas was a delegate to the council. He is especially noted for his love of children and for his generosity. He is the patron saint of sailors, Sicily, Greece, and Russia. He is also, of course, the patron saint of children. The Dutch kept the legend of St. Nicholas alive. In 16th century Holland, Dutch children would place their wooden shoes by the hearth in hopes that they would be filled with a treat. The Dutch spelled St. Nicholas as Sint Nikolaas, which became corrupted to Sinterklaas, and finally, in Anglican, to Santa Claus. In 1822, Clement C. Moore composed his famous poem, “A Visit from St. Nick,” which was later published as “The Night Before Christmas.” Moore is credited with creating the modern image of Santa Claus as a jolly fat man in a red suit.

Read the History of Santa Claus here: http://www.edenflorist.com/article_info.php?articles_id=16

(source: http://wilstar.net/xmas/xmassymb.htm)

Order your holiday flowers at Eden Florist & Gift Baskets Online or by phone 954-981-5515 or 800-966-3336.

Mistletoe and Holly
Two hundred years before the birth of Christ, the Druids used mistletoe to celebrate the coming of winter. They would gather this evergreen plant that is parasitic upon other trees and used it to decorate their homes. They believed the plant had special healing powers for everything from female infertility to poison ingestion. Scandinavians also thought of mistletoe as a plant of peace and harmony. They associated mistletoe with their goddess of love, Frigga. The custom of kissing under the mistletoe probably derived from this belief. The early church banned the use of mistletoe in Christmas celebrations because of its pagan origins. Instead, church fathers suggested the use of holly as an appropriate substitute for Christmas greenery.

Poinsettias
Poinsettias are native to Mexico. They were named after America’s first ambassador to Mexico, Joel Poinsett. He brought the plants to America in 1828. The Mexicans in the eighteenth century thought the plants were symbolic of the Star of Bethlehem. Thus the Poinsettia became associated with the Christmas season. The actual flower of the poinsettia is small and yellow. But surrounding the flower are large, bright red leaves, often mistaken for petals.

The Christmas Tree
The Christmas Tree originated in Germany in the 16th century. It was common for the Germanic people to decorate fir trees, both inside and out, with roses, apples, and colored paper. It is believed that Martin Luther, the Protestant reformer, was the first to light a Christmas tree with candles. While coming home one dark winter’s night near Christmas, he was struck with the beauty of the starlight shining through the branches of a small fir tree outside his home. He duplicated the starlight by using candles attached to the branches of his indoor Christmas tree. The Christmas tree was not widely used in Britain until the 19th century. It was brought to America by the Pennsylvania Germans in the 1820′s.

Is there someone in your family that you just have trouble getting the right gift for? If so, check out Heidi’s Top Ten Gifts for the Hard to Please ~ http://www.edenflorist.com/article_info.php?articles_id=22

Libra ~ September 24 – October 23

The romantic and charming Libran  is considered the most balanced of signs (hence the symbolic scales). This air sign is often known as a kind and gentle diplomat.  The Libra is a dreamer by nature, able to see the bigger picture.  Libra is fair,  elegant and refined. The intelligent Libra thrives on balance.

Gerbera daisies suit a Libra’s artful eye. Librans like full, lush bouquets with lots of flowers. The balancing fair nature of Libra enjoys fragrant bouquets of roses.

Libra’s colors are blue, lavender, pale greens and their birthstone is the opal.

Be sure to order flowers for your favorite Libran from Eden Florist!

Virgo ~ August 23 – September 23

With a penchant for detail, Virgos are often known for their meticulous and diligent personalities. The modest and sometimes shy Virgo, is wise and witty, with a keen sense of what makes others tick. Virgos love to plan and are organized perfectionists.

Virgo’s colors are light blue, navy and white and their birthstone is the sapphire.

Virgos love romantic flowers of pinks and creamy whites.

Blue is Virgo’s favorite color and a bouquet of delphinium or blue hydrangea will appeal to this Earth sign’s heart. Include daisies and asters and you’ll be a hit with the down to earth, reserved Virgo.

Order flowers for your favorite Virgo from Eden Florist.

Anytime is the right time to send flowers! In fact, there are dozens of reasons (if you need more than one) to send flowers to someone special. For instance, did you know that August is Hug Month, Black Business Month and Romance Awareness Month?

If you need more ideas for sending flowers to the object of your affections, there are other holidays in August that are just perfect to do so.

They include: 

Single Working Women’s Week Aug. 2-8 (for the time-strapped woman), National Resurrect Romance Week Aug. 9-15 is a good time to bring back the romance, and Be Kind to Humankind Week Aug.  25-31 (know someone who needs a little pick-me-up)?

And lets not forget Happiness Happens Day Aug. 8 (just for the happiness of it), Eden Florist 28th Anniversary! Aug. 13 (that’s right, 28 GREAT YEARS) shared with National Left Handers Day Aug. 13 (even though only about 13% of the world population are lefties, I bet you know at least one left hander and they even have a national holiday all their own).

V-J Day Aug. 14  is the perfect time to honor a Veteran or your favorite service man or woman with flowers, Best Friends Day Aug. 15 (a great way to show how much you care), National Personal Chef’s Days Aug.18-20 (dinner, flowers and …?), Poets Day Aug. 21 (flowers have been the subject of prose since the dawn of time – so give a poet flowers to enjoy) , Kiss and Make Up Day Aug. 25 (if you or someone you know is in the Doghouse, flowers could be just the ticket out), Women’s Equality Day Aug.  26 (celebrate the women in your life with flowers) and Global Forgiveness Day Aug. 27 (is there someone in your part of the world that needs to be forgiven)?

Be sure and check out Eden Florist for a complete selection of flowers, plants, gourmet gift baskets and more.

Remember anytime is the right time to send flowers!