Christmas Shops-Make Your Choice To Select Christmas Goodies.

Christmas shops are full of Christmas goodies and souvenirs that will fill your homes with the Christmas enthusiasm. The Christmas items are on full display in these well decorated shops, they are colorfully decorated with lights and various other accessories that exude the Christmas feel. These places are the hallmark of the streets and shopping centers during the Christmas time.

These places are full of goods that make ideal Christmas gifts; you can visit these stores to have an idea on what to buy as gifts if you are completely clueless, however, these places can still manage to confuse you with the extraordinary variety of items they have to offer. These places provide excellent business opportunities as well for those who want to do seasonal businesses. These shops end up becoming the cynosure of eyes of all the shopping-revelers. These places try to exhibit the Christmas spirit through the means of artifacts; these artifacts can be of huge varieties and can leave you speechless with the finesse that they carry.

These shops do constant reinvention and have new things on display every year. The surprises that these goods promise to deliver can be only lived through the expressions of the loved ones who receive these gifts. These stores possess everything from decoration items to exquisitely built souvenirs. The ornaments that these shops have are specifically Christmas themed and can hardly be found elsewhere. These shops also have life-size reindeers and other stuffed animals that can push your kids’ excitement levels into overdrive. These places are ideal to buy fresh-cut Christmas trees, these Christmas trees are just perfect in their ensemble. These places also sell items meant for the decorations of the tree.

Christmas shops sell gift items that can make your loved one’s eyes glow with excitement so it is something you just cannot avoid. If you have to get the right gifts then this is the place, this is also the place to buy stockings and bows; you can also buy table center-pieces or wreaths that will enliven your Christmas decorations. Christmas lights and decorative plants you can find them all. Visit these stores to make a note of things that you need to buy this Christmas as these places are complete in their offerings.     

Christmas Backgrounds

Christmas backgrounds celebrate the Christmas spirit and keep you in touch with festive mood.     

Christmas season calls for enthusiasm and revelry and you can have your share of decorations pulled on to your desktop screens as well. Christmas time calls for gatherings and togetherness, you can have the constant remembrance of Christmas spirit even at your work by having Christmas themed backgrounds at your work stations. Here is a description on some of the backgrounds that spell the magic of Christmastide.

Christmas backgrounds bring the festivities to your computer screen; they act like a build up to your Christmas revelry. The backgrounds just beam with colors that signify the theme of the Christmas. The cold snowy winter of December and the sparkling trees make for classic backgrounds, the big moon and the Santa riding on his carriage is a predominant Christmas backgrounds sight. The red and the green and the other Christmas colors fill your life with exuberant emotions that Christmas stands for.

The fir tree that symbolizes the Holy Trinity of the Father, the Son and the Spirit is a quintessential Christmas symbol. The divine symbol exhibiting itself through the trees signify the inseparable unity between the human soul and God and the spirit of the world. The love that binds us all comes to full galore during the Christmas time. Christmas time is the best time to get in touch with old friends and family members you haven’t met for a long time. The goal of Christmas is to celebrate the spirit of life and Divinity that it embodies. The Christmas backgrounds reflect this in volumes and can make you cheerful in the gloomiest of times.

The birth of the Christ is one of the reasons for Christmas being celebrated, you can have baby Christ as a background and you can celebrate your oneness with Christ consciousness and the glory of the Lord. The backgrounds do more than just decorate your computer screen; they take you deep inside the various aspects of a holistic life that knit the whole Christmas flavors of giving and sharing together to take form of Christmas celebrations.            

Christmas Pudding

The tradition of Christmas pudding has its roots in medieval England. The pudding is made of dried fruits and is very basic. Most of the families have their own tradition to follow on making the Christmas puddings, recipes that have been passed on through generations. However, nothing stops you from improvising your recipes. Christmas puddings are to be served at lunch on Christmas’ eve. 

Here is a lip-smacking pudding recipe:

Ingredients: Here is a list of items you need to have in order to begin with the preparations:

·        Flour

·        Suet

·        Oranges

·        Lime

·        Apple

·        Eggs

·        Cinnamon powder

·        Nutmeg powder

·        Bread crumbs

·        Sugar

·        Golden syrup

·        Salt

·        Lemon zest

·        Local brandy

·        Carrot

The Method: To serve four, mix 3 ounces of flour and 5 ounces of bread crumbs and 5 ounces of suet in a bowl and let it set for a while. Beat the eggs and then add it to the flour mixture for better results. Then add finely grated apples to the mixture, and then extract the juices of an orange and a lime onto the mixture. Keep mixing well so as to have an even consistency. Mix well after adding every ingredient. Then add the golden syrup or treacle (it is also called molasses) and grate the carrots and then add them to the mixture and mix well. It is time to add sugar and the lemon zest and the salt. Then stir well again before adding a tablespoon of brandy and mix it again.

Just make the whole bowl airtight with a plastic wrap and let it stay overnight in the fridge. Before starting to cook the mixture, get your moulds of desired shape ready and cover it with grease proof paper so that the mixture doesn’t get stuck in the moulds. Cover the surface of the proof paper with butter and then keep adding the mixture to the pudding moulds. Place limited amount of moulds in the cooker, you don’t want to overfill the cooker and make a mess of the pudding. Let it cool and they are ready to serve. And yeah all this while keep your thoughts fixed on the Ultimate so that the food gets divinized and have its effect on people who eat it, as we know that thoughts have the power to effect everything.            

Santa Claus and Christmas(Part 1)

Santa Claus and Christmas share an inseparable relationship like a sugar and candies. However, Santa Claus shouldn’t be reduced to the understanding of a mere gift giving old man clothed in red. Santa Claus is derived from the Dutch holiday-figure Sinter Klaas, who was inspired by Saint Nicholas. The concept of Santa was brought to the Americas by the European settlers in the 17^th century. The gradual onset of Santa Claus into the American culture happened over the years and reached its peak in the twentieth century.    

The demeanor of Santa Claus, how he acts and behaves and various other nuances were incorporated through the time as poets and writers kept contributing to the image of the Santa that we know now. The transition of Santa from an elf to a human figure happened over the course of 19^th century, as his image developed into the man who has the list of all the children in the world and their deeds that classifies them as good or bad and eventually decides the gift the kid would be receiving. Thomas Nast, the writer who wrote for Harpers Magazine in the late 19^th century, wrote about the base of Santa being in North Pole. Santa was earlier referred to as an elf but it soon became obsolete and the elves were reduced to the position of workers in Santa’s toy factory.

Various advertisements over the time have contributed to the image of the Santa we know now, the red color of his dress and the significance of Rudolph were all part of major advertisement campaigns. However, there are some mythical roots that Santa has that make him a conglomeration of various mythical figures from the past and from different traditions. The main figure that Santa has evolved from is Saint Nicholas, who used to toss coins through the window and chimneys, thus the modern rendition of Saint Nicholas enters through chimneys to drop by gifts for children as they are asleep. Saint Nicholas was traditionally heralded as the ‘miracle worker’ who brought happiness to the lives of the poor and the down-trodden and also children. He held a glorious position in the eyes of various Churches.

Santa Claus and Christmas (Part 2)

The curiosity in knowing where Santa Claus lives when Christmas is done led various writers to write about where he came from, they said that he was based in North Pole but as the modern world came to know about the hostile environment of the North Pole and how desisted from life it was decided to make Finland the base of Santa, the eastern frontiers of Finland. The place looks like ears and symbolize the attention of Santa on the well-being of the world’s children. Children love Santa more than anything as they flood Santa’s base with letters pouring their hearts into it and sometimes also get a reply from their Hero. The legend of Santa Claus that slowly made its way into North America and through it to the world is a combination of various European as well as American legends. The personification of Santa as an immortal figure who only has children’s welfare on his mind   and who dresses in red and who has white beard and rides on a carriage driven by reindeers is a quintessential element of modern Christmas experience. Various other attributes complete the pot-belly carrying distributor of happiness.     

The affiliation of Santa with Christmas is at an extreme today as the world encounters intense commercialization of Christmas. The million hoardings, the million advertisements on television all depend on Santa to promote their products. Children are vulnerable to the machinations of the capitalism driven world. The gifts of joy are independent of physical goods and children need to know this in this age where sharing of resources is the need of the hour as without sharing of happiness with your neighbors and citizens of the world, true Christmas cannot be enlivened. We should know that the joy and happiness of Christmas should not be restricted to the boundaries of our homes. So, by staying true to the spirit of Santa, we should spread happiness to one and all.  

How christmas celebrated all over the world.

Christmas in Ireland

It is a common tradition to go to a local pub to get a Christmas drink on the eve of Christmas. During the midnight mass, people pray for their deceased loved ones. Very commonly seen, the graves are decorated with wreaths made of ivy and holly as a part of the Christmas tradition, a carrot is kept for Rudolph and for Santa, they keep a bottle of Guinness along with a mince pie.  On January 6^th, they celebrate a Little Christmas.  Scottish Christmas

Christmas is not necessarily a holiday in Scotland. Even so, the tradition of exchanging gifts and the joy of Christmas remain prevalent.  A Christmas lunch is celebrated well. The gifts are carefully unwrapped so that the paper can be used again later. For the lunch, turkey is served and two glasses of champagne are drunk, they may eat the Christmas cake or resort to a Yule Log. People eat Christmas crackers and the families generally watch “the Wizard of Oz” or “The Sound of Music” and then go to sleep.

A Russian Christmas

In Russia, Christmas is celebrated on the 7^th of January. Christmas here is a religious affair.  Several long services are attended on Christmas Eve like the Vespers, the Divine Liturgy and the Royal Hours. When families return home, 12 different dishes are made and each one honors the twelve Apostles. This is the “Holy Supper”

A Christmas in Georgia

In Georgia, children march on the streets, known as the Alilo, wearing a special kind of clothing and congratulate each other. Here too, Christmas is celebrated on the 7^th of January. The Santa Claus in George is known as tovlis papa (Grandfather Snow). He is depicted by a long white beard and is wearing a ‘chokha’ which is the national dress and tops it with a fur cloak.

Even if the Christmas traditions vary over the world, the significance of Christmas remains the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Every one spreads the joy all over the world, whichever country whichever tradition, we still remain a Christmas World. Merry Christmas!

Christmas ideas- Including Christmas Decoration and Christmas party ideas.

Christmas is a big celebration all over the world, especially, among the people of Christian belief. For most of the people over the globe, this is the time to spend with friends, family and all loved ones.

Well! I must say, apart from get-togethers, the kids and teens are keen in the gifts and presents that they receive during this period. Needless to say, this joyous period of the year needs a lot planning.

Many people start the preparations a month ago or even before. There are various Christmas ideas related to Christmas gifts, decorations, party, Christmas songs and recipes. Most of the people celebrate this holiday period by putting up the Christmas tree and give Santa gifts to their kids.

Christmas celebrations are not confined to the Canadian, American and European countries. A small percentage of people celebrate Christmas in Malaysia, China and Sweden.

The celebrations include the preparations such as decorating the house, streets, and shops. People buy gifts for family and friends and exchange them. Call friends and families for meals and food is paid special attention to, with delicious recipes to choose from, such as roasted turkey, Christmas ham, small sausages, homemade candies and not to forget mince pies and special Christmas puddings.

People go to church on Christmas Eve, special prayers are offered and Christmas songs and Christmas carols are sung along with the chorus. People exchange Christmas cards and some men even dress up as Santa and visit malls to offer gifts to children.

While the Christmas celebrations around the world remain more or less the same, one thing is  certain that people celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ on the Christmas Eve with high spirits. People enjoy family meals and get-togethers to share their happiness during this period.

The customs and beliefs may differ according to the states and countries but everyone is filled with joy to celebrate this festive season. This is a spiritual time that all parents share with their children to help them understand the family spirit and the significance of Christmas.