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Did you know?
  • The original Rudolph did not have a red nose. In that day and age, red noses were seen as an indicator of chronic alcoholism and Montgomery Ward didn’t want him to look like a drunkard. To complete the original picture, he was almost named Reginald or Rollo.
  • The Christmas wreath was originally hung as a symbol of Jesus. The holly represents his crown of thorns and the red berries the blood he shed.
  • The three traditional colors of most Christmas decorations are red, green and gold. Red symbolizes the blood of Christ, green symbolized life and rebirth, and gold represents light, royalty and wealth.
  • Tinsel was invented in 1610 in Germany and was once made of real silver.
  • The oldest artificial Christmas trees date back to the late 1800s and were made of green raffia (think grass hula skirts) or dyed goose feathers. Next the Addis Brush Company used their machinery that wove toilet brushes to create pine-like branches for artificial Christmas trees that were less flammable and could hold heavier decorations.
  • ‘Jingle Bells’ – the popular Christmas song was composed by James Pierpont in Massachusetts, America. It was, however, written for thanksgiving and not Christmas.
  • Coca-Cola was the first company that used Santa Claus during the winter season for promotion.
  • Hallmark introduced their first Christmas cards in 1915.
  • The first recorded date of Christmas being celebrated on December 25th was in 336, during the time of the Roman Emperor Constantine. A few years later, Pope Julius I officially declared that the birth of Jesus would be celebrated on that day.
  • Santa Claus's sleigh is led by eight reindeer: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Dunder (variously spelled Donder and Donner), and Blixem (variously spelled Blixen and Blitzen), with Rudolph being a 20th-century inclusion.
  • Outdoor Christmas lights on homes evolved from decorating the traditional Christmas tree and house with candles during the Christmas season. Lighting the tree with small candles dates back to the 17th century and originated in Germany before spreading to Eastern Europe.
  • That big, jolly man in the red suit with a white beard didn’t always look that way. Prior to 1931, Santa was depicted as everything from a tall gaunt man to a spooky-looking elf. He has donned a bishop's robe and a Norse huntsman's animal skin. When Civil War cartoonist Thomas Nast drew Santa Claus for Harper's Weekly in 1862, Santa was a small elflike figure who supported the Union. Nast continued to draw Santa for 30 years, changing the color of his coat from tan to the red he’s known for today.
  • Christmas 2018 countdown has already begun. Will you be ready???
  • Why do we love Christmas? It's all about the traditions. In this chaotic world we can miss the "good old days." Christmas reminds us of that time.

jeffostroff

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About jeffostroff

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    http://www.LauderdaleChristmas.com

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    Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, USA
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    Engineer/Webmaster
  1. jeffostroff
    And, another cools shot of it:
  2. jeffostroff
    Here is a close-up shot of Big Ben:
  3. jeffostroff
    Ok, here's our first night of testing Big Ben, he was a big hit! The clock looks gorgeous.
  4. jeffostroff
    I bought mine last year for over $180 I fI remember right. Worked great for the 30 days of Christmas. Plugged it in this year and worked great for 20 minutes, then starts turning off for a minute, then tries to flash on, then flickers off again for a minute. Now it on't come on at all. Tried new ransformer, sme thing. Anyone else got one of these and seeing same problem?
  5. jeffostroff
    Here i a photo of my new Big Ben display that I'm working on. I got the inspiration for it while watching the olympics over the summer. As of now it stands 11 feet but with the extra dormer tower section to add on top, it should come to over 13 feet. I created a monster!
  6. jeffostroff started following Probably The Best Christmas Display Of 2011, Photo Of My Giant Big Ben Light Display Inspire Dby Summer Olympics, Photo Of My Giant Big Ben Light Display Inspire Dby Summer Olympics and and 1 other
  7. jeffostroff
    Here i a photo of my new Big Ben display that I'm working on. I got the inspiration for it while watching the olympics over the summer. As of now it stands 11 feet but with the extra dormer tower section to add on top, it should come to over 13 feet. Ic reated a monster!
  8. jeffostroff
    I noticed that Lowes has LED net lights 4 x 6 foot with 100 count from GE for prices ranging $16-$22. Why is it that the online stores, many who are vendors here have them priced in the $40 range? Let's face it folks, they all come from China, just not sure why there is such a disparity in pricing.
  9. jeffostroff
    Finally got time to upload the high definition video of my best musical sequence this year on my Christmas lights:
  10. jeffostroff
    yes, he is the same hedge fund dude that did the outrageous display last year which I posted about back then.
  11. jeffostroff
    I was driving home tonight, saw Channel 10 on Sample Rd at Turtle Creek not far from my house, and noticed Jesus was not on their big nativity display , and checked their web site when I got home. This is the second high profile display where Jesus was stolen. This is why I drag Jesus in every night. http://www.local10.com/news/Baby-Jesus-missing-from-nativity-display/-/1717324/7235502/-/3hgkm0z/-/index.html
  12. jeffostroff
    The house is in Greenwhich, Conn. Can you say...hedge fund!
  13. jeffostroff
    I know it's a professional job, but still left me breathless! These guys used 2 40 foot tall screens in the shape of 2 Christmas trees with DMX controlled video projectors, I did not see anyone else post this, so I hope I'm not just duplicating what others have posted. Enjoy! http://youtu.be/zNPKVNF1jnE?hd=1
  14. jeffostroff
    People often ask me if I decorate the inside of our house like we do on the outside with 60,000 lights. This year we scaled way back on the inside, but here is what we did...
  15. jeffostroff
    Praise God! I finally got my new 3 wise men to complete the nativity set. I went to Sam's Club to buy this at 7:30 yesterday morning, right after my trip to Macy's. it was the last one there! I paid only $99 dollars for it, and this was $225 dollars a week ago, and they had marked it down to $150 by 12/22, but I held my ground. I went in on 12/26 and it was about 60% off. They told me someone came in just before me and bought the last 3 Wise Men set that was still in the box, so I bought the loose floor display of the 3 piece wise men set. Here is my one big happy Nativity family! I was thinking of next year building a small wooden barn scene with a plexiglass window to protect them all and have it be the centerpiece of our lawn.
  16. jeffostroff
    Wow, thanks Mike! Are they really $200! How many do you have? The main question is can I control the wings to the beat of the music? Or are the wings controlled by the built in controller? I'd love to see a close-up. BTW, I just won the City of Margate contest, they just called me a few minutes ago. It was great having 3 Planet Christmas people in the final on GMA. Richard Holdman did the sequence for that Jacksonville home. He and I got screwed on the travel Channel special, they showed our houses for maybe 4 or 5 seconds at most, and never mentione our names. But glad they at least mentioned yours. I notcied they wasted way more time on interviewing people in Chicago eating streudel, and the gingerbread contest, but never mentioned us at all, after making me sign all these releases.
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