Merry Christmas

Christmas gifts which include the finest wines from around the world are always appreciated by those who enjoy a glass or two! Traditionally Christmas hampers include a bottle of wine or port, extravagant luxury hampers containing a variety of wines of high quality are the perfect gift for wishing a ‘very merry Christmas’ to family, friends, colleagues and clients. Magnificent selections of the most excellent festive food and drink will be gratefully received by all. Impressive lidded wicker hampers containing 12 year old malt whiskey, complete with whiskey glasses, vintage port, Imperial Brut champagne and bottles of the finest wines as well as a whole host of traditional festive indulgences and contemporary treats provide the recipient with a magnificent collection to see them right over the Christmas holiday, a delightful way to wish someone a ‘Happy Christmas’!

Christmas hampers containing a huge variety of traditional yuletide fayre such Christmas pudding laced with cider sherry and liqueurs, iced top Christmas cake, handmade preserves and festive chutneys, an abundance of savoury temptations and sweet delights is the perfect gift for large gatherings and parties.

These superior Christmas Hampers are also a very practical way for a host to ensure they enjoy then festivities rather than spending hours preparing and cooking copious amounts of food for large families and parties. Everything included in the hamper will ensure that guests are impressed and amazed with the huge variety of gourmet foods from around the world.

Christmas Greeting

Despite the fact that Christmas has been widely celebrated since the birth of Jesus Christ, the first identified use of any Christmas greeting was through an informal letter written by an English admiral in way back in 1699. The same expression was reflected in the first Christmas greeting card, printed in the 19th century in England. The source of Christmas greeting pertains directly to the Christmas holiday and was primarily the first greeting used for any holiday from November to January. Christmas greetings are famous among Christians and the non-Christians equally.

The father of the American Christmas cards was the popular Boston lithographer and inventor Louis Prang, who replicated a holiday card signed by Christmas Carol author, Charles Dickens in 1873. Conceivably, one of Prang's greatest novelties was the development of a multi-color printing method that integrated as many as 20 colors on one print or card. Shades and detailing were so dramatic that artists were at times not able to tell between their own works from reproduced chromolithographic prints when compared side by side on a wall. Taking complete benefit of this technology, Prang employed the premium artisans of his day. Several card painters include Frederick S. Church, Winslow Homer and Arthur F. Tait. Poetic intellects like William Cullen Bryant, Longfellow, and Tennyson were one of those who were hired to write the verses.

Christmas is taken from the words ‘Cristes Maesse’, which means Christ's Mass. It is also occasionally referred to as Xmas. This ‘X’ in the word stands for ‘Xristos’, which means Christ in Greek word. Xristos Mass is then reduced to Xmas.]

Christmas is one occasion in the calendar which is globally celebrated in the most diverse of ways, with mores and traditions entirely different from one region to another and celebrations crossing a wide range from the extremely religious to festively secular. Christmas around the world makes a fascinating learning experience. Varied odds and ends taken from every region and every country around the world has urbanized its own way of celebrating this jovial holiday.

Christmas Gift Ideas

It is that time of year when you walk outside, the air smells crisp and the skies are a little grey. Jack Frost has touched the window panes with his magic fingers and the ice scraper needs to come out of the glove box in order to scrape off the front car window. Streets are brighter than any time of the year.

with lights take on a new aura as their red and green lights blink on and off. You begin to drive down the side streets on your way home to see who has the best light show on their lawn, and the children have sent their wish lists off to Santa. If you haven’t guessed what time of year it is, it is Christmas time.

Here are some suggestions for your Christmas gifts. Some people like to stick to traditional gifts when it comes to Christmas and some like a wacky surprise. As long as you put a little effort in, your Christmas gift ideas will be appreciated, and that means anything but a voucher. If you don't have much time, it's easier since the appearance of the World Wide Web. Just about every retailer has an online shopping facility now and you can still look around and compare prices. Plan your gift well ahead, in case it has to be returned for any reason.

For many people, they may need the basics first and foremost. You can find large ticket items are something you shouldn’t buy without asking first. Most people might buy all of that stuff well in advance, and a duplicate would be a huge waste of money on your part. There are other basics that you can buy as Christmas present that your love ones will always need. These would include shampoos, lotions, clothes and other things for personal use. These things are always needed, and it is almost impossible to have too much of any of these Christmas presents. For something a little more unique, consider creating your own basket full of Christmas gift. Buy a large basket and fill it with small things that you think the people who receive the gift might needs.

Christmas Traditions

Christmas has plenty of fascinating traditions. Some are purely religious, while others are the easy type. There are countries that practice their Christmas traditions differently from the others. Obviously, Christmas customs and traditions vary all over the world. It changes from region to region, and from country to country. Famous traditions such as gift giving, Christmas tree decorating, the use of yuletide logs and holly bough and many others are pretty much common to almost all places.

In countries who are predominantly occupied by Christians, Christmas happen to be the most important holiday of the year in terms of cost-effectiveness. In United Kingdom, this special holiday is celebrated for 12 days following December 25. This tradition usually starts with a big festival and banquet and ends on the Feast of the Epiphany.

This tradition of lengthening the festival is fast becoming famous by the year. Christmas festival starts weeks before the actual day both in the United States and United Kingdom to prolong the shopping days of the event and also to consider more time for meeting and greeting friends, family and loved-ones.

For countries celebrating Christmas on December 25, they call the day before Christmas "Christmas eve" and the day after by different names. In Germany and Poland, they call it the Second Christmas Day. Commonwealth countries call it "Boxing Day" and Irish and Romanians call it "St. Stephen’s Day".

Christmas Candles

Candles add so much charm to a room. They add a special type of light that you can only get with a candle. So candles are a must at Christmas to add to the holiday spirit.

Types of Candles

Candles come in many shapes, sizes, colors and scents. It can be confusing to choose sometimes. Thinking how you are going use them first is a great way to help you choose which ones you want. But here is some information to help you decide:

Shapes include taper, pillar, votive, and tea lights. The taper candles are the tall thin candles used in candlesticks. Pillars can be large or small and even come with more than one wick. Votives can also be used in centerpieces but they are smaller candles and usually are in holders unlike pillars that can stand-alone. Tea lights are small little candles for just a hint of candlelight. Candles also come in specialty shapes for Christmas such as Christmas trees, ball shaped, stars, angels, and even Santa Claus.

- Sizes vary from real big pillars to the tiny tea lights. You just need the size to fit where you are using it.

- Candles come in all colour shades. For Christmas this means that you can find the right shade of red, green, and even gold and silver to match your decorations. Burgundy and white are becoming popular Christmas colours.

- Choosing a candle with a scent can add that extra dimension. Cinnamon and spice are particularly popular at Christmas time.

Candles at Christmas

Candles add ambiance, lighting and joy to a room. Candles have also been symbolic of the hope, the renewal, the joy that our lives go through. They also add special warmth to a room that is so welcome in the winter months. That is why candles are special and used so much at Christmas.

Christmas Songs

Christmas songs are as assorted and diverse as anything I can think of. But what exactly do I mean by that statement? Well just think about the incredible variety of Christmas songs that have been produced throughout the years and I think you'll agree. If you grew up in snowy regions you may recall going for sleigh rides or caroling around a snow-covered tree.

If you had any number of Christmases from 1969 through the early seventies, the early eighties, the early nineties, or the early oughts—that is, through the Vietnam, Granada, Gulf War, and current wars you may think of how much meaning the song I'll be home for Christmas has. And who can forget all of those wonderful Perry Como and Bing Crosby Christmas specials that were filled with beautiful Christmas songs.

Christmas Carols

The tradition of carolling and Christmas carols is believed to have originated in England when wandering musicians would go from town to town and visit castles and other homes of the rich to give impromptu performances. But there also is the belief that singing carols at Christmas likely came from the group of angels, shepherds and Wise Men who visited Jesus at his birth, because they worshiped the holy child, sang and proclaim praises unto Him. And after their visit, they continued their proclamations in the street.

The origin of the word carol however, is thought to come from the word 'caroller,' which is a French word that describes a circle dance with singers. And from the twelfth through the fourteenth centuries, the carol was highly popular as a dance song. The use of carols then evolved to festivals where they were sung as processional songs and others were used as part of religious mystery plays in Europe. Some traditional qualities of a carol were that the words expressed should celebrate a topic that was seasonal, have verses and a chorus arranged alternately and have music that was suitable for dancing.

Although many of the carols that are now popular at Christmas time are very old, there are others from earlier times that didn't survive. During the 17th century when the Protestants, led by Oliver Cromwell were in power in England, many Christmas carols were banned and consequently some were never heard again.The Christmas carols that survived the Protestant Reformation period didn't become very popular again until the mid-19th century to the start of the 20th century.

Many of the Christmas carols that were banned and early Christmas carols in general, had lyrics that expressed joyous and merry themes instead of the serious sombre words found in church hymns. During the time when carols were banned, some composers and musicians wrote non-religious songs that had highly varied choral music, which they called carols, for Christmas. After Christmas carols again became popular, many of those songs were re-arranged with new Christian lyrics and used by the church.

Christmas Music

Christmas music in the form of carols, songs stringed or instrumental renditions, is constantly heard during the Christmas season. Music forms the background against which everything else takes place to make the Christmas season different from all others. Christmas music plays such a significant role that during the entire season, other popular music temporarily disappears from radio.

It could also be that they want to capitalize on the popularity of Christmas music. Whatever the reason, it has become a trend for popular musical artists to release new Christmas or holiday music albums during the season. Since variety is the spice of life, it means there are more variations of secular, sacred, classical or traditional and popular renditions of Christmas music that can be heard.

Music at Christmas time is important to create the right mood. 

Christmas Gifts

Christmas time is fun time for Children. Children are always very excited about arrival of Christmas because they get lots of gifts. Every child has their own dream about the kind of gift they want during Christmas. So if you are thinking of buying gift for Children you should spend little more time and attention to get the best gift for Children during Christmas. Let us find out what can be done.

Children get many toys at Christmas. Why not buy children something different such as a day at a theme park? The range of gifts now available for children is very large.Best is to give them a catalog and ask them to mark their choice in priority. Then choose what suits your budget.

Start your Christmas shopping early. If you leave your shopping to the last minute you will buy any gift rather than your chosen one.By shopping early you will have the pick of the Christmas range.Shopping early gives you enough time to select suitable gifts for the children.All of us have our own budget and cannot exceed that. It is our effort to make every Dollar go a long way. We can buy anything online or search properly. a friend of mine has been buying all his gifts on eBay.

Christmas Ideas

Christmas is a magical time. A time of hope, spirit, love, and especially family. This year make it a season of family togetherness and fun.In recent years, we've all noticed that the Christmas season has gotten to be more and more commercialized.It's tough to see past the store displays and the hustle bustle of present buying.

In fact, during the Christmas season, sometimes you can be so overwhelmed by the pressure and expectations that you can forget that you should be using this time to celebrate all of the blessings that you have with your family.

But it doesn’t have to be like that. HOLIDAY DECORATING IDEAS One of the best things that you can do to get your family ready for the season is to get everyone involved in decorating.Of course there are the traditional types of decorating that you can involve everyone in like decorating the Christmas tree or hanging lights on the outside of the house.However, you can really use your creativity and come up with some fantastic Christmas crafts to create together.
For example, even little ones can help you create a paper chain that you can use to count down the days to Christmas much like an advent calendar.

Christmas Presents

The real meaning of Christmas is often expressed as being about giving to others during the season. Giving can take many forms, but during the Christmas season the most obvious way in which giving is done is by preparing beautifully wrapped Christmas presents for family, friends, acquaintances, work colleagues, teachers and others such as business clients.

Giving gifts during Christmas started in the early 19th century when the celebration of Christmas was restored after a period when the Protestants in England banned Christmas celebrations. 

Outdoor Christmas Decoration

An outdoor Christmas decoration holds a special place in people's hearts. Christmas is an elaborate celebration for many people throughout the world. For most families, Christmas involves an extensive amount of decorating, both indoors and outside. Many towns and neighborhoods hold lighting and decoration contests to see who can come up with the best seasonal decorative scheme for their home. There are many different types of outdoor Christmas decorations.

One type of outdoor Christmas decoration is a homemade decoration. These are perhaps the most sentimental decorations, as families typically get together during the season to create and places these in their yard or on their homes. They are less costly than store bought decorations, as they can save over half the price of store Christmas decorations. Simple items like wire coat hangers can be fashioned into reindeer, trees, stars, bells, candy canes, and other ornamental signs of the season. They can then be wrapped with outdoor lights to illuminate the night. Strips of wood can be fashioned into figures like Santa Clause and set to illuminate the blackness of a winter night as well.

Another type of outdoor Christmas decoration is a string of lights, though these days they come in many shapes and sizes. Lights are, perhaps, the most popular form of outdoor Christmas decoration. It is possible to purchase lights in the shape of trees or stars. You can also buy lights to hang on your house. For these, you can by dangling lights that resemble icicles or a simple strand with one white or colored bulb every few inches. These strings of lights can flash or blink in any pattern or you can simply have them stay on in a constant fashion.

One final type of outdoor Christmas decoration is a pre-made statue or figure of some type that has lighting capabilities. These come in many shapes and sizes from religious figures and nativity scenes to popular characters like Santa Clause or cartoon characters dressed in festive gear. Air inflated decorations like this are gaining in popularity.