About Christmas

**Rasputin** · 12-04-2006, 08:06 AM

Want to know the best way to celebrate Christmas? Follow these steps and you'll have the best holiday ever.

Steps

Put a Christmas tree up and decorate it with lights and ornaments.

Plan a Christmas night with caroling, costumes and entertainment.

Make some decorations if you don't have any.

Play good music and encourage dancing.

Set up a table and provide food.

Buy presents.

Visit friends and family-make the most of this Christmas.

Make some treats-nothing is as yummy!

Watch as many holiday movies as possible.

Light a holiday candle-not only will it get you in the spirit, it can be a sort of rememberance for those people that you remember from past Christmases that are no longer with you.

Tips

Don't invite anyone you don't like.

Ask for permission first if the hosting place isn't 100% yours.

Never forget the real reason for Christmas-whatever that may be for you.

Warnings

Don't be a Scrooge. No one likes that.

Don't overdo it on the shopping. It's a great aspect of the holidays, but that's not what it's all about.

Take things one at a time-otherwise, you will go into Christmas relapse.

**Rasputin** · 12-04-2006, 08:08 AM

Allergy sufferers shouldn't be led to believe that they have to use a fake tree in the first place. Fake trees are bad for the environment, and you can live with a real one if you know how to take care of it.

Steps

Spray the tree down in the yard with a hose before putting up.
Let it dry completely before putting in the stand and bringing it indoors.

Tips

Many Christmas tree lots and farms around the country will have flocking services. It's more popular in some areas than others.

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Christmas is about caring and spending time with your family, right? Well, needy children usually don't have a caring family and home; so here's how to help make Christmas day great for that little boy or girl, just like when you were a child.

Steps

Decorate a Christmas tree with a family in need. If you don't know of anyone in your local area or street, you can find out who you might be able to help by visiting a local charity that works directly with needy people. Ask them to suggest a family and also ask them to arrange a meeting, so that you are not barging in on someone's life. Remember, everyone is sensitive to feeling like a charity recipient and you must respect their dignity.

Take the children out shopping to buy the children and their family a gift.

While doing that, teach them about how giving is more important than receiving. Don't overdo it though; their need is greater than yours. Let the children enjoy the occasion by seeing all the decorations, sensing the excitement in the atmosphere and soaking up the enjoyment of the season.

Take the children out to lunch and enjoy a lovely time before the big

Christmas day. This might be the same day that you take them shopping. Let them choose anything they'd like.

Spend time together. On Christmas Eve, sit down and watch holiday shows on TV or watch a DVD with the family. Or have them help you prepare for

Christmas by cooking, wrapping gifts, singing carols or reading stories about Christmas.

Share some of your Christmas Day with them. Perhaps spend time together on Christmas morning, opening presents with the children and having breakfast. Or choose dinner time to share with them. Alternatively, you could celebrate the whole day together.

Show the children they are loved!

Tips

Always show love and care, and the children will feel comfortable and happy.

Don't leave their parents out of it. Welcome them to share the festive spirit as well.

Warnings

Don't treat this like your charity project for the year. Keep in touch with the family afterwards and show a genuine in interest in how the children are going.

**abadani69** · 12-04-2006, 07:12 PM

Merry Christmas to everyone and happy new year to me

**Parinaz_M** · 12-04-2006, 08:29 PM

faghat norooz!!!!!!!!! lol j.k

it's too early to say marry christmas, vaghti moghash shod miyam migam

**mike435** · 12-04-2006, 09:16 PM

i think its is the nicest time of year i really like the cozy ness you feel every were you go

**Rasputin** · 12-05-2006, 02:38 AM

Decorate a Christmas Tree Elegantly

When Christmas comes around, we all look to get the largest and best tree to decorate. A real tree is usually the best, but you will have to make sure that it is shaped properly, to enable you to decorate it and have it look elegant and outstanding.

Steps

Get a real tree as it's next to impossible to make a plastic tree look elegant.

Make sure you see the tree out of it’s netting. Look for a bushy tree with evenly spaced branches and a nice tapered shape. Remember that bigger isn't necessarily better.

Understand that it’s easier to use a pre-made stand, the best way to keep a tree fresh is to put it in a bucket of water. You can use bricks to lift the tree high enough so that the bucket doesn’t interfere with the lower branches.

Make sure the tree is securely wedged into position. Add the water only after the tree is in place. Cover the bucket with a brightly colored throw or scarf.

Buy lights that are white, and should not play music or flash. Hang the lights from top to bottom, pushing them partway into the branches. Try to space them evenly.

Avoid using tinsel or anything with too much glitter.

Hang balls to reflect the lights. For the truly minimalist look, use only white or silver balls; otherwise you can use colored balls sparingly.

Leave the tree as it is, though it might be a bit too boring for your taste.

Ornaments can make a tree individual and personal. A collection might take a few years to acquire, but you can use your imagination and use things that aren’t strictly for the tree.

Tips

You do not have to use every decoration. Sometimes less is more.

If you are worried about using a real tree because of the tendency to shed needles, keep the tree well watered and buy a variety that doesn’t drop its needles. These are more expensive and usually don’t smell as nice.

If you are worried about using a real tree because of the environmental effects, remember that the trees are farmed, and demand actually helps the environment, as more will be planted next year.

After the holidays, many areas offer special services that will remove your tree to have it chipped and composted. Ask you local council about this.

Buy ornaments for next year after Christmas when they’re cheaper.

Have your children make something for the tree.

If you’re worried about using a real tree because of the environmental effects, next year try renting a live tree. Look in your area for a service where they bring out a live tree and pick it up after Christmas. This may be a little more expensive but you don't kill a tree. You could also purchase a container grown tree and, if space allows, plant it as a permanent reminder of the holidays. If space allows, this can be a nice way of remembering a particularly special Christmas.

Warnings

A bucket of water (in addition to the bricks) is very heavy and should hold a fairly tall tree, but if it seems unstable or your tree is very tall you may need a proper stand.

Some of the better ornaments are breakable. Don’t hang them on weak branches, branches low to the ground (especially if you have children or pets) or too close to the edge.

**Rasputin** · 12-06-2006, 02:40 AM

Each Christmas it seems we receive more and more beautiful greeting cards. We often place them on the mantelpiece to enjoy them. Soon the holiday is over. We take down the tree, clean up the clutter, and look wistfully at the lovely cards as we remove them one by one. Here is a beautiful project you can complete using some of those cards; you can use this card star to top your tree next year.

Steps

Start by printing out this pattern. Copy it onto your cards by cutting it out and tracing it. Then draw in the fold lines with a ruler.
Score each card along the fold lines to make it easier to fold. To score, just run one edge of a pair of scissors along the fold line using a ruler. You can use a pizza cutter instead if you have one handy. Be careful not to press too hard so that you do not cut through the paper.
Get ready to do the folding now. This would be a great time put on some music, and invite the family to help with the folding.
Cover the table. Use your favorite glue along each of the long flaps, to seal each point of the star. Make twenty of these.
Clear the table, and get ready to work on the next step. Print out this pattern, as you did in the first step.
Use heavy card stock or print your pattern onto regular paper and then paste the pattern onto a cereal box or other light cardboard. This will be the body of the star. Cut, score and once again fold along all the lines.

Glue together carefully.

Be careful as you glue the points onto the star.
Carefully wrap the star in tissue paper and place into a marked box. Next Christmas, unpack your treasure and use it to adorn your Christmas Tree.

Tips

This project works well in January when it's time to remove all the holiday decorations, and pack them up for the next year. It can also make a nice activity for a New Year's Eve celebrated quietly at home

**Rasputin** · 12-07-2006, 02:45 AM

Regional customs and celebrations

Christmas celebrations include a great number and variety of customs with either secular, religious, or national aspects which vary from country to country:

In the southern hemisphere, Christmas is during the summer. This clashes with the traditional winter iconography, resulting in oddities such as a red fur-coated Santa Claus surfing in for a turkey barbecue on Australia's Bondi Beach. New Zealanders also commonly celebrate Christmas at the beach, coinciding with the vibrant red flowering of the coastal Pohutukawa or "New Zealand Christmas Tree".

Japan has adopted Santa Claus for its secular Christmas celebration, but New Year's Day is a far more important holiday. While in South Korea, Christmas is celebrated as an "official" holiday, and in India it is often called bada din ("the big day"). Celebrations revolve around Santa Claus and shopping.

In Poland, Santa Claus (Polish: Święty Mikołaj) gives gifts on two occasions: on the night of December 5 (so that children find them on the morning of December 6), and on Christmas Eve (so that children find gifts that same day). In addition to the major observances of Christmas, German children also put shoes out at their doors on the night of December 5, and find them filled with candy and small gifts the next morning. Santa Claus (Hungarian: Mikulás), or Father Winter (Hungarian: Télapó) also visits Hungary on December 6, bringing small gifts, and is often accompanied by a black creature called Krampusz; while on Christmas Eve (Holy Night - (Hungarian: Szenteste)) the Little (Baby) Jesus (Hungarian: Kisjézus or Jézuska) delivers the presents.

In Spain, gifts are brought by the Magi on Epiphany (January 6), and in Scotland, presents were traditionally given on Hogmanay, which is New Year's Eve. In recent times, both countries have also adopted gift-giving on Christmas Eve/Christmas Day.

The Declaration of Christmas Peace has been a tradition in Finland from the Middle Ages every year, except in 1939 (due to World War II). The declaration takes place in the Old Great Square of Turku, Finland's official Christmas City and former capital. It is broadcast on Finnish radio and television. Sauna bathing has an important role in Finnish Christmas, often after the visit of Joulupukki on Christmas Eve.

Saint Nicholas' Day remains the principal day for gift giving in the Netherlands while Christmas Day is a more religious holiday.

In Russia, Grandfather Frost brings presents on New Year's Eve, and these are opened on the same night. However, after the Russian Revolution, Christmas celebration was banned in that country from 1917 until 1992. Even today, throughout the U.S. and Europe, several Christian denominations, notably the Jehovah's Witnesses, Puritans, and some fundamentalists, view Christmas as a pagan holiday not sanctioned by the Bible.

**DokhtarIrooni** · 12-07-2006, 01:45 PM

vay man vaghti miram shahr koor misham enghadar cheragh meragh hast invar oonvar bekhatere christmas..

**Sepideh_UK** · 12-07-2006, 03:11 PM

are , but i soooooooo enjoy xmas.. cant w8..

**Rasputin** · 12-08-2006, 02:40 AM

The science of Santa Claus

Don’t believe in Santa Claus? If you’re skeptical of Santa’s abilities to deliver presents to millions of homes and children in just one night, North Carolina State University’s Dr. Larry Silverberg, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, can explain the plausible science and engineering principles that could allow the Jolly Old Elf to pull off the magical feat year after year.With his cherubic smile and twinkling eyes, Santa may appear to be merely a jolly old soul but he and his North Pole elves have a lot going on under the funny-looking hats, Silverberg says. Their advanced knowledge of electromagnetic waves, the space/time continuum, nanotechnology, genetic engineering and computer science easily trumps the know-how of contemporary scientists.Silverberg says that Santa has a personal pipeline to children’s thoughts – via a listening antenna that combines technologies currently used in cell phones and EKGs – which informs him that Mary in Miami hopes for a surfboard, while Michael from Minneapolis wants a snowboard.

A sophisticated signal processing system filters the data, giving Santa clues on who wants what, where children live, and even who’s been bad or good. Later, all this information will be processed in an onboard sleigh guidance system, which will provide Santa with the most efficient delivery route. Silverberg adds that letters to Santa via snail mail still get the job done, however.Silverberg is not so naïve as to think that Santa and his reindeer can travel approximately 200 million square miles – making stops in some 80 million homes – in one night. Instead, he posits that Santa uses his knowledge of the space/time continuum to form what Silverberg calls “relativity clouds.”“Based on his advanced knowledge of the theory of relativity, Santa recognizes that time can be stretched like a rubber band, that space can be squeezed like an orange and that light can be bent,” Silverberg says. “Relativity clouds are controllable domains – rips in time – that allow him months to deliver presents while only a few minutes pass on Earth. The presents are truly delivered in a wink of an eye.”

**Sepideh_UK** · 12-08-2006, 09:01 AM

wow

that is so Intresting...

Thanx alot siamak agha.

**Rasputin** · 12-09-2006, 07:39 AM

In Memory of the Christmas Truce

For those who accept the Biblical tale, Christmas comes to put to rest life's deepest contradictions. Nowhere is the contrast greater than in wartime, when the December soldier is torn between killing and sharing blessings of Christmas. That became vivid in the war of the trenches a century ago.

The muddy dugouts were filled with men claiming Christian belief in parallel traditions of England and Germany. They knew each other in a personal way not possible today with silent killing from flying warships and craft that move under water. Back then, intimate sounds-- voices of the hunter and the hunted-- could be heard across the no-man's land between armies of World War I.

Never have war and religion shared a more mystical sound than on the rare Christmas Eve of 1914, when music brought a brief halt to terrible bloodletting on a field of France. Uncertain history overtook the storied Christmas truce, and later generations gave it the aura of legend. That changed late last November, just short of 91 Christmases later, when the last surviving British soldier from the night of the truce, Alfred Anderson, died in Scotland at 109.

Anderson, born June 25, 1896, was an 18-year old member of the Black Watch Regiment when he and other British soldiers left the protection of the trenches to walk into no-man's land on Christmas Eve. The 300-yard space between opposing trenches was for dead men only until that moment of the impromptu and improbable truce.

Anderson remembered that to meet, the British and Germans walked to the center of no-man's land, where bodies of soldiers from both sides had lain for weeks untouched. During the hours of strange battlefield quiet, graves were dug on the spot for dead kinsmen. But it was music, not a burial detail, that convinced warriors who had been intent on killing each other to clamber out of the trenches and greet each other-- for that brief moment-- as friends instead of enemies.

During a lull in the firing, Anderson and his fellows thought they heard music some described as "from the heavens." It was, some laughed, Christmas Eve, so maybe a delusion for those who hungered to be home instead of on a muddy battlefield. Then the sound grew distinct. It was from the German trenches, which in some narrow spots were only 50 yards away. In a tongue foreign to most Britishers, voices across the way sang "Stille Nacht, " a carol with German roots that was not yet generally familiar in England.

"When it ended," Anderson recalled, "there was a short time of silence. Then one of ours began singing `The First Noel.' Halfway through, it was as if our entire regiment was singing." When the British followed with "Oh, Come All Ye Faithful," German soldiers joined in with harmony of the Latin version, "Adeste Fideles."

Some courageous men from both sides chose to risk leaving protection of their mud bunkers to walk into no-man's land, trusting in the music and in the spirit of Christmas. "It was then we discovered," said Anderson, "that those on the `other' side were not the savage barbarians we'd been told. They were like us. Why were we led to believe otherwise?"

Commanders on both sides were dumbstruck by openness of the spontaneous truce. They feared it would cause soldiers to question why they were killing each other, and that such an "insanity" could spread the length of the 500-mile Western Front in France. It ended when they succeeded in getting no-man's land emptied. Then, on both sides, they ordered firing to resume without halt.

Anderson was wounded in 1916. He returned to England to live on and become Scotland's oldest man at his death, having lived in three successive centuries. A great grandchild enabled him to become part of five living generations-- a rare blessing for a survivor of a war that killed almost a full generation of English and German men.

Commanders saw to it there were no more truces during the final four years of World War I, making possible battles that took 10 million lives. To his final breath last November, Anderson lived with regret that leaders on both sides, in all years, have continued to subject their people to the terrible trial of war, sometimes even seeking it.

As he saw in the decades to follow, fathers continue to send sons-- now also daughters-- to fight to the death for various reasons. Sometimes there are no reasons, and the carols of Christmas sung during that truce in the trenches fade into an echo of legend.

**Rasputin** · 12-12-2006, 07:16 AM

How the Grinch saved Christmas TV

They all premiered during my “wonder years.” Back then, you believed in Santa Claus.

Are these holiday shows that won’t go away just more evidence of Boomers imposing their cherished culture on future generations?

Perhaps, except today’s children seem just as enchanted by Rudy, Chuck and Grinch as I ever was.

Christmas might not come from a store, as the Grinch discovers, but it seems to belong to a simpler, hand-crafted age.

With all the advances in computer-generated animation, you’d think a Merry Shrek-mas would have run Rudolph and his clunky stop-motion pals out of town by now, or that The Simpsons would’ve supplanted Snoopy.

Instead, eggnog and Yule log still equal analogue. There’s nothing Ho-Ho-Hi-def about Christmas on TV.

Not that there haven’t been a few worthy holiday specials made this century.

Olive the Other Reindeer, a 1999 computer-animated gem produced by Matt Groening and featuring the vocal talents of Drew Barrymore and Dan Castellaneta, is available on DVD.

The Santa Claus Brothers (2001), from Nelvana and featuring the voices of Malcolm in the Middle’s Bryan Cranston and Joe Flaherty, is a fun little ’toon too.

Neither had the staying power of Rudy, Chuck and Grinch. Is it because the fractured TV universe just doesn’t allow for that one shining holiday experience?

Or, maybe, a classic is just a classic.

That is certainly the case with Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas, which airs December 12 at 9 on ABC (it repeats December 18 CBC and Dec. 24 on TBS).

The special ran for 30 years on CBS.

The ABC offering is a special 40th anniversary edition, offering a look at the original cut.

Like most of Chuck Jones’ Warner Bros. gems, The Grinch has a timeless quality to it. Whoville, like Oz, never needs a makeover.

It’s also extremely well-crafted.

Besides Jones and Theodore Geisel (Dr. Seuss), it features a unique convergence of talent.

Giving the Grinch a voice for the ages was Boris Karloff. His voice both scares and soothes.

Thurl Ravenscroft’s booming rendition of You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch, is, as he used to say as the voice of Tony the Tiger, “Grrrreat!”

Maybe it endures because it’s so prophetic. We’ve all turned into Grinches, hating Christmas and all its tinsel trappings. We all need to be reminded that Christmas doesn’t come from a store and a heart can grow three sizes in one day.

That’s why we keep watching Rudy, Chuck and the Grinch — to believe.

About Christmas

About Christmas

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