Grandfather Frost & The Snow Maiden...

Ded Moroz, or Morozko (Russian: Морозко, romanized: Morozko), is a legendary figure similar to Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas, and Santa Claus who has his roots in Slavic mythology. The tradition of Ded Moroz is mostly spread in East Slavic countries and is a significant part of Russian culture. At the beginning of the Soviet era, communist authorities banned Ded Moroz. However, the ban was lifted and he soon became a significant part of Soviet culture. The literal translation of Ded Moroz is Grandfather Frost or Old Man Frost, but traditionally the name is translated as Father Frost. Ded Moroz wears a heel-length fur coat, in red or blue, a semi-round fur hat, and valenki on his feet. He has a long white beard. He walks with a long magic stick[1] and often rides a troika. He is often depicted bringing presents to well-mannered children, often delivering them in person in the days of December and secretly under the New Year Tree, over night on New Year's Eve. The residence of Ded Moroz in Russia is considered to be the town of Veliky Ustyug, Vologda Oblast. The residence of the Belarusian Dzyed Maroz is said to be in Belavezhskaya Pushcha. In East Slavic cultures, Ded Moroz is accompanied by Snegurochka (Russian: Снегурочка, Snegurochka; Belarusian: Снягурка, Sniahurka; Ukrainian: Снігуронька, Snihurońka; "Snow Maiden"), his granddaughter and helper. ~ Wikpedia.

The Addams FAMILY!!!... :D

Enjoying carolers... Heh-heh-heh...

Kramp-PUSS!!!... ;)

Santa VS The Jrampus...

How To Celebrate Yule For The 1st Time... ;)

Blessed Winter Solstice!!!...

I Love Bats!!!...

Creative 1st Dates For Low-Key Fun...

~ From "Good Housekeeping"... >>> First impressions count, especially when it comes to a first date. Are you adventurous and rugged? Intellectual and romantic? Funny and warm? What you choose for a first date can say a lot about yourself and what you value. But it’s also important not to put too much pressure on a first date. You want to make sure you can have fun and be yourself! To keep the jitters away, these fun first date ideas are the perfect way to break the ice, get to know someone and share something about yourself. There are indoor ideas perfect for winter dates as well as summer dates to soak up warm weather together. Whatever the weather, choose an activity you’re excited about and these romantic dates might just be the spark you need to start a relationship. >>> Unique First Dates... DIY a dessert tour. Pick a couple of nearby dessert places, or create a tasting menu from your favorite bakery. You'll leave with a sugar high and maybe a new sweetie. Solve a murder mystery. Murder mystery dinners are much more unique than the classic dinner and a movie. See if you can identify the killer (and if your boo would be able to solve your mysterious death one day). Spend a day at an amusement park. If you don't already have butterflies, try riding a roller coaster together and enjoy the adrenaline rush! Visit a fortune teller. Are your fates compatible? Only one way to find out! Jump at a trampoline park. Embrace your inner child and get your heart racing in more ways than one. Try an escape room. Can you work together under pressure? Or will your relationship crack before it starts? This is a high-stakes test that will tell you a lot about a date! See a drag show. Fun, flirty and sometimes adult-themed, drag shows are an absolute blast. Don't forget to bring singles for tipping. Try archery. >>> Active First Dates... Visit a farmer's market. Walk or bike to the local farmer's market and buy some produce and snacks for later. After you visit all the vendors, you can have a picnic together. Go to a county fair. Take a hike. If you love the outdoors, why not share it with your date? Make sure you stay on well-marked paths in popular areas and that you trust your date before choosing this as a first date option. Go go-karting. If they're competitive, they won't pass up the opportunity to see you eat their dust as they race you to the finish line. Take a walk. This is a great low-pressure way to meet somebody for the first time. If it goes badly, you can always walk (or run!) away. But if it goes well, you can enjoy a local park or walking trail with good company. If the conversation runs dry, you can always comment on the scenery. Go skating. This is a cute and retro date idea, whether you choose ice skating or roller skating. You can laugh at each other wobbling and hold hands to keep your balance. Stop for hot cocoa or swing by the snack bar afterward to keep the fun going. Play tennis or pickleball. If you haven't hopped aboard the pickleball train yet, what are you waiting for? It's a fun way to get your blood pumping and the rules are easy enough for anyone to learn quickly. Take a dance class. Sure, anyone can go dancing at the club. But taking a class to get your two left feet to cooperate will prove that learning is sexy. Do couples' yoga. There's nothing like deep breathing and meditative movement to make you feel closer. Plus, you'll have that healthy glow afterward. Play mini golf. If you haven't hit the (kiddie) links since you were in school, there's no time like the present. The cheesier the course, the better. Ride bikes. Take another page out of the neighborhood kids' book and go for a bike ride. Bonus if it ends in an adorable picnic. Try rock climbing. Test your upper body strength at an indoor climbing gym. Don't worry; most have instructors on hand for total newbies. Go kayaking or canoeing. This one's got an element of risk to it since you'll have to cooperate on rowing and you'll be stuck in a boat together if it goes poorly. So if you're skittish, stick close to the shore so you can abandon ship if need be. Play paintball or laser tag. They're not just for teens' birthday parties anymore. >>> Creative First Dates... Take a paint-and-sip class. Trust us, even the least artistic people on the planet can create something pretty at one of these events. Plus, you'll get to see how they are at following directions. Get magazines, fabric pieces, colored paper and paint and make a collage together. Make a meal together. Whether you're the next Ina Garten or more of a disaster in the kitchen, creating something yummy together is a delicious date regardless. Build a fire. Tap into your inner Boy or Girl Scout and make a roaring fire, indoors or at a fire-approved outdoor locale. Don't forget the s'mores or hot dogs! Make a craft. Pick up a crafting kit if you're not the DIY type, or drag out the supplies for your favorite artsy hobby and make something with your hands. Even if the sparks don't fly, you'll have something to show for your time. Sing karaoke. Either you'll impress your date with your singing talent or you'll get to laugh together at your tone-deafness. It's a blast, either way. Take a cooking class. Sharpening your knife skills and enjoying a meal you made with your own two hands? There's no way you won't have a great time. Visit an art gallery. Nothing makes you feel creative than checking out others' masterful works. Plus, there's a ton of conversation fodder all around you. Paint each others' nails. A fresh mani-pedi makes everybody feel like a new person, regardless of your gender. It also basically forces you to focus on each other. >>> Indoor dates... Go see a play. Much talking won't take place during the show, but real theater fans will want to chat about all of their favorite parts as soon as they leave their seats. Hit up a museum. History, science, Believe-It-Or-Not, or a weird and zany offering (World's Largest Ball of Twine, anyone?), museums give you lots to think about. Debrief what you learn at the cafe afterward. Challenge them to trivia. We've all got at least one topic we could expound upon for hours. Find out theirs. Watch a sports game. Even high school basketball can be a ton of fun if you really get into it. And we suggest you really get into it. Go wine or beer tasting. Local wineries, breweries and even distilleries usually have tours and tastings. Learn something new about your favorite tipple for a fun alternative to the typical drinks date. Shop for antiques. Challenge each other to find the strangest, coolest or creepiest item at the shop. Go to an arcade. Get in touch with your middle school self and hang out at an arcade. They may even win you a stuffed animal. See a play or a concert. OK, this one does have a lot in common with dinner and a movie. But supporting the arts is sexy, and you can learn a lot about somebody by which music or plays they suggest. Visit an aquarium. Did you know clams can "scoot" across the ocean floor? Replenish your bank of cocktail party conversation starters with some fun fish facts. Go bowling. Those shoes may not do your outfit any favors, but is there a more creative way to flirt than asking them to help correct your form? Didn't think so. Make tie-dye t shirts. Getting into the tie-dye trend means you'll have a homemade memento of your first outing. >>> Cute First Dates... Visit a winery. Everyone loves a good charcuterie board, a glass of wine, a little cheese and crackers and a good view. Try some new varieties or introduce them to some of your favorites. Have a picnic. There's something so sweet about eating outside. Grab a blanket or just an old sheet and bring your favorite wine, fried chicken, potato chips, pickles, cheese and crackers, cookies, cut-up fruit and vegetables or whatever else your little heart desires. Choose library books for each other. Since you can't talk about a certain level in the library, pick out books that you think suit the other person then read them to each other over coffee afterward. Are you an animal over? Visit a cat cafe. The two of you won't be the only cute ones in attendance. Get ice cream. No one should ever pass an ice cream parlor without stopping for a scoop. Who cares if it's cold out? Ice cream is for every season. Shop for CDs. Paging through them for the best find will get you chatting about your favorite artists. Go stargazing. Yes, there's an app for that. Or, get a book on the constellations in the night sky and try to identify them. Cozy blanket, hot beverages and cuddling are highly recommended. Play a board game. Drag out your old favorites or head to a gaming cafe to test drive some new ones. The loser has to buy dinner or drinks afterward. Pretend to be tourists. Every city or town has something only the tourists do, even if it's just a walk down the main drag. Do that, and fall in love with your hometown (and hopefully your date, too!) Go bird-watching. It's trendy right now for a reason. Trust us, the excitement of catching a new-to-you species is infectious. Check out the zoo. Watching the adorable antics of the animals there will get you giggling, guaranteed. Shop at a flea market or a thrift store. Set yourselves a budget and pick out stuff for each other; the more creative, the better. >>> Long-Distance Appropriate Dates... Play "Never have I ever." It can be hard to keep up a conversation on a first video date. Up the ante with the classic game. Walk down memory lane. Open up that camera roll, scroll back and back and back, and share stories of the person you were before you met. It's bound to bring you closer. Try a new-to-you cuisine. This one works especially well if you're far apart: Order a type of food you've never had before and give it a shot together. Share childhood favorites. Yes, we said dinner and a movie was off the table. But we'll break our own rule for queuing up a flick that really captures your childhood. Popcorn is mandatory. Eat breakfast for dinner. How do you like your eggs? There's a lot to be said for someone who has definitive opinions on over easy vs. scrambled. Hold a chocolate tasting. Grab a few bars of different flavors or varieties and test out whether chocolate really is an aphrodisiac.

Yikes!!!... Santa's Vintage Cigarette Break!!!... :O

>>> A 1970s Christmas ad for a well-known cigarette brand featured Santa lighting up after a long night of delivering presents. It played into the era’s casual attitude toward smoking, even portraying it as festive. Today, such an ad would be unthinkable, especially with Santa as the face of it.

Santa Visits... ;)

"His eyes, how they twinkled, his dimples, how merry, his cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry... His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow, and the beard on his chin was as white as the snow." --- "A Visit From Saint Nicholas," - Clement C. Moore. 😉🥰😼🤩🥳

The Krampus & Krampusnacht & Krampuslauf...

The Krampus (German: [ˈkʁampʊs]) is a horned anthropomorphic figure who, in the Central and Eastern Alpine folkloric tradition, is said to accompany Saint Nicholas on visits to children during the night of 5 December (Krampusnacht; "Krampus Night"), immediately before the Feast of St. Nicholas on 6 December. In this tradition, Saint Nicholas rewards well-behaved children with small gifts, while Krampus punishes badly behaved ones with birch rods. The origin of the figure is unclear; some folklorists and anthropologists have postulated that it may have pre-Christian origins. In traditional parades and in such events as the Krampuslauf ("Krampus run"), young men dressed as Krampus attempt to scare the audience with their antics. Krampus is featured on holiday greeting cards called Krampuskarten. The figure has been imported into popular culture around the world, and has appeared in movies, TV and games. >>>

Etymology... Krampus is thought to come from either Bavarian: krampn, meaning "dead", "rotten", or from the German: kramp/krampen, meaning "claw". The Krampus is considered to be a half-goat, half-demon monster in some legends. Its role is to punish bad children or scare them into being good. Origins... A person dressed as a Straggele at Morzger Pass, Salzburg, Austria The Krampus is thought to be inspired by other mythical creatures, such as the Perchten or Straggele, though there are no written sources before the end of the 16th century. Discussing his observations in 1975 while in Irdning, a small town in Styria, anthropologist John J. Honigmann wrote that: The Saint Nicholas festival we are describing incorporates cultural elements widely distributed in Europe. St. Nicholas himself became popular in Germany around the eleventh century. The feast dedicated to this patron of children is only one winter occasion in which children are the objects of special attention, others being Martinmas, the Feast of the Holy Innocents, and New Year's Day. Masked devils acting boisterously and making nuisances of themselves are known in Germany since at least the sixteenth century while animal masked devils combining dreadful-comic (schauriglustig) antics appeared in medieval church plays. A large literature, much of it by European folklorists, bears on these subjects. ... Austrians in the community we studied are quite aware of "heathen" elements being blended with Christian elements in the Saint Nicholas customs and in other traditional winter ceremonies. They believe Krampus derives from a pagan supernatural who was assimilated to the Christian devil. The Perchten figures persisted but are unrelated to the Krampus. Krampus is a Perchten- and Straggele-inspired figure but has very distinct physical traits that make Krampus unique to his cousins. Krampus is usually featured as a man with horns with one grotesque human foot and one foot of a goat, typically covered in black hair, and unique to Krampus; also a very long snake or dragon-like tongue. In the 17th century Krampus was paired with St. Nicholas as a helper. Because Nicholas is a saint, it wasn’t logical or deemed saintly behavior for Nicholas to deliver punishments. Therefore a helper was assigned to St Nicholas; such as Farmhand Rupert, Smutzli, or Père Fouettard who would go down the chimney or punish the naughty children. Krampus served St Nicholas in the same role. ~ Wikpedia.