Impress your friends and family with these factoids during your holiday gathering.
Christmas is a time of tradition and history, taken from religion, popular culture and our families. But here are 12 tidbits about the holiday that might be news to you. There's a lot more to learn about the history of the holiday and the stories behind the traditions we celebrate this time of the year. If you think of any, share them in the comments below!
Presbyterian minister from Novato — who has a wife with cancer — shares perspective on this holy day.
By Rev. Daniel Christian I like Christmas. It is one of my most favorite times of the year. I like all the sentimentality and familiarity that is associated with the season. But all too often we are taken over by singing chipmunks, dancing snowmen and frenzied shopping, and this leaves us asking or crying for a more meaningful and lasting Christmas experience. Like Charlie Brown, we all desire Christmas to have greater transformational meaning in our life. We long for more than expanded waistlines and January credit card bills. Christmas as a spiritual experience is about opening our lives to the unimaginable becoming real. Ponder this for a moment: A baby being born to a 14-year-old virgin doesn’t add up, knowing everything we understand …
There are ways to take hold of depression and illness so you can enjoy your life again.
This is the latest installment of Tick, Tock ... Time of My Life, a column about living with cancer by Larkspur-Corte Madera Patch editor Derek Wilson. There's nothing like Christmas in California. The mercury dips slightly below 40 degrees. The hills are green and the sky is unbelievably clear. Who needs snow? Snarky comments aside, it is a lot of fun to walk through the neighborhoods in the evening and enjoy the various holiday displays. I have seen some amazing light shows in front yards, with images of Santa, Rudolph and even a S'More Man (kind of like a snowman, but designed to look like marshmallows). Lights, music, food and a vacation: Is this what the holidays are all about? No, but it can make the season a little brighter, …
In this Article:
9:50 pm on Friday, December 30, 2011
Congratulations, Derek, for another Christmas and Many More to Come!!! Thank you for sharing what you had been and are going through. It will be very difficult during the holidays (especially since you were diagnosed around this time of the year) and the feeling of fear, panic, pain and lost will be there for quite a few years and that would be normal. When that happens, never doubt your courage… more ›
Take a few precautionary tips so your tree is not engulfed in flames.
Videos like the one above demonstrate how fast a live, cut Christmas tree can become fully engulfed in flames. Special fire safety precautions need to be taken when keeping a live tree in the house. Here are some tips on Christmas tree safety: Selecting a Tree for the Holiday Needles on fresh trees should be green and hard to pull back from the branches, and the needles should not break if the tree has been freshly cut. The trunk should be sticky to the touch. Old trees can be identified by bouncing the tree trunk on the ground. If many needles fall off, the tree has been cut for too long, has probably dried out, and is a fire hazard. Please keep the tree in a stand with water. Artificial Christmas Trees If you are using a metallic or …
8:22 am on Friday, December 23, 2011
Hope that was not a Sunrise Rotary Tree:-) more ›
A photo essay of this year's gingerbread house is a family affair made with love in downtown Novato.
Creekside Bakery's Gingerbread House, designed and created by Steve Jordan and daughter Rachel, has a farm theme this year.
12:28 pm on Monday, December 19, 2011
Thanks Karen - removed poolside photo from Gingerbread House story. more ›
You can vote for this famous Novato landmark in a contest that could win $100,000 for local public schools.
Sylvia Barry, a Novato Patch superfan, Novato Patch Local Voices contributor and amazing volunteer for good causes all over the city, shot this video of the Rombeiro Christmas house and nominated it in Patch's nationwide Deck the House contest. The grand prize winner of the contest earns $100,000 for public schools in the winner's town. Read Sylvia's impassioned plea for contest votes and then go here to vote for her video (click browse and vote when you get to this link). Wouldn't it be jawdropping if Sylvia's effort landed $100,000 for the Novato Unified School District?
In this Article:
8:58 am on Sunday, December 18, 2011
The Rombeiro's house is awesome and the family are so incredibly dedicated to giving kids a WOW!!! experience year after year after year. I did two or three stories on the house for CBS5 over the years. It would be terrific to see their effort honored by winning this contest. It is really something of a personal sacrifice for the family. They begin decorating a few months before the holiday. This… more ›
Check out these tips for you to remain healthy this winter.
By Jeff Gaborko, MD, pediatrician Special to Dixon Patch Now that temperatures have dropped and we are bundling up our little ones as they leave for school in the morning, it’s important to remember that cold and flu season is here. School-age kids are particularly vulnerable to the spread of colds, viral and bacterial infections. But there are steps you can take to make sure your kids stay healthy throughout the winter season. Wash Hands Frequently Proper hand washing is an effective way to avoid spreading germs. Just 15 to 20 seconds of hand washing (or enough time to sing Happy Birthday twice), using water and soap can reduce the risk of transmitting diseases. According to the Centers for Disease Control, hand washing is the single most…
11:17 am on Thursday, December 15, 2011
I'm a big proponent of regular hand washing, disinfecting and taking vitamins! I even got bacterminator.com antibacterial covers for my iPhone and iPad to make sure I'm not bringing germs into my home after putting those gadgets down on every possible surface! more ›
Holiday lights provide a warm glow on cold December nights.
Singing along to the tune of "Jingle Bells" ... Dashing through Novato in a toasty car tonight, o'er the streets we go like reindeer taking flight. The car is fully packed we may be too old for this but soon we will be merrier and prepare our Santa lists. Oh, holiday lights, holiday lights, light the way so bright. Oh what fun, it is to drive, around Novato tonight ... OK, creative readers, add a verse or two yourself! You can also upload your own photos of decorated homes around Novato. All you need is a login and password — which are free — to upload shots. It's best if you can include addresses so others can find the homes on their holiday light tours. Happy Holidays!
5:20 pm on Saturday, December 24, 2011
Happy Holidays to all! Anyone feel creative enough to add a verse? Also, vote for the Rombiero House to win $100,000 for Novato's schools. more ›
Girl Scout Troop #30125 not only decorates the tree at Novato's senior center but made most of the ornaments.
Novato Girl Scout Troop #30125 decorated the Christmas tree at the Margaret Todd Senior Center for the third straight year a few days ago. According to Troop Leader Susan Wreden, the sixth-grade Cadettes make ornaments then decorate the tree with the ornaments they made plus some that the center already has This year the girls used some of their cookie money to pay for the ornament supplies. Although the troop does community service events throughout the year, Wreden says the Margaret Todd tree project has always been one of the girls' favorites. After they decorate the tree, the Scouts stand on stage and sing Christmas carols to each other. The girls also love going to the Breakfast with Santa event and showing off their handiwork to …
8:03 am on Tuesday, December 13, 2011
The photos were taken by the lovely woman at the front desk at the Margaret Todd Center. more ›
Mothers and others supporters of overseas troops gather for a holiday party.
The Novato-based Blue Star Moms of Marin, a group dedicated to supporting our overseas military troops, met for a holiday party on Dec. 7. "It was a wonderful evening enjoyed by all," said group co-founder Barbara Travis. "We had many moms, their families and our supporters attend." The chapter members collected donations for the two veteran families that it adopted and will be donating some items and gift cards to help them enjoy their holidays. The group, Chapter CA24 of the Blue Star Mothers of America, seeks donations of goods to send to members of the armed forces based overseas. For more information, check out www.bluestarmomsofmarin.org.
Daniel Christian
10:08 pm on Monday, December 26, 2011
Thank you all for your kind and generous thoughts. Peace, Rev.Dan more ›