...Christmas assignment: Ben was sitting in his living room reading a book by the fireplace on Christmas Eve. He had lost contact with his family and girlfriend long ago, when he was deployed in Afghanistan by the army, so he didn’t have anyone to share the holidays with, which he was very sad about. His family wrote a final letter to him, that they didn’t want to be worried about whether or not Ben was gonna come back alive, so they stopped writing to him, and didn’t even meet him in the airport when he got back home. He thought they were just overreacting and that they didn’t mean what they wrote in the letter, but they meant it quite seriously. He knew he hadn’t been the best son, and got into a lot of fights with his mom and dad, but he became very sad that they could do something like that to him, made Ben very sad, and by the time he got home, he was too afraid to call his family or drop by their house to say that he was okay. So he sat there in his chair reading a book, all by himself and he thought about his family and his girlfriend. Thinking about all that made Ben very sad and tears began to roll down his cheeks. He sat there for a good half an hour crying, when suddenly he heard a loud thump outside the house. He wiped the tears of his face with the back of his hand, and layed the book on his chair and stood up to check what caused the sound. He stood in front of the window looking out, but it was too dark to see anything, so he went over to the front door and...
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...Across all seven continents, Christmas is a festive and enjoyable holiday celebrated among all age groups. The different traditions and customs…? All throughout Europe, the celebration of Saint Nicholas Feast Day begins on the morning of December 6. Children open the gifts Santa Claus has left them, Christmas carols are sung at their neighbor’s doors, ancients stories are passed down to the children, and a huge Christmas dinner with potatoes, roast goose, and vegetables are served. Spending time with family members plays a major role on Christmas. In Australia, children celebrate Christmas during their summer break from school. It is therefore common for people to spend their holiday away from home on parks, camp sites, or relative’s homes…. African traditions range from roasting goats with family members to celebrating Christmas on the...
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...is, depending upon one’s family, culture and background, perceptions may differ slightly from person to person. The history of Christmas is more religious based correlating with each denomination having a unique set of beliefs. The legend of Santa and how he came about differs depending on one’s upbringing. Christmas traditions that people may practice vary from house to house but the most common practices are buying and decorating a Christmas tree, and exchanging presents with others. In mythology there is often times where unity occurs like in the myths Hera and Hephaistos and The Story of Poia. Christmas time is the time of the year when friends and family come together to celebrate the joy...
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...Holiday Celebrations Around the World/Family Traditions By Cathy Abraham/2003 HOLIDAYS CELEBRATIONS AROUND THE WORLD Curriculum Goal – Children will explore different ways in which people celebrate holidays, and foster respect for other cultures and traditions. Vocabulary: - Chanukah - Kwanzaa - Dreidel - Christmas - Ramadan Letter of the Week: C Colors of the Week: Red and Green Concepts: - Families celebrate holidays in different ways – and that’s okay - People celebrate holidays based on what they believe and where they are from - Customs and traditions are things that families do every year - People eat different kinds of food when they celebrate - A family tradition is a way of celebrating Sensory Table Ideas: Curling ribbon and blunt, round-end scissors. Teach children how to curl ribbon. Art Activities: - Children cut out a pine tree (Christmas Tree) pattern. Decorate. - Make a collage from old Christmas cards, wrapping paper scraps, etc - Christmas/holiday cookie cutter prints - Make Holiday gift wrapping paper (sponge painting, etc.) - Passover candle menorah (made out of handprint) - Kwanzaa placemat (weave even-sized red and green strips of paper) - Snoglobe (babyfood jar, silver glitter, small winter or holiday theme décor minature figure glued to the bottom. Add water. Glue babyfood jar shut) - Star of David Ornament (Children make 2 triangles out of 6 craft sticks. Glue. Place one triangle over the other at an angle, going the other way) - Pipecleaner candycanes...
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...Abstract The story was written by O’Henry in 1906. The story was centered around a seemingly poor couple who did not have enough money to buy each other the gifts that their significant other deserved. The story took place during Christmas. The Gift of the Magi is like a classic wisdom story in the bible. O’Henrys choice of title depicts symbolism between the three magi that brought gold, frankincense, and mur, to the baby Jesus and the gifts that Jim and Della had given to each other which mainly consisted of selfless love, Della’s hair and Jims pocket watch. This itself ties into the theme of his story. These gifts all entail the act of giving from the heart. The purpose of this research paper is to outline the key factors that support the claim that Jim and Della performed an act of selfless love. Now, after looking at that it is evident that Jim and Della performed the most beautiful act of love for each other. What makes it the most beautiful? The fact that they were selfless in giving up their most valuable possessions in order to get something for the other. There is a famous and well known saying, “Love means putting the other before oneself”. This is the epitome of Selfless love, and clearly of Jim and Della’s love. Towards the end of the text O.Henry said, “Of all who give gifts these two were the wisest.” This paper will serve to back this statement up. Did Jim and Della perform an act of selfless love? O’Henry used situational irony within this short story. Firstly...
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...Spanish Christmases Christmas is a major holiday celebrated all over the world in many different cultures. It is a holiday celebrated by Christians, Catholics, and more celebrating the birth of the baby jesus. Christmas is a time many families spend with each other, and exchange gifts. Many people call it “the most wonderful time of the year.” Spain and Colombia are both Spanish speaking countries that celebrate Christmas, and they share a lot of traditions, however every culture is different. Some of the traditions are even practiced here in the United States, and all over the world. Colombia and Spain are on opposite sides of the world, therefore families there have their own way of celebrating Christmas. Making this holiday different in...
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...According to the text it states that, he is grumpy and very hard to handle. Also, the text states that he doesn't really care about a plethora of things like Christmas because he does not get the point of Christmas. On page one, the author describes how he was exceedingly rude to a boy who shows up asking for any donations for the poor, but Scrooge tells him to leave, and argues that anyone who is poor can either go to jail, or go to the workhouse. All because he doesn’t believe in the poor. Marley, Scrooge’s dead partner, comes in and reveals a couple things, “‘Ghosts of terrible people have to endlessly work to make the world a better place.’” When Marley...
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...Eating Christmas in the Kalahari Latisha Willoughby Ivy Tech Community College “Eating Christmas in the Kalahari” is a story about of how Richard Borshay Lee explores the culture of the !Kung Bushmen natives in the Kalahari Desert. During his journey, his purpose was to find out how hunting and gathering helped the economy of the Bushmen. In order to do this he had to make sure not to supply them with any food, share his own food, or to interfere with any of the gather activities they were doing. Since he was not going to help with food he could supply tobacco and medical supplies. Even though, this helped some it was not enough to hide the difference in wealth between him and the Tswana tribe. He experiences a cultural misinterpretation which causes him grief and concern that almost caused him to end his lengthy three year study. The Bushmen’s idea of a Christmas story was that it is to “praise the birth of the white man god-chief”. It was only believed that the slaughtering an ox for their village and the surrounding neighbors was a good enough celebration for Christmas. This would be a good will gesture for the Bushmen. Their December activities include congregation at the cattle post for a trade, marriage brokering, and a number of days trance dance and feasting, which local Tswana headman hosts. This would be an example of mechanical solidarity because everyone within this group are all on one accord. This was a yearly tradition and something they are had a level...
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...The story opens with $1.87. That's all Della Dillingham Young has to buy a present for her beloved husband, Jim. And the next day is Christmas. Faced with such a situation, Della promptly bursts into tears on the couch, which gives the narrator the opportunity to tell us a bit more about the situation of Jim and Della. The short of it is they live in a shabby flat and they're poor. But they love each other. Once Della's recovered herself, she goes to a mirror to let down her hair and examine it. Della's beautiful, brown, knee-length hair is one of the two great treasures of the poor couple. The other is Jim's gold watch. Her hair examined, Della puts it back up, sheds a tear, and bundles up to head out into the cold. She leaves the flat and walks to Madame Sofronie's hair goods shop, where she sells her hair for twenty bucks. Now she has $21.87 cents. With her new funds, Della is able to find Jim the perfect present: an elegant platinum watch chain for his watch. It's $21, and she buys it. Excited by her gift, Della returns home and tries to make her now-short hair presentable (with a curling iron). She's not convinced Jim will approve, but she did what she had to do to get him a good present. When she finishes with her hair, she gets to work preparing coffee and dinner. Jim arrives at 7pm to find Della waiting by the door and stares fixedly at her, not able to understand that Della's hair is gone. Della can't understand quite what his reaction means. After a little...
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...Theme and Narrative Elements ENG125: Introduction to Literature (AFG1232A) Instructor: Stacey Novak Written By: Christie McCauley August 20, 2012 2 Theme and Narrative Elements The main theme of the story is to give insight on giving selfless gifts much as the wise men did for Jesus. The color grey is used in the short story and it is another symbol for sadness. We see in the story sadness is very much an emotion the main character feels when she does not have money for a gift for her husband. , There are many symbols throughout the story as well; such as the description of the cold winter. Winter is a symbol of stagnation and this couple is financially struggling as we see. It will be explained more at the end of the story when both people give selflessly their prize possessions so they can give a much desired gift to their spouse they are magi’s themselves. The theme for “The Gift of the Magi” is that love is more important than any material item. Della and Jim, the two main characters, demonstrated the theme. The act of gift giving is done selflessly with love; those gifts mean more that any expensive gift could mean. The wise men gave their gifts to Jesus as selfless gifts of love. This idea can be used as an example for the narrative term Archetype which means the use of a famous concept, person or object to convey a wealth of meaning. To contrast their richness with love the depressing condition of their apartment is given. It is described...
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...Christmas is a sacred festival of the Christians. It is celebrated with great enthusiasm and gaiety all over the world. It is observed on 25th December to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. It is largely characterized by exchanging gifts within families and by gifts brought by other friends. Christmas was not among the earliest festivals of the Christians. The exact date of the birth of Christ was unanimously fixed some two centuries after his death, as the Catholic Church began to establish its tradition. Now Christmas is celebrated on 25th December in Catholic, Protestant and most orthodox churches. The period of celebration varies in different countries. In the United Kingdom, the Christmas season traditionally runs for twelve days following the Christmas Day. These twelve days of Christmas are a period of feasting and merrymaking which ends on Twelfth Night the feast of the Epiphany. Christmas period has grown much longer in some countries including the United States. It begins many weeks before. During Christmas people enjoy shopping and meet one another. The celebration continues up to New Year's Day. The numerous customs related to Christmas vary from country to country. Most of the familiar traditional practices and symbols of Christmas, such as the Christmas tree, the Christmas ham. The Christmas tree is believed to have first been used in Germany. Gift giving is a near-universal part of Christmas celebrations. The concept of a mythical figure that brings gifts...
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...The Gift of the Magi Themes Love "Gift of the Magi" is the story of a poor, young couple whose love for each other is the most important thing in their lives. Such is their love that they're led to sacrifice their most valuable possessions to find Christmas gifts for each other. The warm home they make together contrasts with the drabness of their poverty and the dreary world outside. Their love seems to know no bounds, though Della (the wife) worries about how her sacrifice will affect her husband because of how it affects her looks. If ever there were a story with the message that all you need to be happy is love, this is it. Sacrifice The two main characters in "Gift of the Magi" are a husband and wife who give up their most precious possessions to be able to afford gifts for each other on Christmas Eve. The story seems to be all about sacrifice. We watch Della go through the process of deciding to make the sacrifice and going through with it, only to discover that her husband has made the same sacrifice. The story's narrator assures us that in their willingness to give up all they have, they have proven themselves the wisest of all gift-givers. It might remain unclear, though, exactly what their sacrifice has accomplished, or how it has affected them. Wealth In many ways, "Gift of the Magi" is a story about what it means for something to be valuable. Does something's value lie in how much money it is worth? Or are other things more valuable than money? The main characters...
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...The short story “The Gift of the Magi” was written by O. Henry in 1906. The story is about a husband and wife who did not have enough finances to buy each other gifts at Christmas time. So the couple sacrificed two precious items to show their love for one another. This theme and narrative essay will explain O. Henry use symbolism and characters to contribute to the themes of poverty, generosity, and selfless love. The main symbolism was use in the title of the short story. In the biblical story of the birth of Jesus three men came in on camels bringing precious gifts to the son of Mary and Joseph. “These three represent the Three Wise Men or Kings, also called the Magi (Jesus, 2007).” The wise men brought Jesus three gifts gold, frankincense and myrrh. They gave them freely and unselfish because they believed Jesus was “the promise one”. The symbolization in “The Gift of the Magi” was that Jim and Della gave three gifts to each other freely and unselfish. Jim’s watch, Della’s hair and selfless love for each other were the three distinct gifts given in this short story. Three themes was basically portrayed in “the Gift of the Magi. One theme was poverty. One dollar and eighty-seven cent was all Della had on Christmas Eve. Della begins to cry over the fact she did not have enough funds to buy Jim a Christmas gift. “In the vestibule below was a letter box into which no letter would go, and an electric button from which no mortal finger could coax a ring (Clugston, 2010).”...
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...Religious Traditions Yvette Stone June 2nd, 2014 REL 134 Roy Rehberg Religious Traditions Throughout the world today, there are many traditions that are observed and passed on by multiple different religions. In the Christian religion, there are several traditions that are recognized through celebrating holidays. A couple of the more common holidays celebrated by Christians are Easter and Christmas. Celebrating these holidays explains the relationship with the divine, sacred time, sacred space, and with each other. With all religions, there is always going to be conflict. In the next few paragraphs, Easter and Christmas will be explained as to why there is a relationship with the divine, sacred time, sacred space, and with each other and the issues that come with these holidays among the world today. Easter is a time to celebrate rebirth, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and in the Mormon faith the restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Celebrating Easter is literally remembering our savior and redeemer Jesus Christ and what he had gone through to save all mankind. Jesus is the literal son of God, the holy one, the divine. By remembering the son of God, we are building and renewing our relationship with the divine one. Setting aside a sacred time to remember Jesus Christ and contemplating the agony, pain, grief, torture, and turmoil he went through to make it possible to return to our Father in Heaven once again is...
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...Santa Claus has grown and evolved throughout history. And even more exciting how he has became a modern day icon during the Christmas season. What do you think of when you hear the words: strings of lights, carolers, snow, cookies and milk? Most often Christmas right? More often Santa Claus. Every boy and girl has felt the joy of Christmas eve, having family time, putting out treats for Santa, and then tossing and turning unable to sleep growing evermore restless about Santa's arrival. Although most know what Santa does during his sleigh ride, many may not know where his origin began. The jolly man we know has developed through the span of time and has gone through numerous changes. "The original St Nicholas is for the most part a shadowy figure, lost in historical mist and religious myths" (Myers) Despite the fact that the idea of giving gifts developed from Saint Nicholas in the fourth century, the first characters that resemble our modern day Santa developed in the seventeenth century. We acquire these figures from the English and also the Dutch. Although this man in not the same as the modern Santa, it is evident the these are his beginnings. "When the Dutch lost control of New Amsterdam to the English in the seventeenth century, Sinterklaas gradually became anglicized into Santa Claus and acquired some of the features of the English father Christmas" (Myers). Santa Claus is a character that has been changed and modified throughout history. religion, mythology, and personal...
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