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Christmas Cracker
Christmas crackers are festive table decorations that make a snapping sound when pulled open, and typically contain a small gift, paper hat and a joke. They are part of Christmas celebrations in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Ireland and Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa. A cracker consists of a segmented Paperboard, cardboard tube wrapped in a brightly decorated twist of paper with a prize in the centre, making it resemble an oversized Candy#Packaging, sweet-wrapper. The cracker is pulled apart by two people, each holding an outer chamber, causing the cracker to split unevenly and leaving one person holding the central chamber and prize. The split is accompanied by a mild bang or snapping sound produced by the effect of friction on a shock sensitivity, shock-sensitive, chemically impregnated card strip (similar to that used in a cap gun). One chemical used for the friction strip is silver fulminate. ...
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Motto
A motto (derived from the Latin language, Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian language, Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a Sentence (linguistics), sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organization. Mottos (or mottoes) are usually found predominantly in written form (unlike slogans, which may also be expressed orally), and may stem from long traditions of social foundations, or from significant events, such as a civil war or a revolution. One's motto may be in any language, but Latin language, Latin has been widely used, especially in the Western world. Language Latin language, Latin has been very common for mottos in the Western World, but for nation states, their official national language is generally chosen. Examples of using other historical languages in motto language include: *Counties of England, County of Somerset in England: (All the men of Somerset), Old English language ...
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Bon-bon
A bonbon, sometimes bon-bon, is a small chocolate confection. They are sometimes filled with liqueur or other sweet alcoholic drinks and sold wrapped in colored foil. Ingredients Through the Western world, bonbons are usually small candies but vary by region in their ingredients, flavours, and shape. In France, bonbons have been made with a fruit centre, and may contain brittle, nougat, dragée, or caramel. Other possible fillings include butterscotch, fondant, fudge, ganache, gianduja, marzipan, praline, and truffle. According to French law, a must be at least 25% chocolate and can come in several forms: * a bite-sized chocolate * an arrangement of different chocolates * a mixture of chocolate and other edible ingredients Specifically in the United States, the phrase "Bon Bon" refers to The Hershey Company's trademarked name for a frozen confection made from vanilla ice cream and covered in chocolate. Etymology and history The word "bonbon" arose from the reduplication ...
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London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Thames in southeast England, at the head of a tidal estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major settlement for nearly 2,000 years. Its ancient core and financial centre, the City of London, was founded by the Roman Empire, Romans as Londinium and has retained its medieval boundaries. The City of Westminster, to the west of the City of London, has been the centuries-long host of Government of the United Kingdom, the national government and Parliament of the United Kingdom, parliament. London grew rapidly 19th-century London, in the 19th century, becoming the world's List of largest cities throughout history, largest city at the time. Since the 19th cen ...
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Tom Smith (confectioner)
Thomas Smith (18 October 1823 – 13 March 1869) was a British baker and confectioner who is traditionally described as the inventor of the Christmas cracker, in 1847. Early life Thomas Smith was born in Newington, London, Newington, then in Surrey, in 1823, the son of Priscilla (''née'' Flight; 1787–1873) and Thomas Bruce Smith (1798–1860), a grocer. In 1830, the 7 year-old Tom Smith began work in a baker and ornamental confectioners shop in London. Over the years as an apprentice he learned his trade until he became a master in his craft, experimenting with new designs and ideas in his spare time. Smith opened his first shop in Goswell Road in Clerkenwell in London's East End in the 1840s where he baked wedding cakes and confectionery on the premises. When Smith went to Paris in 1846, he came across the French 'bonbon', a sugared almond wrapped in a twist of tissue paper. Taking the idea back to London Smith's take on the bonbon proved to be very popular, particularly at Ch ...
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Tom Smith Christmas Crackers 1911
Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name. Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tom'' (1973 film), or ''The Bad Bunch'', a blaxploitation film * ''Tom'' (2002 film), a documentary film * ''Tom'' (American TV series), 1994 * ''Tom'' (Spanish TV series), 2003 Music * ''Tom'', a 1970 album by Tom Jones * Tom drum, a musical drum with no snares * Tom (Ethiopian instrument), a plucked lamellophone thumb piano * Tune-o-matic, a guitar bridge design Places * Tom, Oklahoma, US * Tom (Amur Oblast), a river in Russia * Tom (river), in Russia, a right tributary of the Ob Science and technology * A male cat * A male wild turkey * Tom (pattern matching language), a programming language * TOM (psychedelic), a hallucinogen * Text Object Model, a Microsoft Windows programming interface * Theory of mind (ToM), in psychology * Translocase of the outer membrane, a complex of proteins Transportation * ''Tom' ...
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Oxford English Dictionary
The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP), a University of Oxford publishing house. The dictionary, which published its first edition in 1884, traces the historical development of the English language, providing a comprehensive resource to scholars and academic researchers, and provides ongoing descriptions of English language usage in its variations around the world. In 1857, work first began on the dictionary, though the first edition was not published until 1884. It began to be published in unbound Serial (literature), fascicles as work continued on the project, under the name of ''A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles; Founded Mainly on the Materials Collected by The Philological Society''. In 1895, the title ''The Oxford English Dictionary'' was first used unofficially on the covers of the series, and in 1928 the full dictionary was republished in 10 b ...
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John Julius Norwich
John Julius Cooper, 2nd Viscount Norwich, (15 September 1929 – 1 June 2018), known as John Julius Norwich, was an English popular historian, writer of widely read travel books, and television personality. Biography Youth Norwich was born at the Alfred House Nursing Home on Portland Place in Marylebone, London, on 15 September 1929. He was the son of the Conservative politician and diplomat Duff Cooper, later Viscount Norwich, and of Lady Diana Manners, a celebrated beauty and society figure. He was given the name "Julius" in part because he was born by caesarean section. Such was his mother's fame as an actress and beauty that the birth attracted a crowd outside the nursing home and hundreds of letters of congratulations. Through his father, he was descended from King William IV and his mistress Dorothea Jordan. He was educated at Egerton House School in Dorset Square, London, later becoming a boarder at the school when it was evacuated to Northamptonshire before the ...
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Knut's Party
A Knut's party or Knut's dance (, literally: "Christmas tree plundering") is a tradition in Sweden on Saint Knut's Day (13 January), which marks the end of the Christmas and holiday season, which includes Advent Sunday, Saint Lucy's Day, Christmas, New Year and Epiphany. It is also known as "Dancing out Christmas" (''dansa ut julen'') or "Throw out the Tree" (''kasta ut granen''). Origin Traditionally since the 17th century, Christmas ends on the 20th day after Christmas in Sweden. The feast held in connection to this was originally in celebration of the Danish duke Canute Lavard. During the Middle Ages the celebration shifted to the martyred King Canute IV of Denmark, patron saint of Denmark and ''Knutsgillen'' ("Knut's guilds"), a form of Medieval trading companies. The guilds sometimes organized balls and the Swedish word for the gatherings, ''gille'', may have influenced the tradition of the feasting since it also means "party". It is mentioned in the ''Old Farmer's A ...
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Saturnalia
Saturnalia is an Roman festivals, ancient Roman festival and holiday in honour of the List of Roman deities, god Saturn (mythology), Saturn, held on 17 December in the Julian calendar and later expanded with festivities until 19 December. By the 1st century BC, the celebration had been extended until 23 December, for a total of seven days of festivities. The holiday was celebrated with a sacrifice at the Temple of Saturn, in the Roman Forum, and a public banquet, followed by private gift-giving, continual partying, and a carnival atmosphere that overturned Ancient Roman culture, Roman social norms: Dice#History, gambling was permitted, and masters provided table service for their Slavery in ancient Rome, slaves as it was seen as a time of liberty for both slaves and freedmen alike. A common custom was the election of a "King of the Saturnalia", who gave orders to people, which were followed and presided over the merrymaking. The gifts exchanged were usually practical joke device ...
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Christmas Dinner
Christmas dinner is a meal traditionally eaten at Christmas. This meal can take place any time from the evening of Christmas Eve to the evening of Christmas Day itself. The meals are often particularly rich and substantial, in the tradition of the Christian Calendar of saints, feast day celebration, and form a significant part of gatherings held to celebrate the arrival of Christmastide. In many cases, there is a ritual element to the meal related to the religious celebration, such as the saying of grace (meals), grace. The actual meal consumed varies in different parts of the world with regional cuisines and local traditions. In many parts of the world, particularly List of countries that have gained independence from the United Kingdom, former British colonies, the meal shares some connection with the English Christmas dinner involving roasted meats and pudding of some description. The Christmas pudding and Christmas cake evolved from this tradition. Asia China Christmas dinne ...
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Harrods
Harrods is a Listed building, Grade II listed luxury department store on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London, England. It was designed by C. W. Stephens for Charles Digby Harrod, and opened in 1905; it replaced the first store on the grounds founded by his father Charles Henry Harrod in 1849, which burned down in 1881. The store spans of selling space, making it the largest department store in Europe and one of the largest in the world. Harrods is one of the most famous department stores worldwide, attracting 15 million visitors annually . The original holding company, Harrod's Stores Limited, was formed and began trading on the London Stock Exchange in 1889. It was acquired by and merged into the House of Fraser in 1959, which itself was acquired by the Mohamed Al-Fayed, Fayed brothers and became a privately held company in 1985. When the House of Fraser was relisted on the stock exchange, the Harrods business was split off to remain privately held in 1994. The present-day ...
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