分类必应美图下的文章

华沙的圣诞节日装饰，波兰 Holiday decorations in Warsaw, Poland, for Christmas (© David Milsen/Alamy)

Merry and bright

Germans began decorating Christmas trees with candles as far back as the 1700s, but people wouldn't begin stringing trees with electric lights until the late 1800s. Thomas Edison created the first practical incandescent lights and used them to decorate his Menlo Park Laboratory in 1880. Then three years later, the vice president of Edison's company, Edward H. Johnson, had Christmas tree bulbs especially made for him and he used them to decorate the Christmas tree in his New York City home. But they weren't popularized as a holiday decoration until President Grover Cleveland used them on the White House Christmas tree in 1894. Today, bright scenes like this one in Warsaw, Poland, wouldn't be complete without holiday lights.

If you're celebrating Christmas today, we wish you a merry one.

北京颐和园昆明湖上的十七孔桥，中国 The Seventeen-Arch Bridge over Kunming Lake in Beijing Summer Palace, China (© Jia Wang/Getty Images)

Seventeen arches at sunset

When it's winter solstice time in the Northern Hemisphere, the setting sun shines under the Seventeen-Arch Bridge of the Summer Palace in Beijing, causing this romantic glow. In the 18th century, during the reign of the Qing dynasty of China, Emperor Qianlong ordered the construction of this 1.1 square mile collection of gardens, lakes, and various structures including temples and small palaces. Today it's one of Beijing's premier attractions and will be crowded today with visitors headed to the bridge in time for sunset.

【今日冬至】老君山，河南，中国 Laojun Mountain in Henan, China (© Sino Images/Getty Images) (© Sino Images/Getty Images)

Mt Laojun, wonderland on Earth

This is the Mount Laojun which was located two and a half hours south-west of Luoyang, it is one of the most popular destinations in Henan province. Laojun Mountain is a great scenery in all seasons, and only the winter snow scenery is better, Our picture show the beauty scenery of the DongZhi. If you do not feel like climbing, it’s possible to climb the gondola with a spectacular view of the region and the characteristics of the mountain: small waterfalls, green trees, rocks with original shapes … At the top from the mountain is a gilded roof pavilion attracting the majority of visitors.

雪花 Snowflake (© TothGaborGyula/Getty Images Plus)

You've never seen anything like this

This macrophotograph of a snowflake shows the classic, six-sided structure that we've all come to associate with this tiny winter marvel. Until the advent of macro- and micro-photography in the late 1800s, it was impossible to study the structure of snowflakes—they melted too quickly to be accurately sketched under a microscope. Enter Wilson 'Snowflake' Bentley.

A farmer and self-trained scientist from Jericho, Vermont, Bentley was the first person to successfully photograph an individual snowflake. Over his lifetime, he would produce over 5,000 different images, a feat that led him to be the first to observe that every snowflake is unique. He backed up his observation with some math and meteorology as well. He understood that snowflakes form as they fall through the sky, and their growth and appearance are shaped by hundreds of changing conditions, from altitude, temperature, humidity, and more. The combinations multiply exponentially until there are more design possibilities than molecules on earth.

哈纳公路沿线的彩虹桉树，毛伊岛 Rainbow eucalyptus trees along the Hana Highway, Maui (© GlowingEarth/Getty Images Plus)

Tree of many colors

Hold the tinsel—the rainbow eucalyptus tree doesn't need decorations to appear festive for the holidays. Its bark displays a palette of bright colors by design. As older layers of bark peel away in strips, new layers packed with green chlorophyll are revealed. These exposed areas eventually transition to hues of blue, purple, and orange as tannins accumulate. The continual peeling allows the tree to shed mosses, lichen, fungi, or parasites along with the bark, while also exposing the chlorophyll underneath, which boosts the tree's ability to photosynthesize. The bark isn't the only unusual thing about this species. While most people associate eucalyptus with koalas and Australia, the rainbow eucalyptus is native to the Philippines and Indonesia. It thrives in tropical climates like Hawaii, where our homepage trees were photographed.

福吉谷国家历史公园中的小屋，宾夕法尼亚 Cabins in Valley Forge National Historic Site, Pennsylvania (© Mark C. Morris/Shutterstock)

Winter at Valley Forge

Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, is the site of the winter encampment of the Continental Army under General George Washington. On December 19, 1777, about 12,000 soldiers and 400 women and children started to build 1,500 log huts where they would live for the next six months. At the time, the British were occupying the patriot capital of Philadelphia, just a day's march away. Already two and a half years into the war, troops knew the harsh winter would stop the fighting, allowing them to organize and avoid mobilizing for several months. Life, however, was still challenging as they lacked funds for fresh food and clothing. There were no battles at Valley Forge, but nearly 2,000 people died from disease during the encampment.

Washington's leadership was being questioned by some members of the Continental Congress after losing two key battles, and the encampment gave him a chance to regroup. Some have called Valley Forge the birthplace of the American Army, as concepts like basic training started there. In June, the army left Valley Forge, and while the war wasn't won until 1783, many consider the encampment to be a turning point on the way to victory.

一年一度的施瓦本哈尔圣诞市集，德国巴登-符腾堡州 Annual Schwäbisch Hall Weihnachtsmarkt in the market square, Baden-Württemberg, Germany (© sack/Getty Images Plus)

It's Weihnachtsmarkt time!

The streets of this market square are all decked out in a tradition born nearly 700 years ago. Weihnachtsmarkts or Christkindlmarkts (Christmas markets, if you prefer less of a mouthful), take place around the world, but they originated in Germany as a celebratory way to observe Advent, the Christian season leading up to Christmas Eve. These markets are generally open-air affairs where everything is decorated, including the trees (called Tannenbaums in German if they're firs). People shop from local artisans who sell their handmade wares in small wooden chalets. Then it's off to eat traditional foods—roasted almonds, pastries, and biscuits—and sip on warm mulled wine. Today we're walking through Schwäbisch Hall, a German town that came into prominence during medieval times for its salt production, or 'white gold.' After holiday revelers tire of shopping and dancing in the streets, they can ease into one of the town's many healing spas to end the day.

When in Rome...celebrate Saturnalia

We're looking at the Temple of Saturn, one of the oldest structures of the Forum in Rome. It was here that ancient Romans began their celebrations of Saturnalia, which began on December 17. Both the temple and the festival are dedicated to the agricultural god Saturn, whose reign was associated with a golden age of prosperity and peace. Saturnalia festivities kicked off with a sacrifice at the temple, followed by a public banquet and a week of general merrymaking. Activities included gambling, eating, drinking, and playing music. Businesses and schools closed, and even slaves were free from work and allowed to participate in the merrymaking. Many Saturnalia customs evolved into Christmas traditions, such as gift-giving, decorating homes with wreaths, and drinking spiced wine.

Cape Town at dusk

It's a beautiful evening here in Cape Town, South Africa. From this vantage point, we have a striking view of Table Mountain, with its 'tablecloth,' or cloud cover that typically shrouds the local landmark. Cape Town is a popular tourist destination noted for its beaches, natural beauty, architecture, and multicultural diversity—and in that diversity, it's a showcase for South Africa that Archbishop Desmond Tutu called the 'rainbow nation').

We're here today in honor of the Day of Reconciliation, a public holiday celebrated annually on December 16 that's meant to celebrate unity. President Nelson Mandela and the government's Truth and Reconciliation Commission created the holiday in 1995 to heal the wounds after decades of apartheid, South Africa's system of institutionalized racial segregation and oppression. South Africans observe the day with parades and other festivities.

银装素裹的Luzulo-Fagetum山毛榉林，比利时阿登 Luzulo-Fagetum beech forest covered with frost and snow, Ardennes, Belgium (© Philippe Moes/Alamy)

The Battle of the Bulge 75 years later

Seventy-five years ago this week, the Battle of the Bulge began in the forests of the Ardennes in Belgium. On the morning of December 16, 1944, the beleaguered German army threw its best remaining troops and armor against a lightly defended section of the American and Allied line. Bad weather neutralized Allied air superiority and over the first few days, the Nazi offensive produced a 'bulge' in its offensive west into Belgium. Desperate to hold the line, US General Eisenhower sent the 101st Airborne to hold the strategically important crossroads in Bastogne. The town was surrounded for nearly 10 days by German forces, but the Airborne held out. In fact, a German demand for Allied surrender was rejected with a single word: “NUTS” (a bit of 1940s American slang that needed to be explained to the Nazi officers). This weekend, the town of Bastogne has been celebrating NUTS Weekend, an annual tribute to the soldiers who defended the town in 1944.

Festivities include a military parade, a walk around the perimeter, and even the 'Jet de Noix' (throwing of the nuts).

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