Wednesday, December 29

New Year’s Eve party ideas for kids | 10 minutes to a great party

Lemon-lime soda with strawberries is a great New Year's Eve party idea for kids.
For most adults, a New Year’s Eve party seems pretty easy to plan. But if you’ve got a pack of young ones, then New Year’s Eve party ideas for kids may be in order. Depending on how many kids you have and their ages, a kids New Year’s Eve party can be a snap.

Targeting New Year’s Eve party ideas for kids

The biggest challenge of New Year’s Eve party ideas for kids is targeting age groups. Letting kids younger than 10 stay up until midnight could be very difficult, for example. The best kids New Year’s Eve parties help the kids feel like they’re celebrating a big change, and they’re just a bit more “grown up.” If you’ve got a mixed-age group of kids, try to have different activities for the kids that stay up later.

New Year’s Eve party ideas for kids – the food

For kids parties, loading the kids up on sugar may be the first instinct. Some sugar should definitely be on the menu for your kids New Year’s Eve party, but it should be tempered with something more nutritious, such as raisins or mixed nuts. Try mixing cranberry or apple juice with lemon-lime soda to serve in plastic champagne flutes. Breakfast for dinner is also a great option for New Year’s Eve parties, and leftovers make the next morning that much easier.

New Year’s Eve party ideas for kids – the activities

If you’ve got kids that won’t be staying up until midnight, that doesn’t mean they can’t watch the ball drop. Look for a major city in a time zone three or four hours ahead of your party, and watch the ball drop there. New York is great for West Coast, and Paris is great for East Coast parties. Use film cans or chip cans to help kids create time capsules. Washable paint can be used to put hand prints on butcher paper as New Year’s growth charts to be continued each year. An award ceremony at the end of the night or beginning of the morning can also start out the new year on the right foot.


Source : personalmoneystore

Sunday, December 26

Happy Christmas - " Thought for the Day ".

Unity of head, heart, and hand is essential for man. This is the true significance behind the Christians making the cross sign. Install God in your heart. Contemplate on Him and undertake good deeds. Consider every activity as God’s work and act accordingly. Merely feeding the poor and distributing clothes to the needy do not constitute Seva (selfless service). Along with this, one has to cultivate love, which is eternal. Right from dawn to dusk all our actions should be suffused with love. Start the day with love, fill the day with love, spend the day with love, end the day with love. This is the way to God.
     
- BABA

Saturday, December 25

Stores Open on Christmas 2010 for your Guide in Shopping

It’s Christmas Day 2010 today and what do you expected to do on this much celebrated event like Christmas? Millions of people celebrate this special day with families, rushing home, doing last minute shopping and gift giving with friends, families and loved ones.

Moreso, the retailers will be more than happy to take the most out of the active shoppers’ pockets but of course, during holiday, they cannot force their staff to go to the stores and work on such holidays maybe because instead of working, they might spend their time also with their family on Christmas.

So the question here, what stores open on Christmas 2010? Where are you going to buy the gift and Christmas presents for your loved ones and families if you are one of those who do not love to have a stitch in time.

What Stores and restaurants are open on Christmas Day 2010. If you are looking for the stores and restaurants open on Christmas 2010 and don’t know where to starts, here are your guide:

Giant stores like Walmart, Target, Kmart, Old Navy and Toy R US were open on Christmas eve, December 24 but will be all closed on Christmas Day, December 25, 2010. But should you need to make a quick shopping to the store, Walgreens will be open and so are with lot of CSV locations and Rite-Aid as well.

Target stores, on the other hand, across the nation will remain closed on the Christmas Day 2010, December 25, 2010, and on 26th Dec they will serve their customers from 7 a.m. through 11 in the night. In a press release Sam’s Club said that all their outlets will operate from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m on 26th.

And for all the coffee lovers out there who wake up this Christmas morning and discovered that your out of coffee, Starbucks will be open depending on your location. Just check out their official website to know what branch of Starbucks is open this Christmas 2010. Furthermore, Honey Dew Donuts will be open on Saturday from 6 am to noon. Custom House Coffee, located at West Main Road and King Charles Drive will be closed for Christmas.

For food and merchandise, the TA Truck Stops and Flying J will be on the road to serve you this Christmas Day 2010. You may also check those convenience stores like Quick Check, Winn-Dixie, 7-11 and Circle K because they will be open on Christmas to serve you also

Lastly, most big theatres and movie houses are open up at least on Christmas Day night just about the time you need to get out and get this holiday behind you. You may check out the movie that you want to watch with your families and loved ones.
This is Christmas Day 2010 and this is the best time to enjoy the day, celebrate and have fun with your families, kids and loved ones. Merry Christmas to everyone!

Source : citystatetimes

Aton Impulse VIKING-2992, The New Russian off Road Car


The roar of Russian-made batch Aton Impulse VIKING 2992 is amphibians, vehicle rescue with seven passengers. It is also pretty amazing.

Viking solve the problems of amphibians, a refuge in the remote is slightly various from his peers is far greater, with compact dimensions. Car a bit less than 16.5 feet and tips scales at 3218 kilograms and sensitive is powered by the World Health Assembly mid-mounted 1.8-liter 0.82 hp four-cylinder.
On the strategy to the top rated in a leisurely 37 miles, but since the aircraft is equipped using a pump from the Council, it can go 6.2 miles per hour on the water’s surface. Off-road just isn’t also bad both, with air suspension that will raise the automobile up 10 inches and less break angles approach 38%.
Can not be stunning, it could not be quick, however it is definitely quite surprising inside a Russian constructed specially for his tribe.

Source : buildingnemn

Happy Christmas - " Thought for the Day ".

Worship Jesus by following His ideals. Jesus pointed to three stages. The first one is “I am the Messenger of God.” He wanted to propagate the message of God. The second one is, “I am the Son of God.” The son has a claim to father’s property. What is the property of God? Truth, love, forbearance, peace, and righteousness are the properties of God. So, you must strive to attain these qualities. You must practice, experience, and propagate these virtues. Only then do you deserve to be called Son of God. The third one is “I and My Father are one.” This stage is attained when the principle of unity is realised. Jesus was always blissful and was prepared for anything because He understood that the body is merely vesture and God is the indweller.
     
- BABA

Friday, December 24

Statue of Liberty

Statue of Liberty
Location: Liberty Island, New York City, New York, U.S.[1]
Coordinates: 40°41′21″N 74°2′40″W / 40.68917°N 74.04444°W / 40.68917; -74.04444Coordinates: 40°41′21″N 74°2′40″W / 40.68917°N 74.04444°W / 40.68917; -74.04444
Built: October 28, 1886
Architect: Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi
Visitation: 3.2 million (2007[2])
Governing body: U.S. National Park Service
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Type: Cultural
Criteria: i, vi
Designated: 1984 (8th session)
Reference #: 307
State Party:  United States
Region: Europe and North America
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Official name: Statue of Liberty National Monument, Ellis Island and Liberty Island
Designated: October 15, 1966[3]
Reference #: 66000058
U.S. National Monument
Designated: October 15, 1924
Designated by: President Calvin Coolidge[4]
New York City Landmark
Type: Individual
Designated: September 14, 1976[5]
Statue of Liberty is located in New York City
Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor

The Statue of Liberty (Liberty Enlightening the World [French: La Liberté éclairant le monde]) is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886. The statue, a gift to the United States from the people of France, is of a robed female figure representing Libertas, the Roman goddess of freedom, who bears a torch and a tabula ansata (a tablet evoking the law) upon which is inscribed the date of the American Declaration of Independence. A broken chain lies at her feet. The statue has become an iconic symbol of freedom and of the United States.
Bartholdi was inspired by French law professor and politician Édouard René de Laboulaye, who commented in 1865 that any monument raised to American independence would properly be a joint project of the French and American peoples. Due to the troubled political situation in France, work on the statue did not commence until the early 1870s. In 1875, Laboulaye proposed that the French finance the statue and the Americans provide the pedestal and the site. Bartholdi completed both the head and the torch-bearing arm before the statue was fully designed, and these pieces were exhibited for publicity at international expositions. The arm was displayed in New York's Madison Square Park from 1876 to 1882. Fundraising proved difficult, especially for the Americans, and by 1885 work on the pedestal was threatened due to lack of funds. Publisher Joseph Pulitzer of the World initiated a drive for donations to complete the project, and the campaign inspired over 120,000 contributors, most of whom gave less than a dollar. The statue was constructed in France, shipped overseas in crates, and assembled on the completed pedestal on what was then called Bedloe's Island. The statue's completion was marked by New York's first ticker-tape parade and a dedication ceremony presided over by President Grover Cleveland.
The statue was administered by the United States Lighthouse Board until 1901 and then by the Department of War; since 1933 it has been maintained by the National Park Service. The statue was closed for renovation for much of 1938. In the early 1980s, it was found to have deteriorated to such an extent that a major restoration was required. While the statue was closed from 1984 to 1986, the torch and a large part of the internal structure were replaced. After the September 11 attacks in 2001, it was closed for reasons of safety and security; the pedestal reopened in 2004 and the statue in 2009, with limits on the number of visitors allowed to ascend to the crown. The statue is scheduled to close for up to a year beginning in late 2011 so that a secondary staircase can be installed. Public access to the balcony surrounding the torch has been barred for safety reasons since 1916.

Contents

Design and construction

Origin

The origin of the Statue of Liberty project is generally traced to a comment made by French law professor and politician Édouard René de Laboulaye in mid-1865. In after-dinner conversation at his home near Versailles, Laboulaye, an ardent supporter of the Union in the American Civil War, stated, "If a monument should rise in the United States, as a memorial to their independence, I should think it only natural if it were built by united effort—a common work of both our nations."[6]
Laboulaye's comment was not intended as a proposal, but it inspired a young sculptor, Frédéric Bartholdi, who was present at the dinner.[6] Given the repressive nature of the regime of Napoleon III, Bartholdi took no immediate action on the idea except to discuss it with Laboulaye. Instead, Bartholdi approached Ismail Pasha, Khedive of Egypt, with a plan to build a huge lighthouse in the form of an ancient Egyptian female fellah or peasant, robed and holding a torch aloft, at the northern entrance to the Suez Canal. Sketches and models were made of the proposed work, though it was never erected. There was a classical precedent for the Suez proposal, the Colossus of Rhodes: a bronze statue of the Greek god of the sun, Helios. This statue is believed to have been over 100 feet (30 m) high, and it similarly stood at a harbor entrance and carried a light to guide ships.[7]
The American project was further delayed by the Franco-Prussian War, in which Bartholdi served as a major of militia.[6] In the war, Napoleon III was captured and deposed. Bartholdi's home province of Alsace was lost to the Prussians, and a more liberal republic was installed in France.[6] As Bartholdi had been planning a trip to the United States, he and Laboulaye decided the time was right to discuss the idea with influential Americans.[8] In June 1871, Bartholdi crossed the Atlantic, with letters of introduction signed by Laboulaye.[9] Arriving at New York Harbor, Bartholdi fixed on Bedloe's Island as a site for the statue, struck by the fact that vessels arriving in New York had to sail past it. He was delighted to learn that the island was owned by the United States government—it had been ceded by the New York State Legislature in 1800 for harbor defense. It was thus, as he put it in a letter to Laboulaye, "land common to all the states."[10] As well as meeting many influential New Yorkers, Bartholdi visited President Ulysses S. Grant, who assured him that it would not be difficult to obtain the site for the statue.[11] Bartholdi crossed the United States twice by rail, and met many Americans whom he felt would be sympathetic to the project.[9] However, he remained concerned that popular opinion on both sides of the Atlantic was insufficiently supportive of the proposal, and he and Laboulaye decided to wait before mounting a public campaign.[12]

Bartholdi's Lion of Belfort
Bartholdi had made a first model of his concept in 1870.[13] The son of a friend of Bartholdi's, American artist John La Farge, later maintained that Bartholdi made the first sketches for the statue during his U.S. visit at La Farge's Rhode Island studio. Bartholdi continued to develop the concept following his return to France.[13] He also worked on a number of sculptures designed to bolster French patriotism after the defeat by the Prussians. One of these was the Lion of Belfort, a monumental sculpture carved in sandstone below the fortress of Belfort, which during the war had resisted a Prussian siege for over three months. The defiant lion, 73 feet (22 m) long and half that in height, displays an emotional quality characteristic of Romanticism, which Bartholdi would later bring to the Statue of Liberty.[14]

Design, style, and symbolism


Detail from a fresco by Constantino Brumidi in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., showing two early symbols of America: Columbia (left) and the Indian princess
Bartholdi and Laboulaye considered how best to express the idea of American liberty.[15] In early American history, two female figures were frequently used as cultural symbols of the nation.[16] One, Columbia, was seen as an embodiment of the United States in the manner that Britannia was identified with the United Kingdom and Marianne came to represent France. Columbia had supplanted the earlier figure of an Indian princess, which had come to be regarded as uncivilized and derogatory toward Americans.[16] The other significant female icon in American culture was a representation of Liberty, derived from Libertas, the goddess of freedom widely worshipped in ancient Rome, especially among emancipated slaves. A Liberty figure adorned most American coins of the time,[15] and representations of Liberty appeared in popular and civic art, including Thomas Crawford's Statue of Freedom (1863) atop the dome of the United States Capitol Building.[15] The figure of Liberty was also depicted on the Great Seal of France.[15]
Artists of the 18th and 19th centuries striving to evoke republican ideals commonly used representations of Liberty.[15] However, Bartholdi and Laboulaye avoided an image of revolutionary liberty such as that depicted in Eugène Delacroix's famed Liberty Leading the People (1830). In this painting, which commemorates France's Revolution of 1830, Liberty leads an armed mob over the bodies of the fallen.[16] Laboulaye had no sympathy for revolution, and so Bartholdi's figure would be fully dressed in flowing robes.[16] Instead of the impression of violence in the Delacroix work, Bartholdi wished to give the statue a peaceful appearance and chose a torch, representing progress, for the figure to bear.[3]
Crawford's statue was designed in the early 1850s. It was originally to be crowned with a pileus, the cap given to emancipated slaves in ancient Rome. Secretary of War Jefferson Davis, a Southerner who would later serve as president of the Confederate States of America, was concerned that the pileus would be taken as an abolitionist symbol. He ordered that it be changed to a helmet.[17] Delacroix's figure wears a pileus,[16] and Bartholdi at first considered placing one on his figure as well. Instead, he used a diadem, or crown, to top its head.[18] In so doing, he avoided a reference to Marianne, who invariably wears a pileus.[19] The seven rays form a halo or aureole.[20] They evoke the sun, the seven seas, and the seven continents,[21] and represent another means, besides the torch, whereby Liberty enlightens the world.[3]
Bartholdi's early models were all similar in concept: a female figure in neoclassical style representing liberty, wearing a stola and pella (gown and cloak, common in depictions of Roman goddesses) and holding a torch aloft. The face was modeled after that of Charlotte Beysser Bartholdi, the sculptor's mother.[22] He designed the figure with a strong, uncomplicated silhouette, which would be set off well by its dramatic harbor placement and allow passengers on vessels entering New York Bay to experience a changing perspective on the statue as they proceeded toward Manhattan. He gave it bold classical contours and applied simplified modeling, reflecting the huge scale of the project and its solemn purpose.[3] Bartholdi wrote of his technique:
The surfaces should be broad and simple, defined by a bold and clear design, accentuated in the important places. The enlargement of the details or their multiplicity is to be feared. By exaggerating the forms, in order to render them more clearly visible, or by enriching them with details, we would destroy the proportion of the work. Finally, the model, like the design, should have a summarized character, such as one would give to a rapid sketch. Only it is necessary that this character should be the product of volition and study, and that the artist, concentrating his knowledge, should find the form and the line in its greatest simplicity.[23]
Aside from the change in the statue's headgear, there were other design alterations as the project evolved. Bartholdi considered having Liberty hold a broken chain, but decided this would be too divisive in the days after the Civil War. The erected statue does rise over a broken chain, half-hidden by her robes and difficult to see from the ground.[18] Bartholdi was initially uncertain of what to place in Liberty's left hand; he settled on a tabula ansata, a keystone-shaped tablet[24] used to evoke the concept of law.[25] Though Bartholdi greatly admired the United States Constitution, he chose to inscribe "JULY IV MDCCLXXVI" on the tablet, thus associating the date of the country's Declaration of Independence with the concept of liberty.[24]
Consultations with the metalwork foundry Gaget, Gauthier & Co. led Bartholdi to conclude that the skin should be made of copper sheets, beaten to shape by the repoussé method.[26] An advantage of this choice was that the entire statue would be light for its volume—the copper need be only .094 inches (2.4 mm) thick. He decided on a height of 151 feet (46 m) for the statue, double that of Italy's Colosso di San Carlo Borromeo and the German statue of Arminius, both made with the same method.[27] Bartholdi interested a former teacher of his, architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, in the project. Viollet-le-Duc planned to construct a brick pier within the statue, to which the skin would be anchored.[28]

Christmas SMS | Christmas Quotes | Merry Christmas Greetings

have compiled a list of Christmas Quotes regarding Merry Christmas Greetings for you to send to family members or friends in this Christmas season.
1)      Merry Christmas from our Family to yours. We hope that you find peace and love during this special time of the year. And may your family be blessed with all the joy that life can bring. Merry Christmas.

Creative Youth Ideas Christmas Collection

2)      Merry Christmas, Grandfather! May God bless you with many more Christmases to come. Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

3)      With All My Love at Christmas, Dear Husband. I offer you my undying love and affection during this blessed time of year. Merry Christmas!

4)      Much Happiness at Christmas time. Hoping that your Christmas is glittering with good cheer and wishing you, with lots of warmth, much happiness throughout the year.

5)      With Love, Sister, at Christmas. This Christmas wish is sent with love – there’s just no doubt about it because a wish that’s for you, dear sister – would never be without it. Merry Christmas with love.

6)      With Lots of Love, Dear Aunt, a Christmas. When it comes to Christmas greetings for a special Aunt like you, they have got to be sincere and warm – no other kind will do. With love on Christmas and always!

7)      To our Grandson, with Love. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to a Grandson who is especially dear!

8)      Merry Christmas to a Dear Brother and His Family. It’s always nice to think about the family we love so much, and so this comes at Christmas because we want to keep in touch and tell you that you’re wished a day that’s happy as can be – and a year that brings the things you want especially.

9)      Christmas wishes to you. Hope you and your family enjoy the best Christmas ever!

10)   Merry Christmas, Grandmother. You’ve been so sweet, Grandmother, as the years have gone their way so it isn’t any wonder that you’ve loved so much today. And it isn’t any wonder that you’re wished each happy thing a truly perfect Christmas and a grand New Year could bring!

11)   With Love at Christmas, Dear Sister. As Christmas approaches, it’s natural to think of you, dear Sister – especially to wish you a world of love and joy, and all the best for the holidays! With love at Christmas!

12)   Merry Christmas to you, Grandson. Very proud of you Grandson cause there just couldn’t be a handsomer or smarter boy as anyone can see! Especially at Christmas time sure hope that you’ll be glad, and have more fun and laughter than you have ever had! Merry Christmas!

13)   For you, Dear Godmother. May the star that led the wise men to where the infant laid, shine in your heart and bring you a happy Christmas Day! Happy Holidays Godmother!

14)   To a wonderful uncle at Christmas. Hope that all your special times around the Christmas tree are bright and filled with love and just as happy as can be! Merry Christmas, dear Uncle.

15)   Merry Christmas, Great Grandpa. Love the way you talk and laugh, the stories that you tell – you’re the nicest of Great-Grandpa because you know us all so well! Merry Christmas.

16)   To a very special cousin. Here’s hoping that your Christmas season will bring joy to you, and here are extra wishes for a Happy new year too! Have a great holiday, dear Cousin.

17)   Merry Christmas with Love, Nana. Wishing you a fun-filled day with lots of things to share, for someone sweet as you deserve a day beyond compare! Merry Christmas, Nana.

18)   To someone special. The happy songs, the merriment and all the lovely sights are wonderful to think about on special Christmas nights. Someone as wonderful and really nice as you deserves the brightest joys for Christmas and the whole year through! All the best!

19)   Merry Christmas to a Special Brother. You’ve always been there for me as a Brother and a friend – I hope the season brings you a joy that never has to end! Merry Christmas!

20)   To a very special Brother. Because it’s Christmas, Brother, and because you’ve been so kind, a lot of happy thoughts of you are coming into mind. Each is one more reason why this wish is so sincere – have a perfect Christmas and a wonderful New Year! All the best!

21)   To a wonderful Mother. Mother, you’re so wonderful and have the dearest way of bringing Christmas happiness to those you love each day. That’s why it means so very much to make this wish for you for everything that’s beautiful and happy all year through. Merry Christmas!

22)   To my wonderful wife. I always find in loving you a world of joy and cheer, that makes it seem like Christmas time within my heart all year! I love you, Dear!

23)   Sweetheart, you are wonderful. Though words seem so inadequate, I hope in some small way, this shows how much I love you and how much you mean each day. In the year that’s coming I know one thing is true – that my heart will only grow for only loving you! Merry Christmas, Dear.

24)   To a very dear Daughter and her family. Every day is brighter and made so much happier too by the pleasant thought of each and every single one of you. The reason for this Christmas note is just to make it clear that you’re always wished the best during this special time of year!

25)   To a very dear wife. May all the lasting happiness that’s wished for you right here be just the kind of love that you’ll enjoy at Christmas, Dear. Though it’s hard to say in words how much you mean each day, may this message help to send the love that comes your way!

26)   Especially for you, Dear Wife. For the happiness we’ve had together, the nice things that you do, the quiet moments that we’ve shared and for making dreams come true…Darling, at Christmas time and always, please know that I love you!

27)   Especially for you, sweetheart. My love for you at Christmas brings a special feeling, Dear, as I pause to think how wonderful it’s been to have you near. My love for you at Christmas in a special one it’s true, sure to keep you in my heart throughout the New Year too!

28)   To a dear Son and His family. Hope this is an especially nice Christmas season for all of you – one that you’ll thoroughly enjoy and warmly remember! Merry Christmas!

29)   With Love, Sweetheart, at Christmas. Here’s a greeting filled with love especially for you, to wish you happiness and joy to last all season through. There’s a corner of my heart that you alone can fill, because I love you dearly and you know I always will! Merry Christmas, Sweetheart!

30)   Especially for You, Dear Mother. Wishing you at Christmas, Mother – a little more gladness to brighten your way, a little more cheer to fill every day, God’s peace in your heart the happy year through and His love and His blessings in all that you do! Merry Christmas, with love.

Source : thebollywoodactress

Christmas Quotes: Merry Christmas Greetings

Christmas quotes, Merry Christmas greetings
Looking for some Christmas quotes and Merry Christmas Greetings to share with your friends and family?

Look no further!  Here are the best classic Christmas quotes and Merry Christmas greetings and quotes:

I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.  ~Charles Dickens

He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree.  ~Roy L. Smith

Christmas is not a time or a season but a state of mind.  To cherish peace and good will, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.  ~Calvin Coolidge, 1927

Christmas is a time when you get homesick – even when you’re home.  ~Carol Nelson

Christmas is the gentlest, loveliest festival of the revolving year – and yet, for all that, when it speaks, its voice has strong authority.  ~W.J. Cameron


The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree:  the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other.  ~Burton Hillis

It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air.  ~W.T. Ellis

One of the most glorious messes in the world is the mess created in the living room on Christmas day.  Don’t clean it up too quickly.  ~Andy Rooney

Christmas is not as much about opening our presents as opening our hearts.  ~Janice Maeditere

When we recall Christmas past, we usually find that the simplest things – not the great occasions – give off the greatest glow of happiness.  ~Bob Hope

As long as we know in our hearts what Christmas ought to be, Christmas is.  ~Eric Sevareid


Christmas gift suggestions:  To your enemy, forgiveness.  To an opponent, tolerance.  To a friend, your heart.  To a customer, service.  To all, charity.  To every child, a good example.  To yourself, respect.  ~Oren Arnold

I wish we could put up some of the Christmas spirit in jars and open a jar of it every month.  ~Harlan Miller

Christmas is a day of meaning and traditions, a special day spent in the warm circle of family and friends.  ~Margaret Thatcher

Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.  ~Norman Vincent Peale

Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas-time.  ~Laura Ingalls Wilder

Source : blogs.babble

Our Christmas - Santa Claus,Music, carols,Cards,Stamps,Gift giving..


Christmas carolers in Jersey
The first specifically Christmas hymns that we know of appear in 4th century Rome. Latin hymns such as Veni redemptor gentium, written by Ambrose, Archbishop of Milan, were austere statements of the theological doctrine of the Incarnation in opposition to Arianism. Corde natus ex Parentis (Of the Father's love begotten) by the Spanish poet Prudentius (d. 413) is still sung in some churches today.[47]
In the 9th and 10th centuries, the Christmas "Sequence" or "Prose" was introduced in North European monasteries, developing under Bernard of Clairvaux into a sequence of rhymed stanzas. In the 12th century the Parisian monk Adam of St. Victor began to derive music from popular songs, introducing something closer to the traditional Christmas carol.
By the 13th century, in France, Germany, and particularly, Italy, under the influence of Francis of Asissi, a strong tradition of popular Christmas songs in the native language developed.[48] Christmas carols in English first appear in a 1426 work of John Awdlay, a Shropshire chaplain, who lists twenty-five "caroles of Cristemas", probably sung by groups of wassailers, who went from house to house.[49] The songs we know specifically as carols were originally communal folk songs sung during celebrations such as "harvest tide" as well as Christmas. It was only later that carols began to be sung in church. Traditionally, carols have often been based on medieval chord patterns, and it is this that gives them their uniquely characteristic musical sound. Some carols like "Personent hodie", "Good King Wenceslas", and "The Holly and the Ivy" can be traced directly back to the Middle Ages. They are among the oldest musical compositions still regularly sung. Adeste Fidelis (O Come all ye faithful) appears in its current form in the mid-18th century, although the words may have originated in the 13th century.

Child singers in Bucharest, 1841.
Singing of carols initially suffered a decline in popularity after the Protestant Reformation in northern Europe, although some Reformers, like Martin Luther, wrote carols and encouraged their use in worship. Carols largely survived in rural communities until the revival of interest in popular songs in the 19th century. The 18th century English reformer Charles Wesley understood the importance of music to worship. In addition to setting many psalms to melodies, which were influential in the Great Awakening in the United States, he wrote texts for at least three Christmas carols. The best known was originally entitled "Hark! How All the Welkin Rings", later renamed "Hark! the Herald Angels Sing".[50] Felix Mendelssohn wrote a melody adapted to fit Wesley's words. In Austria in 1818 Mohr and Gruber made a major addition to the genre when they composed "Silent Night" for the St. Nicholas Church, Oberndorf. William B. Sandys' Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern (1833) contained the first appearance in print of many now-classic English carols, and contributed to the mid-Victorian revival of the festival.[51]
Completely secular Christmas seasonal songs emerged in the late 18th century. "Deck The Halls" dates from 1784, and the American, "Jingle Bells" was copyrighted in 1857. In the 19th and 20th century, African American spirituals and songs about Christmas, based in their tradition of spirituals, became more widely known. An increasing number of seasonal holidays songs were commercially produced in the 20th century, including jazz and blues variations. In addition, there was a revival of interest in early music, from groups singing folk music, such as The Revels, to performers of early medieval and classical music.

Food

A special Christmas family meal is traditionally an important part of the holiday's celebration, and the food that is served varies greatly from country to country. Some regions, such as Sicily, have special meals for Christmas Eve, when 12 kinds of fish are served. In England and countries influenced by its traditions, a standard Christmas meal includes turkey, meat, gravy, potatoes, vegetables, sometimes bread and cider. Special desserts are also prepared, such as Christmas pudding, mince pies and fruit cake. In Poland and other parts of eastern Europe and Scandinavia, fish often is used for the traditional main course, but richer meat such as lamb is increasingly served. In Germany, France and Austria, goose and pork are favored. Beef, ham and chicken in various recipes are popular throughout the world. The Maltese traditionally serve Imbuljuta tal-Qastan,[52] a chocolate and chestnuts beverage, after Midnight Mass and throughout the Christmas season. Slovaks prepare the traditional Christmas bread potica, bûche de Noël in France, panettone in Italy, and elaborate tarts and cakes. The eating of sweets and chocolates has become popular worldwide, and sweeter Christmas delicacies include the German stollen, marzipan cake or candy, and Jamaican rum fruit cake. As one of the few fruits traditionally available to northern countries in winter, oranges have been long associated with special Christmas foods.

Cards

Christmas cards are illustrated messages of greeting exchanged between friends and family members during the weeks preceding Christmas Day. The traditional greeting reads "wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year", much like that of the first commercial Christmas card, produced by Sir Henry Cole in London in 1843. The custom of sending them has become popular among a wide cross-section of people with the emergence of the modern trend towards exchanging E-cards!
Christmas cards are purchased in considerable quantities, and feature artwork, commercially designed and relevant to the season. The content of the design might relate directly to the Christmas narrative with depictions of the Nativity of Jesus, or Christian symbols such as the Star of Bethlehem, or a white dove which can represent both the Holy Spirit and Peace on Earth. Other Christmas cards are more secular and can depict Christmas traditions, mythical figures such as Santa Claus, objects directly associated with Christmas such as candles, holly and baubles, or a variety of images associated with the season, such as Christmastime activities, snow scenes and the wildlife of the northern winter. There are even humorous cards and genres depicting nostalgic scenes of the past such as crinolined shoppers in idealized 19th century streetscapes.
Some prefer cards with a poem, prayer or Biblical verse; while others distance themselves from religion with an all-inclusive "Season's greetings".

Stamps

A number of nations have issued commemorative stamps at Christmastime. Postal customers will often use these stamps to mail Christmas cards, and they are popular with philatelists. These stamps are regular postage stamps, unlike Christmas seals, and are valid for postage year-round. They usually go on sale some time between early October and early December, and are printed in considerable quantities.
In 1898 a Canadian stamp was issued to mark the inauguration of the Imperial Penny Postage rate. The stamp features a map of the globe and bears an inscription "XMAS 1898" at the bottom. In 1937, Austria issued two "Christmas greeting stamps" featuring a rose and the signs of the zodiac. In 1939, Brazil issued four semi-postal stamps with designs featuring the three kings and a star of Bethlehem, an angel and child, the Southern Cross and a child, and a mother and child.
Both the US Postal Service and the Royal Mail regularly issue Christmas-themed stamps each year.

Gift giving

The exchanging of gifts is one of the core aspects of the modern Christmas celebration, making the Christmas season the most profitable time of year for retailers and businesses throughout the world. Gift giving was common in the Roman celebration of Saturnalia, an ancient festival which took place in late December and may have influenced Christmas customs.[53] Christmas gift giving was banned by the Catholic Church in the Middle Ages due to its suspected pagan origins.[53] It was later rationalized by the Church on the basis that it associated St. Nicholas with Christmas, and that gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh were given to the infant Jesus by the Biblical Magi.

Legendary gift-bringing figures


Sinterklaas or Saint Nicholas, considered by many to be the original Santa Claus.
A number of figures of both Christian and mythical origin have been associated with Christmas and the seasonal giving of gifts. Among these are Father Christmas, also known as Santa Claus, Père Noël, and the Weihnachtsmann; Saint Nicholas or Sinterklaas; the Christkind; Kris Kringle; Joulupukki; Babbo Natale; Saint Basil; and Father Frost.
The most famous and pervasive of these figures in modern celebration worldwide is Santa Claus, a mythical gift bringer, dressed in red, whose origins have diverse sources. The name Santa Claus can be traced back to the Dutch Sinterklaas, which means simply Saint Nicholas. Nicholas was Bishop of Myra, in modern day Turkey, during the 4th century. Among other saintly attributes, he was noted for the care of Children, generosity, and the giving of gifts. His feast on the 6th of December came to be celebrated in many countries with the giving of gifts. Saint Nicholas traditionally appeared in bishop's attire, accompanied by helpers, inquiring about the behaviour of children during the past year before deciding whether they deserved a gift or not. By the 13th century, Saint Nicholas was well known in the Netherlands, and the practice of gift-giving in his name spread to other parts of central and southern Europe. At the Reformation in 16th–17th century Europe, many Protestants changed the gift bringer to the Christ Child or Christkindl, corrupted in English to Kris Kringle, and the date of giving gifts changed from December the 6th to Christmas Eve.[54]
The modern popular image of Santa Claus, however, was created in the United States, and in particular in New York. The transformation was accomplished with the aid of notable contributors including Washington Irving and the German-American cartoonist Thomas Nast (1840–1902). Following the American Revolutionary War, some of the inhabitants of New York City sought out symbols of the city's non-English past. New York had originally been established as the Dutch colonial town of New Amsterdam and the Dutch Sinterklaas tradition was reinvented as Saint Nicholas.[55] In 1809, the New-York Historical Society convened and retroactively named Sancte Claus the patron saint of Nieuw Amsterdam, the Dutch name for New York City.[56] At his first American appearance in 1810, Santa Claus was drawn in bishops' robes. However as new artists took over, Santa Claus developed more secular attire.[57] Nast drew a new image of "Santa Claus" annually, beginning in 1863. By the 1880s, Nast's Santa had evolved into the robed, fur clad, form we now recognize, perhaps based on the English figure of Father Christmas. The image was standardized by advertisers in the 1920s.[58]

Santa Claus is famous around the world for giving gifts to good children
Father Christmas, a jolly, well nourished, bearded man who typified the spirit of good cheer at Christmas, predates the Santa Claus character. He is first recorded in early 17th century England, but was associated with holiday merrymaking and drunkenness rather than the bringing of gifts.[41] In Victorian Britain, his image was remade to match that of Santa. The French Père Noël evolved along similar lines, eventually adopting the Santa image. In Italy, Babbo Natale acts as Santa Claus, while La Befana is the bringer of gifts and arrives on the eve of the Epiphany. It is said that La Befana set out to bring the baby Jesus gifts, but got lost along the way. Now, she brings gifts to all children. In some cultures Santa Claus is accompanied by Knecht Ruprecht, or Black Peter. In other versions, elves make the toys. His wife is referred to as Mrs. Claus.
There has been some opposition to the narrative of the American evolution of Saint Nicholas into the modern Santa. It has been claimed that the Saint Nicholas Society was not founded until 1835, almost half a century after the end of the American War of Independence.[59] Moreover, a study of the "children's books, periodicals and journals" of New Amsterdam by Charles Jones revealed no references to Saint Nicholas or Sinterklaas.[60] However, not all scholars agree with Jones's findings, which he reiterated in a booklength study in 1978;[61] Howard G. Hageman, of New Brunswick Theological Seminary, maintains that the tradition of celebrating Sinterklaas in New York was alive and well from the early settlement of the Hudson Valley on.[62]
Current tradition in several Latin American countries (such as Venezuela and Colombia) holds that while Santa makes the toys, he then gives them to the Baby Jesus, who is the one who actually delivers them to the children's homes, a reconciliation between traditional religious beliefs and the iconography of Santa Claus imported from the United States.
In Alto Adige/Südtirol (Italy), Austria, Czech Republic, Southern Germany, Hungary, Liechtenstein, Slovakia and Switzerland, the Christkind (Ježíšek in Czech, Jézuska in Hungarian and Ježiško in Slovak) brings the presents. The German St. Nikolaus is not identical with the Weihnachtsmann (who is the German version of Santa Claus/Father Christmas). St. Nikolaus wears a bishop's dress and still brings small gifts (usually candies, nuts and fruits) on December 6 and is accompanied by Knecht Ruprecht. Although many parents around the world routinely teach their children about Santa Claus and other gift bringers, some have come to reject this practice, considering it deceptive.[63]

History


Mosaic of Jesus as Christo Sole (Christ the Sun) in Mausoleum M in the pre-fourth-century necropolis under St Peter's Basilica in Rome.[64]

Pre-Christian background

Dies Natalis Solis Invicti

Dies Natalis Solis Invicti means "the birthday of the unconquered sun".
Modern scholars have argued that the festival was placed on the date of the solstice because this was on this day that the Sun reversed its southward retreat and proved itself to be "unconquered".[citation needed] Some early Christian writers connected the rebirth of the sun to the birth of Jesus.[8]"O, how wonderfully acted Providence that on that day on which that Sun was born...Christ should be born", Cyprian wrote.[8] John Chrysostom also commented on the connection: "They call it the 'Birthday of the Unconquered'. Who indeed is so unconquered as Our Lord . . .?"[8]
Although Dies Natalis Solis Invicti has been the subject of a great deal of scholarly speculation,.[citation needed] the only ancient source for it is a single mention in the Chronography of 354, and Hijmans argues that there is no evidence that the celebration precedes that of Christmas.[21]"[W]hile the winter solstice on or around the 25th of December was well established in the Roman imperial calendar, there is no evidence that a religious celebration of Sol on that day antedated the celebration of Christmas, and none that indicates that Aurelian had a hand in its institution," according to modern Sol scholar Steven Hijmans.[21]

Winter festivals

A winter festival was the most popular festival of the year in many cultures. Reasons included the fact that less agricultural work needs to be done during the winter, as well as an expectation of better weather as spring approached.[65] Modern Christmas customs include: gift-giving and merrymaking from Roman Saturnalia; greenery, lights, and charity from the Roman New Year; and Yule logs and various foods from Germanic feasts.[66] Pagan Scandinavia celebrated a winter festival called Yule, held in the late December to early January period.[citation needed] As Northern Europe was the last part to Christianize, its pagan traditions had a major influence on Christmas.[citation needed] Scandinavians still call Christmas Jul. In English, the word Yule is synonymous with Christmas,[67] a usage first recorded in 900.

Christian feast

The New Testament does not give a date for the birth of Jesus.[8][68] Around AD 200, Clement of Alexandria wrote that a group in Egypt celebrated the nativity on 25 Pashons.[8] This corresponds to May 20.[69] Tertullian (d. 220) does not mention Christmas as a major feast day in the Church of Roman Africa.[8] However, in Chronographai, a reference work published in 221, Sextus Julius Africanus suggested that Jesus was conceived on the spring equinox, popularizing the idea that Christ was born on December 25.[70][71] The equinox was March 25 on the Roman calendar, so this implied a birth in December.[72] De Pascha Computus, a calendar of feasts produced in 243, gives March 28 as the date of the nativity.[73] In 245, the theologian Origen of Alexandria stated that, "only sinners (like Pharaoh and Herod)" celebrated their birthdays.[74] In 303, Christian writer Arnobius ridiculed the idea of celebrating the birthdays of gods. However, since Christmas does not celebrate Christ's birth "as God" but "as man", this is not evidence against Christmas being a feast at this time.[8] Moreover, the fact that the innovation rejecting Donatist Church of North Africa celebrated Christmas suggests that the feast had been established before the living memory of those who began that Church in 311.

Feast established

The earliest known reference to the date of the nativity as December 25 is found in the Chronography of 354, an illuminated manuscript compiled in Rome.[75] In the East, early Christians celebrated the birth of Christ as part of Epiphany (January 6), although this festival emphasized celebration of the baptism of Jesus.[76]
Christmas was promoted in the Christian East as part of the revival of Catholicism following the death of the pro-Arian Emperor Valens at the Battle of Adrianople in 378. The feast was introduced to Constantinople in 379, and to Antioch in about 380. The feast disappeared after Gregory of Nazianzus resigned as bishop in 381, although it was reintroduced by John Chrysostom in about 400.[8]

The Examination and Trial of Father Christmas, (1686), published shortly after Christmas was reinstated as a holy day in England.

Middle Ages

In the Early Middle Ages, Christmas Day was overshadowed by Epiphany, which in the west focused on the visit of the magi. But the Medieval calendar was dominated by Christmas-related holidays. The forty days before Christmas became the "forty days of St. Martin" (which began on November 11, the feast of St. Martin of Tours), now known as Advent.[77] In Italy, former Saturnalian traditions were attached to Advent.[77] Around the 12th century, these traditions transferred again to the Twelve Days of Christmas (December 25 – January 5); a time that appears in the liturgical calendars as Christmastide or Twelve Holy Days.[77]
The prominence of Christmas Day increased gradually after Charlemagne was crowned Emperor on Christmas Day in 800. King Edmund the Martyr was anointed on Christmas in 855 and King William I of England was crowned on Christmas Day 1066.
By the High Middle Ages, the holiday had become so prominent that chroniclers routinely noted where various magnates celebrated Christmas. King Richard II of England hosted a Christmas feast in 1377 at which twenty-eight oxen and three hundred sheep were eaten.[77] The Yule boar was a common feature of medieval Christmas feasts. Caroling also became popular, and was originally a group of dancers who sang. The group was composed of a lead singer and a ring of dancers that provided the chorus. Various writers of the time condemned caroling as lewd, indicating that the unruly traditions of Saturnalia and Yule may have continued in this form.[77] "Misrule"—drunkenness, promiscuity, gambling—was also an important aspect of the festival. In England, gifts were exchanged on New Year's Day, and there was special Christmas ale.[77]
Christmas during the Middle Ages was a public festival that incorporated ivy, holly, and other evergreens.[78] Christmas gift-giving during the Middle Ages was usually between people with legal relationships, such as tenant and landlord.[78] The annual indulgence in eating, dancing, singing, sporting, card playing escalated in England, and by the 17th century the Christmas season featured lavish dinners, elaborate masques and pageants. In 1607, King James I insisted that a play be acted on Christmas night and that the court indulge in games.[79] It was during the Reformation in 16th–17th century Europe, that many Protestants changed the gift bringer to the Christ Child or Christkindl, and the date of giving gifts changed from December 6 to Christmas Eve.[54]

Reformation into the 19th century

Following the Protestant Reformation, groups such as the Puritans strongly condemned the celebration of Christmas, considering it a Catholic invention and the "trappings of popery" or the "rags of the Beast."[80] The Catholic Church responded by promoting the festival in a more religiously oriented form. King Charles I of England directed his noblemen and gentry to return to their landed estates in midwinter to keep up their old style Christmas generosity.[79] Following the Parliamentarian victory over Charles I during the English Civil War, England's Puritan rulers banned Christmas in 1647.[80] Protests followed as pro-Christmas rioting broke out in several cities and for weeks Canterbury was controlled by the rioters, who decorated doorways with holly and shouted royalist slogans.[80] The book, The Vindication of Christmas (London, 1652), argued against the Puritans, and makes note of Old English Christmas traditions, dinner, roast apples on the fire, card playing, dances with "plow-boys" and "maidservants", and carol singing.[81] The Restoration of King Charles II in 1660 ended the ban, but many clergymen still disapproved of Christmas celebration. In Scotland, the Presbyterian Church of Scotland also discouraged observance of Christmas. James VI commanded its celebration in 1618, however attendance at church was scant.[82]
In Colonial America, the Puritans of New England shared radical Protestant disapproval of Christmas. Celebration was outlawed in Boston from 1659 to 1681. The ban by the Pilgrims was revoked in 1681 by English governor Sir Edmund Andros, however it was not until the mid-19th century that celebrating Christmas became fashionable in the Boston region.[83] At the same time, Christian residents of Virginia and New York observed the holiday freely. Pennsylvania German Settlers, pre-eminently the Moravian settlers of Bethlehem, Nazareth and Lititz in Pennsylvania and the Wachovia Settlements in North Carolina, were enthusiastic celebrators of Christmas. The Moravians in Bethlehem had the first Christmas trees in America as well as the first Nativity Scenes.[84] Christmas fell out of favor in the United States after the American Revolution, when it was considered an English custom.[85] George Washington attacked Hessian (German) mercenaries on Christmas during the Battle of Trenton in 1777, Christmas being much more popular in Germany than in America at this time.
By the 1820s, sectarian tension had eased in Britain and writers, including William Winstanly, began to worry that Christmas was dying out. These writers imagined Tudor Christmas as a time of heartfelt celebration, and efforts were made to revive the holiday. In 1843, Charles Dickens wrote the novel A Christmas Carol, that helped revive the 'spirit' of Christmas and seasonal merriment.[86][87] Its instant popularity played a major role in portraying Christmas as a holiday emphasizing family, goodwill, and compassion.[88] Dickens sought to construct Christmas as a family-centered festival of generosity, in contrast to the community-based and church-centered observations, the observance of which had dwindled during the late 18th century and early 19th century.[89] Superimposing his secular vision of the holiday, Dickens influenced many aspects of Christmas that are celebrated today in Western culture, such as family gatherings, seasonal food and drink, dancing, games, and a festive generosity of spirit.[90] A prominent phrase from the tale, 'Merry Christmas', was popularized following the appearance of the story.[91] The term Scrooge became a synonym for miser, with 'Bah! Humbug!' dismissive of the festive spirit.[92] In 1843, the first commercial Christmas card was produced by Sir Henry Cole.[93] The revival of the Christmas Carol began with William B. Sandys Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern (1833), with the first appearance in print of 'The First Noel', 'I Saw Three Ships', 'Hark the Herald Angels Sing' and 'God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen', popularized in Dickens' A Christmas Carol.

The Queen's Christmas tree at Windsor Castle, 1848. Republished in Godey's Lady's Book, Philadelphia December, 1850.
In Britain, the Christmas tree was introduced in the early 19th century following the personal union with the Kingdom of Hanover, by Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Queen to King George III. In 1832 a young Queen Victoria wrote about her delight at having a Christmas tree, hung with lights, ornaments, and presents placed round it.[94] After her marriage to her German cousin Prince Albert, by 1841 the custom became more widespread throughout Britain.[44] An image of the British royal family with their Christmas tree at Windsor Castle, created a sensation when it was published in the Illustrated London News in 1848. A modified version of this image was published in the United States in 1850.[45][95] By the 1870s, putting up a Christmas tree had become common in America.[45]
In America, interest in Christmas had been revived in the 1820s by several short stories by Washington Irving which appear in his The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon and "Old Christmas". Irving's stories depicted harmonious warm-hearted English Christmas festivities he experienced while staying in Aston Hall, Birmingham, England, that had largely been abandoned,[96] and he used the tract Vindication of Christmas (1652) of Old English Christmas traditions, that he had transcribed into his journal as a format for his stories.[79] In 1822, Clement Clarke Moore wrote the poem A Visit From St. Nicholas (popularly known by its first line: Twas the Night Before Christmas).[97] The poem helped popularize the tradition of exchanging gifts, and seasonal Christmas shopping began to assume economic importance.[98] This also started the cultural conflict of the holiday's spiritualism and its commercialism that some see as corrupting the holiday. In her 1850 book "The First Christmas in New England", Harriet Beecher Stowe includes a character who complains that the true meaning of Christmas was lost in a shopping spree.[99] While the celebration of Christmas wasn't yet customary in some regions in the U.S., Henry Wadsworth Longfellow detected "a transition state about Christmas here in New England" in 1856. "The old puritan feeling prevents it from being a cheerful, hearty holiday; though every year makes it more so".[100] In Reading, Pennsylvania, a newspaper remarked in 1861, "Even our presbyterian friends who have hitherto steadfastly ignored Christmas — threw open their church doors and assembled in force to celebrate the anniversary of the Savior's birth".[100] The First Congregational Church of Rockford, Illinois, 'although of genuine Puritan stock', was 'preparing for a grand Christmas jubilee', a news correspondent reported in 1864.[100] By 1860, fourteen states including several from New England had adopted Christmas as a legal holiday.[101] In 1870, Christmas was formally declared a United States Federal holiday, signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant.[101] Subsequently, in 1875, Louis Prang introduced the Christmas card to Americans. He has been called the "father of the American Christmas card".[102]

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