Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!
December 25, 2009
I hope everyone is making the most of their holiday season. Even though I'm in Chicago this Christmas, courtesy of the internet, much merriment was shared between me and my folks today. We watched each other open presents via video chat and spent much of the afternoon shamelessly launching koopa shells at each other in playing Mario Kart over the Wii network (note to Nintendo: make more games that you can play with your friends online!!). In short, a good time was had by all. While it wasn't quite the same as being at home, it was pretty darn close, and it involved no waiting in line at the airport. Yay!
Now, for a bit of Christmas trivia learned today: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was originally created by Montgomery Ward's department stores to as a promotional gimmick for the holidays. I'd never really given much thought before about the history of Rudolph, and I know that many of our Christmas myths and traditions are largely 20th century inventions. Still, it was the connection to a great department store chain that I found unexpected, even if it's not entirely surprising. Alas, I'm far too tired right not to reflect more upon this Christmas fun fact, but if you want to know more, you can read about it over at snopes.com.