11 Christmas Books with More than Mistletoe www.bookbub.com/blog/2017/11/29/christmas-books-2017

17 Best Books on Christmas to Read This Holiday Season www.signature-reads.com/2017/12/best-books-on-christmas/

Best Christmas Themed Books/Stories www.goodreads.com/list/show/3743.Best_Christmas_Themed_Books_Stories

Books on Hanukkah www.theholidayspot.com/hanukkah/books.htm Christmas Book Lists www.goodreads.com/list/tag/christmas

Christmas Stories www.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/christmas.html Suggested Reading: Christmas Around the World easyfunschool.freeunitstudies.com/article1885.html

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Christmas Joys

Things to do for

yourself and others

to make this the best

Christmas ever.

CHRISTMAS IS . . .

^ Letting other cars pull in front of you

^ Waving "thank you" when somebody lets you into

traffic

^ Taking time to remember the greatest gift is a

home filled with people you love

^ Never giving a gift that's not nicely wrapped

^ Never giving a gift to a child you wouldn't want your

own child to receive

^ Asking children “what are you giving,” not “what are you getting”

for Christmas

^ Discovering the quiet satisfaction of anonymous giving

^ Remembering peace on earth starts with peace in our hearts

^ Asking yourself "whose life did I make brighter

today?"

^ Doing something special for someone else

^ Not waiting for someone else to spread Christmas joy

^ Helping a challanged person go Christmas shopping

^ Refusing to let long lines dampen your holiday spirit

^ Making a friend of an enemy

^ Giving someone who's discouraged the gift of encouragement

^ Making your family feel as important as holiday company

^ Offering to carry someone's packages

^ Letting someone else have the parking space you’ve found; think

of it as a gift to a stranger

^ Buying something from a holiday bake sale and

telliing them to keep the change

^ Offering to run holiday errands for an elderly person

^ Alerting your neighbors before you have a holiday

party; better yet, invite them

^ Giving tickets to a Christmas performance to someone who can’t

afford to go

^ Knowing the holiday spirit in our home depends on the words we

speak, not the gifts we give

^ After opening your presents, hug your family, and tell

them they’re the best gift

^ Giving your spouse the gift of patience, flexibility, and

humor during the holidays

^ Smiling at first responders; thank them for being on the

job during the holidays

^ Not letting a rude person steal your Christmas joy

^ Giving your place in line to someone who looks as if

they had a hard day

^ Offering to baby-sit for new parents

^ Complimenting three people everyday

75 Christmas Traditions Around the World greenglobaltravel.com/christmas-traditions-around-the-world/

Christmas Around the World - Christmas Customs Around the World holidays.pppst.com/christmas/world.html

Christmas Around the World - Christmas Cultures www.whychristmas.com/cultures/

Christmas Around the World: Christmas in . . . www.the-north-pole.com/around/

Christmas Around the World: How Children Celebrate Christmas www.kids-world-travel-guide.com/christmas-around-the-world.html

Christmas Celebrations Around the World www.soon.org.uk/en/articles/christmas/around-the-world.html

Christmas Traditions Worldwide www.history.com/topics/christmas/christmas-traditions-worldwide

Education World: December Holiday Lesson Plans and Activities www.educationworld.com/holidays/archives/december.shtml Howstuffworks: How Christmas Works people.howstuffworks.com/culture-traditions/holidays/christmas.htm

Merry-Christmas.com www.merry-christmas.com/ Santa Claus and Christmas at the North Pole www.northpole.com/

Santa's Net: Christmas Traditions Around the World www.santas.net/aroundtheworld.htm

Santa's Net: How "Merry Christmas" is Said Around the World www.santas.net/howmerrychristmasissaid.htm

How to Say Merry Christmas in . . www.whychristmas.com/customs/languages.shtml

Arabic Milad Mijad

Brazilian Feliz Natal

Chinese (Mandarin) Sheng Dan Kuai Le

German Frohe Weihnachten

Greek Kala Christouyenna

Hawaiian Mele Kalikimaka

Hebrew Mo’adim Lesimkha. Chena tova

Italian Buone Feste Natalizie

Japanese Shinned omedeto. Kurisumasu Omedeto

Korean Sung Tan Chuk Ha

Tagalog Maligayamg Pasko. Masaganang Bagong Taon

Vietnamese Chuc Mung Giang Sinh

^ Hang an ornament from your car's rear view mirror

^ Try one new recipe

^ Wear outrageous Christmas socks

^ Listen to the Barking Dogs Jingle Bells--Once

^ Go caroling

^ Wrap your child’s bedroom door with pretty gift paper

^ Be creative with gift-wrapping, use maps, funny pages, posters,

yellow pages, magazines

^ Take some time to sit in the mall and watch youngsters having their

pictures made with Santa

JUST FOR THE FUN OF IT . . .

EASY DOES IT . . .

^ Three rules for reducing holiday hassles:

Plan ahead Begin early Keep it simple

^ Wrap gifts as you purchase them

^ Avoid feeling overwhelmed, break down projects into manageable

tasks

^ Divide the Christmas cards you send by 10, address 10 each day

^ Ask for a gift box for each gift you buy

^ Stock up on staple foods before the holiday crowds get heavy

^ Buy a big wall calendar, ask family members to write down their

activities

^ Don't shop during peak hours

^ Allow extra time to navigate through Christmas traffic

^ If you feel stress, sit quietly & reflect on the real meaning of

Christmas

^ If you hide gifts, write down where you have hidden them

^ Don't try to do everything yourself, even Santa needs helpers

^ Avoid fruitless shopping trips, call stores ahead to check on prices

^ Set aside a few minutes each day to re-group, have a cup of tea,

and put your feet up

LET’S LEARN ABOUT XMAS . . . This abbreviation "Xmas” for Christmas is of Greek origin. This

shorter form “Xmas” was first used in Europe during the 1500s. It

is derived from the Greek alphabet X (Chi). This is the first letter

of the name of Christ in Greek namely, “Xristos”. Hence “X” has

been used to denote Christ in this context. The word for Christ in

Greek is Xristos. During the 16th century, Europeans began using

the first initial of Christ's name, "X" in place of the word Christ in

Christmas as shorthand form of the word. Although the early

Christians understood that X stood for Christ's name, later

Christians who did not understand the

Greek language mistook "Xmas" as a

sign of disrespect. The word

“Christmas” means “Mass of Christ”

which was later shortened to “Christ-

Mass.” This was further changed to

“Christmas”.

ejabidinginchrist.blogspot.com/2010/12/

story-of-christmas_24.html

The abbreviation of "Xmas" for

Christmas, long reviled by many

conservative and Low Church

Christians, is not nearly as blasphemous

as many contend. Rather than a sacrilegious removal of "Christ"

from Christmas and replacing him with an unknown, as some

claim, the "Xmas" abbreviation has a long history in the church.

In Greek, the language in which the New Testament was first

written, "chi" (c or C), which is almost identical to the Roman

alphabet "X," is the first letter of the

word "Christ" (cristoV, or as it would be

written in older manuscripts, CRISTOS).

In fact, the symbol of the fish in the early

church came from using the first letter of

several titles used for Jesus (Jesus Christ

Son of God Savior) that when combined

spelled the Greek word for fish (icquV,

ichthus). In the early days of printing

when typesetting was done by hand and

was very tedious and expensive, abbreviations were common.

The church began to use the abbreviation C for the word "Christ"

in religious publications. From there, the abbreviation moved into

general use in newspapers and other publications, and "Xmas"

became an accepted way of printing "Christmas."

www.crivoice.org/cyxmas.html

Recipes . . .

Easy Gingerbread Men 1/2 cup shortening

1 egg

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 cup flour

1 package instant butterscotch pudding mix

1 1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Favorite frosting, raisins, and candies

Mix together egg, shortening, and brown

sugar. Add reamining ingredients. Roll out

dough and cut into gingerbread men shapes

with a cookie cutter. Bake for 10 minutes at

350 degrees. Decorate using your favorite

frosting and candies.

Powdered Sugar Icing 1 cup sifted powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Milk or orange juice

In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar and vanilla. Stir in 1 tablespoon

milk or orange juice. Stir in additional milk or orange juice 1 teaspoon at a

time till icing is smooth and of drizzling consistency. You can flavor the

icing with fruit juice or liqueur to match

the flavor of the cake, cookies, or nut

bread. Makes about 1/2 cup.

Reindeer Food 1/2 cup oatmeal

1/3 cup glitter

Mix together and on Christmas Eve

sprinkle on the lawn. The glitter shining

in the moonlight and the smell of the

oats will guide the reindeer to your

house.