Ringing in the New Year: Quick History of the Times Square Ball Drop

It is attended by nearly 1 million people ever year, and it is estimated that nearly 1 billion people watch it via television world-wide. The now iconic dropping of the Times Square Ball is the single most famous New Years Eve celebration in the world. So, when did this tradition beginning? Why IS there a Ball that is dropped in the first place?

The tradition of a celebration at Times Square dates back December 31, 1903. That year, the New York Times had opened it's new headquarters at the triangularly shaped One Times Square building at what was at the time known as Longacre Square (which was renamed as Times Square in April, 1904). To celebrate the opening of their new headquarters, the Times held a big New Years Eve party in the Square, culminating in a huge fireworks display at midnight. This first party was attended by more than 200,000 people. The owner of the Times wanted to create an even bigger spectacle, and so the idea was hatched in 1907 for a large time ball to be dropped from the flag pole atop One Times Square. 

A quick aside. What is a "time ball," exactly? Well, it was used as a way to help ships sailing along the coasts to verify their marine chronometers. It would be hoisted every day at the same time from a tower and then dropped (usually at 1p.m. in the British Isles, and at 12 p.m in the United States). 

So this first Times Square Time Ball was hoisted to the top of One Time Square on December 31, 1907, and dropped one second after midnight, the followed by the fireworks as in previous celebrations. This first Time Ball was built of iron and wood, weighed close to 700 pounds and five feet in diameter, and was lit with 100 incandescent light bulbs. This same ball would be used every year until 1920. That year, a new ball was created, with the same diameter but only weighing 400 pounds. This ball was scrapped in 1955, replaced with a new ball built of aluminum, weighing only 150 pounds. This ball would remain in service until 1999, when it was scrapped and replaced with a new time ball in honor of the Millennium. This Millennium Ball was 6 feet in diameter, created by the Waterford Crystal company, and weighed nearly 1,000 pounds. In 2006, new LED lights were installed in the Ball. However, this was the last year that the Millennium Ball was used. The following year, to celebrate the centennial of the ball drop tradition, a fifth ball was created, essentially a replica of the previous ball, but with a new computerized lighting system. This Fifth Ball was only used in 2007, replaced in 2008 with a Ball that was essentially the same overall design but on a much larger scale, being 12 feet in diameter. This new ball required the installation of a new and larger flag pole atop One Times Square. Starting with this new, Sixth Ball, the Time Square Ball is on display year-round. 

I hope you all have had a wonderful holiday season, and I want to wish all my readers a Happy New Year! May 2013 be better than 2012. 

O Tannenbaum! Quick History of the Christmas Tree

One of my favorite things this time of year is decorating the family Christmas Tree. I drive my family crazy because I like to have the tree up within a week of Thanksgiving, and like to leave it up at least until a few days after New Years Day.
You see them everywhere. In shopping malls, churches, schools. There are Christmas Tree's on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol Building and the White House. They have become one of the easiest to recognize symbols of the Christmas holiday. So where did the custom come from, since it's obviously not from the biblical story of Christ's birth?

The exact origin of the "modern" Christmas tree is disputed, but generally placed during the late 1400s or early 1500s in parts of Germany, usually around the Renaissance and the Reformation. The tradition of decorating an evergreen tree in winter is believed to actually predate these more modern beginnings, and in fact predate the Christianization of Europe. Pagan European tribes were known to have practices of tree worship, and the decoration of evergreens in the winter was quite common. The evergreen was revered for it's symbolism of eternal life. When the tribes converted to Christianity, this practice made the conversion with them, with the tree's seeming "eternal" qualities becoming linked to eternal life through salvation in Christ.

So that's a bit about the early origin. But how did the Christmas Tree go from small regional tradition to a global phenomenon? Short answer: thank Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert. Albert was from Germany, and when he married his wife and moved to Britain, he brought his traditions with him. In particular, he was fond of his childhood memories of the family Christmas Tree (in German, Weihnachtsbaum), and wanted to give his own children the same experiences. So the Christmas Tree became a common sight at the royal palace during the Christmas season, and, not surprisingly, was soon copied by other members of the British aristocracy, and eventually other members 
of the upper and middle classes.

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert around their Christmas Tree, 1848

And how did that tradition make it to America, you ask? Well, in part by German immigrants coming to the United States and bringing with them their Christmas traditions. However, it didn't stop there. A popular drawing of Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert with their children around the Christmas tree appeared in a London magazine in 1848, and was then copied two years later in an American publication in 1850, however it was altered to remove the crown from Victoria's head, making it seem like a typical American image. These influences helped spread the popularity of the Christmas tree tradition here in the United States.  

Santa Claus: The Real Deal and the Legend

With the Christmas season now upon us, I'm hoping to have several "Did You Know?" posts relating to what is definitely my favorite holiday. After seeing the following Christmas decoration in a local hobby store and then posting a picture of it on Facebook and the subsequent debate, I knew that my first Christmas post just had to discuss the fact and legend around Santa Claus

There were a lot of comments about this picture, some complaining of the commercialization of Christmas, others about how confusing such a mix of what is often described as the religious and secular faces of the holiday together could confuse children, and the annoyance by some that such a fictional character could become such a focal part of the Christmas holiday. All this discussion got me thinking. Just where do we get the legend of Santa Claus? And how did the legend evolve into the modern day jolly incarnation we all are familiar with?

The primary real-life source for the man of legend is one Saint Nicholas of Myra. Nicholas was born in 270 AD in what was then called Asia Minor (modern day Turkey). He was a Greek Christian, and by all accounts very devout from an early age. His parents died during an epidemic when he was young, and so he was raised by his uncle, who was a Bishop. Young Nicholas would be raised in the church, and eventually become a priest, and later a Bishop. An interesting side note for those of you who know your Church history, Nicholas was one of the Bishops who signed the Nicene Creed at the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD.

St. Nicholas was known as a generous man and a gift giver. The most famous story attributed to him was when he secretly gave money to a pious but poor Christian man who had three daughters. The man could not afford dowry's for his daughters and feared that if they could not be married off they may have to resort to prostitution to support themselves. St. Nicholas is said to have secretly tossed bags of gold into the man's house, one for each daughter, so he could marry them off. In some versions, he places the gold in stockings that have been hung out to dry, while in others, he tosses them down the chimney of the poor man's home.

The other early source for the legend that is Santa Claus comes from ancient pagan traditions held by the tribal peoples of Germany and Scandinavia, where legends of a gift-giver existed in local lore that would show up around the pagan holiday of Yule, which is around the same time that Christians now celebrate Christmas. The tradition holds that the gift-giver (usually identified as the Norse god Odin) would be flying through the air on a magical horse, and that children would leave their boots by the fireplace filled with treats for the gift-giver's horse to eat, and the gift-giver would replace the food with gifts for the children.

As is likely true for many pagan traditions, the idea of the gift-giver became Christianized when the tribes in Germany and Scandinavia themselves converted to Christianity. St. Nicholas's feast day is December 6, and in medieval Europe, the lore around "Sinterklaas" (which is commonly used in the Netherlands by the Dutch), began to take root, having characteristics from the historical St. Nicholas and the pre-Christian legends. The children in this region would celebrate St. Nicholas' Day on December 6, believing that the Saint would arrive and give out gifts to the boys and girls that had been good during the year. After the reformation, protestant Christians replaced the idea of Sinterklaas with the Christ Child, and moved the celebration to Christmas Eve.

In Colonial America, the ideas of the Dutch Sinterklaas would merge with the English "Father Christmas" to create the basis for our modern concept of "Santa Claus." Much of our modern traditions around this man of myth go back to the 1823 publication of "A Visit from St. Nicholas" (known today as "T'was the Night Before Christmas"). In this poem that many of you are probably familiar with, we get the traditions of Santa Claus flying through the air on a magic sleigh pulled by reindeer, coming down the chimney, described as being "chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf" with a belly that jiggled when he laughed. The names of the original eight reindeer come from this poem as well. The first "modern" image of Santa Claus comes in 1863, published in Harper's Weekly Magazine by famous political cartoonist Thomas Nast (who is remembered for having popularized the figure Uncle Sam, as well as using the donkey to symbolize the Democratic Party in the US). 

I hope you've enjoyed reading about this well-known Christmas tradition, and I look forward to providing some more interesting information about other holiday traditions throughout December. 

Celebrating our Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving to all my readers! I hope that you get a chance to spend time with family and friends and celebrate all that you are thankful for this year. For this holiday's special "did you know?" historical fact, instead of looking at the "First Thanksgiving" with the Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock, the familiar story we've learned since childhood, I wanted to take a look at some other fun Thanksgiving Day facts.

When did Thanksgiving Day become a national holiday? During Colonial Times? Right after the American Revolution? The Civil War? In a way, all those answers would be correct in the right light. During the colonial era, most New England colonies celebrated a Day of Thanksgiving in the fall that would be declared yearly by the colonial governor. This would usually be a mix of a religious holiday to give thanks to God, and also a harvest festival to celebrate that years bounty of crops. The first nation wide Thanksgiving was declared by President George Washington, who declared that November 26, 1789 would be "a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favours of Almighty God."

Despite this early precedent of proclaiming a national day of thanksgiving, in most years following Washington, days of thanksgiving were declared on a state-by-state basis throughout the Fall. This would change under President Lincoln, and due in large part to the efforts of a woman who is unknown to most: Sarah Josepha Hale. Hale is best known, of all things, for writing the well known nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb," which was published in 1830. Hale grew up in New England and was a big supporter of the traditional thanksgiving day celebrations in the New England area. She wrote 5 U.S. Presidents calling on them to make Thanksgiving a national holiday, starting with President Zachary Taylor in 1846. All her pleas fell on deaf ears until President Lincoln, who in 1863 signed into law legislation that made the last Thursday in November as the national Thanksgiving Day to be celebrated in all states. Now, since this was during the U.S. Civil War, this tradition would not reach the states of the Confederacy until after 1865. When Lincoln signed this legislation, Thanksgiving Day became the third official national holiday in the United States after Independence Day and Washington's Birthday. 

Craziest Election in US History

Before I give you all today's little history lesson, here's a brief public service announcement: If you are a registered voter in the United States, get out and VOTE!!!!

Okay, public service announcement over. So, what was arguably the craziest election in US history? It happened 188 years ago in 1824. Prior to that election, one of the two main parties in the United States, the Federalist Party, had collapsed, leaving only the Democratic-Republican Party. As a result, party politics were in decline, and what had replaced it was personal political rivalries, usually divided up along regional lines. On the ballot that year were four candidates: Andrew Jackson (hero from the War of 1812), John Quincy Adams (son of former President John Adams and Secretary of State), William Crawford (Secretary of the Treasury), and Henry Clay (Speaker of the House). When all the votes were cast, Jackson had 41% of the votes, Adams had 31%, Crawford had 11% of the vote, and Clay had 13%.

No candidate had a majority. At this point, the 12th amendment to the constitution came into play: "and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President."
The House of Representatives would choose the winner of the election. And although Clay had a higher popular vote percentage, he got fewer electoral votes, so the "top three" as called for by the 12th amendment were Adams, Jackson, and Crawford.

This gave Henry Clay, who was the Speaker of the House, a very important position. He could use his influence in the House to help choose who would win the election, and he did. Clay felt that the proposed policies of Adams was closer to his own than the other two candidates, in addition to the fact that he absolutely did not want to see Jackson become president. So Clay put his support behind Adams, who ultimately would win the election in the House and become the 6th President of the United States.

Hopefully, tonight's election won't get that close.
Again, go vote!!

Remember remember the 5th of November...

Remember, remember,
The Fifth of November,
Gunpowder treason and plot;
For I see no reason
Why Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.
 

Happy Guy Fawkes Day! So most of my readers (that I know of, at any rate) are in America, and probably have NO idea what I'm talking about. If they recognize it at all it's only due to the 2005 movie V for Vendetta. So, what are you supposed to remember on the 5th of November? Let's hop in our time machine and travel back to 1605 in England.

On the throne is King James I. He is Protestant, and the nation as a whole is still simmering over the Protestant and Catholic split. A group of disgruntled Catholics, lead by Robert Catesby, begin to plot a way to overthrow the King and the protestant members of Parliament and take James young daughter Elizabeth and make her the new Catholic monarch of Britain. A pretty tall order to fill, is it not? And how do they plan on doing it? Simple: blow up the King and Parliament. BOOM.

The plotters purchase a building near Parliament, tunnel under the building, and place 36 barrels of gunpowder underneath the structure. Their plan was simple. On November 5, 1605, King James I would address the State Opening of Parliament, and they would lite the fuse and blow the King and Parliament sky high. Unfortunately for the plotters, the government is tipped off about the plot, and during a search on November 4, the gunpowder is found and the plot ultimately foiled. The plotters mostly flee, and eventually are all either killed or captured. In January 1606, those still alive are tried and convicted of treason, and are sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered.

So why is it known as Guy Fawkes Day, and not, Robert Catesby Day? Because, on November 4, it was Guy Fawkes, a member of the conspiracy, who was found with the barrels of gunpowder. He became the face of the conspiracy to the public.

Wait, people in Britain celebrate this guy who tried to kill the King and the members of Parliament? Well, not exactly. Starting in 1606, the government called on the people of England to remember the plot and celebrate not the attempt, but the failure of the attempt and that the King and government were saved from assassination. Today it's known alternatively as "Firework Night" or "Bonfire Night," and people in Britain light bonfires or shoot off fireworks to mark the evening. Also around this time are the "Guy Fawkes masks," which were featured prominently in V for Vendetta (the mask that the character V uses). These masks were once used to decorate effigies of Guy Fawkes that were burned on bonfires on November 5 (these effigies were known as "guys," and the term in the 19th century became used to describe oddly dressed men - because the effigies were often dressed in old or discarded clothing - and then in the 20th and 21st century the word evolved to just mean any male).

Okay, so that's my short summary of Guy Fawkes day for your random "did you know" history question. Hope you found it interesting.
To my UK readers: if I got something wrong here, LET ME KNOW! Set the record straight for me and my American readers.

Quick History of Falling Back & Springing Forward

Most of my friends and family know I love little historical details and oddities, and that when a trivia type question is posed I almost always reach for my smartphone and look said question up. I decided after having such an instance occur early this morning that I'd try and share some of these with you, my readers.

As I was driving my brother to school early this morning for a band competition, we got to talking about daylight savings time (DST), and how that all started. I had some vague idea of how it got started but wasn't for sure. Being the curious person I am, I looked it up.

The modern concept of DST was first adopted in 1916 by Germany during World War I as a way to save fuel by cutting down on the need for artifice light. Soon after, Britain, France, and many other European nations followed suite, and in 1918, the USA enacted DST legislation.

DST was not popular with many Americans, however, so as soon as WWI ended, Congress ended the practice (despite President Wilson's veto). From that point on, whether or not to enforce any sort of DST was up to the individual states. This practice would continue up until 1942. In that year, as America geared up to fight WWII after the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt declared that whole nation was on "War Tile," essentially year-round DST for the duration of the war. America "sprang forward in February of 1942, and wouldn't "fall back" until September 1945. One thing I find interesting about this period was that the timelines were renamed as well. It was "Eastern War Time,""Central War Time," and so on.

Once "War Time" ended in 1945, the USA went back to the old system whereby the individual states chose whether or not to adopt DST. This practice would continue until 1966. By that time, the transportation and broadcasting industries were complaining that the mix-match system made their business complicated and lobbied, ultimately successfully, for a national standard. So, in 1967, the Uniform Time Act went into effect, creating what we would recognize as the modern US DST policy. The exact dates and times have changed since 1967, and there was a brief attempt during the energy crisis of the 1970s to extend the period of DST, but by and large the system has remained the same for the last 45 years.

Okay, so that's it for today's history trivia. Don't forget to turn back your clocks tonight and enjoy that extra hour of sleep!