Thursday, December 18, 2008

Christmas Facts and Tradition

Do you know the origin of Christmas?, Where did Santa Claus came from?, Why we use Christmas Trees?, Christmas Stockings, Mistletoe, Candy Cane, and other Christmas stuffs that we thought we already knew why they exist. If you think you knew it all, think back again and read this interesting facts and tradition about Christmas. You might discover some new things here that you don't know yet about Christmas.

Origins of Christmas
christmas traditions
From the Old English 'Cristes Maesse' - meaning the "mass of Christ" - the story of Christmas begins with the birth of a baby in Bethlehem.

It is believed that Christ was born on the 25th, although the exact month is unknown. December was likely chosen so the Catholic Church could compete with rival pagan rituals held at that time of year and because of its closeness with the winter solstice in the Northern hemisphere, a traditional time of celebration among many ancient cultures.

Luke, Chapter Two
And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, "Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."

Santa Claus

santa clausThe origin of Santa Claus begins in the 4th century with Saint Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, an area in present day Turkey. By all accounts St. Nicholas was a generous man, particularly devoted to children. After his death around 340 A.D. he was buried in Myra, but in 1087 Italian sailors purportedly stole his remains and removed them to Bari, Italy, greatly increasing St. Nicholas' popularity throughout Europe.

His kindness and reputation for generosity gave rise to claims he that he could perform miracles and devotion to him increased. St. Nicholas became the patron saint of Russia, where he was known by his red cape, flowing white beard, and bishop's mitre.

In Greece, he is the patron saint of sailors, in France he was the patron of lawyers, and in Belgium the patron of children and travellers. Thousands of churches across Europe were dedicated to him and some time around the 12th century an official church holiday was created in his honor. The Feast of St. Nicholas was celebrated December 6 and the day was marked by gift-giving and charity.

After the Reformation, European followers of St. Nicholas dwindled, but the legend was kept alive in Holland where the Dutch spelling of his name Sint Nikolaas was eventually transformed to Sinterklaas. Dutch children would leave their wooden shoes by the fireplace, and Sinterklaas would reward good children by placing treats in their shoes. Dutch colonists brought brought this tradition with them to America in the 17th century and here the Anglican name of Santa Claus emerged.

In 1822 Clement C. Moore composed the poem A Visit From Saint Nicholas, published as The Night Before Christmas as a gift for his children. In it, he portrays Santa Claus:

He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly,
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.

Other countries feature different gift-bearers for the Christmas or Advent season: La Befana in Italy ~ The Three Kings in Spain, Puerto Rico, and Mexico ~ Christkindl or the Christ Child in Switzerland and Austria ~ Father Christmas in England ~ and Pere Noël, Father Christmas or the Christ Child in France. Still, the figure of Santa Claus as a jolly, benevolent, plump man in a red suit described in Moore's poem remains with us today and is recognized by children and adults alike around the world.

Christmas Trees

christmas treesIn 16th-century Germany fir trees were decorated, both indoors and out, with apples, roses, gilded candies, and colored paper. In the Middle Ages, a popular religous play depicted the story of Adam and Eve's expulsion from the Garden of Eden.

A fir tree hung with apples was used to symbolize the Garden of Eden -- the Paradise Tree. The play ended with the prophecy of a saviour coming, and so was often performed during the Advent season.

It is held that Protestant reformer Martin Luther first adorned trees with light. While coming home one December evening, the beauty of the stars shining through the branches of a fir inspired him to recreate the effect by placing candles on the branches of a small fir tree inside his home

The Christmas Tree was brought to England by Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert from his native Germany. The famous Illustrated News etching in 1848, featuring the Royal Family of Victoria, Albert and their children gathered around a Christmas tree in Windsor Castle, popularized the tree throughout Victorian England. Brought to America by the Pennsylvania Germans, the Christmas tree became by the late 19th century.

Christmas Stockings

christmas stockingsAccording to legend, a kindly nobleman grew despondent over the death of his beloved wife and foolishly squandered his fortune. This left his three young daughters without dowries and thus facing a life of spinsterhood.

The generous St. Nicholas, hearing of the girls' plight, set forth to help. Wishing to remain anonymous, he rode his white horse by the nobleman's house and threw three small pouches of gold coins down the chimney where they were fortuitously captured by the stockings the young women had hung by the fireplace to dry.

Mistletoe

mistletoeMistletoe was used by Druid priests 200 years before the birth of Christ in their winter celebrations. They revered the plant since it had no roots yet remained green during the cold months of winter.

The ancient Celtics believed mistletoe to have magical healing powers and used it as an antidote for poison, infertility, and to ward of evil spirits. The plant was also seen as a symbol of peace, and it is said that among Romans, enemies who met under mistletoe would lay down their weapons and embrace.

Scandanavians associated the plant with Frigga, their goddess of love, and it may be from this that we derive the custom of kissing under the mistletoe. Those who kissed under the mistletoe had the promise of happiness and good luck in the following year.

holly, Ivy and Greenery

Holly, Ivy and GreeneryIn Northern Europe Christmas occurred during the middle of winter, when ghosts and demons could be heard howling in the winter winds. Boughs of holly, believed to have magical powers since they remained green through the harsh winter, were often placed over the doors of homes to drive evil away. Greenery was also brought indoors to freshen the air and brighten the mood during the long, dreary winter.

Legend also has it that holly sprang from the footsteps of Christ as he walked the earth. The pointed leaves were said to represent the crown of thorns Christ wore while on the cross and the red berries symbolized the blood he shed.

Poinsettias

poinsettiasA native Mexican plant, poinsettias were named after Joel R. Poinsett, U.S. ambassador to Mexico who brought the plant to America in 1828. Poinsettias were likely used by Mexican Franciscans in their 17th century Christmas celebrations. One legend has it that a young Mexican boy, on his way to visit the village Nativity scene, realized he had no gift for the Christ child. He gathered pretty green branches from along the road and brought them to the church. Though the other children mocked him, when the leaves were laid at the manger, a beautiful star-shaped flower appeared on each branch. The bright red petals, often mistaken for flowers, are actually the upper leaves of the plant.

The Candy Cane

candy caneIt was not long after Europeans began using Christmas trees that special decorations were used to adorn them. Food items, such as candies and cookies, were used predominately and straight white candy sticks were one of the confections used as ornamentation. Legend has it that during the 17th century, craftsmen created the white sticks of candy in the shape of shephreds' crooks at the suggestion of the choirmaster at the Cologne Cathedral in Germany.

The candy treats were given to children to keep them quiet during ceremonies at the living creche, or Nativity scene, and the custom of passing out the candy crooks at such ceremonies soon spread throughout Europe.

According to the National Confectioner's Association, in 1847 German immigrant August Imgard used the candy cane to decorate a Christmas tree in Wooster, Ohio. More than 50 years later, Bob McCormack of Albany, Georgia supposedly made candy canes as treats for family, friends and local shopkeepers. McCormack's brother-in-law, Catholic priest Gregory Keller, invented a machine in the 1950s that automated the production of candy canes, thus eliminating the usual laborious process of creating the treats and the popularity of the candy cane grew.

More recent explanations of the candy cane's symbolism hold that the color white represents Christ's purity, the red the blood he shed, and the presence of three red stripes the Holy Trinity. While factual evidence for these notions does not exist, they have become increasingly common and at times are even represented as fact. Regardless, the candy cane remains a favorite holiday treat and decoration.

Christmas Cards

christmas cardsA form of Christmas card began in England first when young boys practiced their writing skills by creating Christmas greetings for their parents, but it is Sir Henry Cole who is credited with creating the first real Christmas card. The first director of London's Victoria and Albert Museum, Sir Henry found himself too busy in the Christmas season of 1843 to compose individual Christmas greetings for his friends.

He commissioned artist John Calcott Horsley for the illustration. The card featured three panels, with the center panel depicting a family enjoying Christmas festivities and the card was inscribed with the message "A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You."

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

rudolphThe Chicago-based Montgomery Ward company, department store operators, had been purchasing and distributing children's coloring books as Christmas gifts for their customers for several years. In 1939, Montgomery Ward tapped one of their own employees to create a book for them, thus saving money. 34-year old copywriter Robert L. May wrote the story of Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer in 1939, and 2.4 million copies were handed out that year. Despite the wartime paper shortage, over 6 million copies had been distributed by 1946.

May drew in part on the story "The Ugly Duckling" and in part from his own experiences as an often taunted, small, frail youth to create the story of the misfit reindeer. Though Rollo and Reginald were considered, May settled on Rudolph as his reindeer's name.

Writing in verse as a series of rhyming couplets, May tested the story as he went along on his 4-year old daughter Barbara, who loved the story

Sadly, Robert Mays wife died around the time he was creating Rudolph, leaving Mays deeply in debt due to medical bills. However, he was able to persuade Sewell Avery, Montgomery Ward's corporate president, to turn the copyright over to him in January 1947, thus ensuring May's financial security.

May's story "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" was printed commercially in 1947 and in 1948 a nine-minute cartoon of the story was shown in theaters. When May's brother-in-law, songwriter Johnny Marks, wrote the lyrics and melody for the song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", the Rudolph phenomenon was born. Turned down by many musical artists afraid to contend with the legend of Santa Claus, the song was recorded by Gene Autry in 1949 at the urging of Autry's wife. The song sold two million copies that year, going on to become one of the best-selling songs of all time, second only to Bing Crosby's "White Christmas". The 1964 television special about Rudolph, narrated by Burl Ives, remains a holiday favorite to this day and Rudolph himself has become a much-loved Christmas icon.

Hanukkah

hanukkahCommencing on the 25th day of the Hebrew month Kislev, Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem after its desecration by the Syrians.

In 168 BC, members of the Jewish family Maccabee led a revolt against the Greek Syrians due to the policies of Syrian King Antiochus IV which were aimed at nullifying the Jewish faith. Part of this strategem included changing the Beit HaMikdash - the Holy Temple in Jerusalem - to a Greek temple complete with idolatry. Led by Judah Maccabee, the Jews won victory over the Syrians in 165 BC and reclaimed their temple.

After cleansing the temple and preparing for its rededication, it was found there was not enough oil to light the N'er Tamid, an oil lamp present in Jewish houses of worship which represents eternal light. Once lit, the lamp should never be extinguished.

A search of the temple produced a small vial of undefiled oil -- enough for only one day. Miraculously, the Temple lights burned for eight days until a new supply of oil was brought. In remembrance of this miracle, one candle of the Menorah - an eight branched candelabra - is lit each of the eight days of Hanukkah. Hanukkah, which means dedication, is a Hebrew word when translated is commonly spelled Hanukah, Chanukah, and Hannukah due to different translations and customs.

The tradition of receiving gifts on each of the eight days of Hanukkah is relatively new and due in part to the celebration's proximity to the Christmas season.

Kwanzaa

kwanzaaDoctor Maulana Karenga, a Professor at California State University in Long Beach, California, created Kwanzaa in 1966. It is a holiday celebrated by millions of African-Americans around the world, encouraging them to remember their African heritage and consider their current place in America today. Kwanzaa is celebrated fom December 26 to January 1 and involves seven principles called Nguzo Saba: Umoja (Unity), Kujichagulia (Self-determination), Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility), Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics), Nia (Purpose), Kuumba (Creativity), and Imani (Faith).

In the Kwanzaa ritual, seven candles called Mishumaa Saba are placed in a Kinara, or candleholder, which is then set upon the Mikeka, a mat usually made of straw.

Three green candles are placed on the left, three red candles on the right and a black candle in the center, each candle representing one of the seven principles of the celebration. One candle is lit each day of the Kwanzaa celebration, beginning from left to right The colors of Kwanzaa ~ black, red and green ~ also have a special significance. Black symbolizes the faces of the African people, Red symbolizes the blood they have shed, and Green represents hope and the color of the motherland. The name itself - Kwanzaa - is a Swahili word meaning "fruits of the harvest."

Source: http://www.allthingschristmas.com/traditions.html

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Affiliate Marketing: Defined

Affiliate marketing is a renowned web-based advertising strategy. Where a company places its banner (or any web tool containing a link to its product site) in your website there by allowing visitors of your site to know about the company and its products and thus make way for a business to happen. Once you agree to the terms and conditions of the company, you will be provided with their banners and other ad kits that will help your send visitors to their product site. If the interested visitors that you directed purchased products from the site, you will receive a commission for every sale initiated by you.


Your unique visitors will be identified using affiliate cookies and IP tracking and you will be paid for every sale that is made. You will even earn commissions from visitors you sent months ago.

A good example is the icon design website http://www.icongalore.com/. This site offers an affiliate program that provides up to 20% as commission for the affiliate. All you have to do is apply for the affiliate program through the online form provided and once you get the nod place the ad material provided on your website and start earning. This site does not charge you anything to become its affiliate member. The website also has schemes for awarding well-performing super affiliates with special incentives and higher commissions.


Affiliate marketing is not the only way to earn a handsome income through your website there are numerous other ways and this website http://www.getmeclicks.com/ is a wonderful resource to learn more about how to convert your website in to a perennial source of income.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Good alternative to financial problems

Have you experienced runnin' out of allowance to spend on daily expenses at earlier time? and the payday is still several days to go? Its really a hard situation to face especially when borrowing money to someone and you know that there's a high interest rate to it, it adds more burden to your part. I know how it feels like coz I've been in the same situation several times. That's why its important to know beforehand on where to go in lending money that never hurts. One of the good solution for this problem is to apply a cash advance payday loan. Its fast and easy and its a good alternative to make than applying for credit cards. Now I have peace of mind whenever I need a fast money for my financial needs.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Where have the 1 Peso Gone?

I borrowed P50 (fifty pesos) from Jacob and another P50 (fifty pesos) from Ronald, so that would gave me a total of P100 (one hundred pesos) borrowed money. Now, I went to the Mall and bought a t-shirt worth P97 (ninety seven pesos) , the cashier gaved me P3 (three pesos) change.

Thinking that I could lessen my debt a bit from Jacob and Ronald, I came up an idea to return P1 (one peso) to each of them as my advance pay. What's left on me now is only P1 (one peso) , since I returned them P1 (one peso) each. For this, my debt would now be reduced to only P49 (fourty nine pesos) to both of them.

Adding the two P49 (fourty nine pesos) would amount to P98 (ninety eight pesos) as my new debt total. If I add the P1 (one peso) left from me then that would make P99 (ninety nine pesos), the question now "where have the 1 peso gone?" to justify the total of P100 (one hundred pesos) I borrowed from them a while back. What do you think have the P1 (one peso) gone?

Friday, October 3, 2008

Get Rewarded At FrensZone







I know that your answers to the above questions are "No" so I'll share to you this new social networking site that rewards you while using it and can earn more for every successful friends invitation to join and register at Frenszone. So start inviting your friends now to join Frenszone by following this link right here http://www.frenszone.com/?idAff=39009

Friday, September 26, 2008

Help Lemonsito City Grow

I've just recently created my own city at myminicity.com, its a site wherein you can play a game of creating your own city. To make your city become progressive, you need to have a regular visitors because each different clicks greatly helps to improve your city.

I called mine as Lemonsito City, you may wonder what lemonsito means, by the way its a local term here in our place for lemon, obviously ^_^ I chose this name just to make it sound unique and with relation to my profile name. Here's a screenshot of my city, as you can see it looks like a farm since there's only a little inhabitants lived here yet.

Every visit to my Lemonsito City means additional population, so please help my city grow and do visit it everyday. You may bookmark my city's link http://lemonsito.myminicity.com/ for fast search or you may click the screenshot above.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Why 8?

I'd like to thank Ronald, Molit and Jigs for sharing me this "Why 8?" tag from the blogosphere and make an apology as well for posting this tag very late ^_^ . So without further a due, I'll share to you my 8 random facts ^_^

1. I am the youngest among my other two siblings

2. I'm very shy in courting girls during my high school days, I got dumped several times huhu :((

3. I am obsessed watching "The Uncanny X-men" during my high school days that I even cut some of my class just to watch this tv animation series. Note: I'm on a night class starting 3pm-9pm and the said program airs at 7pm ^_^

4. I am a pc gamer, I love to play dota all night long. That's why there were times I'm absent or late from work because of lack of sleep ^_^

5. I smoke and drink. But I drink very often nowaday because of dota.

6. My music genre preferences are pop, r&b, gangsta rap, alternative, rap metal, and hardcore \m/ \m/

7. I don't swim :((

8. I love to play basketball but basketball don't love me lols. My favorite team in PBA is San Miguel Beermen

Now I'm sharing this tag to my fellow bloggers and friends as follows:

Joy

Darlyn

Lizlee

Archimedez

Beverly

Janiz

Steivene

Aubrey


The Rules for this tag:

1. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.

2. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.

3. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.

4. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

$7.5 for you!

I know everybody wants $7.5, you can find a detailed information on how to get it here at i.do.blog. This site offers a review of the entry being posted here and get paid through Paypal. You may wonder how this works, actually this is the latest program provided by PayPerPost. All you have to do is just write a review of the post on this i.do.blog site. Visit it now and start reviewing entries being posted there as many as you can and get paid $7.5 for each post you've reviewed.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Ways to make Money Online

There's a lot of site nowadays that offers recommendations, suggestions and ways on how to make money online. This site right here offers a good advice on how to earn real money online like on ebay. Everything you need to know about online money making can be found here, so better check this site out and find it yourself. It has already a decent Page Rank of 4 from Google which implicates a good implementation of search engine optimization on it. The latest post here is about earning money on ebay.Visit the site now and know how to do it.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Product reviews & prize giveaways

Another good site I recently came across with was Mommy Googles, its a blog about Product reviews & prize giveaways. The Author accepts any Product that you would like to be featured here at Mommy Googles and that is geared towards moms, babies, or children alike of different ages. This site has a clean look with organized ads placement on the sidebar. Give it a try now.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Yogi's Weblog

Here's another cool blog I found on the net, its Yogi's weblog. Its a PR 4 blog and has some unique visitors of more than 1000 per day. It contains varieties of articles about advertisement, sports, art, business, education, fashion, and more. This is a good blog to visit, you can get some useful informations here about affiliate marketing too.

Beauty of Life

I came across this site about healthy living, family, friendship, and inspiring events that the reader can relate with. You can visit it here at Beauty of Life Its a good site with some nice post about family life, travel tips, and more. Go check it out, its worth your visit.

Monday, September 8, 2008

Sparta's King Leonidas in Action

Do you know who is King Leonidas of Sparta? if not, then I'll let you know him more better here. He is the main character in the Movie "The 300" it's an epic movie about the battle between Sparta and Persia with King Leonidas leading the spartans on battling the more than one million soldiers of Persian God-King Xerxes.

If you've already seen the movie, then you've already known Leonidas as a fearless warrior and a valiant King. But that ain't all about Leonidas, there's more about him that you'll going to discover here, behold ^_^


Stay tuned for more, I'll be adding other Leonidas funny pics for the next update of this post ^_^

Friday, September 5, 2008

Free Games and Softwares

Free games and Softwares is a cool site about arcade games. If you're looking for a free download, Free games and Softwares is one of my recommended site for you. The games here are all full version and only take a little space on your hard drive with sizes ranging from just 2mb to 10mb. Some of the games you can download here were the following:

Shark Attack

Join a brave young scuba diver on his quest for precious family treasure in this deep-sea adventure.
Size: 10.52 MB

Tropical Mania

Tropical Mania brings a fresh take on the time management game genre. Try a new job that’s fun and friendly. Manage a Holiday resort on a tropical island that’s lost in the vast pacific ocean. Keep your tourists happy and develop your resort. Cute graphics, a different feel and look, and the addictive play will keep you happy and entertained.
Size: 4.27 MB

Clash N Stash v1.23

Action space shooter with extremely simple controls suitable for all ages. Battle pesky aliens around the galaxy. Variety of weapons, upgrades and enemies will keep you in suspence for a long time and innovative bonus triggering system will make your experience colorful and fun.
Size: 7.38 MB

Rebel Bomberman v1.2

Rebel Bomberman is one of the most inventive variations of the bomberman-style games. You will still have plenty of bombs to throw around to kill the enemies and get to the final destination. Hordes of hostile aliens are planning to take your planet over to enslave its inhabitants and extract precious crystals.
Size: 8.6 MB

A-b-o-o Plumeboom's Friends

Screenshots

Visit fabulous worlds with Plumeboom, the magnificent traveler. Touch down in the country of Aboo, Settled by hard-working wormlings. Day after day they quarry Magic Crystals that can be converted into many possible items. Recently, the wormlings have faced a real disaster. Help them battle Crowbreak the wizard, and Cornix, the mad scientist who have invented the weapon of darkness. Don't let the Magic Crystals fail into the wrong hands in this illuminated Match 3 puzzle game.
Size: 9 MB

Free games and Softwares is updated every week, so better check this site regularly to get the latest games. So start downloading now and enjoy playing these fun and addictive games that can only be found here at Free games and Softwares.