Questions & Answers

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How did the teddy bear get its name?
What happen on St. Valentines Day?
Why do we celebrate Christmas?
Who was the first Santa Claus?
What is a rainbow?
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One day Theodore Roosevelt was out in the woods hunting bears when he came across a little bear cub and, because he was so small and cuddly, he could not kill it but let it wander off.

An American newspaper heard the story and published a cartoon showing Theodore Roosevelt with the little bear. Some time later, a toy maker wrote to to the president (Theodore Roosevelt) asking him for permission to make a soft cuddly toy bear and name it after him. As Theodore Roosevelt's nickname was 'Teddy' Roosevelt, the toy maker wanted to call the toy a 'Teddy' bear.

Ever since then, one of the favourite toys of young children everywhere has been a teddy bear.

Valentine is the name o f several saints who are commemorated on February 14. In the last one hundred and fifty years the custom has grown up of sending cards or messages to a sweetheart. This custom began in the United States, with the first commercial card being produced there in 1840s, and it has now spread to may parts of the world.

In mediaeval times it was believed that birds chose their mate on February 14 and thus the connection of love arose. Choosing a loved one on  this day might also have some connection with the Roman festival of Lupercalia which used to take place at this time of the year.

St. Valentine himself was a Roman martyr who lived in the 3rd century and, because of the day on which his Saint's Day falls, he has become the patron of lovers although there does not seem to have been any reason for this originality.

On Christmas Day, December 25th, we celebrate the birthday of Christ. The date was fixed by the Church in AD 440, but it is almost certainly not the true day of Christ's birth. The date was chosen because, in pagan days, a feast was held on the day of the winter solstice, which occurs at around this time.

 Christmas as a popular festival dates from the Middle Ages. Decorations of holly and mistletoe and carol singing are originally English. The Christmas tree was a German tradition, while the Christmas crib was introduced by St. Francis of Assisi.

Santa Claus is the English way of saying Sante Klaas, which is Dutch for 'St. Nicholas'. St. Nicholas was a bishop in the 4th century who was named a saint by the Church. He is the patron of Children and his feast day, December 6th, is a children's holiday in countries like Germany and the Netherlands. There, someone would dress up as a bishop and give presents to 'good children'. About 150 years ago, the Christmas stocking custom was introduced into England from Germany.

Santa Claus is pictured as a jolly fat man with a white beard and a red suit, who travels around in a sleigh pulled by a reindeer, and climbs down chimneys on 'The Night Before Christmas'.

A rainbow is caused by sunlight refracted , or bent, and reflected back towards the observer by raindrops. By this refraction, sunlight is broken down into many colours - red, orange, green, blue, indigo and violet -the colours of the rainbow from the outside to the inside of the arc. Rainbows always form on the side of the observer opposite the sun.

Mankind always seems to have regarded rainbows as good news. In the Bible story of Noah's Ark, after the flood, God put a rainbow in the sky as a sign that there will be no more floods. A legend maintains that if you dig at the spot where the rainbow touches the ground, you will find a pot of gold buried there.

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