Snow globe

A snow globe (also called a "waterglobe", "snowstorm", or "snowdome") is a transparent sphere, traditionally made of glass, enclosing a miniaturized scene of some sort, often together with a model of a landscape. The sphere also encloses the water in the globe; the water serves as the medium through which the "snow" falls. To activate the snow, the globe is shaken to churn up the white particles. The globe is then placed back in its position and the flakes fall down slowly through the water. Snow globes sometimes have a built-in music box that plays a song. Some snow globes have a design around the outerbase for decoration.

History

When exactly the first snow globes became well-known remains uncertain, but the popularity seemingly dates to the early 19th century in France. They may have appeared for glass blowers as adjuncts to paperweight, which had become popular a few years earlier. Snow globes were exhibited at the Paris Universal Expo of 1878, and by 1879 at least five or more companies were producing and selling snow globes throughout Europe.

Snow Globe (album)

Snow Globe is the fifteenth studio album by English synthpop duo Erasure. The album was released through Mute Records on 11 November 2013 in the UK, and 12 November 2013 in North America. The album has a holiday music theme, including classic Christmas carols with original tracks written by band members Vince Clarke and Andy Bell.

The band purposely went with a "stripped-down" and "eerie" feel to many of the tracks. Clarke has stated, "Everything about Christmas has been written already. We thought it would be more interesting to look into the darker side of the season. For a lot of people, Christmas is not a happy time." The album was produced with longtime collaborator Gareth Jones.

Snow Globe was preceded by the first single "Gaudete" on 28 October, a medieval Latin carol that was also a hit for Steeleye Span in 1973. The second CD of the limited edition of Snow Globe also includes an acoustic cover version of the 1980s Christmas pop hit "Stop the Cavalry" by Jona Lewie.