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Some serious bling: The Hope Diamond at the Natural History Museum

Friday, December 26: Holiday Celebration at National Museum of the American Indian

It’s a jam-packed day of festivities at the National Museum of the American Indian!

Father and Son Storytelling (3rd level, Resource Center, 11 AM and 1 PM)

Owen and Lyle James share present Native stories passed down through the generations.

Music and Dance Performance (1st level, Potomac Atrium, 12 Noon, 2 PM, and 3:30 PM)

Mele Kalikimaka one and all! (OK, so that’s not bona-fide Hawaiian for “Merry Christmas”—but gosh darn it, it’s fun to say!) Come out and see Halau O’Aulani perform classic and contemporary dances from the Hawaiian islands.

Films (Rasmuson Theater, 12:30 PM and 3:30 PM)

“Christmas at Moose Factory” explores the holiday traditions of an old settlement on the shore of James Bay through the eyes of a child.

“Wapos Bay” is a Canadian stop-motion animated television series set in Saskatchewan. In this episode, “A Time to Learn,” young Talon must deal with piles of schoolwork and missing sled dogs before he can go out with his father to learn the family tradition of going out on the trapline.

All events are free. National Museum of the American Indian. Continues Dec. 27 & 28

Saturday, December 27: Kwanzaa Stories at the Anacostia Community Museum,

The Honorable Baba C and Tomorrow’s Voices will teach you about this seven day festival by way of storytelling and music. Free, but reservations are required. To make a reservation, call 202-633-4844. Anacostia Museum, 11:00.

Sunday, December 28: National Museum of Natural History—Extended Hours!

That’s right—you get to hang out at one of the most popular museums on the mall for a few more hours! The Natural History Museum will be open from 10:00 A.M. to 7:30 P.M. through January 3.

Glenn Crider and the holiday stamps, courtesy of Glenn Crider

Meet the real-life Herr Drosselmeyer. Glenn Crider of Mechanicsville, Virginia, like the famed godfather in The Nutcracker story, is a clockmaker turned toymaker, known especially for his custom-made nutcrackers (and, on special occasions, to rock festive suspenders from his lederhosen). Crider says he is one of four nutcracker craftsmen in the United States and “the only guy that will do it from A to Z,” meaning that he does both the artistic and mechanical work involved—designing the figures from their hair color to accessories, cutting and fitting the wooden parts together and painting their eyes and other intricate details.

It was for his expertise that the United States Postal Service commissioned him to make four nutcrackers, which New Milford, Connecticut-based photographer Sally Andersen-Bruce shot for one of this year’s holiday stamp series.

The USPS first contacted Crider back in the spring of 2006 to see if he would be interested in the project. “I said, ‘Oh yeah, I’m interested in about a nanosecond!’” says the artist.

He provided them some sketches by July and was working on the nutcrackers by August. Typically, it takes Crider about two or three days to make an original, and he enlists some help from his father and ten part-time elves who work for his toy company T.R.C. Designs. But he spent a month perfecting the foot-tall drummer boy, king, Santa and soldier nutcrackers for the USPS. A year went by before he received confirmation that they would definitely be released in stamp form. This past October he was in New York City to unveil them at the Mega Stamp Show (who knew there was such a thing?) for this holiday season.

Crider, who makes duplicates of all his nutcrackers for his personal collection, has amassed over 400 originals, ranging in size from one inch to four feet, since he fiddled with his clock-making tools and taught himself the old-style, German toy-making tradition in 1983. He has designed nutcrackers for several ballet companies around the country and even a John Smith commemorative figurine for the 400th anniversary of Jamestown in May 2007 made from a scrap wood from the replica of the ship Susan Constant docked in the James River. “[But] By far this is the most interesting,” says Crider. “It’s a life-changing event.”

The four nutcrackers, stamps and large graphic blowups of the stamps, on loan from the USPS, are on display in the Smithsonian National Postal Museum’s Franklin Foyer through January 7. Out-of-towners, keep your eyes peeled on incoming Christmas cards.

Image from Smithsonianchannel.com

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He’s a man of a thousand faces and a hundred and one aliases. But just who is this guy who annually breaks into our homes to leave us presents? The Smithsonian Channel’s new program, “In Search of Santa Claus”, tries to detangle the intricate web of Santa Claus lore, beginning with Saint Nicholas of Myra and culminating with the modern incarnations of the jolly old soul.

Believe me, it’s easier trying to bait this guy with cookies and steal a peek at him on Christmas Eve than it is to figure out his life story.

Here’s all the verifiable information we have about the real-life Saint Nick: he was a popular fourth-century bishop of Myra. Yup, that’s about it. Leaves a lot to the imagination, doesn’t it? Well, that’s what happened.

Several legends developed around the man and his reputation as a philanthropist. One involved him saving kidnapped children from a butcher intending to serve them up to his customers. (Sounds like something from another story, yes?) Another has him giving a sack of gold each to three girls so that they might have a dowry to get married. (The universal emblem of pawnbrokers is sometimes said to have come from this legend.) The Saint Nicholas mythology snowballed as the figure became increasingly popular throughout Europe—where different regions had their own spin on the figure, adapting him into their own stories and legends—and later, the United States where he became a pop culture icon in the early 20th century.

Cultures throughout the Western World have their own variations on the Santa Claus story. What are some of the Santa stories that you’ve come to know and love?

“In Search of Santa Claus” will air on the Smithsonian Channel on December 24 at 1, 5, and 9 PM and on December 25 at 12:00 A.M. and then 12, 8 and 11 P.M. Preview video clips are available on their site.

Courtesy of the National Museum of American History

This past Sunday, on a stage in the foyer of the National Museum of American History, three theatrical performers sang a version of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” I had never heard before—the original version. “Have yourself a merry little Christmas / It may be your last / Next year we may all be living in the past,” they crooned. “Faithful friends who are dear to us / Will be near to us no more.”

Dark, right? Off-putting, for sure. Had I not heard the singers preface their performance by saying they were going to sing the more melancholy, original lyrics, I would have thought them perverse for tampering with the coveted carol, as passing museumgoers might have. But the rest of the audience and I, in the know, gasped simultaneously at the first departure from the more familiar lyrics and then broke into nervous laughter at the rest.

So the story goes, Judy Garland, who sang the song in the 1944-film Meet Me in St. Louis, found the original lyrics too depressing for wartime. Hugh Martin, the songwriter, somewhat begrudgingly revised the song to have a more optimistic bent. Among other tweaks, “It may be your last / Next year we may all be living in the past” became “Let your heart by light / Next year all our troubles will be out of sight.” And, in 1957, at Frank Sinatra’s request, Martin changed the penultimate line, “Until then we’ll have to muddle through somehow,” to “Hang a shining star upon the highest bough.” (The name of Sinatra’s album, with his version of the song, was A Jolly Christmas, after all.)

To hear the stories behind more holiday classics from the World War II era, attend a showing of the museum’s 20-minute “Home for the Holidays” musical program, scheduled at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. on December 24 and 26-31.

Still from Christmas at Moose Factory.

Monday, December 22: Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest

If you haven’t already seen this show, you only have until January 15 to catch it. Here on the Castle’s walls is the creme de la creme of amateur photography that will hopefully open your eyes and broaden your perceptions of the world around you. And remember: when you take in pieces of eye candy, it never goes straight to your thighs. Free. Smithsonian Castle, 8:30-5:30.

Tuesday, December 23: Reruns

Nothing new today, but sometimes it’s fun to revisit a tried-and-true favorite. Seasons of Light (previously covered here) and Zoo Lights (previously covered here) repeat today.

Wednesday, December 24: Broad Stripes, Bright Bars

Meet Mary Pickersgill—the savviest seamstress this side of Betsy Ross who stitched the Star Spangled Banner—and the other colorful characters involved with the flag that inspired our national anthem. Come learn the story of the flag—on display after a painstaking 8-year restoration—and help Mary piece a flag together. Free. National Museum of American History. 11:30-11:50. Repeats 12:30, 1:30, 2:00, 4:30

Thursday, December 25: Zip. Zilch. Nada.
Sorry, kids, this is the one day a year that the museums are closed. You can knock yourself out by standing out in the cold looking at the awesome exteriors of the museums, but that’s about it. It’s a good day to spend at home. Not that I’m biased, but might I suggest curling up with the latest issue of Smithsonian magazine? Or, if you’re still strapped for gift ideas, get that special someone our snazzy newsstand-exclusive issue on Abraham Lincoln.

Looking for non-partisan entertainment? Put Joyeux Noel on your NetFlix list. It’s a schmaltz-less film about the World War I Christmas Truce where German, French and Scottish troops converge on the front lines, set aside their differences and enjoy a few fleeting hours of camaraderie.

There! You have your educational fix for the day and we can all sleep soundly. Moving on…

Friday, December 26: Holiday Celebration at NMAI

It’s a jam-packed day of festivities at the National Museum of the American Indian!

Father and Son Storytelling (3rd level, Resource Center, 11 AM and 1 PM)

Owen and Lyle James share Native present passed down through the generations.

Music and Dance Performance (1st level, Potomac Atrium, 12 Noon, 2 PM, and 3:30 PM)

Mele Kalikimaka one and all! (OK, so that’s not bona-fide Hawaiian for “Merry Christmas”—but gosh darn it, it’s fun to say!) Come out and see Halau O’Aulani perform classic and contemporary dances from the Hawaiian islands.

Films (Rasmuson Theater, 12:30 PM and 3:30 PM)

Christmas at Moose Factory explores the holiday traditions of an old settlement on the shore of James Bay through the eyes of a child.

Wapos Bay is a Canadian stop-motion animated television series set in Saskatchewan. In this episode, “A Time to Learn,” young Talon must deal with piles of schoolwork and missing sled dogs before he can go out with his father to learn the family tradition of going out on the trapline.

All events are free. National Museum of the American Indian. Continues Dec. 27 & 28

Saturday, December 27: Kwanzaa Stories

The Honorable Baba C and Tomorrow’s Voices will teach you about this seven day festival by way of storytelling and music. Free, but reservations are required. To make a reservation, call 202-633-4844. Anacostia Museum, 11:00.

Sunday, December 28: National Museum of Natural History—Extended Hours!

That’s right—you get to hang out at one of the most popular museums on the mall for a few more hours! The Natural History Museum will be open from 10:00 A.M. to 7:30 P.M. through January 3.