Christmas True Meaning and TraditionsChristmas has had a long and varied history. It has been celebrated for centuries by different people, at different times, in different places, and in many different ways. Here you will find links to information about the different ways that the holiday we know as Christmas has been celebrated, or not celebrated, over the years.»Watch video about the history and origins of ChristmasAn Ancient HolidaySome of our modern Christmas traditions have much older roots, going back to pagan European traditions.»See how people celebrated the winter solsticeSaturnaliaSaturnalia was a Roman celebration in honor of the god Saturn.»Discover what the Ancient Romans celebrated on December 25thAn Outlaw ChristmasThe Puritans didn't believe in the jovial Christmas holiday, so they banned it.»Find out the penalty for celebrating ChristmasChristmas ReinventedAmericans embraced Christmas in the 19th Century, even inventing some of their own Christmas traditions.»See how Americans created their own vision of ChristmasA Christmas CarolCharles Dickens' classic tale reflected and influenced changing ideas about the nature of Christmas.»Learn how Scrooge and Tiny Tim changed ChristmasEnjoy Christmas with Santa Claus at the North pole, an award-winning Christmas web site. Send a letter to Santa Clause or a Christmas card to a friend.»Santa Claus and Christmas at the NorthpoleThe True Meaning of Christmas
Hello Everyone,
Merry Christmas! We've put President Elect Obama's Christmas message up on YouTube. It's so far subtitled in Korean, but we're working on Spanish, Vietnamese, Japanese, Chinese, and Arabic. So look for those languages today.
Thanks to Jennifer Kim for her overnight work on the Korean!
Also we will be posting versions to our www.captionedmediaforobama.com site for podcasting on ipod/iphone with all the subtitles embedded. So with one file you'll have all these languages available.
Look for the video at these addresses:
Best Regards,
Michael Novak
www.captionedmediaforobama.com
Merry christmas to the First Family elect and to all the peoples of the United states of America, God bless each and everyone with Love,Joy,Peace and Happiness throughout this wonderful season, as we still continue to live in hope for a brighter,better and prosperous future.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!
Although our goal was to deliver all orders placed by December 15th before Christmas, ship dates from the factory were missed and our inbound shipments were commingled with several holiday shipments. This series of events combined with inclement weather to cause significant delays in our fulfillment process.
We made extraordinary efforts to expedite outbound shipments, and in spite of the unfortunate challenges afflicting us, we were able yesterday to ship all orders placed before December 8 and most that were placed on December 9th.
If your order was placed on or before December 8th, please be assured it is on its way to you if you have not already received it.
We will be working today, Christmas eve, to ship all orders placed through December 15th. All orders placed after December 15th will resume the shipping process on Friday of this week.
We will be closed tomorrow in observance of Christmas Day. Please accept our sincere apology if your order was delayed, our assurance that we are working diligently to ship your order as soon as possible, our gratitude for your enthusiastic support and our wish that your holiday is safe and joyful.
Xmas, 'Palestinian' Muslims Oppress Bethlehem's Christians
* Jihadists persecuting Palestinian Christians in Gaza
* Muslim grinches steal Bethlehem Christmas
* Christians persecuted in Bethlehem
* Bethlehem Christians fear neighbors A number of Christian families have finally decided to break their silence and talk openly about what they describe as Muslim persecution of the Christian minority in this city
I have been brought up short, with respect to what have become known as the advent trees around here. My five trees, which I have been lighting sequentially, I mean. It seems, from writers out there who are not as Christian culturally deprived as I, that the advent wreath, as it is properly called, indeed has five candles. There is a center one I had forgotten. So, my five trees, symbolically, are correct. The fifth candle is in the center of the wreath (just as my fifth colored tree is in the center!). So I got all that right. A candle is supposed to be lit on the day of the beginning of each week until Christmas (starting on November 30). Roughly, I have accomplished that. The center candle is lit on Christmas Day. I screwed that up, as that tree is already lit and burning bright in multiple colors. I have one more tree to go, but, as it turns out, I have a few days before I must have it ready. Whew! And it is five below with a twenty mile an hour wind out there this morning. I kid you not. The wind chill is so cold that I did not retrieve the papers from my driveway in my ratty blue robe and slippers. I stepped out there, as did Harvey. We both stepped instantly back, with mutual shudders. I put my wool lined duster on to retrieve those items. This time Harvey watched from the window. No fool, that cat.
The Green Bay Packers are quite the thing here. And there is a pall hanging over this entire area, as the Packers lose game after game, Sunday after Sunday. It is like living in Rome, when the Colliseum was all the rage, on Sunday afternoons. Except lately, the Christians have been kicking the crap out of the Lions, so to speak. And that is terrible. Bret Favre, however stupid the spelling of that man's name is, compared to it's pronunciation (which, however, is explained by the stupidity he evidences every time he opens his mouth), has been winning up there in New York. You see, he retired a year ago, then tried to come back, but the current Packer management no longer wanted to deal with such an outrageously famous, arrogant and stupid movie-star-like player. This part of the American outback does not take to that well. So, they said no, stay retired, but then they weakened and allowed him to go play for somebody else. And now they are losing games while that New York team is winning. There is a quiet across the land out here. That quiet is the same one that comes before a storm. Current Packer Management is about to become the eye of that storm. And they better have some prospects (like maybe coaching for the Winnepeg White Doves, or somebody like that). All they had to do was have a winning season. Not even get into the play-offs. That would have been okay. Or, even if they had the current season (like two wins and a hundred and eight losses), and Favre had a losing season too, that would have been alright. But no. They are so screwed. Before this season is out, those coaches will be put in one those yellow and green wagons I see all over out here, and towed (by a hugely expensive John Deere) to the football garbage dump.
Writing of garbage, Governor Rod is still not giving up. Nope. He has been reading my blog and saying "Aha!" after he takes in the paragraphs I devote to him. He has not arrested Ms. Big Fat Lawyer Mouth Madigan yet, nor taken on the Righteous Roaring Ftizgerald in open combat. But he may at any time. It is so cold that he could call out the National Guard just to defend his population against that. The power of being governor is a marvelous thing. And he has that young cute wife to go home to every night. Rod toils and Rod bubbles....and what more can we, his bored public, ask for? Entertain us Rod. For sure that is the greatest thing you could do for us since you could never govern yourself out of a wet paper bag. C'mon Rod, Advent is fast closing in on us. Light that last candle early. I dare you.
The Pickens Plan: For those who would like to become an active participant in a solution for our nations energy needs I urge you to join with T.Boone Pickens in his quest for a cleaner planet through alternative energy.
Also see Green Wave Energy: Green Wave was founded by Mark Holmes and was formulated for viable alternative energy solutions. Green Wave Energy is promoting state-of-the-art energy-saving products and services throughout the country.
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Call 949.645.1701 for information on how Green Wave Energy can help you save the planet.
Alternative EnergySource: David Apperson
url: http://veterans.barackobama.com/page/community/tag/alternative-energy
It is snowing in Lake Geneva. It snows just about every day during the winters here now. Last year it snowed once every three days, and I know because it has to be plowed out, it snows that much. It was not always this way they say, but, for some reason, somehow connected to El Nino and global warming, it is very much that way now. But at least in December, the snow is kind of welcome because it is a precursor to Christmas, my favorite holiday season. I haul out the old films that you don't see on television anymore, like Holiday Inn and White Christmas (I really didn't realize just what a piece of military jingoism that one was until I watched close last year...one would think that 'General Waverly' was a god, or maybe a Barack Obama!). Whatever. I like the way people think during this coming holiday. They are more open and caring and giving. At least it seems that way to me. The television news, however, is constantly telling us that things suck and are getting suckier by the moment, while we should also be aware of thieves, scam artists, computer fraud and our own tendency to give too much. After all, if you read my blog from two days ago, those damn banks simply gave us too much and so might all go broke. We don't want to turn into Jimmy Stewart in that awful (read wonderful) movie called "It's a Wonderful Life."
I note that there was mention, barely, this morning, of one problem the car companies share, in getting into the supposed mess they are in (the three reasons they listed were laughable, as in the "we gave in too easily to union demands," which was number one. That is just like saying "I confess, he did it!"). They gave huge dividends to the stockholders. That is the real and only reason for their troubles. The Republican media does not want to play that tune too loudly or often, however. Someone might ask "why did they give out such huge dividends?" The answer becomes obvious. They gave those out in order to portray the vast and great success of the organization so they, the executives, could then cream off huge billion dollar salaries and bonuses and stock options. And there it is. Legal theft. Oh, do not forget that they literally, and right out there in front of everyone, borrowed much of the money to pay those dividends (and monies to themselves) from the hedgefunds. Now we are bailing these people out to save the jobs the businesses control. And we are doing it without firing, wholesale, the very same people who did this to all of us. We are doing the bailout without going back and holding accountable all of the legalized crookery executives who dreamed this fraud up and then brilliantly executed it. We are being extorted again, and by all the same hoary old characters. We can't get rid of them.
And we have a new old player. A silky silent hedge fund derivative operation like the Carlyle Group. These new guys, or at least the newly revealed guys, are called the Cerberus Group. Yeah, these guys are the three-headed-dog who guards the gates of hell, alright. Tony Snow, former SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY is their leader. They own Chrysler, hotels all over the place, rental car companies, bus companies, and too many things to mention here. They are actually out of the U.K., like the Carlyle people, and bank in the Channel Islands. What is wrong with this picture? Our leaders move from office to office, becoming names, like Palin, Kennedy, whatever. Then they move into the private sector and use their former offices and contacts to enrich themselves. Then they move back into office to give more to the organizations they just left. And on and on and on. Our media is supporting this continuing nightmare. It is being done to all of us. It is these people who have stolen everything and it is these people who are driving us into a new period of the dark ages that you and I are now starting to actually feel. Get ready for more. What can we do? Be aware of what is really going on. Use these holidays to band together as friends and family. We need to get tribal to survive this thing. Give gifts and shop, but to support your tribe. We are going to need one another badly, but it is all going to be local. The damage nationally and internationally is beyond our control or any repair. Look towards Wisconsin, where some communities are taking the step of producing their own local currency (which is legal, by the way, as long as you don't make it look like national currency).
Catherine Austin Fitts predicted much of this and sought to create small communities banded together in entities called Solaries. The Solari is a small community which survives upon its own resources of credit and currency. Go to her site and check it out. This woman knows what she is talking about (former director of HUD, way back there).
I was in town yesterday (it was snowing, of course) and we can't use salt here (for the roads) because it flows into our pristine lake. The Range Rover is great. I have chains and can't wait to put them on and try them out. I have two tow straps, as well. It is great good fun to ride along and pull others from the ditch when they get stuck. I don't know why I like that, but I do. Maybe I am more of a country guy than I thought. One day, maybe soon, I will be hanging around an automotive shop, enjoying the warmth of a pot-belly stove, and murmuring about the 'city-slickers' who have come up from Chicago to enjoy the country. Instead of identifying with the Chevy Chase character in his New England Christmas comedy of years ago, as I always have, I may be becoming much more like the whacked-out mailman in that film! Last year I pulled about ten vehicles from the snow on my various trips back and forth into town. I never took any money, but one woman did force a pound of Alterra coffee on me. I have used the brand ever since, it's true, but my real reward that day was simply the fact that the woman was in her slippers and robe when I extricated her car. It is the whacked-out mailman buried deep within my being that made me smile all the rest of the way into town that day.
If you're looking forward to January 20 as much as I am, you may want to give some Obama presents so that your relatives and friends can enjoy the inauguration as much as you will.
I've compiled a list of All Things Obama at Amazon. Check it out!
We are battered this way and that by criss-crossing waves of unknown origin and unpredictable vehemence. The stock market rises and then falls, not like in the the old days, where it might go up a percent or less and then down by the same a few days or weeks later. No, these are monumental rises and falls, which set records as the figures writhe and seeth. But we still plunge ever downward. We are up today. Of course, it is only early in this day.
I went to Ebay. It is Christmas. And I do love the commercial aspects of Christmas. I see little support of that ethic out here in the ether or even coming from mainstream media. It would seem that everyone is adopting the principle that it is better to send a card telling family and friends how much they mean to you rather than sending a gift. All, and I mean all, the articles and shows portray this action from the perspective of the sender. I wonder if the senders of such idiotic cards and letters have thought about the total lack of gifts that they are going to receive? I doubt it. After all, they are important and a gift would be appropriate because of their stature in other's lives. And, we do not believe! As a culture, we have been conditioned by our entire systems of communications not to believe. So, what exactly can we hope to gain by sending out cards and letters with statements of our love, appreciation and devotion enclosed? We will not be believed. The cards and letters will go right into the waste basket. We don't even really believe telephone calls. Look how many times video phones have been re-invented and made more financially possible. They would be a reality today, except for one thing. We don't want to be observed by the other party when we are on the phone. We don't even like caller I.D., except for our own phone (so we know who is calling. We would rather not have the other person or entity know when we are doing the calling). That is because we like to lie. We need to lie, upon occasion. And we don't always want to have to look good either. I don't right now, as I write this. I will, a little bit later, when I am ready to go to the office (my coffee shop). But not right now. If you called me right now and I had a video phone I would turn off the video feed part of it, lie and tell you it was broken, and then lie and say I was cleaned up and ready for the day, if you asked me. Go ahead, tell me you would not do that!
I send gifts. I spend money to send gifts to show that I care. In hard goods. I care enough to find the right gift. I work at it. The people who get gifts from me know that I work at it. They may even think me a fool, because I don't get a whole lot of gifts in return. But that is okay. You see, it is not about them. It is about me. I appreciate. I care. I love. Those feelings are not totally dependent upon how the recipients feel towards me. They partially depend upon how I feel that they feel however. They may be fooling me. But that is okay. I am fooled a lot. I like Christmas carols playing, even the silly ones. I like the cards, more because I got one at all rather than what the card might say. I like a real cut tree, just because I have always had one since I was a kid. I like people who wrap their gifts and do it well. I don't do it so well, but I keep trying. I don't like gift certificates and I do not care where they are from. I do not like money gifts. I always think money gifts are given kind of to get rid of the recipient, at least for this year. And, anybody who reads this knows, I like a fire in the fireplace, or in the back yard, or where ever.
So, Merry Christmas. The season is here. I love it.
But I do not love Sarah Palin. She is still doing what I thought she would be doing. She is the Paris Hilton of today. She did not get famous by making a porn movie for You Tube. But she may well end up doing one at some time. Because she will do anything at all to maintain that spotlight upon her. Her dumbness is palpable but honest and direct. She does not make believe that she has a brain. She makes no effort to slow down and, possibly, say anything that has any merit at all. So, I do like that about her. She is a female Forest Gump, although I doubt that her heart has the warmth that the producers of the film put into the 'real' Forest Gump role. She is out there speaking on behalf of this Chambliss fellow. He must be as dumb as she is. Or maybe he is just laughing!
I took some flack for writing that women should not serve in certain political positions abroad. I expected to. Unless you travel out there you don't know. And Americans, by and large, do not travel out there. The cultures of this planet are many and varied. We are the single largest culture ever, for example, that is dedicated to the idea that one man should only have one woman in marriage. We are among the minority of cultures on the planet which feel that way. Think about it. That means that our whole concept of 'marriage because of falling in love' does not apply in most parts of the world! The idea that one woman and one man can have this wonderous and exclusive life-time relationship is primarily a Western concept practiced here and in Europe. And almost nowhere else. And it is a huge planet. In most cultures, the woman, or women, are relegated to functions which serve the male leader of the group. Period. From procreation to chores, from social contact to child-rearing. The male leaders of such groups are not accustomed to paying any attention whatever to women when it comes to the administration of the group (except in those areas wherein she works). Take that onto the larger stage. I did not make these dynamics of behavior. They developed over time and their relative merits are argued to this day at universities across the world. But they are there. We must deal with life as we have it. Yes, we can strive to change things to more fit our paradigm, but we cannot do it quickly. We must ease the world along and 'sell' it on doing things our way. That is why I wrote what I wrote. Sarah Palin has nothing to do with sexuality. She is just an idiot, as are Bill Bennet and George Bush. Hilary is smart. But God, is she on a mission traveling in harm's way. An impossible mission. We could have made things so much easier, with such a better liklihood of accommodating outcome. But I have to also count on Barack. I paid the money. I campaigned. I hoped and prayed. Now he is here. I must wait.
BY JOE GOULD DAILY NEWS WRITER
Updated Friday, November 28th 2008, 1:59 PM
Police tape surrounds a Wal-Mart that was the scene of a deadly stampede.
This photo was taken moments before the Wal-Mart store opened.
A Wal-Mart worker died after being trampled when hundreds of shoppers smashed through the doors of a Long Island store Friday morning, police and witnesses said.
The 34-year-old worker, employed as an overnight stock clerk, tried to hold back the unruly crowds just after the Valley Stream store opened at 5 a.m.
Witnesses said the surging throngs of shoppers knocked the man down. He fell and was stepped on. As he gasped for air, shoppers ran over and around him.......
ENTIRE ARTICLE - http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2008/11/28/2008-11-28_worker_dies_at_long_island_walmart_after.html
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Two children's sizes have been added in limited quantities to our line. Youth medium (8-10) and youth large (12-14) are now available on our web site. Be sure to order soon if you want them before Christmas. Ojamas make great gifts are are a must-have for inauguration-eve.
Good news! We received our inventory from the factory a couple of days earlier than expected. All remaining orders placed by 11/05 are packaged and being picked up by the postal service on Monday. Hurray!!! You'll have them in just a few short days. Later today we'll have a better idea of just how far beyond 11/05 we'll be able to go. The factory is already working on the next batch which we expect will arrive before 11/30. If you're thinking of giving Ojamas as Christmas gifts, or you want them to wear in time for the inauguration, please do not wait to order them. Producing sufficient quantities depends heavily on our ability to estimate demand as far in advance as possible. If you order now, we can virtually guarantee you will have yours by the 2nd week of December.
We fill orders on a first in/first out basis, so if we don't get your order until December 20th, our ability to fill it depends on how many orders came in before yours and how much inventory is left at that time. We're not just encouraging to order early to artificially inflate sales projections for some corporate big wig. We simply want to provide you the best product as quickly as possible.
More good news! We have added a Newsletter capability to our web site. You don't have to be an existing customer to sign up. If you'd like to receive updates, promotional offers, discount coupons and news by email, just sign up in the box below or the one at the bottom page of our web store. ps: there's a special offer going out Tuesday for everyone who signs up by Monday night.
PRESIDENT INAUGURAL TICKETS are available for those who would like to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the THE 44TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. RSVP must be made by 15 DEC 2008. This will be an historic moment of FAITH, HOPE and UNITY. Confirm your reservations while you still can.
Some US Senators are already out of tickets. As of 15 NOV 2008, I recommend trying to connect with your local congressional representative.
CLICK HERE FOR BARACK OBAMA PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURAL TICKETS
UPDATE: WASHINGTON, DC - Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), chairman of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies (JCCIC), today introduced legislation prohibiting the sale and counterfeiting of inaugural tickets."The Inauguration of the President is one of the most important rituals of our democracy. The chance to witness this event should not be bought and sold like tickets to a football game," Senator Feinstein said. "This legislation is meant to immediately stop the unscrupulous behavior of those who obtain these tickets for free and then seek to profit by selling them, often at dramatically inflated prices. This bill also would target those duping the public with fraudulent tickets or promises of tickets they don't actually have."It is my hope that Congress will pass this legislation during this week's lame-duck session so that we can stop scam artists and profiteers from maligning this historic event," Senator Feinstein added.The bill would make it unlawful to sell or attempt to sell tickets to the presidential inaugural swearing-in ceremony. It also would be illegal to create a fraudulent ticket or forge a ticket to the inauguration. Those who violate the law would face fines of up to $100,000 and imprisonment for up to one year.Tickets to the 56th Inaugural Ceremonies are provided free of charge and are distributed through members of the 111th Congress and the President-elect and Vice President-elect. Tickets will not be distributed to Congressional offices until the week before the inauguration and will require in person pick-up with proper identification.No websites or other ticket outlets have inaugural swearing-in tickets to sell, despite what they may claim. Last week, Ebay/StubHub announced it would not allow the sale of inaugural swearing-in ceremony tickets on any of its websites.
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Wow. This is a blockbuster. It is almost like the Sniper Fire Story from Hillary Clinton.
I don't know if it is true, but it seems true.
It seems that McCain copied Christmas story about a guard drawing a cross in the sand with a (stick or sandal -- the story differs) from someone who he admired, Russian author Alexander Solzhenitsyn who wrote "The Gulag Archipelago".
Just a refresher, here is the commercial he made in December 2007.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WTu7drLfRc
Here is a link to the story that brought this to my attention.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/8/17/122230/161/239/569299
McCain returned from Vietnam in 1973. This Russian author's work was published in the US in 1973, but according to John McCain was finished in 1968. Moreover, McCain wrote a 17 page story in US News & World reports in 1973 that did not mention this story at all. When you read this article, you will see that McCain is writing with great depth and detail about his experience. It's amazing that the story of the guard who so helped him make it through is somehow not mentioned.
Here is the link to the article written by John McCain in US News & World Reports in 1973:
http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/2008/01/28/john-mccain-prisoner-of-war-a-first-person-account.html?PageNr=1
However, many years later McCain, who is a big fan of Alexander Solzhenitsyn and who he wrote about in his book "The Hard Call: The Art of Great Decisions" incorporates many of the facts Solzhenitsyn cross story for his own. McCain's book is excerpted in an article in the NY Sun Times.
Here is the link to the Article in the NY Sun Times where McCain praises Solzhenitsyn and dates when his work was complete.
http://www.nysun.com/opinion/solzhenitsyn-at-work/83117/
This is not the first time that McCain contradicts his prior story about what happened in Vietnam. Remember, McCain not to long ago went to Pennsylvania and told a crowd that he gave the names of the starting defensive line Pittsburgh Steelers when pressed for names of other soliders by the Vietnamese, when in his memoirs he stated that it was the offensive line Green Bay Packers. (Oddly enough, in his 17 page article with all of the detail that he gives regarding his experience and stating that he only gives his name, rank, and serial number immediately after his capture, he doesn’t mention the Green Bay Packers story either.)
Here is the video where he changes his story regarding the Green Bay Packers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERMiC7_tHmQ
It's one thing to exaggerate about the giving info to the Vietnamese how strong you were in facing torture. It's another thing to lie about your Christian experience to get an advantage for political gain. To lie about God is reprehensible. If this is true, we need to pray for this man. This is not honorable. And he needs to repent and confess his lies.
Well, we need to pray for him whether it's true or not, but it might be a different prayer.
