Christmas

SAY "MERRY CHRISTMAS" IN AS MANY WAYS YOU CAN!

2007-10-29T07:14:00.000-07:00

Author: default@goarticles.com (Sean carter)

It may happen that this type of weird thought has never drive you mad before. We all know what Christmas is all about but we hardly take note of the thing that Christmas is not same for all. One can try to spell out "Merry Christmas" in various languages and even he succeeds he will rarely keep in mind that the spirit changes from one language to another.

If we say "Fröhliche Weihnachten", we should then think about evergreen wreaths with four red candles hung in the home, cookies on the Christmas tree, lights, ornaments and tinkles... Cookies are in the shapes of people, animals, hearts or stars. Children write to St.Nicholas telling what they want to get as gifts. They believe gifts are brought by Christ child called "Christkindl". The Christmas treat includes roast goose or duck and also "marzipan" candy, cookies or gingerbread with tiny decorations on it. Children love to play with dice and the rule of the game is highly peculiar. One who throws a double puts on a hat, scarf, and gloves and then tries to open a chocolate bar out of the wrapper. It's the German's Christmas! They light up candles on every Sunday before Christmas.

One can taste a different flavor of Christmas when it comes to celebrate the occasion in France. One has to say "Joyeux Noel" instead of "Merry Christmas. It's a fun time for children as they get holidays and New Year is for the adults. The family sets up crèches with Mary, Joseph, shepherds, angels, and the farm animals. Three Wise men are added to the crèche on 6th January, the Epiphany. Children in this case get the gifts from "Pere Noel". Their favorite Christmas dish is stuffed goose with special French dessert in the shape of a Yule log.

Just wish the Italians "Buon Natale" with a smile on your face. It's a religious time for them. They love to sing and dance and generally set up "Presipio" in their homes. The fun goes for three weeks .It is not Christmas but "Novena" for them. The Italian children go from house to house reciting Christmas poems and singing. But one thing is common in every Christmas celebrations. Children wait for their gifts till Epiphany.

On Christmas Eve as the stars come out they light up tiny oil lamps in their houses. They shake their bodies in the tunes of music on the streets and dance with the merrymakers and onlookers after the Midnight Mass and Christmas Dinner. The special Christian dance is "Jota". The most striking part of the celebration is to honor the cow which breathed on Jesus in the stable at his birth time to keep him warm. Officially the Christmas celebration begins on 8th December. They have given a special name to Christmas Eve, "Nochebuena". The traditional Christmas treat is "turron", the almond candy. People exchange presents in the church and they take part in the swing game. They believe that swinging at this auspicious moment evokes an ancient desire to encourage the sun to "swing" ever higher in the sky. This is a short account of "Feliz Navidad" of Spain.

Customs change with the change in the cultural scenario. So, Christmas has many colors and shades as it is celebrated by muti lingual and multi cultural people around the world. But on the whole the spirit remains the same though the customs may differ.

About the Author

Sean Carter writes on holidays, Christmas and world events. He also writes on family, relationships, Thanksgiving, religion, love and friendship. He is a writer with special interest in ecard industry. He writes for 123greetings.com. He also writes blogs on Christmas Blogspot

Creating Christmas Gift Baskets

2007-10-29T07:10:00.001-07:00

Author: Rob Buenaventura

If you’ve ever ordered gift baskets online you’ve probably noticed that those that are well thought out and presented are very often quite expensive. With that in mind, have you ever considered creating your own Christmas gift baskets? You can make them quite easily by selecting a theme and buying gifts and products to compliment that them. Baskets can be found quite inexpensively at local craft stores or can be purchased in bulk online. Another thing you can do is recycle your own baskets. You can spray paint them to cover up any potential flaws and add decorative wrapping, ribbons, bows, and/or tinsel in order to complete the look.

Perhaps the easiest Christmas baskets to assemble revolve around food. You can check out gourmet food sites online for ideas and inspiration revolving around the idea of elegant gourmet gift baskets for Christmas. Some great things to include in your gourmet gift basket include: gourmet cheeses, crackers, and/or wine; gourmet coffees with mugs and perhaps coffee stirrers; a pasta basket with flavored olive oil, sun dried tomatoes, or special blends of Italian seasonings—the possibilities are limitless.

Christmas baskets that include bath, body, and or beauty products are also a great gift idea. You can really have fun with these baskets by creating a theme. If you’re going for a Hawaiian theme you could include pineapple soap, a loofah, orchid body spray, and perhaps coconut shampoo. You could elect a spa theme and include bath bombs, salts, scrubs, and a nice back brush. You could also create a cosmetic basket with ingredients such as nail polishes, lips sticks, brushes, and other essential beauty accoutrement.

If you’re really creative you can create gift baskets around the hobbies of those on your list. For the movie buff you can create a gift basket with DVDs, popcorn, and other essential movie snacks. For the Horse lover, you could include a DVD or book about horses, a horseshoe key chain, or mug or calendar that features horses. For the ice skater on your Christmas list you could include extra laces, pretty gloves to wear while skating, and some nice warm cocoas or ciders to warm them up after their time on the ice. If you are going to be attending Christmas dinner be sure to bring the hostess a basket of goodies to share and perhaps a nice bottle of wine to have with dinner.

Rob Buenaventura is a successful webmaster and publisher of GetChristmasShopping. He provides tips on unique Christmas gift ideas, xmas decorations, and other Christmas ideas. For more tips on Christmas Gifts, check out http://www.getchristmasshopping.com

Embroidered Gift Ideas for Christmas

2007-10-29T07:02:00.001-07:00

Author: Low Jeremy

One of the ways to make your Christmas gifts more personalized is to put some fancy embroidery on it. There are actually a lot of gifts, which you can put embroideries on, caps, handkerchiefs, towels, even stuff toys like teddy bears. It can either be a full-scale embroidered design or just a couple of letters or words. It will really depend on what you can do and of course the time available to do it.

Here are some embroidered Christmas gift ideas that you can put to good use this holiday season.

1. Bags glamour

Nothing can make a simple bag stand out than intricate embroideries that add color and texture. Buy a simple cloth bag in shops and craft stores and design it yourself. This will make your gift look more expensive than it really is.

You can embroider the pockets or the edges. You can also create patterns at the center to make a really unique piece that other people will surely envy. You can even use gold and silver threads to make the piece more glamorous. Add beads if you can on the embroidery to add a three-dimensional quality to it.

2. Bath Essentials

Bathroom staples like towels and bathrobes are another great items that you can embroider. Bath essentials are especially great if you are giving it to a couple like your mom and dad or your sister and her husband. You can create for them a matching set, emblazoned with the same design but in different colors. You can also embroider their names or their initials on the towels or robes. If you want to be whimsy about it, you can even put their endearments to each other on the material.

3. Head Essentials

This is another great piece of material that you can easily put embroider to. Of course, check first the materials, as there are some caps that have a cardboard embedded inside for support. This will be harder to embroider. Straw hats can also be embroidered. Just use straw threads instead of ordinary threads. Straw threads can be bought in craft stores in the country.

4. Sneakers

What better way to make sneakers really unique than to put some great embroidery on them. Often, sneakers will be made of lightweight materials that can be easily embroidered. Just use a sharper and stronger needle in stitching. For a more personalized touch, you can even put your initials at the back of the sneakers.

Low Jeremy maintains christmas-gift.articlesforreprint.com. This content is provided by Low Jeremy. It may be used only in its entirety with all links included.

Christmas Secrets Revealed - Why Santa Ho Ho Ho's and the Amazing Benefits for You!

2007-10-29T07:01:00.001-07:00

Author: Bernadette Dimitrov

We all know that Santa is famous for his hearty ‘ho ho ho’ greeting and laughter. However most people have no idea of the powerful healing benefits of laughter! Researchers now tell us that laughter brings balance to all components of our immune system. Yes it reduces stress and improves your health! We subconsciously knew that Santa was onto something good with that ‘ho ho ho’ but most of us never stopped and asked what it was all about.

For thousands of years some cultures like India used laughter as a major therapeutic stress reduction technique. Santa is a great advocate for keeping a happy disposition and using laughter to keep your mood positive and your daily stresses in toe without scope to run into chromic trouble. Researchers know that chronic stress can trigger an array of diseases. Laughter is a tremendous healing activity that Santa has been advocating since his inception.

Santa is a happy jovial character traveling the world constantly ‘ho ho ho-ing’. He knows that laughter immediately shuts off the flow of stress hormones and the fight or flight response that responds to the experience of stress, anger or hostility. He knows how to handle stress with laughter. He has been showing us how to handle life’s daily stresses with the magical health benefits of laughter.

Did you know that our natural killer cells that destroy tumors and viruses increase when we laugh as do gamma-interferon, a disease fighting protein, the B-cells which make disease destroying antibodies and the T-cells which are a major part of the immune response? Laughter has also been shown to protect your adrenal glands (which produce the primary hormones DHEA and cortisol) which are considered the major shock absorber hormones in your body buffering you from the potential mental and physical impact that stress can cause. The benefits of laughter are enormous. No wonder Santa is always healthy and has never missed a Christmas yet!

So loosen up and commit to having some good belly laughs this festive season. The laughter with the most health benefits are the ones where you laugh so hard that you slap your thighs as the tears spurt from your eyes. If you have to fake your laughter until you can get your mind-set seeing the funny side of life then do just that. Use movies, comedy skits anything you can find to help you to induce laughter and I mean hearty ‘ho ho ho’ laughter. Laugh hard, it is awesomely good for you.

Research has also shown that hearty laughter actually gives your organs a work-out too! Take a moment and remember the last time you had a really good belly laugh. Do you remember feeling some-what exhausted? That happens because you have actually given your body a work-out including your facial, abdominal, leg and back muscles. Yes it is true you have just experienced an intense aerobic work-out. So remember to ‘ho ho ho’ where ever you go and you’ll be healthy as well as merry! Enjoy good hearty laughter this festive season and throughout the year!

Visit http://www.HoHoHoChristmas.com & sign up for our FREE Newsletter full of tips, tools & resources for reviving the fun, joy, magic and real meanings of Christmas PLUS receive our bonus f*r*e*e 10 day e-course with audio - Amazing Ways to Enrich Your Christmas Experience from The HoHoHo Expert, Bernadette Dimitrov, author of the world's best Christmas ebooks and audio books. The HoHoHo Factor!’ everything you’ll love to know & share about Christmas & the new fun adventure series ‘Bluey, Santa's New Recruit!’ Your resources for creating fun and cherished memories today!