As the Year of the Dragon Draws to a Close …

Little Dragon Sadie … Our Snow Angel

Sadie Porcher

Born six months ago, Sadie is a Year of the Dragon baby and our newest Porcher niece. She arrived in Ohio for a Christmas visit amid a near blizzard snowfall. She became our sweet little snow angel enjoying her first winter outing.

Why is Sadie our Little Dragon Girl?

According to the Chinese Zodiac, an animal rules each of the 12 years of the Lunar calendar.  The Year of the Dragon 2012 has been a Yang Water year.  The Dragon is a strengthening Yang sign. Water favors communications, transportation and learning.  The Dragon’s bold, generous and passionate traits have been qualities throughout the year.

From Thomas Glenn Holidays … Asian Dragon Glass Ornament Collection (click on each image for further information)

Asian-themed ornaments aren’t just for Christmas display! Enjoy them throughout the year on a small table-top tree, an ornament hanger or in a dome display or curio cabinet.
Thomas Glenn Asian Dragon Thomas Glenn Asian Dragon
Thomas Glenn Asian Dragon Thomas Glenn Asian Dragon
Brilliant paints bring these mystical creatures to life … colorful with glittered accents worthy of a Chinese New Year celebration.4.25 inches high, 7 inches longCrafted by Polish Artisans$48 each
According to the Chinese zodiac, those born under the Dragon share certain characteristics.  How will Baby Sadie’s character and career develop?

  • Innovative
  • Enterprising
  • Flexible
  • Self-assured
  • Brave
  • Passionate
  • Conceited
  • Tactless
  • Scrutinizing
  • Unanticipated
  • Quick-tempered

The Water Dragon 2012

Chinese tradition suggests that water has a calming effect on the Dragon’s sometimes overpowering temperament. The water calms the Dragon’s personality, making them more perceptive of others.

Dragons love thrilling risks and burn the candle at both ends.  Luckily, they are blessed with good health. Among the most hearty of the Animal signs, they can suffer bad health as a result of stress. Symptoms of their personalities often stem from emotional outbursts and can range from tension headaches to depression to hypertension. Dragons can remedy these problems by maintaining their cool, implementing a routine in their daily lives, and utilizing exercises such as yoga or tai kwon do that soothe the mind and spirit as well as tone the body.

Previous Dragon Years

1904 * 1916 * 1928 * 1940 * 1952 * 1964 * 1976 * 1988 * 2000

Careers for a Dragon

  • Computer analysts
  • Inventors
  • Engineers
  • Architects
  • Lawyers
  • Philosophers
  • Psychoanalysts
  • Brokers
  • Managers
  • Salespeople
  • PR People
  • Advertising agents
  • Officers in the armed forces
  • Campaigners
  • Politicians
Coming up … Asian themed blown glass ornaments from Patricia Breen Designs, Christopher Radko, Thomas Glenn Holidays and Eric Cortina.Happy New Year!As always, Celebrate with Ornaments, 365 Days of the Year!

 

Traditional German Holiday Artisans: Ino Schaller Candy Containers

ON SALE NOW FOR THE HOLIDAYS!

Ino Schaller, Celebrate365.com Celebrate365 supports traditional artisan and hand made craftsmanship.
Whether you’re a serious collector or an admirer from afar, antique papier-måché candy containers from Germany are still highly coveted, and even reproduced today. One of the last remaining native producers is Thomas Schaller, great grandson of noted craftsman Carl Schaller. Ino Schaller Santa, Celebrate365.com
Ino Schaller Santa, Celebrate365.com
Following in his great grandfather’s footsteps, Thomas uses the original molds Carl Schaller crafted in the 1890s. At the dawn of the 20th century, Carl had a successful business creating much-loved holiday decorations. In keeping with the magic of the holidays, almost all of Schaller’s antique figures served double duty: they were candy containers that had secret compartments that opened from the bottom or middle.
Ino Schaller Santa, Celebrate365.com Carl’s son, Ino continued his father’s work after World Wars I and II. Consumer trends forced Ino to shift production to pressed cardboard figures and, in 1961, to plastic. Both Ino and his son Dieter produced plastic plush-covered figures through the 1970s and 80s.
When selecting any Schaller design, collectors can be assured of time-honored family craftsmanship and pride in holiday collectibles for generations to come.
Excerpted from McCann, Susan.  “Papier-måché – the Schaller Way”, Celebrate365, Holiday 2005 issue.

 

Tinsel Time: The Magic of German Lametta

I confess. I have a thing for tinsel. Not just any tinsel, mind you. I want that wonderful, heavy metal stuff from my childhood, those silvery strands that my father patiently hung on the tree one by one.

What incredible dedication. And, what a magical sight to behold! Mom certainly did not have time for that! Taking down the tree was just as time consuming. Off they came one by one to be carefully flattened and saved for another year.
What is the best selling item at Celebrate365.com?  Surprisingly, it’s not an ornament!  In fact, it is traditional German icicle-style tinsel.How did this tradition begin in our little family? I never knew. Since decorating the tree was Dad’s domain, I think that tinsel must have been a Mitchell family tradition remembered from his own childhood Christmases in Dayton, Ohio.Wow! Have you ever seen so many icicles?

Tinsel

I know that tinsel or lametta originated in Germany in the early 1600s. German glassblowers from the Lauscha region crafted crystal ornaments, some looked just like icicles. When the candles were lit on the tree, oh how those icicles glistened! As the years passed, craftsmen created icicles from tin and even silver. By the 1920s, the time when my grandfather Edgar Mitchell was celebrating Christmas in Dayton, Ohio with his wife and children, German craftsmen had invented lametta, tinsel icicles made from lead. My grandmother’s family was German-speaking. Perhaps that’s how my father’s love for a Christmas tree dripping in tinsel began.

Celebrate365 offers this German tinsel.

Cyber Monday Sale!

Celebrate365’s First Ever Cyber Monday Sale! 

Super holiday bargains from Bethany Lowe Designs, Ino Schaller Paper Mache German Santas, Soffieria De Carlini Italian Ornaments, Thomas Glenn Polish Fabrege-Style Eggs. 

Holiday 2011 Front Cover

 

Click on the laptop image above to view the full page of bargains. Many are “one only” items!

Quantities are limited to items in stock. No rain checks or special orders. When items are sold out … that’s it!

This first ever Celebrate365 Cyber Monday Sale includes 25 different styles. There are limited multiples from Ino Shaller and Thomas Glenn. The De Carlini Candy Cane ornaments are workshop samples, limited to one per style. Signed Halloween pins are from the owner’s personal collection and are also limited to one per style.Shop the Cyber Monday Sale!

Celebrate365 supports traditional artisan and hand made craftsmanship.