0_Wizard
Christmas is my favorite time of the year!!  Celebrating the birth of Jesus on December 25th is just the best holiday.
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world.
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Christmas
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Christmas traditions
Christmas traditions vary from country to country. Christmas celebrations for many nations include the installing and lighting of Christmas trees, the hanging of Advent wreaths, Christmas stockings, candy canes, and the creation of Nativity scenes depicting the birth of Jesus Christ. Christmas carols may be sung and stories told about such figures as the Baby Jesus, St Nicholas, Santa Claus, Father Christmas, Christkind or Grandfather Frost. The sending and exchange of Christmas card greetings, observance of fasting and special religious observances such as a midnight Mass or Vespers on Christmas Eve, the burning of a Yule log, and the giving and receiving of presents.
Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, it is preceded by the season of Advent or the Nativity Fast and initiates the season of Christmastide, which historically in the West lasts twelve days and culminates on Twelfth Night; in some traditions, Christmastide includes an octave. Christmas Day is a public holiday in many of the world's nations, is celebrated religiously by a majority of Christians, as well as culturally by many non-Christians, and forms an integral part of the holiday season centered around it.
Epiphany (holiday)
Epiphany ( ), also Theophany, Little Christmas, or Three Kings' Day, is a Christian feast day that celebrates the revelation of God incarnate as Jesus Christ. In Eastern Christianity, the feast commemorates principally (but not solely) the visit of the Magi to the Christ child, and thus Jesus' physical manifestation to the Gentiles. Moreover, the feast of the Epiphany, in some Western Christian denominations, also initiates the liturgical season of Epiphanytide. Eastern Christians, on the other hand, commemorate the baptism of Jesus on both sides of the Jordan River, seen as his manifestation to the world as the Son of God.
Santa Claus
Santa Claus, also known as Saint Nicholas, Kris Kringle, Father Christmas, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts to the homes of well-behaved ("good" or "nice") children on Christmas Eve (24 December) and the early morning hours of Christmas Day (25 December). The modern Santa Claus grew out of traditions surrounding the historical Saint Nicholas (a fourth-century Greek bishop and gift-giver of Myra), the British figure of Father Christmas and the Dutch figure of "Sinterklaas" (himself also based on Saint Nicholas). Some maintain Santa Claus also absorbed elements of the Germanic god Wodan, who was associated with the pagan midwinter event of Yule and led the Wild Hunt, a ghostly procession through the sky.
Christmas (Francesca Battistelli album)
Christmas is the first Christmas album by contemporary Christian music artist Francesca Battistelli. The album is her third release with Fervent Records, and her fourth album overall including her first independent release. The album was produced by Ian Eskelin, and was released on October 16, 2012. The album charted in the Top Five on the "Billboard" Holiday Albums chart and has received critical acclaim. Francesca Battistelli told "CCM Magazine"'s Caroline Lusk that "I've always dreamed about making a Christmas album. It was a blast getting to write the songs, pick the standards and record them all last summer while I was eight months pregnant.
Newmarket Holidays
Newmarket Holidays, part of The Newmarket Group, is a British tour operator based in Wallington, Surrey, providing escorted holidays, resort-based stays and event-based tours to destinations throughout the UK, in Europe and to worldwide destinations. The group employs 180 staff at its Surrey head office. Toni Frei and Jeremy Griffin founded Newmarket Promotions Limited, the parent company of Newmarket Holidays, and incorporated the business on 22 March 1983 (Company Registration Number 1708566). Managing Director Simon Hibbs joined them in 1984, and together, the three are shareholders of the group.
Christmas and holiday season
The Christmas season, also called the festive season, or the holiday season (mainly in the U.S. and Canada; often simply called the holidays), is an annually recurring period recognized in many Western and Western-influenced countries that is generally considered to run from late November to early January. It is defined as incorporating at least Christmas, and usually New Year, and sometimes various other holidays and festivals. It also is associated with a period of shopping which comprises a peak season for the retail sector (the "Christmas (or holiday) shopping season"), and a period of sales at the end of the season (the "January sales").
1_Apprentice
I love Christmas too! I love all the lights and decorations and also the snow.
0_Wizard
And the traditions of it all as well, lighting the tree, hanging the wreaths, stockings, candy canes, the Nativity, etc.. I just love it.
Christmas celebrations for many nations include the installing and lighting of Christmas trees, the hanging of Advent wreaths, Christmas stockings, candy canes, and the creation of Nativity scenes depicting the birth of Jesus Christ.
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Christmas traditions
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Christmas traditions
Christmas traditions vary from country to country. Christmas celebrations for many nations include the installing and lighting of Christmas trees, the hanging of Advent wreaths, Christmas stockings, candy canes, and the creation of Nativity scenes depicting the birth of Jesus Christ. Christmas carols may be sung and stories told about such figures as the Baby Jesus, St Nicholas, Santa Claus, Father Christmas, Christkind or Grandfather Frost. The sending and exchange of Christmas card greetings, observance of fasting and special religious observances such as a midnight Mass or Vespers on Christmas Eve, the burning of a Yule log, and the giving and receiving of presents.
Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, it is preceded by the season of Advent or the Nativity Fast and initiates the season of Christmastide, which historically in the West lasts twelve days and culminates on Twelfth Night; in some traditions, Christmastide includes an octave. Christmas Day is a public holiday in many of the world's nations, is celebrated religiously by a majority of Christians, as well as culturally by many non-Christians, and forms an integral part of the holiday season centered around it.
Christmas tree
A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen conifer such as spruce, pine, or fir or an artificial tree of similar appearance, associated with the celebration of Christmas. The modern Christmas tree was developed in medieval Livonia (present-day Estonia and Latvia) and early modern Germany, where devout Christians brought decorated trees into their homes. It acquired popularity beyond the Lutheran areas of Germany and the Baltic countries during the second half of the 19th century, at first among the upper classes. The tree was traditionally decorated with "roses made of colored paper, apples, wafers, tinsel, [and] sweetmeats".
Farley's &amp; Sathers Candy Company
Farley's & Sathers Candy Company was created as an umbrella company to roll-up many small companies, brands and products under a common management team. The confectionery business segment is made up of many small companies, often with intertwined relationships and histories. Catterton Partners formed the Farley's & Sathers Candy Company in 2002 as a vehicle for the purchase of some of the former Farley Foods Company and Sathers Candy Company assets and brands from Kraft. Since that time, additional brands and businesses have been added to the roster. In 2012, the owners of Farley's & Sathers, L Catterton Partners, purchased Ferrara Pan Candy Company.
Candy cane
A candy cane is a cane-shaped stick candy often associated with Christmastide, as well as Saint Nicholas Day. It is traditionally white with red stripes and flavored with peppermint, but may also be a variety of other flavors and colors. According to folklore, in 1670, in Cologne, Germany, the choirmaster at Cologne Cathedral, wishing to remedy the noise caused by children in his church during the Living Crèche tradition of Christmas Eve, asked a local candy maker for some "sugar sticks" for them. In order to justify the practice of giving candy to children during worship services, he asked the candy maker to add a crook to the top of each stick, which would help children remember the shepherds who visited the infant Jesus.
Christmas decoration
A Christmas decoration is any of several types of ornamentation used at Christmastime. The traditional colours of Christmas are pine green (evergreen), snow white, and heart red. Blue and white are often used to represent winter, or sometimes Hanukkah, which occurs around the same time. Gold and silver are also very common, as are other metallic colours. Typical images on Christmas decorations include Baby Jesus, Father Christmas, Santa Claus, and the star of Bethlehem. Typical winter icons include snowflakes, snowmen, icicles, and even penguins and polar bears. In many countries, such as Sweden, people start to set up their Advent and Christmas decorations on the first day of Advent.
Spangler Candy Company
The Spangler Candy Company is a privately owned international confectioner that has been manufacturing and marketing candy since 1906. Headquartered in Bryan, Ohio, Spangler’s products include lollipops, candy canes, and marshmallow circus peanuts. Spangler brand names include Dum Dums, Saf-T-Pops, Spangler Candy Canes, and Spangler Circus Peanuts. Dum Dums were invented in 1924, and Spangler purchased the rights and equipment in 1953. Since that time, the multi-flavored, small lollipops have been the most popular giveaway lollipop on the market. Spangler products are sold at food, drug, mass, club, and dollar retail stores, internationally, and are a favorite giveaway candy for all types of businesses.
1_Apprentice
It's all so fun and makes me feel so warm and cozy all the time. I also love the cold temperatures a lot more than the warm summers over here.
0_Wizard
I love the snow - we don't get much here - i've even thought of getting a white Christmas tree
A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen conifer such as spruce, pine, or fir or an artificial tree of similar appearance, associated with the celebration of Christmas.
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Christmas tree
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Christmas tree
A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen conifer such as spruce, pine, or fir or an artificial tree of similar appearance, associated with the celebration of Christmas. The modern Christmas tree was developed in medieval Livonia (present-day Estonia and Latvia) and early modern Germany, where devout Christians brought decorated trees into their homes. It acquired popularity beyond the Lutheran areas of Germany and the Baltic countries during the second half of the 19th century, at first among the upper classes. The tree was traditionally decorated with "roses made of colored paper, apples, wafers, tinsel, [and] sweetmeats".
National Christmas Tree (United States)
The National Christmas Tree is a large evergreen tree located in the northeast quadrant of The Ellipse near the White House in Washington, D.C. Each year since 1923, the tree has been decorated as a Christmas tree. Every early December, the tree is traditionally lit by the President of the United States. Every president since Franklin D. Roosevelt has made formal remarks during the tree lighting ceremony. Since 1954, the event has marked the start of month-long festivities known as the Pageant of Peace. Smaller trees representing the U.S. states, District of Columbia, and the five territories around the National Christmas Tree are referred to as the Pathway to Peace.
Christmas traditions
Christmas traditions vary from country to country. Christmas celebrations for many nations include the installing and lighting of Christmas trees, the hanging of Advent wreaths, Christmas stockings, candy canes, and the creation of Nativity scenes depicting the birth of Jesus Christ. Christmas carols may be sung and stories told about such figures as the Baby Jesus, St Nicholas, Santa Claus, Father Christmas, Christkind or Grandfather Frost. The sending and exchange of Christmas card greetings, observance of fasting and special religious observances such as a midnight Mass or Vespers on Christmas Eve, the burning of a Yule log, and the giving and receiving of presents.
White Christmas (weather)
A white Christmas is a Christmas with the presence of snow: either on Christmas Eve or on Christmas Day, depending on local tradition. This phenomenon is most common in the northern countries of the Northern Hemisphere. Because December is at the beginning of the Southern Hemisphere summer, white Christmases there are extremely rare, except in Antarctica, in the Southern Alps of New Zealand's South Island, and in parts of the Andes in South America. The Irving Berlin song, "White Christmas", sung by Bing Crosby from the film "Holiday Inn", is the best-selling single of all time and speaks nostalgically of a traditional white Christmas.
Christmas in the post-war United States
Christmas in the United States during the post-war years (1946–1964) reflected a period of peace, productivity, and prosperity. Americans staged sumptuous Christmases and enjoyed a variety of holiday foods unknown to previous generations. Several films, foods, toys, and television programs of the era have become American Christmas traditions. Once reliant upon Germany for its ornaments, toys, and even its Christmas customs, America became self-sufficient in the post-War years with Christmas ornaments and toys being manufactured in the United States that were considerably less expensive than their German counterparts.
Christmas music
Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music normally performed or heard around the Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or in the case of many carols or songs may employ lyrics whose subject matter ranges from the nativity of Jesus Christ, to gift-giving and merrymaking, to cultural figures such as Santa Claus, among other topics. Performances of Christmas music at public concerts, in churches, at shopping malls, on city streets, and in private gatherings is an integral staple of the Christmas holiday in many cultures across the world. Music associated with Christmas is thought to have its origins in 4th century Rome, in Latin hymns such as "Veni redemptor gentium".
Christmas tree cultivation
Christmas tree cultivation is an agricultural, forestry, and horticultural occupation which involves growing pine, spruce, and fir trees specifically for use as Christmas trees. The first Christmas tree farm was established in 1901, but most consumers continued to obtain their trees from forests until the 1930s and 1940s. Christmas tree farming was once seen only as a viable alternative for low-quality farmland, but that perception has changed within the agriculture industry. For optimum yield and quality, land should be flat or gently rolling and relatively free of debris and undergrowth. A wide variety of pine and fir species are grown as Christmas trees, although a handful of varieties stand out in popularity.
1_Apprentice
We used to get a lot more over in Oklahoma but now we don't get much honestly.