Sky To Launch Christmas Channel

Sky has announced that it will rebrand Sky Movies Screen 2 as The Sky Movies Christmas Channel for the whole of the festive season.

From December 1, the standard and high definition movie channel will start hosting a range of themed 'box set' days showcasing genres such as musicals, romantic films and fairytales.

Don't Buy A Pet This Christmas

A good friend of mine helps to run an animal sanctury and this time of the year makes him feel pretty sad at times. It makes him feel sad because of the people that arrive at the sanctuary with their pets, in the main they are dogs and cats.

'You want to hear the excuses they come up with,' he'll say to me, 'to justify dumping what was once a close member of the family.'

I have recently divorced from my husband and can no longer afford to keep this dog as a pet
The dog has started to bite my children
The dog is too difficult to handle and is destroying my furniture
We have recently moved into a flat. One of their rules is that no animals can live in these flats
The dog barks to much and it is upsetting the neighbours
Our other animals do not like the dog
The dog is affecting my health
I am too ill to look after my dog

Now don't get me wrong Mike is not judging these people his main role is in finding suitable homes for these pets and well to be honest that's easier said than done.

The purpose of this post is to ask you to think about pets this Christmas. And if you are thinking of getting a pet for Christmas - DON'T. Leave it to mid-January at the earliest, you'd be surprised at just how many people rush in to buy pets for Christmas only to discover afterwards that they really can't mind them. If you are going to buy a pet do it with a clear head.

Christmas Race Underway

The race for the Christmas shopper is underway in the British High Street with two supermarket giants: Asda and Tesco beginning to slog it out by announcing price cuts totalling £400m. Asda claims its own cuts will be worth over £150 to its customers

Not to be outdone Tesco has announced that is cutting the price of thousands of items in its stores with the claim that Tesco shoppers will save over £250m. An offer to attract customers is what they term an "essential turkey" for £6 and two frozen prawn rings for £5, as well as half-price offers on toys and bikes.

Who Is Santa Clause

It may seem like an admans dream, Santa Clause that is, but still behind the man lies a humble, saintly bishop bringing the Christian message of hope and charity.

But before we move on feel free to visit me at my website Christmas Worldwide where you can see just about everything I have to say about Christmas

Don't you see him now, a old man, white beard, dressed in a red suite bringing gifts struggling to deliver at least one present to every child in the world. Yet fewer people realize now that this old kind man is based on reality. The name actually originated in Holland 'Sinter Klass,' meaning 'St Nicholas’.

Still, behind the figure which most embodies the commercial nature of Christmas in the minds of the public, we find a humble and saintly Bishop, and a clear Christian message for our times: the need for generosity both towards our neighbours, and towards God.

St. Nicholas was a catholic priest and later the Bishop of Myra in what is now modern Turkey and he lived around 280-343, the Catholic Church celebrate his feast on the 6 December each year. With the march of time and the evolution of 'Sinter Klass' into 'Santa Clause' it becomes difficult for the historian to give us a very accurate picture of the saint.

The legend says that as a child he was a prayerful and some have it that he even refused his mother's milk on Fridays to keep the Church discipline of abstinence! Yes well it is hard to separate fact from fiction. Maybe he could refuse the milk because he apparently came from a rich family. When bishop he tried to give presents to his people and this he done at night so that people would not know it was him.

The most famous story about Nicholas comes from his time as a Bishop. It seems a poor man had no money to provide a dowry for his three daughters. Bishop Nicholas climbed onto the roof of the house and dropped three bags of gold down the chimney. These landed in the socks that were hanging by the fire to dry, explaining today's tradition of Christmas stockings.

The three bags of gold, incidentally are the origin of the pawnbrokers' symbol of three golden balls, as St. Nicholas is also their patron saint.

While much of the foregoing is undoubtedly legendary, or at least embellished by the ages, it is a fact that in 303, the Roman Emperor Diocletian demanded that all the citizens of the empire worship him as a god. This order applied to the territories of Asia Minor as well. Many Christians were imprisoned or killed for their refusal to worship the emperor. When he too refused to submit, the Bishop was arrested and held in a small cell for more than 5 years.

In 313, Constantine came to power and Nicholas was released. Christianity was no longer oppressed, and Nicholas returned to serve Myra as Bishop. He remained in that post until his death, on December 6, 343.

His fame for sanctity spread rapidly, with the first churches in his name being built around 450. By 800, he was recognized as a saint in the Eastern Church, and by 1200, St. Nicholas' Day was celebrated in Paris. By the 1400s, St. Nicholas was the most popular religious figure, apart from Jesus and Mary, with more than 2,000 chapels built in his honor.

The Origin of Santa When Dutch settlers came to New Amsterdam in the 1500s, they brought with them their tradition of St. Nicholas (“Sinter Klass”), and this tradition spread more generally, the name being converted in the process to Santa Claus.

The image of St. Nicholas gradually changed to that “right jolly old elf” described by Clement Clarke Moore in his “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” better known as “ `Twas the Night Before Christmas.” He traded in his mitre and crozier to dress “all in fur, from his head to his foot.” The illustrations for a series of advertisements for Coca-Cola gave Santa his current “look,” whose red cap and suit are known the world over.

For other things Christmas visit me at Christmas Worldwide

It Wont Be Long To Christmas

It won't be long now folks until Christmas is with us, and I for one am really looking forward to it. Here in Ireland, where I live, the party season is beginning to gear up a notch or two. Local councils are hanging out their lanterns and lights in order to attract the Christmas time shopper. Local stores are beginning to mount their Christmas displays - we are all getting ready for the 25th December! Feel free to visit me at my website Christmas Worldwide where you can see just about everything I have to say about Christmas

For me this is the time of year when that feeling of peace and good will to all surrounds us. It's a time for family and friends to meet up again. But for me this year will be a sad on because my own dear mother has just passed away.

Now I like to think of myself as an organized sort of person, someone who is never really taken by surprise when it comes to the big occasion, but somehow there is always a surprise in Christmas. So lets have a look at my 5 Christmas must dos.

1. The first thing I do is write down everyone I have to buy for and the amount I can afford to spent on them.
2. Start early and you'll find that Christmas bargain, leave it much later and someone else will have grabbed it.
3. Determine where you think you'll find most of the gifts and head there first.
4. As far as possible I try to go alone simply because I'm less liable to become distracted. Occasionally when it is something in particular that I'm buying I'll leave that to another day and invite a friend to help me.
5. Get all the shopping done in one hit (two at the most) - it's possible and once it's done, it's done.

Is the recession causing you a problem?
1. Let family and friends know that this year you're not buying for others, instead you're contributing to your favourite charity. Maybe they'll follow suit.
2. If you are buying for others determine a ceiling amount and stick to it. Ask family and friends if they could reciprocate and do the same.
3. Start your shopping this week if you haven't already done so. I buy the party bits late October and early November, leave it much later and prices will rocket.
4. I guess that with the recession this year there will be fewer trees around but it's amazing what one can do with tinsel, a pot plant, shrub, or tree branches. Take a drive to your nearest set of trees and pick up some pine cones, it is amazing what you can do with them.
5. Examine the Christmas card list. This year I'm knocking off many names and only sending to immediate family members and very close friends.

For me Christmas is a celebration of life - our life. It's a time where showing kindness, reaching out to others and giving to the needy and homeless seems more prevalent than at other times especially now in this year of recession. Enjoy your festive season wherever you and whatever you do - Peace on Earth and goodwill to all! Remember visit me at Christmas Worldwide, I'm looking forward to seeing you.

Christmas, Scrouge and DS

Welcome to my Christmas Blog where I'll be taking a look at all things Christmas in the run up to the holiday season. I just love Christmas so please feel free to visit me at my permanent Christmas site Christmas Worldwide and share the beauty of Christmas with me.

Did you know that Charles Dickens' classic Christmas story is coming to life this christmas not on the big screen but courtsey of DS. The game is been released to tie in with the movie of the same name and will be available to gamers just in time for the holiday season.

In the game you can travel with Scrooge on his journey of discovery, remember though it's based on a Disney interpertation so expect a bit more interpation than you'll find in Dickens' original story.

The game lets you explore the supernatural adventure that Scrooge himself takes when he’s visited by three extraordinary Christmas spirits during the holiday season.
: the Spirit of Christmas past; Christmas present and Christmas future. It takes the form of a point-and-click adventure, kinda like a hidden object, mystery or puzzle game. You play the role of the Hand Of Fate and go through the story by exploring each scene and interacting with the characters to trigger the next event.

DS are aiming the game at the 7-plus market, gamers will be given the oppertunity to manipulate Scrooge's environments as they guide him through a supernatural adventure. The full range of the DS controls can be used, including blowing into the microphone as well as using the stylus to pull, drag, shake rattle and tap to influence Scrooge's world.

Some, but I suspect not all, will enjoy the game dialogue pitched in that old-school Charles Dickens style. In addition to the game players receive what I like to call a Christmas bonus which includes full Dickens novel in its original form, an advent calendar, a sing-along collection of five Christmas carols, 14 unlockable mini-games and a “pass the DS” multiplayer feature for family play. All in all a great Christmas gift and don't forget to vist me at Christmas Worldwide