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Vivian Christmas
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#1
Old 12-22-2011, 05:43 PM


We're open! Please do come and join us! :)

And MERRY CHRISTMAS to all!!

The Sparkling FAQ
Feel free to ask any related question(s) not covered in the FAQ. ;)

~*~ UPDATED: January 8th, 12:06PM ~*~
Giveaway: OVER.
Contests: End at midnight.

There are 12 posts to represent the 12 days of Advent.
This is the Directory Post; below are quick-clicks to the post(s) you might want to visit.









Last edited by Vivian Christmas; 01-30-2012 at 10:41 PM..

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#2
Old 12-22-2011, 05:44 PM



INTRODUCTION
Season's Greetings to you, and a Very Merry Christmas as well.
My name is Vivian Snow Clause, and I am the daughter of the North Pole's very own resident named Santa Clause.
No, he's not fat...
Yes, he brings gifts to people everywhere - not just children...
What am I doing here, then? Well, this is my very first Christmas away from the North Pole, so please treat me nicely! :)
I have come to bring gifts anyway; when I found out from the Head Elf that Papa Clause was busy trying to find a fair way to donate his extra Christmas supplies, I asked him if I could take the extra items and Gold to Menewsha. He said yes, so I'm very excited to meet you all and hold this Charity & Giveaway!
But now, on to the rules - you can learn more about me later (I'll be around to chat, every here and there) - so you know what to do and what not to do...
:)


RULES
  1. Be nice. It's the holiday season - a time to be jolly, and spread the joy of gift-giving around; anyone who is intentionally rude will have their username engraved on a piece of coal for the Naughty List. ;)
  2. Follow Menewsha's ToS, as always.
  3. Please, no debating in this Thread.
  4. No posting large pictures, please. If they're big, then please link us to it/them. :)
  5. Do not beg, or you will only get your name engraved in a piece of coal and put on the Naughty List this Christmas. ;)

Last edited by Vivian Christmas; 12-23-2011 at 12:35 PM..

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#3
Old 12-22-2011, 05:47 PM

Eligibility: All accounts (not including mules!) under 1500 Gold at the time of donation who have posted in this Thread at least once with an intelligently-designed post*.

Start Date: December 23, 2011 @ 1:00PM Eastern Time Zone
End Date: January 6, 2011 @ 1:00PM Eastern Time Zone

How To Enter: Post at least once with at least one legible sentence. I will donate randomly, as often as I can. :3


You're on the honor system here, so if you post in this Charity with a mule then please let me know somehow - post it, have it in your siggy during the duration of the event, PM me, whatever - that it's a mule. If you forget and win something, then please let me know - if you've already been given two things (including a Gold donation) then I'll give it to someone else, but if you've only gotten something once then I'll let you keep it. :)

Prize(s): That's a secret (unless you tell someone after you receive it); it will either be Gold or one item. :)

*In other words, more than five words (and using only nonsensical words don't count). :P

Last edited by Vivian Christmas; 01-08-2012 at 05:10 PM..

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#4
Old 12-22-2011, 05:48 PM



-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Second poster on page 10 gets 100 Gold.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------


Story Contest
Eligibility: Everyone
Deadline: CLOSED [no entries]
Prize: Jamming With Yumeh OR 1000 Gold

Details: No more than 1000 words;
it should have correct spelling and punctuation;
nothing above PG level; the theme should be Christmas
and should involve the origin(s) of either Santa Clause,
Candy Canes, and/or Advent.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Art Contest
Eligibility: Everyone
Deadline: [closed]
Number of Entries: 1
Prize: 1000 Gold

Details:
The image should not be any larger than 1000 x 1000 pixels,
not even by 1 pixel; the image should contain your avatar
somewhere; nothing above PG level; the theme should
be Christmas
and should involve the origin(s) of either
Santa Clause, Candy Canes,
and/or Advent;

NOTE:
please understand that I wish to use this image at my disposal,
probably for my idea The Galleria of Christmas 2011,

however I will always credit the artist AS the artist and as the owner of the image.
(( I just want rights to the image, so I can use it without dispute. :P ))

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Banner Contest
Eligibility: Everyone
Deadlines: [closed]
Number of Entries: 1
Prize: We All Float Down Here OR 1000 Gold


Details:
I need a banner for next year's The Last-Minute Christmas Charity.
The image should not be larger than 300 x 100 pixels - you may use words, obviously,
if you choose to; nothing above PG level; the theme should be Christmas and should
involve the origin(s) of either Santa Clause, Candy Canes, and/or Advent.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Last edited by Vivian Christmas; 01-30-2012 at 10:44 PM.. Reason: changing "about" to "above"

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#5
Old 12-22-2011, 05:51 PM



COLOUR KEY:

I'm talking as the person behind the computer screen. :)
It's me, Vivian Snow Clause - a.k.a. Vivian Christmas! ^-^
Oops. Wrong colour! Hehe.
I only think I have something important to say. Or maybe it's only me. o.o

Last edited by Vivian Christmas; 01-04-2012 at 10:31 PM..

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#6
Old 12-22-2011, 05:59 PM


( excerpts borrowed from History.com - Santa Clause )


'Twas the Night Before Christmas
In 1822, Clement Clarke Moore, an Episcopal minister, wrote a long Christmas poem for his three daughters entitled "An Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas." Moore's poem, which he was initially hesitant to publish due to the frivolous nature of its subject, is largely responsible for our modern image of Santa Claus as a "right jolly old elf" with a portly figure and the supernatural ability to ascend a chimney with a mere nod of his head! Although some of Moore's imagery was probably borrowed from other sources, his poem helped popularize the now-familiar image of a Santa Claus who flew from house to house on Christmas Eve–in "a miniature sleigh" led by eight flying reindeer–leaving presents for deserving children. "An Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas" created a new and immediately popular American icon. In 1881, political cartoonist Thomas Nast drew on Moore's poem to create the first likeness that matches our modern image of Santa Claus. His cartoon, which appeared in Harper's Weekly, depicted Santa as a rotund, cheerful man with a full, white beard, holding a sack laden with toys for lucky children. It is Nast who gave Santa his bright red suit trimmed with white fur, North Pole workshop, elves, and his wife, Mrs. Claus.


The Legend of St. Nicholas

The legend of Santa Claus can be traced back hundreds of years to a monk named St. Nicholas. It is believed that Nicholas was born sometime around 280 A.D. in Patara, near Myra in modern-day Turkey. Much admired for his piety and kindness, St. Nicholas became the subject of many legends. It is said that he gave away all of his inherited wealth and traveled the countryside helping the poor and sick. One of the best known of the St. Nicholas stories is that he saved three poor sisters from being sold into slavery or prostitution by their father by providing them with a dowry so that they could be married. Over the course of many years, Nicholas's popularity spread and he became known as the protector of children and sailors. His feast day is celebrated on the anniversary of his death, December 6. This was traditionally considered a lucky day to make large purchases or to get married. By the Renaissance, St. Nicholas was the most popular saint in Europe. Even after the Protestant Reformation, when the veneration of saints began to be discouraged, St. Nicholas maintained a positive reputation, especially in Holland.


A Santa by Any Other Name

18th-century America's Santa Claus was not the only St. Nicholas-inspired gift-giver to make an appearance at Christmastime. Similar figures were popular all over the world. Christkind or Kris Kringle was believed to deliver presents to well-behaved Swiss and German children. Meaning "Christ child," Christkind is an angel-like figure often accompanied by St. Nicholas on his holiday missions. In Scandinavia, a jolly elf named Jultomten was thought to deliver gifts in a sleigh drawn by goats. English legend explains that Father Christmas visits each home on Christmas Eve to fill children's stockings with holiday treats. Pere Noel is responsible for filling the shoes of French children. In Russia, it is believed that an elderly woman named Babouschka purposely gave the wise men wrong directions to Bethlehem so that they couldn't find Jesus. Later, she felt remorseful, but could not find the men to undo the damage. To this day, on January 5, Babouschka visits Russian children leaving gifts at their bedsides in the hope that one of them is the baby Jesus and she will be forgiven. In Italy, a similar story exists about a woman called La Befana, a kindly witch who rides a broomstick down the chimneys of Italian homes to deliver toys into the stockings of lucky children.


Last edited by Vivian Christmas; 12-23-2011 at 01:13 PM..

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#7
Old 12-22-2011, 06:11 PM


( excerpts borrowed from about.com & Snopes.com & starstuffs.com in that order)

Around the seventeenth century, European-Christians began to adopt the use of Christmas trees as part of their Christmas celebrations. They made special decorations for their trees from foods like cookies and sugar-stick candy. The first historical reference to the familiar cane shape goes back to 1670, when the choirmaster at the Cologne Cathedral in Germany, bent the sugar-sticks into canes to represent a shepherd's staff. The all-white candy canes were given out to children during the long-winded nativity services. The clergymen's custom of handing out candy canes during Christmas services spread throughout Europe and later to America. The canes were still white, but sometimes the candy-makers would add sugar-roses to decorate the canes further.


About 1847, August Imgard of Ohio managed to decorate his Christmas tree with candy canes to entertain his nephews and nieces. Many who saw his canes went home to boil sugar and experiment with canes of their own. It took nearly another half century before someone added stripes to the canes . . . Christmas cards produced before 1900 show plain white canes, while striped ones appear on many cards printed early in the 20th century.1

Tradition has it that some of these candies were put to use in Cologne Cathedral about 1670 while restless youngsters were attending ceremonies around the living creche. To keep them quiet, the choirmaster persuaded craftsmen to make sticks of candy bent at the end to represent shepherds' crooks, then he passed them out to boys and girls who came to the cathedral.


The Modern Candy Cane
Until the turn of the century, the candy cane peppermint treat remained white. It is speculation that candy maker Bob McCormick of Albany, Georgia, who established McCormack's Famous Candy Company in 1919, created the red-striped candy in the 1920's as treats for friends and family. He may have been inspired by the Swedish candy known as "Polkagris" (English: polka piglet). The originator of the red stripes on candy canes is popularly accredited to McCormick. History does show that Christmas cards at the turn of the century show pure white candy canes pre 1900 and striped candy canes post 1900.
Producing the red and white candy canes in the beginning were labor intensive because they were made by hand. It wasn't until the 1950's that McCormick's brother-in-law Gregory Keller created an innovative machine that aided in manufacturing and mass producing the candy canes.


Last edited by Vivian Christmas; 12-23-2011 at 01:27 PM..

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#8
Old 12-22-2011, 06:13 PM


( excerpts borrowed from aquinasandmore.com )

Origin and History of Advent

The exact time when the season of Advent came to be celebrated is not precisely known. Of course, it was not in practice before the celebration of the Nativity and Christmastide began; the earliest evidence shows that the feast of the Nativity of Our Lord was established within the later part of the 4th century. There are homilies from the 5th century that discuss preparation in a general sense, but do not indicate an official liturgical season. A Synod held in 590 established that Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from November 11th until the Nativity would be offered according to the Lenten rite. This and other traditions, such as fasting, show that the period of time now established as the Advent season was more penitential (similar to Lent) than the liturgical season as we know it today.

What Is Advent?
A collection of homilies from Pope St. Gregory the Great (whose papacy was from 590-604) included a sermon for the second Sunday of Advent, and by 650 Spain was celebrating the Sundays (five at the time) of Advent. So it seems the liturgical season was established around the latter part of the 6th century and first half of the 7th century. For the next couple of centuries, Advent was celebrated for five Sundays; Pope Gregory VII, who was pope from 1073-85, reduced the number to four Sundays.
The word 'Advent' is from the Latin 'Adventus,' which means 'coming.' Advent is the beginning of a new liturgical year (in the Western churches), and encompasses the span of time from the fourth Sunday before Christmas, until the Nativity of Our Lord is celebrated. .... Like Lent, Advent is a preparatory season. It has significance because it is a season of looking forward and waiting for something greater; both for the annual celebration of the event of Christ's birth, and for the time when Christ will come again.


Last edited by Vivian Christmas; 12-23-2011 at 01:29 PM..

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#9
Old 12-22-2011, 06:15 PM


---------------------------------------------------------------------


For The Regular People:





FOR THE HYPER PEOPLE:





For The Crazy, Weird, Bag-of-Fun Type Of People:





For Still-Art People (yes you can move now):

Last edited by Vivian Christmas; 12-27-2011 at 03:39 PM..

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#10
Old 12-22-2011, 06:21 PM

The Sparkling FAQ - the answers to all your questions.
Or not, but we'll find that out later won't we? :)

How do I enter my entry? Simple, Watson. Post it here then PM me the direct link to your post (which you can get from the URL bar after clicking the little page symbol in the very top left of your post).

Do I have to enter all three contests? Um, no. o.O
You can enter more than one contest
if you want to, though -- but you can only win one prize in total from the contests, excluding page post prizes. :)

Do I PM you the entry? No, you post it in this Thread and PM me the link to your post. Directly to your post (you can get that by clicking the tiny white page icon in the top left corner of your post, then copying the URL address AFTER clicking the page icon).

Last edited by Vivian Christmas; 01-10-2012 at 09:59 PM..

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#11
Old 12-22-2011, 06:24 PM

ENTRIES:

Art Contest:



Banner
Contest:



Last edited by Vivian Christmas; 01-10-2012 at 09:57 PM..

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#12
Old 12-22-2011, 06:29 PM

OPEN!!

Last edited by Vivian Christmas; 12-25-2011 at 04:52 AM..

Nuruhanj
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#13
Old 12-27-2011, 02:25 PM

Oh interesting.. I could enter ^^

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#14
Old 12-27-2011, 02:27 PM

Oh please, I hope you do; and welcome to my Charity thread. ^-^

I want to give stuff away, and I want to encourage creativity as well (and perhaps the knowledge of origins, too). :3


Last edited by Vivian Christmas; 12-27-2011 at 05:49 PM..

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#15
Old 12-27-2011, 02:42 PM

yeah ofc, but I can't do it in one day.. maybe you could extend the end date ^^
and I'll post the banner in my siggy

Have I to choice one of the 3 contests? or I need to do all of them?

Last edited by Nuruhanj; 12-27-2011 at 02:52 PM..

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#16
Old 12-27-2011, 03:26 PM

One day? But January 2nd isn't for another days. o.O

Oh! The info on how to enter the entry! Thank you for reminding me!

Hehe. Why would you HAVE to do any of them, much less all three? ^-^
You can do one, two, three, or none, as you please.

Last edited by Vivian Christmas; 12-27-2011 at 05:49 PM..

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#17
Old 12-27-2011, 03:44 PM

ok good ^^ then after scanning llonk's b-day free art, and doing Cass one, I'll read the stories and think about them ^^
the banner It's easy for me to do... so I could start with it ^^

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#18
Old 12-27-2011, 03:48 PM

Uh-huh. Sure. Those are great, erm, websites?

Okies. :3

Last edited by Vivian Christmas; 12-27-2011 at 05:50 PM..

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#19
Old 12-27-2011, 03:50 PM

my website you mean or from website banner?
I do banners and signature one by myself ^^

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#20
Old 12-27-2011, 03:53 PM

Whatever places you were mentioning getting art from... :)

Last edited by Vivian Christmas; 12-27-2011 at 05:50 PM..

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#21
Old 12-27-2011, 04:00 PM

I'm on DA, DeviantArt...
now I'm colouring llonka's b-day art... so gimme few minutes XD

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#22
Old 12-27-2011, 05:26 PM

Oh, so then llonka is a person. My bad. And a Very Merry Christmas to them too!! o.o

Oh my gosh! You're using one of my buttons! Thank you! :D

Last edited by Vivian Christmas; 12-27-2011 at 05:51 PM..

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#23
Old 12-27-2011, 05:37 PM

yup I use the button 'cause I always do this when I enter a person's contest ^^
if it's the avatar site contest nope, but the users contests.. I prefer to put their button in my siggy ^^

and yes LLonka is an user XD

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#24
Old 12-27-2011, 05:49 PM

Well, thank you very much all the same.

Hehe.

Last edited by Vivian Christmas; 12-27-2011 at 05:51 PM..

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#25
Old 12-27-2011, 06:11 PM

you're welcome ^^

 



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