Christmas is a time when we are surrounded by plenty of reminders. The lights on the houses, the big red bows in department store windows, and the bright reds and greens all over the restaurants make it very difficult to forget that it is the holiday season. This year, however, the reminders that I ...

Growing up, I had never given much thought to how Christmas was celebrated in other areas of the world, but working at a German company for the past five years, I have come to realize that Germans and Americans have different ways of celebrating Christmas. Even though there is no set date, being an ...

Today's Christmas is no longer a celebration of Christ and happiness, but is a celebration of a now fake, commercialized, overweight Santa Claus. The idea of eating yet another turkey dinner while watching a forgettable Disney movie on television brings tears of pain, not joy, to one's...

A Review Of "The $100 Christmas" By Bill McKibben In the article "The $100 Christmas," by Bill McKibben, he displays traditional and non-traditional views of Christmas. He starts the article with the giving the ideas of his family's traditional ways. The family gat...

Some families have their own unique way of celebrating those special moments with the ones they love. My most cherished memory as a child was Christmas day with my own family. I couldn't wait for my favorite holiday to arrive when we would gather around the Christmas tree and enjoy each other's com...

Christmas As I slowly awaken from a deep sleep, cool air hits my squinting eyes and I have the feeling that this is not a normal day. I close my eyes again and ponder for less than a spilt second then realize that SANTA CAME LAST NIGHT!!! I throw back the covers, ignoring the cold that would have k...

In this snippet of the film The Long Walk Home the director uses music to create atmosphere and to make a clear connection between the different scenes. Since the same piece of music is used throughout these scenes, the viewer is led to connect the two sleeping figures and to see the contrast in the...

A Christmas to Remember When I think back , one of my fondest memories was when I was seven. I grew up in a completely African-American black community as a child. The neighborhood was one nestled between lower middle class and the happy being poor. As a tomboy I didn't real...

Ah, how we all love vacation days! How nice they are especially when we don't want to go to school or work. They are good when they are official, because you don't have to worry about calling in the next day stating, or for some making up a reason why you didn't attend school or work....

Being a descendant of a religious minority group can often be a difficult life. This fact is exactly what we see in the autobiography "Magic", as we see Christmas through the eyes of a young Jewish girl. The story is set in a middleclass environment in America, and takes place during a ...

"Home is where the heart is" has become an overused expression, but, for me, it is a powerful statement that I will never take for granted. Certainly, most homes include a brother or sister, a mom and dad, and material possessions. But not all homes shelter a tightly bonded family that make...

"Hurry up!" Annie said to her mom as she went barreling down the stairs. "I'm coming." Ms. Mary Weston called back to her daughter. She was almost ready to go Christmas shopping when she remembered that she had forgotten to get her gloves out of her coat pocket. She found Christmas to be a ...

A Christmas Story(Personal Narrative) There has been lots of Christmas's that I remember, but this one was the best and the worst it was the Christmas I got a great Horse and our house burned down all on the same day. It was Christmas Eve morning. There was a slight breeze in the house, I...

A CLOSE CALL It was Christmas Eve, supposedly a joyous occasion. The snowflakes fell to the ground continuously like the last seeds of a dandelion blowing in the wind leaving the dead flower. It had been snowing for three days and I've been at the fire department for 20 hours waiting ...

I want my reader to have a well set description of how my family gets and prepares the perfect tree. The Perfect Christmas Tree My sister and I can definitely sense when Christmas time is approaching. Viewing the layer of blue thick-ribbed ice across the crystallized glass windshield of the...

The most significant and meaningful ritual in my life is Christmastime with my family. The whole season is considered a magical time of year and there is no arguing that in my eyes. Nothing is more perfect than my whole family joining together for two fun, but busy days, to celebrate the holiday wi...

On Friday December 6th I went to the doctor. During this visit, I was told that I was seven weeks pregnant. Words could not describe the elation and anticipation I was feeling at the reported news. Excitedly, before leaving the doctor's office I had informed my husband and entire family. I ...

My Little Prayer to God Saying a little prayer to God at every beginning and end of each traveling journey is part of a daily routine that I always do for the past three years. Some of my friends think that I'm being too religious for having this devout attitude. None of them know that ...

The lessons of a Mother A mother is something that gives rise to or exercises protective care over something else. (Webster's Universal College Dictionary; 1997) A mother is not only the borer of a child but she is someone who takes care of someone else. In the story "The Night Santa Claus Cam...

A New Found Friend The tight bonds of friendship that are formed at a young age are often the most impressionable. They shape and mold individuals for a life time. The relationship I formed with my puppy helped me blossom into the conscientious and loyal young adult I am today. I Still rememb...

Gridlock All I can do is ask myself every year "why do I wait?" Every year I tend to wait to do all my Christmas shopping until the night before. I do not know why I do it, but I do. Christmas Eve of 2001 was the worst I have ever been through. It is Christmas Eve 2001; I am walking ou...

Though he was a body like a towering giant, my grandfather was a very neat, well-kept, respected man. Nobody could seem to see him for who he was, they just saw the 6'6", 325-pound frame. His thick, ash colored hair always had to be just right. From the direction of the part to the brand ...

"The Baby Girl" It was the night of December 24, Christmas Eve, of 1992. My mom, my brother, and I were sitting at the kitchen table and my dad had just gotten home. He came into the house telling me and my brother that he had just seen something flying in the sky and that if we hur...

My Personal Perspective Growing up I did not have much to do with God and the church. My mother and father were Lutheran, but I cannot remember going to church even once. My parents divorced when I was three and my mother met my stepfather when I was five. His family is Catholic, and when...

Imagine walking into a classroom with eighteen students and you are the only one not speaking English. How would you feel? I would thing that everyone would feel scared and nervous. That how I felt when I walked into my third grade class. I felt so awkward; I thought everyone was expecting me to ...