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ServingServing TTodd Countyodd County, MN, MN

VOLUME 23; NUMBER 2 - FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2013 CIRCULATION 6,000

Country  Courier FREE

 Many people associate sun dogs with an upcoming cold weather pattern. This photo was taken on Thursday, December 5th. The first day of a week’s worth

f zub zero temperatures. Maybe there is some truth to the belief that sun dogs mean the weather is going to take a downward turn. The scientific explanation

f a sun dog is: The familiar 22° halo around the Sun or Moon occurs because of refraction in tiny hexagonal ice crystals in the air. With the 60° apex angle of 

he prism formed by extending the sides of the crystal and the index of refraction of ice (n=1.31) one can calculate the angle of minium deviation to be 21.84°.

Do Sun Dogs really indicate cold weather ahead?

nteresting

Christmas FactsThere are many interesting

acts surrounding the Yuletide

eason. Some of these are cen-

red around the myths and old

wives' tales that inspired many

f the customs we see today

while others depict actual events

hat occurred during the period.

few of these are presented

elow for your reading enjoy-

ment.

• Ever wondered where thedea of elves came from? They

re actually modern day versions

f “Nature folk” described in

agan religions of the past.

• The Holy Days and Fasting

ct of 1551 in Britain declares

hat all its country's citizens

must attend the annual church

ervices held on Christmas day.

n fact it goes as far as stating

hat no vehicle should be used to

ravel to church on this day. The

aw still exists on the books,

lthough it is not observed.

• The tradition of burning a

ule log actually has its roots in

ncient Scandinavia. Supposedly

he Yule log was a source of good

uck and its remnants were

aved to inspire good fortune

throughout the year. It was such

a widely held belief that people

even threw the ashes in wells to

make the water safer to drink.

• It was once believed that

any woman who went under a

mistletoe and was not kissed

would not marry the coming

year.

• The annual Christmas pud-

ding was more than just a tasty

treat. Small items were placed in

them which had the power to

predict what the New Year would

bring. Coins were associatedwith a gain in wealth, a ring was

a sign of an imminent marriage

and a button signified extended

bachelorhood. This idea actually

goes back to the middle ages

where the cake being served on

the Twelfth Night would come

complete with a hidden bean.

Whoever found this bean was

declared “king” for that one

night.

• If you counted all the gifts

that were given in the song

“Twelve Days of Christmas” you

would realize that the number of 

gifts being presented were 364 in

total, thus a gift was given foreach day of the year.

• Christmas was illegal in

England from 1647-1660. This

was enforced by the then leader

Oliver Cromwell who believed it

was immoral to hold celebrations

on one of the holiest days of the

year. The celebration of 

Christmas was therefore a crim-

inal offence which could lead to

an individual being arrested if 

he or she was found guilty of 

condoning any revelry during

the period.

Strange

Christmas FactsChristmas is perhaps the

most anticipated event of the

year. It is a time of good natured

gift exchange, feasting and cele-

bration. Nothing beats the fun

and good times that can be expe-

rienced during the Yuletide sea-

son. Yet Christmas is not with-

out its strange associations, a

few of these have been listed

below, some may even elicit a

chuckle or two.

• The legendary Christmas

pudding is actually an off shoot

of the Celtic dish frumenty. The

strangeness of the pudding is

inspired by the myth that sur-

rounds it. Supposedly people

believed it was unlucky to cut a

Christmas cake before

Christmas Eve. But, the pudding

wasn't the only thing that was

guarded by a long-standing

myth. Mince pie was said to be

unlucky if cut with a knife, addi-

tionally it was considered to

encourage bad luck when eaten

outside of the period between

Christmas Eve and Twelfth

Night. The great thing about

Mince pie however, is that it

somehow had the magical power

to give you good luck if you ate

one every day for the twelve days

of Christmas.

• Christmas Carols are great,

right? Wrong, well at least

according to some folks down in

Pensacola Florida who were out-

raged at the loud singing that

accompanied the rendition of a

few old favorites at a Mall during

the Christmas season. Maybe it

wasn't so much the carols as the

horrible singing that may have

sullied the performance.

• “Pets are people too”, this

may be what pet owners are

thinking during the Christmas

season. It has been estimated

that at least 56 percent of 

 Americans sing to their pets. It

may just be more fulfilling con-

sidering that pets cannot possi-

bly complain.

• The people at Reynolds et al

make a substantial amount of 

money selling foil during the

 Yuletide season. It has been con-

firmed that at least 3000 tons of 

foil are used to wrap turkeys

annually.

• Warning: Christmas shop-

ping may be hazardous to your

health. If you are an avid

Christmas shopper statistics

have concluded that you will be

elbowed at least three times

while shopping. Ouch!

• Sending Christmas cards is

still the thing to do around

Christmas time. Americans on

average send out 28 Christmas

cards to friends and family year-

ly, and guess what, it's certainly

not in vain either, most will

receive 28 for the same period.

• Christmas is a great time to

exercise. You will walk an aver-

age of five miles between the

parking lot and stores, however,

don't let this give you a false

sense of security, most people

still gain those pesky Christmas

pounds despite this.

• Leftovers can sometimes be

your enemy. Spoilt leftovers are

responsible for 400,000 cases of 

post Christmas associated ill-

nesses.

What you didn’t know

about Christmas

Have a safe, Merry 

Christma s!