The Farm Post eNews

Friday eNews from the Pike and Scott County Farm Bureaus
 

DECEMBER 24, 2015
Benefits of Rudolph's Red Nose
We're all familiar with the story of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer by Robert L. May (a class of 1926 Dartmouth alumnus), but scientifically speaking, what are the optical benefits of a shiny red nose on a foggy Christmas Eve?

In a paper just published by Frontiers for Young Minds, Nathaniel J. Dominy, Professor of Anthropology at Dartmouth, explores this very question. By citing research by other scientists on the unique eyes and vision of Arctic reindeer, Dominy explains why Rudolph is able to lead Santa and his team of eight tiny reindeer through the thick Arctic fog.

Science behind Rudolph's Red Nose
The Little Match Girl
It was terribly cold and nearly dark on the last evening of the old year, and the snow was falling fast. In the cold and the darkness, a poor little girl, with bare head and naked feet, roamed through the streets. It is true she had on a pair of slippers when she left home, but they were not of much use. They were very large, so large, indeed, that they had belonged to her mother, and the poor little creature had lost them in running across the street to avoid two carriages that were rolling along at a terrible rate. One of the slippers she could not find, and a boy seized upon the other and ran away with it, saying that he could use it as a cradle, when he had children of his own. So the little girl went on with her little naked feet, which were quite red and blue with the cold. In an old apron she carried a number of matches, and had a bundle of them in her hands. No one had bought anything of her the whole day, nor had anyone given her even a penny. Shivering with cold and hunger, she crept along; poor little child, she looked the picture of misery. The snowflakes fell on her long, fair hair, which hung in curls on her shoulders, but she regarded them not.

The Littlest Angel
The Littlest Angel tells the story of a young boy who arrives in heaven before his time. Home-sick and lonely, he will travel back to earth to retrieve a most selfless and precious gift for the Baby Jesus.
 
 
 
Remember Bubble Lights?

Read more on the history of bubble lights.
MERRY CHRISTMAS
from the
 Pike and Scott
County Farm Bureaus
Our offices will close at noon today and reopen on December 28
TODAY IN HISTORY
 
DECEMBER 24, 1818
Silent Night Performed

It was the 24th of December of the year 1818, when the then assistant priest Joseph Mohr at the newly established parish of St. Nicholas in Oberndorf handed over to the organist represented by Franz Gruber (who at the time was also school teacher in Arnsdorf) a poem, with the request to write a fitting melody for 2 solo voices together with choir and for accompaniment by guitar." Later the same day, Gruber came to the musically talented Mohr and handed over to him his composition. As Mohr liked what he saw, this song was included in the Christmas mass that evening. Mohr sang the tenor part and provided accompaniment with guitar, while Gruber sang bass. According to Gruber, the song was met with "general approval by all" in attendance (mostly shipping laborers, boat builders and their families).

Silent Night