Christmas Countdown Characters #21

Because there are only 25 days in Advent and there are 26 letters in the alphabet, today we have a daily double - U and V

U is for Ulla

Ulla is a Finnish name , made popular by the Swedish secretary in the stage play, "The Producers" , but today I have two different Christmas celebrities who are named " Ulla" .

Little Ulla is the fictional heroine of an interactive Christmas Stage Show specially created for little ones, with puppets, music, and yodelling! It’s a busy little time for Little Ulla the Post Goat! It’s Christmas time and she has lots of cards to deliver around the village. Every day she makes people happy by delivering cards from friends and loved ones. But poor old Mr Hans the clockmaker never gets any Christmas cards! Needless to say, Little Ulla makes sure that Mr Hans is not neglected this Christmas.

The discovery of this rather odd Scottish operetta and its caprine heroine does not diminish the brilliance of my artist friend, Ulla Anobile who is not fictional, but a real living Christmas celebrity. Ulla is a Finnish-American, who creates the most whimsical nativity scenes, and other delightful Christmas characters from felt with hand embroidery.

You might have remembered " tonttu" from yeseterday's post.... Ulla's Christmas elves each has his own personality defined by the hand embroidered features. Most of Ulla's work refers to her Finnish heritage and is unique - every felt character is a work of original art. Ulla's work can often be seen and purchased from Cactus Gallery in Elysian Valley, Los Angeles.

You can find Ulla and her brilliant work on her Facebook page.
Hyvää Joulua, Ulla!

V is for Virginia
Most may not recognise the name " Virginia O'Hanlon" but if I mention the letter and the classic response which began , " Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus". I am sure it will ring a bell, a Christmas one even! Eight year old New Yorker Virginia questioned the existence of Santa Claus, and the now famous reply appeared as an editorial in The Sun in 1897

Virginia enjoyed a career as a teacher and later as a school principal but throughout her life, she continued to receive correspondence about her letter . Virginia died in 1971 and her family recall that Virginia never ever thought she did anything special, she felt all she did was ask a question, and it was the editor Francis Church who wrote the remarkable response who should be receiving the glory.

Ulla, Little Ulla and Virginia all have in common the love of spreading joy in the world.... what a lesson we can all learn from them this festive season.

Christmas Firsts #18 : Where in the World?

Where in the world will FIRST experience Christmas Day? Because of the time zones and daylight saving , the first places will be Samoa, Tonga and Kiritimati (Christmas Island) . They are the first places to welcome Christmas. New Zealand and Australia see in Christmas Day soon after, while American Samoa and Baker Island in the United States of America are among the last. These statistics are more often quoted in relation to New Year's Eve, but I think it seems appropriate that Christmas Island is one of the first to celebrate Christmas in the world. Kiritimati, or Christmas Island, is a Pacific Ocean raised coral atoll in the northern Line Islands. It is part of the Republic of Kiribati. The name "Kiritimati" is a respelling of the English word "Christmas" in the Kiribati language The island has the greatest land area of any coral atoll in the w...

Countdown to Christmas 20 - Fruitcake song!

There are many songs about fruit cakes - not all of them referring to the Christmas cake we know and love.It is really surprising to learn via Google that there are 89 listed songs with references to Christmas cake or fruit cake - not all of them complimentary. Probably one of the most famous folk songs about Christmas cake is Miss Fogarty's Christmas Cake (a favourite sung by The Irish Rovers). This first recorded comical Christmas song was written by C Frank Horn in 1883 in Pennsylania, as a variation of an Irish folk song, 'Miss Mulligan's Christmas Cake' . The chorus might give you the hint that Miss Fogarty's cake was not for the faint hearted or those who suffered from a weak stomach. Chorus : There were plums and prunes and cherries, There were citrons and raisins and cinnamon, too There was nutmeg, cloves and berries And a crust that was nailed on with glue There were caraway seeds in abundance Such that...

"Temari Or Not Temari?" Tutorial

Background Information: Temari (literally translated “hand ball”) is a Japanese folk craft that is alleged to have originated in China and was introduced to Japan five or six hundred years ago. Traditionally, the balls were constructed from wrapped kimono fabric remnants and silk threads. They were made by mothers and grandmothers for children to play with. Nowadays, decorative embroidered temari represent a highly valued and cherished gift symbolizing friendship and loyalty. Recently I've wondered if your don't use traditional techniques whether you should call what you create "temari". That is an ongoing debate but today I share what I do to make a "non-traditional temari".... 1.I start with a polystrene ball ( traditionally the balls were wound silk scraps or other organic materials) and begin to wrap with approx 4 ply wool, turning the ball as I wrap. 2. I then wrap another layer of wool in a similar fashion , this time a 3 or 2 ...

Empress Wu Designs with Wilma

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