About a week ago, streams of red lanterns were strung around everyhere, arguably the most famous of the decorations that are festooned. Tasselled shaped cloth ornaments are hung up, usually in people’s houses or on the front of doors. The lanterns are strung everywhere, inside and out.

A few blocks from where I’m living, street sellers manning moving stalls have them all cluttered with strings of red and red: cloths of chilies, lanterns, the tasselled, and all sorts of dragon designs as well as keeping the precious decorations covered over with thick plastic tarpaulins. I repeat – it has and is raining – and this year’s animal or mascot sign is the dragon which, tying in the with the Spring Festival celebrations, means good luck and authority. The rest of the festival means happiness, contentment, getting together with friends, associates and family which is why Chinese go to town during this time and hand make their ‘Jaozi’ – dumplings, dough wrapped in meat fillings which are boiled.

Chinese, usually, find it hard to resist setting off bangers and pther fireworks. The Spring Festival celebrations are no exception. If you are looking for a quiet time because it’s the holidays, forget it. I was just hitting the sack the other night, thinking all was going to be quiet on the western front, when all of a sudden, firecrackers were set off – a five-minute din which sounded as though everything was crashing or raining down all around.

The wet weather has an unpleasant raw feeling – wet and an extra dose of cold clashing – so it wasn’t ideal for staying out too long.

The nearest supermarket was driving me nuts. I hate crowded places at the best of times, but shopping trolleys and bodies in the way was just the last straw, particularly as Chinese are absolutely unconscious of showing any consideration if they knock against or brush your body with themselves, their baskets, their trolleys. I kept my elbow out bent on purpose.

So, there you have them…some of the Chinese New Year Festival happening in a nutshell. They’re a bit like Christmas and New Year in the west, although not quite, either.

The holidays aren’t about the money or the displays, its about the people in your life you can connect with and stay connected with. Its about making a difference in the lives of others as well as your own life.

Other little things:

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The spirit seems to be there and alive.  I went light looking tonight.  You go out after dark and view all the pretty lighted houses on the block.  And now it is even great to go light looking during the day.  So many houses decorate for the day time also.  It is fabulous!  I even put up our tree tonight.   And I will make some eggnog tomorrow.  And go to the local church soon to listen to Christmas carols.  And if I am in luck, I will be able to hear the bell choir.  I was in a bell choir as a youth.  It was a great experience to be a part of something that you cannot do alone.

And it required the utmost precision.  I only wish that everyone could have the Christmas spirit all year round.  They truly miss out on the whole meaning if they do not.  Being kind to your fellow human beings when it is the most difficult is something you should strive to do all year round.  Being mean back to someone is just not good.  And not what is intended in the big picture.  This year, my wish is that everyone finds a little bit more inner peace wherever they are.  And then, just maybe, we will someday have peace on earth all over the world.

My Christmas is forthwith cancelled.  I live alone with my cat and have nobody to upset by not putting up a Christmas tree or decorations.  Sure, the street I live in has lights like Las Vegas flashing into the darkness right now and kids have their Santa Please Stop Here signs on the lawns.  People who visit my home look around and see only one Christmas card, one which was delivered by the church to every home in the area.  No sign at all of Christmas coming apart from that.  They look confused as they walk through my door, but I explain all to them. 

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I AM SCROOGE FOR A DAY! 

I am not exactly saying Bah! Humbug! but I am saying NO to Christmas.  Why?  Why not… ha ha!  Why should I conform to it all as the neighbours do?  When I thought about that I figured that when there were children starving in the world and who Santa wouldn’t be coming to, then I would rather skip Christmas and be like Ebenezer Scrooge with a heart.  No, I don’t mean go buy a poor clerk a big fat goose for dinner.  I mean just skip the whole conformity to Christmas altogether and divert the cost of it to charity. 

I AM SEEKING SPONSORSHIP TO SKIP CHRISTMAS…

After all, I have had 58 of them so missing one is going to be no big deal, is it?  If people just give me the money that they would have spent on a card and gift for me I could give that to the truly needy. To me that makes more sense in this economic climate and with so much world poverty.  I have all I need and don’t mean to sound ungrateful, but I really don’t need anything more. 

THIS IS GOING TO BE A VERY SATISFYING CHRISTMAS!  I WILL LOVE IT!  It is better to give than to receive.

Image via Wikipedia

I love Christmas.  Of course, I don’t agree with the commercialization of it all.  In fact, I hate seeing Christmas decorations out in the stores at Halloween and hearing radio stations playing 24-hour holiday music before I can even eat my Thanksgiving turkey.  But, once that turkey is long gone, my Christmas spirit starts taking over. Some of my fondest childhood memories circle back to Christmas and all the fun and togetherness it inspired. My father loved Christmas so much that he created a Santa Clause art collection that folks still call my mom about, asking if we have any for sell.

We lived in a wonderful neighborhood full of kids and all the families were good friends and always came together during holidays.  We had a progressive dinner and after enjoying deserts at the last house in the rotation we all grabbed a candle and walked around to each house caroling.  Each time we came to a house, those who lived there would run in and turn on all their lights – it was the neighborhood unveiling of  Christmas tree lights, window candles, spotlights to show off wreaths and garland on the front porches and so on.  Most importantly, it was a time that we all took a moment during the evening to appreciate the friends and family that we had in our lives. I didn’t really get that as a kid, but looking back I think it was fantastic that the small community we shared our lives with made sure everyone felt the love and appreciation we had for one another.

Every year, my family and our neighbors would load up in our cars and drive out to a local Christmas tree farm.  We’d spend the afternoon walking through all the trees and once we picked “the one” one of the farmers would help us cut it down and load it in the back of the truck. My dad always had to get the tallest, biggest tree he could find.  There were some years that we were unable to put a star on top because the tip of the tree was bent over.  It was truly the Griswold Christmas tree for us every year. Decorating it was a family affair. One year, the tree was so large that it barely fit into the tree stand, or the corner of the room we put it in.  My Nanaw was sitting in front of it helping us decorate and this huge tree suddenly started leaning over and then fell on her.  Luckily, only the branches got her and she was fine and once we realize that, I think we all almost wet our pants laughing so hard.  After that, all our trees got attached to the wall with wire and eye-hooks.

I could go on and on about the hilarious and joyful memories I have.  I think because of how fun, and often crazy, our holidays were is why it became a tradition to watch Christmas Vacation every year as a family (which we still do).  We could totally relate to some of the outrageous situations Clark would find himself in – luckily, our situations were never quite as exaggerated. 

Of course, as much fun as we had, our parents always made sure we learned about the true meaning of Christmas and why we celebrate this time of year.  The Christmas Eve service at the First Baptist Church is definitely a part of my fond memories – the chill bumps I would get listening to the choir sing, the sermons our Pastor delivered so eloquently, seeing all the candles the congregation held and the feeling of the spiritual blessing as we huddled together to keep warm at the end of the service in front of the church singing O Holy Night and We Wish You a Merry Christmas. For me, though I love the lights, the decorations and wrapping the perfect gifts for those I love, it’s the meaning behind it all that drives my love of the holiday. Yes, I get that my religious beliefs differ from others and I respect that.  But, underneath the differing historical and spiritual meanings, it all comes down to a greater power that was sent to us to guide and protect us and to give us all a love that no other being can.  My wish for this holiday season is that we can all put those differing beliefs aside and have a joyous holiday season.  One in which we come together and appreciate one another and what we each have to offer to this world.

 Happy Holidays!

If you’ve decorated your house and lawn with enough lights to land an airplane at night time, your electric bill is likely to take a big jump. To avoid a huge bill, turn Christmas lights on only for a few hours each evening–not too many people will enjoy them after 11 p.m. or so. Also, remember to turn them off when leaving the house or going to bed, not only to save on your electric, but also for safety reasons.  Apply these same rules to your Christmas tree and other indoor decorations.

Avoid the high cost of travelling to deliver gifts.

If your friends and family live out of town and you won’t see them at Christmas, considering shipping gifts instead of delivering them in person. USPS offers flat rate prices for priority mail packages.  Just remember to mail early, as the mail can get backed up during the holiday season and take additional time for delivery.

Make your own giftwrap.

Instead of buying expensive gift bags and rolls of paper, get creative and make your own. Look around the house for pretty ribbons, fabric and paper scraps, including unused wallpaper and posters. Make your own gift bags using paint, crayons, magic markers or stickers. Use small scraps of colorful paper to make gift tags.

Send online Christmas cards.

Save on postage by sending online cards.  Many sites have free online greeting cards, while some charge a small fee, normally less than $5.00. If you sign up and pay a fee, you can always cancel the service once you’ve finished sending your cards.

Trade babysitting services with a friend or family member.

Instead of hiring a babysitter or taking the kids to daycare while you shop, trade with a friend or family member. Watch their kids while they shop, and they can watch yours while you shop.

Resist temptation of buying for yourself.

With so many cool items in the stores at Christmas time, it’s hard to resist buying things for yourself that you really don’t need. Put off the urge to buy items for yourself until after the holidays. Who knows, you may get whatever you wanted so desperately as a gift. Or, you might receive a gift card or some Christmas cash to buy exactly what you want.

While it might not seem like much, all these expenses really do add up. Follow these tips and you’ll have a truly jolly holiday!

Some people have a huge amount of Christmas decor in their yards.  There is a TV show on TLC called Crazy Christmas lights, and they show people in the U.S. and their Christmas lights and decorations in their yards.  It’s really pretty, I like watching shows like this.  There are some people who synchronize music with their Christmas lights.  You can watch many videos like this on Youtube.

Heavy Metal Christmas light show:

People who have this many Christmas lights have to have electric upgrades and spend thousands of dollars on lights, decor and hefty hydro bills.  People go to visit these houses.  I’m sure some neighbors must be annoyed to have this much distraction beside them!

People on the Crazy Christmas Lights show have up to half a million lights on their houses and yards!  They sometime start in April or May decorating their houses.

http://www.shelterpop.com/2009/12/14/all-is-calm-all-is-bright-crazy-christmas-lights/

Why do people do it?

They probably do it because they really enjoy it, as well as having other people enjoy it.  They like reliving their childhood memories of Christmas.

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I like this picture, with the Grinch in it:

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On the TLC show, they talk about rain and wind conditions which can affect the decorations, as well as thefts of 300 pound concrete deers and igloos!  The decor can’t be put up too early because the squirrels chew on the wires, and strands of lights have to be replaced.  They must not have too many dogs around either, because I could see a dog chewing wires and yanking stuff down too!

One difference in the South is the decorating. Again, this could be a timing thing, but I don’t recall the tackiness up north when I’m visiting relatives that I’ve experienced down here. I would look at Northern peoples’ Christmas displays; twinkling white lights precisely lining the rooftops and draped artistically around the trees in the front yard. In the South I drive around to see who has gone the furthest over the top. Giant blowup Santas on Harley-Davidsons or wearing swim trunks and riding surfboards top my list of memorable decorations.

To be fair, there are some lovely decorating traditions down here. The magnolia wreath is my all-time favorite, and that’s something I never saw up north. It apparently dates back to Jamestown, where the Pilgrims were struck by the fact that such a large tree with fanlike leaves was indeed an evergreen. Holly is proliferate here in the south, and it is used abundantly in Christmas decorations. Another decoration I never saw much up North (except the plastic version) was mistletoe. Here it grows in bunches high in the bare branches of deciduous trees. The easiest way to harvest it is to (how else?) shoot it down with a gun.

Another difference I’ve noticed is Christmas caroling. Up North, wwe’d bundle up and, with  thermoses of coffee or hot chocolate, we’d walk from house to house. As people heard us coming they would press their faces to the windows and rush to open their doors so they could hear us better. Usually, a light snow would be falling and someone from the high school madrigals group would hit a note on the pitch pipe so we could all tune in.

In the South, our group gathered, me with my thermos and they with their flasks of liquor and six packs of beer (a situation I quickly rectified with a dash back home for a bottle of wine), and we straggled off to sing. Each home-owner whose door we rang looked slightly confused and then resigned, as they good-heartedly suffered through our off-key singing. Christmas caroling in the southern states is apparently a rare occurrence. Some people apologetically closed their doors before we could finish a song, but we couldn’t blame them as we kept forgetting the lyrics and resorted to making them up as we went. Other people never opened their doors, they just peered suspiciously through a crack in the drawn living room drapes or watched through the security window on the front door.

You know what? I wouldn’t change any of it for the world. I’ve learned that although everyone celebrates a little differently, the spirit of Christmas lives in their hearts no matter where they live.

On Christmas morning after getting dressed, we all stepped out into the cold frosty morning air. We’d run as fast as possible to get into the car. The lucky person could sit next to the window. Usually the younger ones were squeezed into the middle seating. We’d leave for Church long before sun rise. I loved the ride to church as much as I hated getting up early on Christmas morning to go to church.We arrived at church about the same time most of the other members arrived. Every Christmas, the beauty of the church interior was breath taking and magical. The church was simply decorated. But the softness of the candles and the gigantic chandeliers transformed the church to a place of awe.Once we were all situated. The celebrating began. The choir and the congregation sang Christmas carols. We sang old Christmas spiritual songs. And we had a great time singing songs that celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ. He was the reason for the celebrating.The wall size pipe organ delivered angelic music from another world. As a child, I had no idea of the impact the traditional Christmas celebration had on me.I,m so luck to have grown up in the South and to have raised my children here,yes we do things different but I’m so happy we do

                                                    Merry Christmas Ya’ll

and just for fun and I’m praying no one gets their feelings hurt.

Luckily, it is possible to spread the cost without really having to worry about it all that much. If you buy things for Christmas throughout the course of the year, then you should find that you have enough treats for you when the time actually comes. 

The first thing that you should do is make a list of all of the things that you like to eat over the Christmas period. This can include any chocolates, crisps, cheese, biscuits, or anything else that you might like. You should go to a supermarket and have a look at how long the expiry dates tend to be on them. This will help you to work out just how far in advance you could buy the things. Some things, like chocolates, sometimes have more than a year of date on them, which means that you could buy them in the January sales when the prices are low. You should make sure that you have somewhere nice and cool in your house where you can store things for Christmas without worrying about them going off or being misplaced. If you buy things during the course of the year instead of leaving everything until the last minute, you will find things a lot easier to deal with. 

If you like to have things like decorations and crackers, these are an awful lot cheaper just after Christmas, so you should buy them a year in advance for the next Christmas. You can even buy things like Christmas cards and wrapping paper, so you won’t have to worry about the cost or the stress of buying them when you get to December again.

Some catalogues allow you to build up your balance by direct debit during the course of the year, and then choose what you want to spend it on in December. If you do this, you could choose to buy whatever you want with your balance, and you know that you won’t have to worry about not having enough money for the things that you want.

If you take this advice, there is no need why you should have to go without the things that you are used to having at Christmas. 

Image via Wikipedia

                                             Christmas is a special time

If you are a millionaire, you could splash your money around at Christmas. Your Christmas list would be endless with presents for everyone. You could sample the finest wines and your table would be groaning under the weight of every exotic food known to man.  Millionaires don’t have to worry about the increasing cost of food, or petrol and unemployment. They have made it in life, and they can sit back and enjoy the fruits of their success.

I have never been rich with money, even though I have worked hard all my life, and raised 4 beautiful children. Neither do I begrudge anyone who is. I count my riches with love. The love I have for my family and friends, and the  love they give back to me. I may not be able to afford big presents this year, but my heart  is full to brimming with good will to everyone.

I don’t care if I get presents back either, because I get more pleasure out of giving than receiving.  To see the happiness on someones face because you have managed to secretly buy them the one thing they wanted, but couldn’t afford, is magic to me.

My idea of a special Christmas is the company of those I hold most dear. To celebrate that very special time of the year when our lord was born together, and to remember the true meaning of Christmas is all I ask. It costs nothing to go to a carol service, or enjoy a child’s nativity play, once again marvelling that  a stable was all that our lord had when we was born that night so long ago.

Phil my eternally young son loves Christmas. He loves the bright lights, the Christmas tree adorned in all its splendour, the music, and the boxes and ribbons that presents come in. He is so easy to please, and when I see his smile of happiness when I put the dinner on the table it makes my Christmas complete. He is special, and life is uncomplicated for him. I will take a leaf out of his book and enjoy what I have, because it’s all very precious.