Saturday, May 29, 2010

Christmas Celebrations around the Globe

Christmas is a festive occasion that is celebrated every year around the world, though different people have different traditions and ways of celebrating this occasion. It turns more special when the entire family is involved in the festive preparation. There are favorite traditions related to Christmas that are consistent throughout much of the world. For example, many places use a Christmas tree and the children believe in Santa Claus. Writing letters to Santa Claus is a cherished tradition of the holiday season and personalized letters from Santa become treasured keepsakes.

People across the globe celebrate the Christmas holiday in different ways – below you will see some of the basic traditions from around the world.

France:
Christmas goes by the name of Noël in France and Santa Claus is called Pere Neol though they sure decorate the Christmas tree in the traditional way with red ribbons and real candles instead of the garland electrical artificial lights and fancy decorations that are used in America. The French also believe in decorating the real Christmas trees that are outside their own house like the evergreen tree. They trim it and shape it up to give it a perfect Christmas tree shape.

Hungary:
The Hungarians call Santa Claus as the Winter Grandfather or Mikulas in their language. But he doesn’t visit the children on Christmas Eve and instead visits them on December 6Th. So the children clean their rooms and prepare for Winter Grandfather’s visit. They expect Santa to leave candies and toys in their freshly cleaned boots and the children who don’t clean their rooms and shoes get a golden birch instead and no gift. And according to the Hungarian belief they visit their relative’s house to give Santa and his elves time to set up the gifts in the house.

Germany:
In Germany holidays are considered to be lively decorated to embattle the festive occasions. And the Germans simply love to put electric candles as Christmas lights and also cover and decorate their homes with lights of different colors. A special German decoration called Adventshranz which is actually a leaf like wreath which has four candles and most Germans prefer to dedicate the Christmas day with a manger scene that is the famous depiction of the stable and they believe that St Nicholas brings them gifts on December 6th.

Latvia:
Latvia is considered to be the home of the first Christmas tree. The whole family enjoys a traditional meal of bacon sauce, sausages and small pies.

New Zealand:
People of this country celebrate Christmas in the summer season as they have their summers during December. And the Christmas dinner usually includes BBQ, ham and shrimps.

United States:
Americans love to celebrate with the entire family exchanging gifts and enjoying a hearty meal.

It seems that adults everywhere enjoy giving gifts to young children whose joyful laughter and love fills the air during this joyous time of year.



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Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Getting Ready For Christmas

Christmas comes around every year just like clockwork but at times people are not prepared for it. Having an artificial Christmas tree on hand can be a help. It saves you shopping time and money. Of course, all of us should be planning ahead for Christmas, but somehow it seems that time gets away from us. Before we know it the summer has ended and fall begins. We suddenly find ourselves preparing for Halloween then it seems almost overnight we are thinking about our Thanksgiving Dinner, and then, BAM, out of nowhere Christmas is upon us. Believe me, I understand. That happens to me lots of years – in fact, almost every year. But there are some things we can do to be better prepared.

Don’t wait until Christmas to begin your shopping. Begin as early as right now with things like stocking stuffers. Buy small toy gifts for the Christmas stockings that are hung near the fireplace on Christmas Eve which the children eagerly wait to be filled with small stocking gifts that Santa’s elves will fill up. You can also fill up children’s stockings with cash as this way they will learn valuable lessons about the importance of money and will be happier to receive it. Gift cards are also to the advantage of the children as they can easily choose their own gifts according to their likes and dislikes and this gives them a boost of confidence and makes them feel proud too. You can get gift cards from nearly all retail stores.
If you need a new or your first artificial Christmas tree, then shop early for it. There are good reasons to do so. First of all, you can shop for these trees year round if you are willing to shop online. And by the way, shopping online actually offers the best selection available. By buying a tree in the ‘off season’ you are sure to find a great deal being offered. Take advantage of that. Plus the artificial trees are more cost effective and durable in the long run. Now days you can choose a pre-lit tree with a remote control that allow you to choose between clear or multi-colored lights. Some artificial trees are as simple to assemble as a pull up type style that can be done in five minutes or less and artificial trees are not likely to cause health problems related to asthma or allergies.

So celebrating the Christmas season is a treasured tradition and some people even decorate the Christmas tree according to a theme while others prefer to decorate it in a free style. You can get all your Christmas decorations and frills easily from the departmental stores who have special discounts for the Christmas season and this makes it possible for you to purchase your Christmas decorations at a cheap price.

Another fabulous option for your Christmas shopping can be through the internet as you can search for the most fabulous decorations at affordable prices. Plus you can also buy unique hand crafted Christmas frills through them. Plus you can also design and make your own Christmas decorations by taking the help of free tutorials that help you design your own beautiful Christmas decorations.

Prepare your craft box ahead of time. You already some of the projects that kids will want to take part in during each holiday. During Christmas a regular tradition is that of writing letters to Santa. The kids in my family always want to decorate those letters and envelopes. Another craft project they love is decorating pine cones with glitter. All of the craft supplies needed for the typical projects can be collected months ahead of time. Do whatever you can now to make the holiday season better organized and less stressful.

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Sunday, May 9, 2010

Christmas Trees are an Important Part of Christmas

Many people don’t believe in a Christmas without a Christmas tree. This would be as difficult for some as a Christmas without letters to Santa. After all, the two are tied together. Children write letters to Santa Claus so they can assured they will not be forgotten at Christmas time. Their goal is usually to insure that Santa will leave a wonderful package for them. While it's true that some kids receive a package from Santa in the mail, most look forward to what is left under the Christmas tree. However, those special letters from Santa are magical reminders that Santa Claus is real and that they really can get the things they want for Christmas. And not surprisingly, this all starts with a beautiful Christmas tree.

During the Christmas festivities choosing the perfect Christmas tree is one of the family traditions that kids look forward to. First you need to decide if you want a real or artificial Christmas tree and also understand the pros and cons associated with each.

Many people prefer to buy real Christmas trees. The reasons are varied, but basically, these individuals say that only a real tree can give the authentic ‘feel’ to the holiday. They will mention that the smell of Christmas fills the home when a real Christmas tree is used as the center piece of the decorations. But also, they will tell you that using real Christmas trees is kinder to the environment.

There are different beliefs about the first Christmas tree but we don’t exactly know who started the tradition. In due time the tradition of decorating Christmas trees started and new decorations and traditions evolved. Over the years various groups and even different families came up with their own traditions and decorating styles and that resulted in personalization of holiday adornments.

People started using artificial Christmas trees at the beginning of the 18th century and from then on the tradition of buying artificial Christmas trees continued. You have an array of choices to select from as a wide range of the different artificial Christmas trees are available nowadays. A quick search through some of the online stores will reveal that there are several different styles , shapes and colors of trees available.

The real pros and cons of using the real Christmas trees and the Artificial ones vary as different people have different opinions on them as they believe that by picking one or the other you are destroying the environment or are dishonoring the spirit of Christmas.

Artificial trees have increased in popularity as the manufactures design them more like real trees and they are also easier to assemble. One of the greatest advantages of these artificial trees is that they can be easily assembled. Plus the artificial trees can be dismantled and stored for next Christmas quite conveniently and can again be re-used from year to year. The fact that an artificial tree can be re-used means you will save money. And, since Christmas is an expensive time of year, saving money is a good thing.

But the biggest disadvantage of the artificial Christmas trees is that they are made of non renewable petroleum and if accidentally burnt they start to release toxic fumes which will spoil the environment. Plus the artificial trees are not recyclable and so they end up in landfills and stay there for a long time damaging the environment in the process.

Not only do real Christmas trees smell wonderful, but the shopping experience for them can be lots of fun for the entire family. Plus, the real Christmas trees are renewable sources and there are many Christmas tree farms that grow Christmases trees from year to year. But the real Christmas trees need to be maintained and watered regularly and you will also need to clean up the pine needles that fall from the tree. Additionally, at times, at least for some people, these pine trees can also trigger allergies.

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