Christmas services canceled in Seoul churches as COVID-19 surges

SEOUL — As the stricter social distancing scheme that goes into effect Tuesday does not allow houses of worship in the greater Seoul area to hold in-person Christmas services, some Protestant churches are calling the order “unrealistic.”

After the government raised social distancing measures to Level 2.5, the second highest in the five-tier system, in the Seoul metropolitan area in an effort to slow down the fast spreading wave of COVID-19, churches in the greater Seoul area will not be able to hold in-person services for three weeks beginning Tuesday.

Under the Level 2.5 plan, only up to 20 people can attend in-person activities organized by religious facilities. Small group gatherings and dining together are prohibited.

The United Christian Churches of Korea, one of the biggest associations of Protestant churches in the country, issued a statement Sunday, calling the Level 2.5 measure regarding religious services an “unrealistic regulation.”

The UCCK called for the government to regulate the number of people that can attend a church service considering each religious facility’s space and its infectious disease prevention capabilities.

“(The government) should suggest a tightly targeted model that does not infringe on the freedom of religion and daily lives of the people,” the statement read. “We should prepare for the post-pandemic, recognizing the importance of not just sanitary, physical disinfection but also psychological, mental disinfection.”

Reactions from worshipers to the strict social distancing rule are mixed. While some argue that the government is imposing stricter restriction on churches, some agree with the need for tight restrictions in the fight against the virus.

“We also are not happy with the full ban on in-person services. However, online services do not undermine the faith of congregations,” the National Council of Churches in Korea official Son Seung-ho said.

The NCCK is a Christian ecumenical organization in Korea.

“The government cannot provide individual guidelines for each church. The UCCK cannot decide for its churches. Churches should follow the governmental guidelines to fight the spread of the virus,” Son said.

Though the government had previously implemented two-week long restrictions, the scheme will continue for three weeks in an effort to curb Christmas and year-end gatherings.

The Level 2.5 response was necessary to “keep the health care system from collapsing,” Minister of Health and Welfare Park Neung-hoo said at a press briefing held Sunday.

-The Korea Herald

James Harden’s 41 helps Rockets beat Thunder

HOUSTON (AP) — James Harden is on a roll and it’s helping the Houston Rockets get on track after their terrible start to the season.

Harden scored 41 points and the Rockets beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 113-109 on Tuesday for their seventh win in the last eight games.

Harden has scored 30 points or more in a career-high seven games in a row, marking the first time a player has done that since Russell Westbrook had eight consecutive 30-point games in November 2016. He has scored at least 35 in his last five, which is the longest such streak since Carmelo Anthony did it in six games in April 2013.

The Rockets won just one of their first six games this season and were 11-14 after a three-game skid in early December. Since then, powered by Harden’s dominance, Houston has lost just once to improve to 18-15 and move a season-high three games above .500.

“We’ve had that confidence all year,” Harden said. “Our record isn’t where we want it to be, but it’s getting there. And we’ve got to continue to work hard every day, continue to get better and grow. We’re preparing for a postseason. We’re not going to be at our tip top right now.”

A 3-pointer by Paul George with less than two minutes left got Oklahoma City within 4 before Harden missed a 3. Westbrook missed a shot for the Thunder, but George stole the ball from Harden and was fouled by him.

George made both free throws to get the Thunder within 2 with 43.6 seconds left. Harden then drove past George and into the lane for a layup to make it 112-108 with 20.4 seconds left.

Westbrook made 1 of 2 free throws to cut it to 3 with 15 seconds left, and Austin Rivers made a free throw with 7.4 seconds left to secure the win.

George had 28 points and 14 rebounds for the Thunder, and Westbrook added 21 points with nine rebounds and nine assists.

“We had some bad bounces which got them a couple of extra possessions which got them some open 3s,” George said.

Harden became the first player to score 40 or more points on Christmas since Kevin Durant had 44 for the Thunder in 2010. Harden’s latest big game came as the Rockets played without Chris Paul, who missed his second straight game with a strained left hamstring. The 9-time All-Star is out for at least the next two weeks with the injury suffered Thursday night.

“We’ve got a lot of guys playing at a high level right now,” coach Mike D’Antoni said. “So many guys contributed (Tuesday).

Clint Capela had 16 points and tied a season high with 23 rebounds.

The Rockets were up by 6 with about four minutes left when Rivers, whom they signed on Monday, hit a 3-pointer to make it 107-98.

Grant scored five straight points for the Thunder, highlighted by a 3-pointer, to get Oklahoma City to within 107-103, but Rivers made another 3 to push the lead to 7 with two minutes left.

“Everybody here has welcomed me so it has been a very easy transition,” Rivers said. “So my whole focus has just been to play hard and just try to help them in any way I can.”

Houston had a 1-point lead in the fourth when Harden re-entered the game and found Capela on consecutive possessions for dunks to make it 100-95. Eric Gordon had a layup seconds later to push the lead to 7.

Harden continued the run after the timeout with a driving jump shot before the Thunder scored their first basket in more than three minutes on a layup by Grant to cut the lead to 104-97.

The Thunder were up by 8 at halftime, but Houston scored the first eight points of the second half to tie it at 60 with about nine minutes remaining in the third quarter. Danuel House and P.J. Tucker made 3s in that stretch to lead the Rockets.

Oklahoma City was up by 2 later in the third when the Rockets scored five quick points with a 3 from Harden to take a 73-70 lead.

But George hit a 3 for the Thunder soon after that to tie it up again. That basket started a 10-2 run for Oklahoma City, which included another 3 from George that made it 80-75 with about three minutes left in the third.

Houston trailed by 4 after two free throws by George late in the third, but the Rockets scored the next six points, capped by a 3 from Harden, to take an 86-84 lead with less than a minute left in the quarter.

The Thunder led 88-86 entering the fourth.

TIP-INS

Thunder: Westbrook received a technical in the second quarter for yelling at an official when he thought he was fouled on a 3-point attempt. … Steven Adams had 17 points and seven rebounds. … The Thunder made nine of 30 3-pointers.

Rockets: Rivers scored 10 in his Houston debut. … James Ennis missed his seventh straight game with a strained right hamstring. … Gordon had 17 points.

THEY SAID IT

Capela on his big rebounding day: “I just told my teammates I had to make a statement that we are going to win the rebound battle.”

UP NEXT

Thunder: Visit Phoenix on Friday night.

Rockets: Host Boston on Thursday night.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Thousands of faithful celebrate Christmas in Bethlehem

BETHLEHEM, West Bank—Thousands of pilgrims and tourists from around the world together with local Christians gathered in the biblical town of Bethlehem to celebrate Christmas Eve in the traditional birthplace of Jesus, with spirits lifted by a slowdown in recent violence and cool, clear weather.

Security was tight in Bethlehem after recent deadly attacks on Christian targets in neighboring Egypt and Jordan by Islamic extremists.

Yet the faithful braved the chilly weather outside the town’s Manger Square as traditional Christmas songs like “Jingle Bells” played in Arabic over loudspeakers and scout groups paraded with bagpipes and sang carols. Elated tourists and local Christians alike wandered around the square illuminated by festive red and golden lights and a large Christmas tree, visiting souvenir shops and restaurants.

Adding to the holiday spirit for the Palestinians, locals celebrated a key diplomatic victory at the United Nations the day before, where the Security Council passed a resolution condemning Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Sharolyn Knight, a 28-year-old teacher from Georgia, said she was in Bethlehem for the first time and experiencing mixed emotions. “It’s been sobering and humbling because it’s a place with a lot of heavy stuff, religious and historical. At the same time, disillusioning because there is so much strife in the place where Jesus was born.”

She said she would come back again, maybe next time with her kids.

“It’s very unique, I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Rodrigo Reis, 23, who came from Louisville, Kentucky, “It’s very meaningful, its Christmas time, where everything started.”

Christian clergymen welcomed the top Roman Catholic cleric in the Holy Land inside the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem, the birth place of Jesus Christ, as Christians worldwide begin to prepare to celebrate Christmas this year.

The Rev. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the apostolic administrator of the Latin Patriarchate, is the temporary chief clergyman to the local Catholic population. He traveled from Jerusalem to Bethlehem on Saturday in a traditional procession. Later, he was to celebrate Midnight Mass at the Church of the Nativity, built at the grotto revered as Jesus’ birthplace.

“I wish this joyous atmosphere of Christmas will continue in the year and not just for a few days and I hope the coming year will bring a little more serenity and peaceful relations in our country. We need it,” he said.

“I am happy that the war, at least the military war, in Aleppo is finished and that for the first time in Aleppo the Christians can celebrate without fear the Christmas season. I wish that they can now reconstruct, rebuild the city, not only the infrastructure but also the common relations that was a tradition over there,” he told The Associated Press.

The Syrian government assumed full control of Aleppo earlier this month when rebels, including some Islamic militants, agreed to withdraw from their last remaining enclave after more than four years of heavy fighting over the country’s largest city.

Christmas festivities brought a boost of holiday cheer to Christians in the Holy Land, who make up just a small percentage of the population. The region has which has experienced a wave of Israeli-Palestinian bloodshed that erupted over a year ago. The violence has tapered off in recent months, but has not halted completely.

Rula Maaya, the Palestinian minister of tourism, said all the hotels in Bethlehem were fully booked.

“Bethlehem is celebrating today, we are receiving tourists from all over the world,” Maaya said. “All people over the world are looking at Bethlehem so we hope more and more tourists will come during the year and that next year we will celebrate Christmas without occupation.”

Maaya spoke a day after the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution condemning Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Julie Suhain, 20, from Ramallah said she was delighted with the UNSC resolution.

“It’s like getting a Christmas gift,” she said. “We’ve been waiting for this for a long time.”

Despite the Christmas cheer, Mideast politics loom large in the background—the concrete barrier that surrounds parts of Bethlehem is just one hulking reminder. It was built by Israel last decade during the second Intifada, or uprising, when Palestinian suicide bombers attacked buses and cafes.

Israeli says the barrier is meant to keep out Palestinian attackers, but because it dips inside the West Bank, Palestinians see it as a land grab that also stunts their economy.

Security was tight in Bethlehem after recent attacks on Christian targets in Egypt and elsewhere in the region by Islamic extremists.

source: newsinfo.inquirer.net

Apple wins holiday race as screen size expands — survey

WASHINGTON, United States — Apple came away the winner in mobile device holiday sales worldwide amid a shift to bigger screens, a survey showed.

The survey by the Yahoo-owned analytics firm Flurry showed Apple accounted for 49.1 percent of smartphones and tablets activated over the Christmas week, compared to 19.8 percent for South Korean rival Samsung.

“Christmas is traditionally the biggest day of the year for new smart-device activations and app downloads, and 2015 was no exception, with new device activations and app installs shattering record after record,” Flurry vice president Jarah Euston said in a blog post Monday.

The survey found more consumers around the world opting for large-screen smartphones or “phablets,” which are often used in place of a tablet computer.

Apple entered the phablet market last year with the iPhone 6 Plus and upgraded it this year with the 6s Plus.

“Of course the introduction of an Apple phablet — and subsequently the iPhone 6s Plus — had a lot to do with the strength of phablets,” Euston said.

“But that’s not the whole story. When we examined the form factor distribution by operating system we saw that for the first time phablets accounted for half of all Android devices! The popularity of the Samsung Galaxy Note and its imitators have changed the Android game, especially in Asian markets.”

For Apple buyers, around 12 percent of purchases with phablets, according to Euston.

“This appears to be coming at the expense of medium phones and small tablets as more users opt for the size in between the iPhone and iPad Mini,” she said.

Overall, 27 percent of the devices were phablet-sized, which generally means a display of 5.5 to seven inches (about 14 to 18 centimeters).

“In the early days it appeared that phablets were stealing share from tablets,” Euston said. “For the first time in 2015 though, it appears consumers are opting for phablets — not instead of a tablet — but instead of a smaller-sized phone.”

Although Apple held its dominant position, its market share was down 2.2 points from a year ago while Samsung added 2.1 percentage points, Flurry said.

Microsoft devices accounted for just two percent of the market, down from 5.8 percent in 2014, and Sony fell out of the top five.

South Korea’s LG was fourth with a 1.7 percent share and China’s Xiaomi accounted for 1.5 percent.

Christmas was the biggest day of the year for app downloads, with more than twice as many installations as on a typical December day, according to Flurry.

“For app developers who scrambled to ship apps before the holidays and spent heavily on app marketing, it appears that the efforts have paid off,” Euston said.

source: technology.inquirer.net

LeBron, Cavaliers await Chrismas rematch against Warriors

OAKLAND, California—When LeBron James walks into Oracle Arena for the first time since Game 5 of last season’s NBA Finals, he knows it will trigger unpleasant thoughts about how his Cleveland Cavaliers lost the title to the Golden State Warriors.

James also knows that winning the rematch on Christmas Day will do little to ease the sting of the finals loss.

“The memories will come back as soon as we walk into the building, but also understand it’s one of 82 and I’m not going to put everything into this game,” James said.

This meeting is one of the more anticipated Christmas Day games in recent years. The seventh Christmas rematch of the previous season’s NBA Finals features a full-strength Cleveland squad against a Warriors team that has captured the attention of the basketball world.

Golden State won a record 24 straight games to start the season and brings a 27-1 mark into this game that is the best for a team at Christmas. The Warriors also have won 31 in a row at home in the regular season but none of those games has been as big as this one.

So what does it mean?

“We either finish that game 28-1 or 27-2,” Golden State forward Draymond Green said. “That’s about it.”

Not everyone is downplaying the rematch. Cavs guard Iman Shumpert said he was still “salty” about losing the finals to the Warriors. Golden State center Andrew Bogut also acknowledged that this would be a big game.

“We know it’s huge for them to come here,” Bogut said. “We’re undefeated at home, and with our record, they want to make a statement to us and we want to do the same. I anticipate it being one of the classics that we can all watch in 10 to 15 years.”

This game will be very different from the series in June for reasons besides the lower stakes.

The Cavaliers, who were without power forward Kevin Love for the entire finals and point guard Kyrie Irving for the last five games, are completely healthy for the first time this season.

Despite those key absences last spring, James almost single-handedly helped the Cavaliers win Games 2 and 3 to take a 2-1 series lead. Then came a lineup switch by coach Steve Kerr that sent center Andrew Bogut to the bench in place of small forward Andre Iguodala – the Warriors won the final three games by an average of 14 points.

“They’re a different team, we’re a different team,” Green said. “We’ve grown. I’m sure they’ve grown. We’re not going back to the Finals like, ‘Look at this, this is what they did.’ They’ve got 26 games that we can look at from this year.”

The Warriors will be the team that is short-handed this time. Starting forward Harrison Barnes is unlikely to play because of a sprained ankle and Kerr remains sidelined from complications from offseason back surgery.

Even with those absences there will be plenty of star power led by James and MVP Stephen Curry.

“Our guys love these type of games,” Warriors interim coach Luke Walton said. “It’s not an epic game. It’s a regular-season game. It should be entertaining. Obviously, a finals rematch with two of the best teams in the NBA going at it at prime time on Christmas Day. That’s enough to make it a very exciting game. But win or lose, it’s just another game on the column.”

source: sports.inquirer.net

Channing Tatum, Sam Smith, other stars disclose their Christmas plans

(Conclusion)

LOS ANGELES—Stars, including Channing Tatum, Sam Smith and the new Spider-Man, Tom Holland, reveal their Christmas thoughts and plans.

Channing Tatum: We wear onesies every Christmas. My wife Jenna (Dewan) started it. My plan is to try to get my dad into a onesie, which hasn’t quite happened yet. He’s like, I’m not wearing a onesie. But this Christmas, we’ll see.

Sometimes we’ll be with Jenna’s family and sometimes we’ll be in our house. But since we’ve had Everly (his daughter with Jenna), everybody comes to our house now because we’re not flying with a 2-year-old. We tell our family, “I want you guys to get on the plane and get out here.”

Sam Smith: Anyone who is British takes Christmas insanely seriously (laughs). I bought a house recently—my first ever house. I bought it purely because it’s going to look great at Christmas (laughs)—it’s like a Beatrix Potter house.

But to me, love is everything. It’s the meaning of life to me. There was a moment early on when I was everywhere, traveling and getting so depressed. I don’t have a boyfriend and I need to have a boyfriend if I am going to write my second album.

I am just being stupid, and it’s right in front of me—who should be inspiring me and it’s my family. That was the relationship that I wasn’t concentrating on. So, when I had my vocal surgery, I just rectified my relationship with my brothers and sisters and now, we’re all good. So, it’s all good for Christmas!

Will Smith: My wife is very serious about Christmas. She plans Christmas for 10 months out (laughs). We give our kids a lot of freedom, but there are those 10 days around Christmas, where everybody does exactly what Mommy does.

So, we have wonderful traditions. There is a sleigh ride that she plans every year where we go out on Christmas eve.

Christian Bale: We celebrate two Christmases. We have Serbian (his wife Sibi is of Serbian heritage) Christmas [on Jan. 7] and I have Dec. 25. Anything we missed on Dec. 25 we have on Jan. 7.

I am working on a film right now that we will be finishing right before Christmas, so that will be a fantastic break, release and relief. I’ll be getting back to my family, then we will figure out what to do.

Sometimes, when you’re traveling a lot, you just really want to be at home and have friends around, so we will see. We are commitment-phobic, so we leave everything to the last second.

I always make my daughter’s great uncle run around in a Santa Claus outfit, but I’m worried he’s going to have a heart attack lately because she catches him (laughs). He has to run harder recently. But he looks better in the Santa outfit. She would rumble me if I was the one running around. She would know clearly it’s daddy.

I am not a panic shopper, but I love shopping at the last minute. In London, I would always be out on Christmas eve shopping around until the last minute, and that’s always fun to me. It’s not the same here (in LA), because it’s not cold. You are not running down Oxford Street with 20,000 people trying to do the same thing.

You see what you can get. You come back with astronaut costumes for your nieces and they’re like, “Why did you get me that?” Because it seemed like a good idea at the time.

What is the worst gift I have ever gotten? It’s not the worst gift that you have ever gotten—it’s the gift that you didn’t get. As a kid, I remember running downstairs, and I would always think I would get a BMX (bike) because I knew some other guys had gotten a BMX. I thought it’s going to be there, but it wasn’t there.

But now, thankfully, I have Serbian Christmas in January, so you can go, “I really wanted a BMX. Can that happen on Jan. 7?” So, it’s a great fallback. And the best gift—nowadays, it really is just being on holiday with the family.

That’s the best thing, when you can just turn off your phone and not look at the computer and, well, you can’t sleep in when you have little kids. But just forget about everything—and that is the best!




Cate Blanchett: I am a panic Christmas shopper. But we are in the process of divesting ourselves. You can consume so much. And that is why Thanksgiving is such a fantastic holiday, which we used to celebrate, because my dad was American. It isn’t about the exchange of gifts; it’s actually about gathering.

We had an enormous family Christmas last year. It was a road trek through Europe with 17 of us. We’re having a very small, contained, almost invisible Christmas this time. But it will be very much led by the children.

I always say to the kids that you should give those presents that you don’t want to give away. Katharine Hepburn’s niece gave me a pair of Hepburn’s gloves, which was an extraordinary gift!

I remember my mother-in-law gave me her engagement ring. She gave it to me after I had been married for 15 years. I was like, she finally trusts me (laughs)!

I gave away a very special piece of jewelry to a friend of mine who was getting married, and I like that tradition. So, rather than going to a store and consuming and buying something else, it’s more about parting with something that you can’t part with.

And for the worst gift, for the first few years of my marriage, my husband gave me a vacuum cleaner (laughs). Then, he gave me a Mixmaster. Then, an iron (laughs). He also gave me a set of golf clubs. I was amazing at golf the first time I played, then I have been crap ever since! I did use the vacuum cleaner once or twice.




Mark Wahlberg: My wife always does all the Christmas shopping, but she always gets me something that I need. We’re going on vacation, so I’m hoping to get some nice swim trunks and stuff like that. Anything golf is always helpful—shoes, gloves, balls—things that I can always use more of.

A bad present is something that I already have or I don’t need, or something that’s just going to be wasted, especially if it’s expensive.

Mary J. Blige: Christmas is about family, great music and good food. And all the lights that you see—it’s a beautiful thing when you come down Fifth Avenue (in New York) and you see all those Christmas decorations. It just takes you up a notch. Then, once you hear the Christmas songs on the radio, you know it’s Christmas. And you see all the cartoons. I love cartoons, by the way, so I can’t wait for the cartoons!

Tom Holland: I actually asked for an electric razor. It’s that time now, and I am grown-up enough. Christmas is all about being with your family, really. We either go to a relative’s house or our relatives come to us. We always have a big dinner.

I work so much. I haven’t been home at all this year, so it’s quite important to make sure I have that family time, which is so important. They also bring me back down to earth, because when you are on the set, you are kind of like the man. When I come home, I am not the man at all (laughs). So it’s nice to have a mellow Christmas with the family.

Steve Carell: We have our traditions locked down at this point as a family. My wife and I are from Massachusetts, so we always go back there. We have a tree, and we all decorate it.

We have a little house back there that is sort of our vacation home, summer home and holiday home. And all members of our family live back there in Massachusetts.





We have Christmas eve at my sister-in-law’s house. On Christmas morning, I wake up and make cinnamon buns for everybody. At this point, the kids don’t believe in Santa. My daughter’s a teenager, so she knows, obviously. My son knows, but he’s still pretending that he doesn’t know, which is a really fun time.

Marion Cotillard: Since I now have a family, Christmas has been totally different—because when I was a kid, I didn’t like Christmas. I don’t know how to explain this, because it was a fight every Christmas. I didn’t want any presents. My mother couldn’t bear to have Christmas when all the kids would open their presents and I wouldn’t have one.

So, each year, it was like she was forcing me to get a present! Today, I am enjoying the magic of it all, totally different obviously, because when I ask my son if he wants a present, he says, “Yes!”

I had this discussion with my mother many years after and she was like, “Why didn’t you want any presents?” I was like, “I couldn’t explain why, but that’s the way it was.” I knew that it was painful for her, so everything came back to its place.

A good present for me to get? It won’t be necessarily something material. The best present I can have every day in my life is the people whom I’d love to be happy. When I buy presents, I am careful. I need to know where it comes from, that the people who made it were treated well, and had the money for the job they gave. So, something material that wouldn’t have this consciousness would be a not-so-good present.

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

Why was Lee Min-ho in Rome?

Hallyu star Lee Min-ho recently drew attention with his Instagram updates from Rome, Italy.

The reason for his European excursion was made public by Italian chocolate brand, Ferrero Rocher, who on Friday announced Lee as their newest model for the upcoming Christmas and Valentine’s seasons.

Starting from October, Lee will appear in TV commercials for the chocolate line, complete with the behind-the-scenes images of the commercial shoot and a close-up interview.

Ferrero Rocher Korea’s category director Luigi Mirri said, “Global star Lee Min-ho fits in well with the premium image of Ferrero Rocher. During the commercial shoot, he conveyed our selected theme of ‘Italian Flair” with composed and professional attitude unique to him.”

“Selecting Lee Min-ho as our model shows The Ferrero Group’s continued interest in the Korean market,” Mirri said.

The confectionary company made headlines in February with the passing away of its head Michele Ferrero, then Italy’s richest person and the world’s 30th richest, with his fortune estimated at 23.4 billion according to Forbes.

The Ferrero Group is responsible for Nutella, Kinder chocolates, Ferrero Rocher and Tic Tacs.

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

More Americans shopped on their phones on Christmas

WASHINGTON – Most stores were closed but Americans still managed to shop on Christmas Day – increasingly on their smartphones.

An IBM survey showed Christmas Day online sales were up 16.5 percent over last year, with a strong boost from smartphones and tablets.

Mobile traffic was the highest IBM found over this holiday season, accounting for 48 percent of all online traffic. And mobile accounted for nearly 29 percent of all online sales, up 40 percent over 2012.

Smartphones drove 28.5 percent of all online traffic compared to 18.1 percent for tablets, according to IBM. But tablets drove twice as many sales – 19.4 percent of all online sales, to 9.3 percent for smartphones.

Tablet users averaged $95.61 per order, versus $85.11 for smartphone users.

IBM found that Apple iPhone and iPad users were bigger shoppers than their counterparts using Google Android-powered devices

As a percentage of total online sales, Apple’s iOS was more than five times higher than Android, driving 23 percent of sales to 4.6 percent for Android.

On average, iOS users spent $93.94 per order, to $48.10 per order for Android, according to the survey.

Shoppers referred from Facebook averaged $72.01 per order, while Pinterest referrals drove $86.83 per order, IBM said. However, Facebook referrals converted sales at nearly four times the rate of Pinterest referrals, the report found.

source: technology.inquirer.net

Amazon to compensate customers for late gifts

NEW YORK – Amazon Thursday said it would give $20 gift cards and pay shipping costs for customers affected by problems at UPS and FedEx that delayed some Christmas package deliveries.




The Amazon pledge came after UPS in particular came under fire for late packages despite vows from retailers to meet a December 25 deadline.

Some customers took to Twitter to voice their displeasure, likening one or both delivery giants to the “Grinch who stole Christmas.”

Amazon pointed the finger squarely at the delivery companies. The online retail giant did not give estimates for the number of affected shoppers.

“Amazon fulfillment centers processed and tendered customer orders to delivery carriers on time for holiday delivery,” said Amazon spokeswoman Mary Osako. “We are reviewing the performance of the delivery carriers.”

Walmart also will provide gift cards to customers who did not receive packages by the promised deadline, the New York Times reported.

Walmart did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“UPS experienced heavy holiday volume and is making every effort to get packages to their destination as quickly as possible,” UPS said on its website. “UPS has resumed normally scheduled service on December 26.”

A FedEx spokesperson also reported a “surge” in volume, but said the rise was typical.

“We had minimal service disruptions despite the increase in volumes, and are working directly with customers who may have experienced any delays,” said the FedEx spokesperson.

The delivery woes suggested the retail sector is still adjusting to shifting customer behavior with the rise of online shopping.

Analysts had expected brick and mortar shopping to rise just 3-4 percent in 2013, but online shopping to jump 13-14 percent.

More retailers have promised to execute Christmas-deadline deliveries ordered later and later in the season.

Amazon characterized its overall holiday shopping season as the “best ever” in the company’s history.

Particularly popular was the “Amazon Prime” service, which provides free two-day shipping services and streaming of some television shows and movies for $79 a year.

Amazon said it signed up more than one million customers for its “Prime” service in the third week of December.

source: technology.inquirer.net

NY man’s 10,607 video games secure Guinness title

BUFFALO, New York – Maybe it was getting his first video game, Cosmic Avenger, for Christmas at the age of 12, and then having to wait an entire year for the hard-to-land Colecovision console to play it on that made Michael Thomasson so determined to get his hands on every video game and system he could find.

Now, 31 years and roughly 11,000 games later, Thomasson is the newly crowned world record holder for having the largest collection of video games. He is featured in a two-page spread in the just-released “Guinness World Records 2014 Gamer’s Edition.”

“I have games on cartridge, laser disc. I have VHS-based games, cassette-based games,” Thomasson said, standing among the collection that fills the basement of his suburban Buffalo home.

Along with the games, he has the devices to play them on, not only the Xboxes and PlayStations but obscure ones like the Casio Loopy, the only game system specifically geared toward girls, which came out in Japan in 1995, and the Pippin, a dud released by Apple the same year.

“Every game on it is awful,” Thomasson says of Apple’s foray into the gaming world. “It’s the least fun of anything in the house.”

At the other end of the spectrum is the old Colecovision unit like the one that appeared under the Christmas tree one year after his grandparents gave him his first game for it. They had mistakenly believed his parents had gotten their hands on the playing system, which was a hot item that year. It stands to this day as the best present his parents ever gave him.

“It’s my first love so it’s sentimental,” Thomasson said. But the games also were quality, with very little of the “shovelware” — mediocre, rushed releases — typical of many systems, he said.

“They looked good, they played good. For the time they sounded good,” he said, “for the bleeps and blips of the ’80s.”

Thomasson began collecting almost immediately, he said, but the path to the world record had a couple of restarts. He sold off his collection twice, first in 1989 to raise money for a Sega Genesis, then again to pay for his 1998 wedding. (“I was heavy into collecting when we married so she knew what she was getting into,” he says of his wife, JoAnn.)

Since then, Thomasson has methodically rebuilt the collection, averaging two games per day on a strict $3,000-a-year budget which means never paying full price.

He estimates the collection is worth $700,000 to $800,000.

He hasn’t played every game. The father of a 5-year-old, Anna, Thomasson designs games and teaches 2D animation, game design and the history of video games at Canisius College in Buffalo. He also writes on the topic for magazines and books.

“I probably get three hours of playing in a week,” he said. “If I’m lucky.”

Guinness lists the number of games in Thomasson’s record-breaking collection at 10,607, though he said the number exceeds 11,000 now, a year after the official count and after discovering forgotten stashes of games after the counting crew left.

Either way, it bested the previous record holder, Richard Lecce, who held the record first recorded in 2010 with 8,616 games.

“My congratulations to a fellow collector,” Lecce, 39, said by phone from his Florida home upon hearing his record had fallen. “It’s very impressive and I’m very happy for him.”

Lecce began collecting as a way to own all the games he couldn’t have as a kid, he said, and grew to appreciate their place in pop culture.

Still an active collector, Lecce hasn’t counted his games in the last few years and doesn’t know what his number has grown to, but he has no immediate plans to challenge Thomasson for his old record.

“It’s something I did for my own enjoyment. I applied for the Guinness book for my kids so that years from now they can look back and say, wow, my father was in the ‘Guinness Book of World Records,’” Lecce, a father of two and numismatist, a rare coin dealer, said.

He’s happy to see more people collecting, and appreciating, video games.

“Everything from the original artwork to the actual code that was written for the games to the actual box art and the whole marketing plan,” he said. “It’s just a very undervalued and underappreciated art form.”

source: technology.inquirer.net

A test of Christmas conscience

‘We don’t do Christmas. We save the money, spend it on ourselves for once. Not a dime on food we won’t eat or clothes we won’t wear or gifts no one needs… It’s a boycott…”

That’s Luther Krank making a prodigious proposition to his wife, Nora, in a favorite Christmas novel of ours.

Plotted so simply it takes only 177 pages to tell—and tell in considerately leaded print yet—the novel is the most uncharacteristic by John Grisham. It is not any of the legal thrillers he has made his name for, but it’s the one Grisham we have chosen to keep, in fact the only Grisham this little condominium nest in which Chit and I have been living our simplified senior lives can take for volumes. And how it has proved worth the keeping—it’s the one title that leaps at us in these morally anxious times!

As light and funny as the times it is related to are grave, indeed tragic, “Skipping Christmas” (Doubleday, 2001) would seem an irreverent point of reference. It’s about a couple who, left alone this one Christmas, decides to, well, skip it, leave the neighborhood to its suddenly senseless and wasteful communal traditions, and fly away on Christmas Day itself, for “10 days of total luxury” on a cruise! It’s certainly no way to do an occasion that precisely calls for selflessness and moderation—if Christmas is indeed that.

As it happens, it is a case where the moral lies in the perversity—in the self-centeredness, in the profligacy, in the whole hypocrisy that surrounds Christmas.

At no time has our own Christmas conscience, as a nation, come under a test so severe as now. The occasion is a tragedy that compares with no other: Whole communities laid waste by a typhoon of unequaled fury, 6,000 dead and counting. And what facile reaction among the untouched: How to do Christmas without appearing insensitive.


Twisted

It’s a reaction in the same sick class as the old wisecrack that passes for native, popular wisdom, here updated:

Before we proceed to gorge ourselves at Christmas, let’s be reminded of our starved brethren in Leyte, so that they may be able, at least in spirit, to partake with us.

Something is definitely morally twisted here. Christmas is no mere red date on the calendar, no blanket excuse for making merry, let alone in the most abysmal sense. Christmas is a noble spirit; it lifts and redeems and moves the inhabited as profoundly as he is seized by it.

Although, by force of tradition, it is activated more at this time of year than at any other, it chooses no season. And one thing it precisely cannot ignore is such cries as those issuing from Leyte.

Leyte, to be sure, is no simple case of fate—unstoppable, unchangeable, therefore excusable. It’s been brought to its desperate pass strictly by human hands, conscienceless, plundering hands acting out of the old self-feeding habit of greed and working schemes that, by the exploitation of the environment for profit, have left the masses of already poor vulnerable yet to the elements; and, by official corruption, have robbed them of their due from the wealth and opportunities their own nation has to offer.

Lest they be mistaken for pleas for charity or philanthropy, the cries from Leyte are only rightful demands for payback for moral debt owed generations that cannot be even remotely assuaged—but in fact mocked—by skipping Christmas.

Memorable, too, though not as resonant as “Skipping Christmas,” probably because its title lacks the ring that suits the times and its Christmas setting feels but incidental, is an even shorter novel (101 pages), actually down-billed as a mere “tale”: “A Different Kind of Christmas” (Random House, 1988). It’s one of two books we’ve kept by Alex Haley; the other being his Pulitzer Prized “Roots.”

It’s a morality tale more direct and timeless with its message than “Skipping Christmas,” and not light or funny at all. It’s about a young man from 19th-century North Carolina who forsakes family and class, and all the power, privilege and wealth that go with it, to lead a mass escape of slaves, some his family’s own, into freedom on Christmas Eve.

Now, that, for all its relative shortcoming in salesmanship, makes for a more felicitous inspiration.

source: lifestyle.inquirer.net

Dad’s guide to dressing up

December is the season of celebrations and thanksgiving. There will be office parties, school parties, reunions, weddings, baptisms, anniversaries.

Many men will face the dilemma of how to dress up appropriately for these different occasions. If you wear the wrong attire, you may either be lucky and called a “standout,” or stick out like a sore thumb.

Most men need a guide to dressing up. There are a few style guides out there, like Gentleman’s Quarterly (popularly known as GQ) and a handful of other men’s magazines. But these mags are geared toward promoting known (often pricey) menswear labels and passing trends. Models, fashion designers and male dress horses make full use of the material in these publications.

But there is scarce material for regular guys to use as a standard of what to wear for different occasions.

First, understand that “dressing up” means just that—you dress up to a higher level. The dress code is written in an invitation as the attire that the party’s host wants you to wear. Plenty of work, planning and design are put into setting up the event which follows a specific motif. The dress code ensures that you will fit into the theme of the occasion. It shows that you belong there.

Historically, the purpose of having a dress code was to be able to set classes of people apart. The lower-class citizens could not afford to dress the same way the upper-class folks did. The way people dressed up was a visual clue as to what level they belonged to in society. It was also an effective way of spotting gatecrashers at a party.

The invited male guest shows good social manners by adhering to dressing up according to the dress code. It should be respected and followed by any man who is considerate of his host’s wishes.

The codes are flexible to a certain degree, but the male guest should stay within the range of what is acceptable.

Formal wear

1. Black tie—A tuxedo or a suit generally made of black wool with black satin lapels. It has matching trousers with a black satin stripe running down the exterior of the pants’ leg. Wear it with a black satin bow tie and black cummerbund. Sometimes a vest is worn with it. It is also still referred to as “dinner clothes” or “dinner jacket.”

2. Cummerbund —This is a wide, pleated sash that you wear around your waistband as part of formal wear. It is correctly worn with the pleats facing upward.

3. White tie—This is not the same suit as in a black tie, but composed of a black wool tailcoat and matching trousers, with a satin stripe running down the exterior of the pants’ leg. It is worn with a white bow tie made of satin, linen or cotton. A white vest which matches the tie is worn as well.

Luckily for Filipino men, our barong Tagalog may be acceptable for both black or white tie events.

Festive

1. Semiformal—Traditionally this event asks that you be in a dark suit or barong variants. Many folks mistake this to refer to business casual.

2. Festive informal—Normally this pertained to wearing a suit with a brightly colored (festive!) tie. Nowadays it means not too formal, but not casual.

3. Cocktail—A dark suit or dressy sports coat, or barong variants. It is a dress-up event.

4. Business attire—A suit with tie or barong Tagalog at the higher levels. In the Philippines, the long-sleeved polo shirt and tie with dark trousers or the short-sleeved polo Barong are accepted.

5. Business casual—Sports coat with the option of wearing a tie. Polo barong is safe. Men in business polo shirts usually take off their neckties.

6. Casual chic—A sports coat, jacket or sweater paired with slacks or jeans. Layering seems to be the key.

7. Casual—The most relaxed dress code. You can wear slacks, jeans or shorts with any top you want, depending on your host’s directions.

Clothing options a man can invest in

1. Barong Tagalog— Sometimes referred to as barong Pilipino. This traditional Filipino outfit is an embroidered formal shirt. It is lightweight and worn untucked over an undershirt. It has long sleeves and is made of either pineapple, banana or abaca fibers. Every Filipino should have a good quality barong in his wardrobe. It is very versatile for any dressy event, from the very formal down to business attire. Choose a classic design, and it can be used for decades.

2. Dark suit— If you go to many events, you need to have your own dark suit. It should be cut in a timeless style, in a color like black, navy blue or gray to ensure long use. A dress shirt, along with a coordinated tie, are worn with it. Like the barong, it is safe attire for many events including weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, business meetings, cocktails, funerals.

3. Barong variants:

Gusot-mayaman and linen barong —These are not made of delicate fabrics. They are less formal than the standard barong Tagalog.

Polo barong—A short-sleeved version of the barong, often made of linen, ramie or cotton. This is the least formal version of the Barong and is often used as men’s office wear.

Shirt-jack barong—These are cut in shirt-jack style, usually made of polyester-cotton, linen-cotton and gusot-mayaman fabrics.

All three barong variants are safe to use for different occasions. You get a look that is above casual and at the same time not too dressy. You could pull off wearing them to almost any event. (Just beware that you may be dressed like security personnel.)

The dress code does not refer to style. It defines the rules of what to wear for different events. When a man understands these rules, he will feel confident wearing the right clothes for the right occasion.

source: lifestyle.inquirer.net

New consoles, online games to keep market soaring to 2017

PARIS— The global video gaming market is set to grow 11.1 percent a year until 2017, boosted by a new generation of consoles and the increasing popularity of online games, according to IDATE digital research and consultancy firm.

The market, estimated at 53.9 billion euros ($73.8 billion) this year, is expected to soar to 82.1 billion euros in 2017, the France-based firm said in a report.

Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft, which are jostling for control of the gaming market, have each released the latest versions of their consoles ahead of the Christmas shopping season.

The wave of new devices is expected to keep the market buoyant until 2017, IDATE said.

Home consoles like Sony’s PlayStation or Microsoft’s Xbox, which make up 31 percent of the market today, are expected to have a 40 percent share of the total market in 2017.

Handheld consoles such as Nintendo’s 3DS or Sony’s PSVita, which have a share of about 22 percent in 2013, are projected to record declining share to 13 percent in 2017, in the face of increasing strong competition from tablets and mobile phones.

“Smartphones and tablets offer a radically different experience, and… in terms of the budget, the tablet is a significant competitor for the consoles,” Laurent Michaud, who is in charge of gaming research at IDATE.

“The choice of purchase between the tablet and the console will determine the success of this generation of machines,” he said.

The offline computer game is expected to record an irreversible decline, while this year online games are emerging as the leader.

The increasing popularity of online games stems from the fact that they dominate the gaming industry in China and South Korea, Michaud noted.

“They are games oriented towards ‘Free2Play’ and it is no surprise that they are gaining colossal success because the games are good,” he said, referring to the downloadable games.

One example is the online game Candy Crush which records 700 million sessions a day and racks up daily sales of $850,000 (630,000 euros).

Online games are expected to record average growth of 11.4 percent while mobile gaming is seen progressing by 12.2 percent annually between 2013 and 2017.

Traditional game developers which are used to selling physical copies of their games on discs, have not been keeping pace with virtual ones.

Many were slow to exploit the phenomenal success of games played on social networks.

In December 2012, only Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Namco Bandai Games, Konami, Take Two Interactive et Disney Interactive Studio were present on Facebook.
They have also been slow to join on the smartphone and tablette bandwagon.

In December 2012, only Electronic Arts and Square Enix were among the top revenue generators on Apple’s App Store. And only Electronic Arts and Take Two Interactive had games that ranked in the top 20 by revenues.

On Android Market, none of the traditional gave developers had games on the bestsellers’ list.

source: technology.inquirer.net

Lizzy Borden’s new take on Silent Night

Lizzy Borden have released a new take on Silent Night, in which they explore some of the Christmas carol’s more obscure melodic potential. Hear it below.

The band mark their 30th year in 2013. They say: “We will be celebrating with a brand-new show, created from the ground up, just for the monumental anniversary. The new show will encompass songs from each and every Lizzy Borden record to date, including classic songs like Me Against The World, American Metal and Master of Disguise – plus songs the band has never performed live.”

source: classicrockmagazine.com

Earn Cash Rebates on Your Online Christmas Shopping

With Christmas just around the corner, the promise of rebates for shopping online at our favorite retailers is irresistible. Great Canadian Rebates is a website offering us just that. Although the site is Canadian, it has an extensive US membership and offers.









Here’s how the website works:

First, you need to register.  There is no fee required to register and there are no membership fees.  After registration, you can earn cash back rebates by shopping at hundreds of your favourite merchants on the Great Canadian Rebates website.  Just for becoming a member, GCR will deposit a toonie into your account.

For every purchase made through the website, Great Canadian Rebates gets a commission from the merchant and, according to them, they pass most of the commission back to you in the form of a cash back rebate, which is paid by cheque or can be directly deposited into your PayPal account on a bi-monthly basis. Most rebates are posted to your Great Canadian Rebates account within 72 hours but it may take up to 30 days from the time of the purchase for the rebate to appear.

There is a minimum 45 day wait period before you’ll actually be paid a rebate. This is so Great Canadian Rebates can collect their money from the retailer and ensure that merchandise hasn’t been returned. If you decide to return a purchase, the rebate earned will be debited from your account. The cash back rebate will remain if the return is only to exchange a size or get an item in a different colour.


Great Canadian Rebates updates their coupons, sales and deals daily. Some of the over 300 retailers you’ll find on the website include Walmart, Dell, The Bay, Sears, Expedia, Home Depot, Apple Store Canada, Chapters. Indigo, Hotels.com, Sony Style Canada, Groupon, MBNA, American Express and lots more.

Almost every purchase made through Great Canadian Rebates qualifies for a Cash Back Rebate. The exceptions are shipping and handling fees, taxes and any part of your purchase paid for with coupons, gift cards or store credits. You will earn an average of five percent cash back through the website and even more by using their coupons and sales links.

You can also earn referral bonuses of 10 percent on each of your friends who join and earn cash back rebates.
LIMITED TIME $60 MBNA BONUS!

They are also offering $60 cash back when you apply for an MBNA MasterCard and a $25 referral bonus per credit card when any of your referrals are approved by MBNA for any credit card listed on the site and reported to Great Canadian Rebates during November and December.

There are a few simple rules you need to follow in order to qualify for a rebate.

• All orders must be placed through the GCR website, not over the phone.
• You can’t use coupon codes found on other sites.
• Cookies must be turned on.
• Any Ad Blocker program you have must be turned off.
• Click on the appropriate link from GreatCanadianRebates.ca to the merchant before adding to a cart, before a purchase, a reservation or an application.
• Use coupon codes from the GCR site only.
• Purchases must be made by using the online cart, reservation system or application system.
• To make sure of your rebate, be sure to close all other windows you may have opened and click only the link on the GCR website.

All rebates are paid in Canadian funds. Any purchase made in US funds or reported by the merchant in US funds, will be converted into Canadian Dollars based on that day’s exchange rate.

If you do a lot of online shopping, especially at this time of year, you’ve got nothing to lose and cash back to gain when you sign up at Great Canadian Rebates.

Even More Cash Back Tip

If you use your cash back credit card, such as the MBNA SmartCash card, you can earn cash back on your credit card and Great Canadian Rebates.

source: financialhighway.com

Merry but cheap pine décor for a merry Christmas

Pine is a favorite representation of Christmas. A festive arrangement can set you back by some pesos, however. Here’s a simple way to make your own pine décor using simple materials you may not realize you have.














You will need:

    Floral foam (for dried arrangement)
    Old newspaper
    Glue gun
    Vase (or big paint can painted in gold or silver or covered in fabric or paper)
    Assortment of pine stems (this can be parts from an old Christmas tree or from an old arrangement)
    Faux berries or pine cones
    Optional: Christmas balls

Take your vase or decorated can and measure your floral foam to fit. Stuff bottom of vase or can with crumpled newspaper to about halfway the height of your container. Cut your pine pieces so that their height exposed measures half the container’s. Start putting in the pine pieces in a dense arrangement. Arrange in the pine cones and berries in between the pine needles filling in any gaps. Tip: To brighten it up, add Christmas balls.

source: lifestyle.inquirer.net

Angry Birds Knock On Wood Game

Angry Birds Knock On Wood Game. Build, launch and destroy with an exciting skill-and-action game based on the best-selling phone application. Game features three Angry Birds, green pigs, one slingshot-style launcher, structure pieces and mission cards.

Players draw a card and build the structure shown before their opponents launch an Angry Bird in an attempt to knock it and the pigs down to win points. For 2 or 4 players.

Angry Birds Knock On Wood Game Features

Based on the on the best-selling phone app game, Angry Birds
Now kids can play their #1 favorite app game in real life
Build, launch and destroy with an exciting skill-and-action
Features three Angry Birds, green pigs, one slingshot-style launcher, structure pieces and mission cards
For 2 or 4 players
The Angry Birds Knock On Wood Game is for ages 5 and over.

Build, launch and destroy with an exciting skill-and-action game based on the best-selling phone app – Angry Birds Knock On Wood Game features three Angry Birds, green pigs, one slingshot-style launcher, structure pieces and mission cards.

Players draw a card and build the structure shown before their opponents launch an Angry Bird in an attempt to knock it—and the pigs—down to win points.

The survival of the Angry Birds is at stake. Dish out revenge on the green pigs who stole the Birds’ eggs. These wingless birds, based on the hit mobile game app from Rovio, are a little upset and need your support. Despite all their anger, they’re all just too cute to pass up. Pick your favorite character or collect them all!

The story line in Angry Birds Knock on Wood is analogous to the smartphone app on which the new game is based. The nefarious evil pigs have stolen the birds’ eggs and so it’s payback time. The idea of this game is to Build the structures on the

Mission Cards, Launch the Angry Birds in the specified order, and Destroy the pigs and structures just like in the game to score points and win.

We enjoyed the challenge of playing within the game's rules, including the ways the structures can be built and the birds that can be used during particular launches. We also had fun with the special fourth-level mission cards that allow for freestyle building for more creative play. We enjoyed experimenting with the distances from which they could shoot the birds toward castles. With so many possibilities for hands-on play, this game will keep you and your family and friends occupied for hours!

If your not sure what to give your child for Christmas, why not consider getting them, what could be a top Christmas Toys for 2011...Set to be a huge hit with the girls you can't go wrong with this Angry Birds Knock On Wood Game

Article Source:
http://www.articlebiz.com/article/1051513501-1-angry-birds-knock-on-wood-game/

Araneta Center parade of lights kicks off today

MANILA, Philippines - Christmas continues to shine brightly at the Araneta Center with the launch of the weekly Magical Parade of Lights starting today, Nov. 26.

A spinoff from the electric parade of lights held during the Capiztahan feast in Roxas City, the Magical Parade of Lights features several floats depicting creatures of the sea lit up by thousands of flickering light bulbs in a grand spectacle that will snake through the major streets of the Araneta Center.

This shimmering pageant of lights will beam a Christmas glow around the center and holiday shoppers will be regaled by drumbeaters and street dancing Christmas characters that accompany the visual explosion of electric lights. The Magical Parade of Lights is also reminiscent of the Main Street Electrical Parade, famous for its long run at Disneyland until 1996. Just like its Disney counterpart, the parade features floats covered in thousands of electronically controlled lights blinking in sync to music.

The Magical Parade of Lights is just one part of the menu of Christmas activities lined up at the Araneta Center this season. After last week’s traditional Christmas tree lighting, be serenaded by the different chorale groups as they sing your favorite Christmas carols every day until December 31 at Farmers’ Plaza, Ali Mall, and Gateway Mall. Marvel at the weekly fireworks display. Also, be sure to watch Disney on Ice “Let’s Celebrate” which will be shown from December 25 to January 3 at the SMART Araneta Coliseum. For ticket inquiries, call 911-555The Magical Parade of Lights at the Araneta Center is co-sponsored by the Meralco and the Araneta Group. It is scheduled on Nov. 26, Dec. 3, 10 and 17. Parade starts at 5 p.m. from the giant Christmas tree parking lot.

Source: philstar.com

Tax on Christmas Trees?

President Obama’s Agriculture Department announced that that a new tax should be imposed on Christmas tree sellers to pay for a federal government program to improve the image of Christmas trees and the Christmas tree industry in the United States. It will impose a new 15 cents charge on all fresh Christmas trees.

The money will be used to improve the image and marketing of Christmas trees. Without President Obama’s fresh Christmas tree tax, the industry might start getting smaller til people have artificial trees.

The National Christmas Tree Association said in a argument that the plan "is not expected to have any affect on the price consumers pay for their Christmas tree."




The use of Christmas trees around the world exploded and grew each year until modern times and having Christmas tree during Christmas season is just one of those family traditions people love. Now, should people call it Christmas?