Eye See 2013

1 year, 373 photos, 5 cameras, 5 countries, 30 portraits, 7 colors, and 1 photographer - http://www.vincentfung.ca

Tomte (Sweden) or Tonttu (Finland) is a mythical creature from Scandinavian folklore and is considered the Swedish version of Santa Claus. It is no taller than three feet is known as a gift bearer.

The tradition of leaving cookies, milk and other snacks for Santa and his reindeers on Christmas Eve is a nice gesture. How much does it actually cost to feed them?  $188,906,668.97 

December 25th is commonly known as the date for Christmas and Jesus' birthday. Some believe the date was also chosen to correspond with the Roman festival of Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, or "Birthday of the Unconquered Sun".

The Christmas Nativity scene or creche dates back to 1223 when Francis of Assisi, who founded the Catholic Church’s Franciscan Order, came up with the idea of a visual way to teach people, both literate and illiterate, about the bible and the birth of Jesus and Christmas.

Boxing Day, or St. Stephen's Day in Ireland, is the day after Christmas and commonly known in the UK, Canada, Australia and other Commonwealth countries as a time for shopping deals.

Mormon missionaries can only call home twice a year: on Christmas and one other time during the year (usually Mother's Day).

The abbreviation for Christmas as X-mas was first used in the mid 1500s. X is the Greek letter “chi” which is an abbreviation for the word “Christ” in Greek.

Christmas celebrations in France begin on December 5, which is St. Nicholas Eve. It is a day for gift-giving between friends and relatives. On that cold night, children leave their shoes by the hearth so Pere Noel, or Father Christmas, will fill them with gifts.

"Frosty the Snowman" is a popular song written by Walter "Jack" Rollins and Steve Nelson, and first recorded by Gene Autry and the Cass County Boys in 1950. In today's context, it's a poignant story about climate change  or global warming. 

The colors now associated with Christmas may be traced to the use of the "paradise tree" used in "Miracle" or "Passion" plays that were popular during the fifteenth century. The Passion plays were used to teach peasants the story of Adam and Eve and about mankind's redemption through Christ's death and resurrection. Red: represents the blood shed by Jesus so that mankind's sins would be forgiven. (John 19:34)

The first Christmas cards were commissioned by the UK's Sir Henry Cole and illustrated by John Callcott Horsley in London on the 1st of May 1843. In 2001, a signed original was sold at an auction for over USD30,000.

Christmas lights started in the late 1800s with Thomas Edison and Edward Johnson, but were very expensive. They required the rental of a generator and hiring a “wireman" or electrician to operate them. According to some, just to light an average Christmas tree with electric lights before 1903 would have cost $2000 in today’s dollars.

The original use of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" was written by Robert L. May in 1939 for Montgomery Ward, a Chicago-based department store. The store asked its marketing department to create a new and original Christmas storybook from scratch which included the character Rudolph.

"Colonial Williamsburg door decorations" didn't originate in Williamsburg but the famous fruit bedecked wreaths and swags have decorated America's front doors for over 300 years.

In Europe, online Christmas shopping has increased significantly over last year to the extent, where a fifth of the consumers are expected to carry out the majority of their shopping online.

Germany is credited with starting the Christmas tree tradition in the 16th century. Yet, the Christmas Tree comes from a long history, even before Christianity, where plants and trees that remained green all year had a special meaning for people in the winter. In many countries it was believed that evergreens would keep away witches, ghosts, evil spirits, and illness.