In Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, there is a most incredible place nestled in the foothills of the mountains with over 30,000 square feet of Christmas shops and displays, with decorated trees, life size nativity scenes, Santaland for the kids, and more.

Here is also The Inn at Christmas Place, which is a 145-room 4-star hotel featuring year-round Christmas décor, in-room fireplaces and decorations of wreaths, swags, trees, figurines, and winter prints throughout the rooms and public areas.

A visit to this place will bring you the right Christmas spirit throughout the whole year.

The significance of Christmas cannot be found in the glossy pages of mail order catalogs, or the feverish excitement of TV commercials. Nope, my greatest pleasure on Christmas morning will never come from knowing the price tag of my gifts, or that they are the hottest thing. I prefer  that my relatives of friends were bothered enough to buy or make a gift for me that is truly meaningful, and not just a pretty box to place under an already over-loaded tree.

A homemade gingerbread man from my neighbor, even though she may have unintentionally replaced the sugar with salt again, is all the sweeter because of the love poured into each one. Christmas without my neighbor’s gingerbread man just wouldn’t be Christmas. The gifts that I desire most are the ones that took time, not just money and a mail order catalog to get to this year’s chartbuster delivered at my doorstep. I like to know that my dear friends have though about me and that I’m worth more than just another checkmark on their shopping list.

Think about it for a moment.  Think back over the time to the best gifts you have given or received. Why was that present so special? Was it the price, or the brand name, or the fact that it was on everybody’s wish list that year? Probably not.

I request to give gifts with love this year and not value it from the tag. I understand that not everyone has the skills or has tools or materials available to make something themselves. Spending time on a present does not necessary mean working a few months on a quilt either. When you buy a present for your loved ones, take time to think about the present and the person who will receive it. Buy something more personal than the latest game computer or newest iPod.

The saying “it’s the thought that counts” never applied more than it does when you take the time to add that personal touch to any gift. Personalized Christmas gifts are more meaningful than the figure in the checkbook. Even if bought from the convenience of your own home, through the Internet.

It’s the thought that counts!

There are many reasons why people started to decorate their houses in the wintertime. Long ago, people believed that by decorating the greenery in the winter time, they would make them beautiful for the spirits, which they believed had fled to cover from the cold weather. Much later, people began to take green branches into their homes during the wintertime to give warmth and shelter to these spirits, they would release them again in the early spring.

In the sixth century missionaries from Rome were sent throughout Europe to convert the people. Allowances were made to make the step from pagan to Christian easier to take. Pagan rituals were incorporated into Christianity and the decorations stayed, but as a celebration to honor the Birthday of the Son of God. The pagan superstitions remained while new meanings and symbols developed.

Bring in the greenery!
Holly is a symbol of eternal life. Druids thought this plant stayed green year round because it was especially favored by the sun.

Mistletoe was held sacred by ancient peoples. It was forbidden to fight in the presence of mistletoe. Therefore it became a symbol for peace and joy.

Hang a Christmas wreath on the front door.
In ancient Rome, people used decorative wreaths as a sign of victory. The idea to hang them on the front door lies in the belief that round shaped Christmas wreaths bring contentment and good luck in the approaching year.

Leave a candle burning in the window.
A Christmas candle left burning in the window all night is believed to bring the household’s good luck in the coming year. If the candles goes out, it is bad luck. Primarily it was, and still is, a symbol of welcome to Mary and Joseph as they travelled looking for shelter.

Hang the stockings at the chimney.
Stockings are hung by the chimney at Christmas, in memory of the generosity of St. Nicholas. The legend is that out of sympathy he tossed three coins down the chimney of the home of three poor sisters. Each coin fell neatly into stockings left drying by the hearth.

Spider webs in the tree.
Hang some cobwebs in your Christmas tree for good luck. According to a Ukrainian legend a poor woman had nothing to put on her children’s tree. When she woke on Christmas morning she found the branches covered with spider webs turned to silver by the rising sun.

Removing the decorations.
As the druids would remove the branches in early spring and up until the 19th century, people would keep the decorations until Candlemas at 2 February. Since the reign of Victoria it is custom that Christmas decorations come down before the end of the 12th day, on January 6. Superstitions say that it is bad luck to leave it for another day or take it down before that date.

Christmas cards are a splendid way to stay in touch with friends and relatives just as sending them your best wishes! Making the Christmas cards your own this year is not only fun, but will mean something as well to the recipient.

What do you need?

Paper – Check out the craft store or stationary shop for card stock. Other papers that are sturdy are fine too. Scraps of wallpaper are good for making cards and more economical.

Pens – Use pens in different colors, preferably dark colors.

Ruler – To make your work neat, use a ruler!

Glue – A regular glue stick will work for gluing paper bits, but it is recommendable to have some fabric glue at hand for the more creative cards.

Decorations –photos, stickers, ribbons, bows, and any other decoration or embellishments you may wish to use.

Scissors - A fine-pointed, sharp scissor that is small enough to work with smaller pieces of paper or fabric.

Envelopes

How to Make the Christmas Cards:

Take your paper and use the ruler to mark out the card size that you prefer. The postcard will need to fit nicely in your envelope of course. Take double the size of the envelope, to create a folded card. Then cut the paper.

Once the paper is cut, fold the card.

On the front side of your card, you can glue a family photo, a picture of a reindeer, Santa Claus or a Christmas tree.

Decorate the edges of the card with decorations of your choice. These could be stickers with phrases as “Merry Christmas!” or red and green ribbons. Use your ink pens to write your wish on the front of the card. Or cut out Christmas greetings from magazines or brochures.

Make sure that you let your card dry before you start to work on the inside of the card. You can work on other cards at the same time.

Don’t forget to write your name in ink, since a printed name is not very considerate.

Now you’re ready to put the Christmas cards into envelopes, address them, and send them off in time for the holidays.

Christmas is not celebrated they same way throughout the United States. Different regions had different settlers in the history, all bringing in different traditions and different cultures. In modern day America, there are still many variations of Christmas celebrations visible.

In Pennsylvania, the Moravians celebrate Christmas with a “Love-Fest”, a special service when Moravians share a simple meal together in church. After the meal there is a candle service at which candles are passed out to everyone in the church while children sing a special hymn.

In Alaska, children wander from house to house carrying a colored lantern in the shape of a star on a long pole, while they sing Christmas carols.

In Arizona, Christmas is celebrated according to Mexican traditions with a ritual called Las Posadas. Families join a procession to visit each other’s houses to admire the nativity cribs. It represents the search of Joseph and Mary searching for a room to stay.

In Florida, it is tradition to decorate the houses with thousands of Christmas light. The Osborne family topped it all with three million lights that could be seen from an airplane from 80 miles distance. Since 1995, the display has moved to Disney World, Orlando, after the Supreme Court ordered it to be shut down permanently at their Little Rock home. It now features more than 5 million lights.

In Palmer Lake, Colorado, a 500-feet Christmas Star is lit during the month of December on the side of Sundance Mountain.

In Washington, a large tree near the White House is decorated as the National Christmas Tree.

In San Filipe Pueblo, New Mexico, the community holds native animal-masked dances after the Xmas Eve sermon, according to ritual dances that the American Indians held during the winter solstice.

Even though the Americans hold on to different traditions in different regions, they also have created new traditions. One of them is “the more, the merrier”. Americans like pre-arranged Christmas gatherings with many people. Also tree decorating and gift giving is baked into all cultures. Commercialization of Christmas resulted in more common traditions throughout the United States and the rest of the world.

On the first day of Christmas, my true love sent to me:
A Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the second day of Christmas, my true love sent to me:
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the third day of Christmas, my true love sent to me:
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me:
Four Calling Birds
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me:
Five Golden Rings
Four Calling Birds
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me:
Six Geese a Laying
Five Golden Rings
Four Calling Birds
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love sent to me:
Seven Swans a Swimming
Six Geese a Laying
Five Golden Rings
Four Calling Birds
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the eighth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me:
Eight Maids a Milking
Seven Swans a Swimming
Six Geese a Laying
Five Golden Rings
Four Calling Birds
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me:
Nine Ladies Dancing
Eight Maids a Milking
Seven Swans a Swimming
Six Geese a Laying
Five Golden Rings
Four Calling Birds
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the tenth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me:
Ten Lords a Leaping
Nine Ladies Dancing
Eight Maids a Milking
Seven Swans a Swimming
Six Geese a Laying
Five Golden Rings
Four Calling Birds
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the eleventh day of Christmas, my true love sent to me:
Eleven Pipers Piping
Ten Lords a Leaping
Nine Ladies Dancing
Eight Maids a Milking
Seven Swans a Swimming
Six Geese a Laying
Five Golden Rings
Four Calling Birds
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me:
12 Drummers Drumming
Eleven Pipers Piping
Ten Lords a Leaping
Nine Ladies Dancing
Eight Maids a Milking
Seven Swans a Swimming
Six Geese a Laying
Five Golden Rings
Four Calling Birds
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

Your baby’s first Christmas is an experience you will remember the rest of your life. Unfortunately young babies and lots of thrill and unfamiliar visitors do not always mix. You wind up with a howling and over stimulated infant as opposed to holding a tranquil bundle of delight in your arms if you’re not careful.

Obviously everybody wants to be part of your baby’s first Christmas. The upshot is more often than not that you spent most of the day visiting various relatives, or your entire extended family shows up on your doorstep. The last thing you want is ending up with a Christmas that’s exhausting to both you and the baby. Instead, ask relatives to understand that you can’t do so many things this Christmas and suggest seeing them on a different day instead. Then relax and have a comfy Family Christmas with the new baby.

Babies are normally most comfortable in a familiar situation and unfortunately Christmas is not a year round event. The baby will probably see a lot of new people in the house, or maybe is taken to visit other places. It is not strange at all that your baby is not overjoyed at the idea of staying in the arms of yet another person. Keep favorite blankies or familiar toys close by to comfort her.

Of course there will be lots of new toys and other Christmas presents for the baby, often in bright colors and sometimes noisy. Too much excitement, however, can easily add to overstimulation, which in turn will make your baby irritable and tired. Do not give your baby too many new toys at the same time, but give her time to explore one while you keep the rest for other days to come.

Babies are very receptive to mom’s feelings. The best method to keep your baby calm is for you to relax. When things start to get stressful, take a deep breath and calm yourself. Take a break every now and then from chaotic family reunions and find a quiet room to feed your baby and take a nap. When you and your baby are rested you can fully enjoy your baby’s first Christmas.

Furthermore, do not forget to save mementos from your baby’s first Christmas, take lots of pictures or video’s and write down the memorable details of the celebration. Buy your baby’s first Christmas ornament and make it a tradition of buying a new Christmas ornament each year.

Christmas tree ornaments are as much part of Christmas as Santa Claus, Christmas cards and Christmas gifts. We cannot imagine this holiday without them. But where did these traditions come from? Most of the Christmas traditions came from central Europe, and were brought to America by the early settlers. The Christmas ornaments traveled from Germany, through England to America and gradually changed from apples to glass blown figurines.

The original German Christmas trees were adorned with food; apples, onions, nuts and candies were placed on a tree.

In the 19th century, glass ornaments were first made in Germany. In general, only men did the glassblowing, women silvered the glass balls and the children painted and turned them into beautiful glass Christmas ornaments.

When Prince Albert, from Germany, married Queen Victoria of England, he brought the tradition of tree decorating to England. Soon it became popular and all of England was decorating trees at Christmas.

Some of these Englishmen immigrated to North America and took their Christmas traditions with them. Christmas started to become a widely spread holiday in North America and as with everything made in this new country, the ornaments got larger and brighter.

F.W. Woolworth was the first North American merchant to sell glass ornaments in 1880. Within a decade he was selling $25 million worth of ornaments per year.

Nearly all hand blown glass ornaments were produced in Germany, until in 1925 Japan started to produce large numbers of glass Christmas ornaments for export.

When the Second World War broke out and European factories stopped making the Christmas ornaments, US manufacturers began making them. Corning used a machine designed for making light bulbs to produce more than 300,000 glass ornament balls per day.

Now, the American people spend billions of dollars yearly on Christmas ornaments. Glass Christmas ornaments come in all shapes, sizes and colors.

Christmas Cooking for Dummies by Dede Wilson is a great help for gastronomically challenged people who actually have to prepare the Christmas feast for the first time. It contains 100 of the simplest Christmas recipes with step by step guides, tips and checklists and a special section on Christmas decoration. One of the recipes of the book is for gingerbread people. Enjoy it!

Gingerbread People

If you like a crisper gingerbread cookie, roll these out a bit thinner and bake an extra minute. This crispier version is best for hanging ornaments. For a thicker, chewier cookie, follow the instructions and make sure not to over bake.

Preparation time: 10 minutes, 2 hours cooling time
Cooking time: 8 minutes
Yield: 45, 3-inch cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature (TIP: carefully soften the butter in the microwave if you forget to bring it to room temperature. )
3/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup unsulphured molasses
1 large egg
3 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt

Decorations:
Cinnamon red-hot candies
Currants

1. Cream the butter with flat paddle attachment of electric mixer on high speed until soft, about 3 minutes. Beat in sugar and continue beating for about 2 minutes until light and fluffy. Beat in molasses, then beat in egg, scraping down bowl once or twice.
2. Sift together flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg, cloves and salt. Add the dry ingredients in three batches, mixing just until each batch is blended. Shape into a large flat ball by hand, kneading a few times until smooth. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours, or until firm enough to roll out.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and spray lightly with pan coating.
4. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut out shapes as desired using either a gingerbread person shape, or any other of your choice. Transfer to cookie sheets using a broad angled spatula, leaving at least 2-inches in-between. Place similar sized cookies on the same sheet. To make hanging ornaments, punch holes in the tops of the shapes with the blunt edge of a chopstick.
5. For decoration, place red-hot candies or currants on people to make eyes, noses, mouths and buttons.
6. Bake for about 12 minutes, depending on size, rotating pans front to back once during baking. They should just begin to brown around the edges and feel firm to the touch. Cool pans on racks for a few minutes, then transfer cookies to racks to cool completely. Let pans cool completely before proceeding with next batch; you may re-use the parchment. Store in airtight container at room temperature for up to two weeks or freeze for up to one month.

    
• The universal abbreviation for Christmas to Xmas comes from the Greek alphabet. X is letter Chi, which is the first letter of Christ’s name.
• The word Christmas comes from Cristes maesse, or “Christ’s Mass.”
• Pope Julius I declared Christ’s birthday as December 25th sometime during the 4th century. There is no set date for his birth in scripture and it wasn’t celebrated on any particular day. However Christmas was first celebrated on the 25th of December in Rome in 336AD with an aim to replacing the popular pagan winter solstice celebrations.
• 26 December was known as St Stephen’s Day, but is now more generally referred to as Boxing Day. This term lends its name to the alms-boxes placed in churches during the festive season for collecting money. This money was then given to the poor and needy after Christmas. Another assumption is that although servants were forced to work on Christmas Day, they were given a day off the day after to visit family. Usually employers would send them off with a box containing gifts and food, hence the term “Boxing Day.”
• Some priests advise you to say “Happy Christmas”, instead of “Merry Christmas”, because Merry has undertone of getting drunk – and is not appropriate at Christmas. One should say “Happy” instead.
• Poet Clark Moore is credited with naming Santa’s reindeer; Blitzen, Comet, Cupid, Dancer, Dasher, Doneder, Prancer, and the most famous reindeer, Rudolph.
• The twelve days of Christmas are the days between Christmas Day and Epiphany (6th of January) and represent the length of time it took for the wise men from the East to visit the manger of Jesus after his birth.
• The popular Christmas carol Silent Night was written by an Austrian priest named Joseph Mohr in 1818 as a result of a broken church organ.
• Bing Crosby’s Christmas classic “White Christmas” is the best-selling Christmas song of all time.
• Some Christmas traditions are leftovers from pre-Christian celebrations. Hanging gifts on trees is supposed to come from tree worship of the Druids, and the belief that the tree was the giver of all good things.



• The evergreen tree, because it is perpetually green, has been used as a symbol of eternal life since the ancient Egyptians and Hebrews. The Scandinavians believed that the evergreen could even scare away the devil. Decorating an evergreen tree in honor of Xmas became popular in the Middle Ages, especially in Germany. The decorations then consisted of candles and wafers, to symbolize Christ and the Host. Martin Luther is actually said to be the first person to put candles on a tree.
• There are approximately 30-35 million Real Christmas Trees sold in the U.S. every year.
• In earlier times, Christians used to decorate their homes with Saturnalia holly. During Roman pagan festival, this prevented persecution.
• A traditional Christmas dinner in early England was the head of a pig prepared with mustard.