Christmas by Sam Ritter, 2013

It is that time of year again! Temperatures are dropping and the first snowfalls have come. Fallout from Thanksgiving dinner is beginning to wear down, just in time for the next big feast.

Your whole family probably spent a significant amount of time putting up lights around your house, or decorating your Christmas tree, or wrapping presents where the recipient can’t see them.

Christmas wasn’t declared a national holiday in the United States until 1870, though Alabama officially recognized Christmas starting in 1836. Christmas trees were even being sold, starting in 1850. Trees grow for approximately fifteen years before being cut and sold; it is estimated that between 30 and 35 million live Christmas trees are sold in the United States alone every year. The largest Christmas tree ever cut, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, was 221 feet tall. It was displayed at the Northgate Shopping Center in Seattle, Washington in 1950. Christmas purchases account for 1/6 percent of all retail sales in the United States every year.

We all know that Christmas is the celebration of Christ’s birth, but there are probably some things that you didn’t know about this holiday. December 25 was proclaimed to be the birth of Christ in A.D. 320 by Pope Julius I. Saint Nicholas, whom Santa Claus is based on, was fifty years old at the time.

Saint Nicholas is the second-most depicted saint, behind only Mary. Early renditions would not be recognizable to today’s image of a jolly, fat man with dimples in a red suit. He was originally more of a symbol of discipline, his picture often stern and commanding. An interesting note: for Santa to visit every child, he would have to travel between each house at 2/10000^th of a second, or 12.19 million miles per second. But a little Christmas magic can go a long way, and anything can happen if you just believe.

The new trend in everything from dresses to flashlights to soccer balls is “One for One Companies”.  One for One companies are characterized as companies who donate one item to a person in need for each item sold. Many people are familiar with the TOMS Company who promises to “match every pair of shoes purchased with a pair of new shoes given to a child in need. One for One.” With the web ever expanding and television and advertising having more impact than ever, charity and donations to charities are becoming more and more popular and prominent in our society.
According to TOMS; “the one for one movement is about people making everyday choices that improve the lives of children”. TOMS isn’t the only company with an impact on the one for one movement, there are many other companies with a variety of products involved: flashlights from BoGoLight or One Million Lights, shoes by TOMS or boots from Roma, blankets from Happy Blankie or Blanket America, laptops from OLPC, glasses by TOMS or Warby Parker, and even onesies from Baby Teresa, a project named for Mother Teresa.
The One for One Movement provides an easy way for everyone to be involved in charitable giving. Everyone can get the new pair of shoes or glasses that they need or want and benefit a child in need in the process. This Christmas, make the effort to make two people happy with one purchase.