December Days, continued

More days in December, from Brett's Monthly . . .

SANTA’S LIST DAY
Date:	December 4
Origin:	Unknown
Comments: Santa's List Day has two potential meanings: -  this is the day that Santa makes his Naughty and Nice lists, or - this is the day that kids need to mail their lists of things they want to Santa so that his elves have enough time to make all the Christmas presents.

WEAR BROWN SHOES day
Date:	December 4
Origin:	Unknown, may have been started by shoe retailers, or a geek, or it may have been a school day thing.
Comments: There is a difference between men and women when it comes to shoes.  I own a pair of black shoes (office) and a pair of joggers (outside office), that’s all a man needs. Some thoughts on shoes (more so for/about women than for men): You can’t buy happiness but you can buy SHOES and that’s kind of the same thing. So many shoes and only two feet If someone tells you that you have enough shoes, stop talking to them.  You don’t need that kind of negativity in your life.

BATHTUB PARTY DAY
Date:	December 5
Origin:	Created by Wellcat.com.  Thomas and Ruth Roy, as Wellcat Holidays, have created over 80 specialty holidays.
Comments: According to the Wellcat website: “Almost everyone nowadays takes showers, so here’s a day to recall some of the luxury of days gone by. Invite a few friends.” Rub-a-dub-dub, Three men in a tub, And who do you think they be? The butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker, And all of them out to sea What were the three men doing in the tub, you may well ask. The nursery rhyme dates back to the 14th century and, in its original format, featured the butcher, baker and candlestick maker watching 3 maids in a tub at a fair.  Apparently this was one of the attractions provided.  As the nursery rhyme became more widely spread it was also sanitised. The original version was: Hey! rub-a-dub, ho! rub-a-dub, three maids in a tub, And who do you think were there? The butcher, the baker, the candlestick-maker, And all of them gone to the fair.

REPEAL DAY
Date:	December 5
Origin:	Celebrated since 1933.
Comments: On December 5th, 1933, Utah, the final state needed for a three quarters majority, ratified the 21st Amendment, repealing Prohibition.  The amendment still allowed for state and local levels of Prohibition, by 1966 there were no state laws banning alcohol. On January 16th, 1919, Congress passed the Eighteenth Amendment, outlawing alcohol.  Lobbied by groups such as The Women's Christian Temperance Union, who saw most of society’s ills as coming from the use of alcohol, it was believed that Prohibition would ostensibly put an end to drunkenness, crime, mental illness, and poverty. Instead, it allowed organised crime to flourish and strengthen, fostered corruption in government and the police and encouraged hostility towards the Prohibitionists and the government itself.  Many Prohibitionists actually became supporters of repeal. Referred to as America’s “noble experiment”, the 13 years of Prohibition resulted in, directly or indirectly: ·         the nightclub, the modern nightclubs having developed from  the speakeasies of the Prohibition days; ·         the speedboat, used for smuggling liquor into the United States across the Great Lakes and other bodies of water ·         the mob ·         men and women drinking together, also from the speakeasies, the saloons before Prohibition having been “men only” affairs; ·         the spread of jazz, played at speakeasies, with dancing also becoming common at such establishments; ·         the booze cruises, which took passengers beyond American territorial waters and out of the reach of the law so that patrons could enjoy alcoholic beverages. ·         the powder room, which became necessary as women began to frequent speakeasies; ·         the cocktail, developed to mask the taste of inferior alcohol, being mixed with juices and other beverages,

St NICHOLAS DAY
Date:	December 6
Origin:	St. Nicholas Day commemorates the death of St Nicholas on December 6 in either 345A.D., or 352 A.D.  It has been celebrated fro many hundreds of years.
Comments: From Wikipedia: Saint Nicholas' Day, observed on December 6 in Western Christian countries, December 5 in the Netherlands and December 19 in Eastern Christian countries, is the feast day of Saint Nicholas. It is celebrated as a Christian festival with particular regard to his reputation as a bringer of gifts, as well as through the attendance of Mass or worship services. In Europe, especially in "Germany and Poland, boys would dress as bishops begging alms for the poor." In Ukraine, children wait for St. Nicholas to come and to put a present under their pillows provided that the children were good during the year. Children who behaved badly may expect to find a twig or a piece of coal under their pillows. In the Netherlands, "Dutch children put out a clog filled with hay and a carrot for Saint Nicholas' horse. On Saint Nicholas' Day, gifts are tagged with personal humorous rhymes written by the sender." In the United States, one custom associated with Saint Nicholas Day is children leaving their shoes in the foyer on Saint Nicholas Eve in hope that Saint Nicholas will place some coins on the soles, for them to awake to. The American Santa Claus, as well as the British Father Christmas, derive in part from Saint Nicholas and in part from the Dutch Sinterklaas, the saint's name in that language. However the gift giving associated with these descendant figures is associated with Christmas Day rather than Saint Nicholas Day itself. The evolution of Santa Claus