We just want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas.
This morning I saw a post about someone having a hard time getting into Florida Christmas. It’s not cold. Theres no snow. I get it. I grew up in New England so I had benefit of Norman Rockwell everywhere.
Florida Christmas is a vibe. You just get into it and you make it work. I’ve been in Florida since 1982 so I have lots behind me.
We have Surfing Santas (as opposed to skiing Santa you would probably see at Wildcat in N.H.)
Why is Christmas Florida called Christmas?
On December 25, 1837, 2,000 U.S. soldiers arrived in what is now Christmas, Florida to build a fort and named it for the holiday. The town that followed took the same name. Christmas’ first post office, which has since been replaced with a more modern one, was established almost 40 years later, in 1892.
I had friends who celebrated the Feast of the seven fishes on Christmas Eve and literally went fishing to get all the food.
We have boat parades. Try that up north. I double dare you.
We make Sand Snowmen.
In Florida Santa does not have a Reindeer. He has dolphins and Gator to take him on his way.
We decorate our trees with seashells we found at the beach.
Guess what! We had the first Christmas!
The first observance of Christmas in what is now the United States occurred in Florida in 1539. The Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto and his expedition of 600 people including soldiers, slaves, craftsmen and 12 Catholic priests celebrated the Christmas holiday while encamped at the Apalachee town of Anhaica (present-day Tallahassee). This Christmas celebration lacked the present-day traditions of gift exchanges, eggnog and holiday songs. However, it included a traditional Catholic mass and a large feast (courtesy of the Apalachee food reserves that included maize and beans that were left behind when de Soto’s expedition forced these native people out of their settlement).
Curious as to other traditions that people have.
We also would like to say how grateful we are for the love. Please make sure you subscribe so you do not miss a story.
We already have two featured contributors. Chris Collins is a Stuart City Commissioner who has been doing a fantastic series of interviews touching on clean water, giant hotels, Brightline.
Alicia Jay is our crazy bird lady. She has a camera inside her bird feeder and we look forward to her photos every day. Seems like all the cool birds go to her house and none come to mine! I learn something new from her everyday and saving my pennies so I get a birdhouse with a camera.
We have posted over 100 stories since we started. As you know I ran TreasureCoast.com for 8 years. Our owner became ill and passed away. He wanted to sell so he would have money to put towards his medical expenses. As hard as that was for me at the end of the day I was relieved.
I thought about what I wanted to do for a few weeks which included long conversation with my son who has been doing WordPress since its inception. At Treasure Coast we had advertisers but also had Adsense which gave us a lot of organic income. I invested in having these ads but they don’t seem to be the same. We are gonna wait it out until January before we start exploring other options.
We are looking for Sponsors and we are looking for small donations of $5.00. It’s less than a cup of coffee at Starbucks. If you can help it would be great so we can continue to concentrate in our local area. Just scroll to the bottom of any page.
Please feel free to contact me clenz@mac.com or message me on Facebook.
No matter what I’m totally grateful for the subscribers , readers, likes, shares. I want want know what you guys want to read. Let me know!
Here’s a fun Christmas Song! We will miss you forever Jimmy Buffet! Your music was the background of my life.
Treasure Coast Free Press 
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