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The True Meaning Of Christmas
The "true meaning of Christmas" is a phrase that began to appear in the mid-19th century when a shift toward a more secular culture resulted in a national backlash in the United States. Christians began to see the secularization of the celebration day of the birth of Christ as the shift toward Santa Claus and gift exchanging replaced the celebration of the advent of Christ and giving to the poor and needy without expectation of receiving anything in return. The poem '' A Visit from St. Nicholas'' (1822) helped popularize the tradition of exchanging gifts, and seasonal Christmas shopping began to assume economic importance. Harriet Beecher Stowe criticizes the commercialization in her story "Christmas; or, the Good Fairy". An early expression of this sentiment using the phrase of "the true meaning" is found in ''The American Magazine'', vol. 28 (1889): :"to give up one's very self – to think only of others – how to bring the greatest happiness to others – that is the true mean ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous states border Canada to the north and Mexico to the south, with the semi-exclave of Alaska in the northwest and the archipelago of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean. The United States asserts sovereignty over five Territories of the United States, major island territories and United States Minor Outlying Islands, various uninhabited islands in Oceania and the Caribbean. It is a megadiverse country, with the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, third-largest land area and List of countries and dependencies by population, third-largest population, exceeding 340 million. Its three Metropolitan statistical areas by population, largest metropolitan areas are New York metropolitan area, New York, Greater Los Angeles, Los Angel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Annunciation To The Shepherds
The annunciation to the shepherds is an episode in the Nativity of Jesus described in the Bible in Luke 2, in which angels tell a group of shepherds about the birth of Jesus. It is a common subject of Christian art and of Christmas carols. Biblical narrative As described in verses 8–20 of the second chapter of the Gospel of Luke, shepherds were tending their flocks out in the countryside near Bethlehem, when they were terrified by the appearance of an angel. The angel explains that he has a message of good news for all people, namely that "Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." After this, a great many more angels appear, praising God with the words "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests." Deciding to do as the angel had said, the shepherds travel to Bethlehem, and find Mary and Joseph an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Literary Motifs
Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electronic literature, digital writing. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include oral literature, much of which has been transcribed.; see also Homer. Literature is a method of recording, preserving, and transmitting knowledge and entertainment. It can also have a social, psychological, spiritual, or political role. Literary criticism is one of the oldest academic disciplines, and is concerned with the literary merit or intellectual significance of specific texts. The study of books and other texts as artifacts or traditions is instead encompassed by textual criticism or the history of the book. "Literature", as an art form, is sometimes used synonymously with literary fiction, fiction written with the goal of artistic merit, but ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The True Meaning Of Christmas Specials
''The True Meaning of Christmas Specials'' is a Canadian television Christmas special, hosted by Dave Foley. It was first broadcast on CBC Television on December 22, 2002. Synopsis Dave Foley has reached a milestone in his career, He is hosting his first Christmas special, live from the beach, featuring surf-guitar legend, Dick Dale. The special seems to be going well, but as Dave begins to try to sell kitchen gadgets to the television audience, he senses there is something wrong with his Special; but can't place his finger on it. After some deliberation, he decides to move the beach party north to Canada, depicted as a snow-covered cabin, which strangely appears to be located only fifty feet from the beach. Upon arriving, Dave teams up with El Vez ("The Mexican Elvis"), Elvis Stojko, Bing Crosby, Thomas the Butler, Santa Dude, Mike Myers, and "The Ghosts of Christmas Specials Past, Present, and Yet to Come". He consults a priest and many of his new friends, but cannot gain passi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Christmas Films
Many Christmas stories have been Christmas film, adapted to feature films and TV specials, and have been broadcast and repeated many times on television. Since the popularization of home video in the 1980s, these films are sold and re-sold every year during the holiday shopping season. Many television networks, film studios, and production companies, such as cable television channels Hallmark Channel, Hallmark and Lifetime (TV network), Lifetime, produce and release new Christmas-themed films every year during or around December, all with different variations of similar plots and themes. Additionally, films revolving around the Nativity of Jesus, Nativity story of Christmas are regularly produced such as ''The Nativity Story'' (2006) and ''The Star (2017 film), The Star'' (2017). One film that has become the flashpoint for "Is this a Christmas movie or not?" debates is ''Die Hard'' (1988), with some viewing the film as a Christmas movie intertwined with an action genre setting or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christmas Controversy
Christmas is the Christian celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, which, in Western Christian churches, is held annually on 25 December. For centuries, it has been the subject of several reformations, both religious and secular. In the 17th century, the Puritans had laws forbidding the ecclesiastical celebration of Christmas, unlike the Catholic Church or the Anglican Church, from the latter of which they separated. With the atheistic Cult of Reason in power during the era of the French Revolution, Christian Christmas religious services were banned and the three kings cake was forcibly renamed the "equality cake" under anticlerical government policies. Later, in the 20th century, Christmas celebrations were prohibited under the doctrine of state atheism in the Soviet Union. In Nazi Germany, Christmas celebrations were propagandized so as to serve the ideology of the Nazi party. Modern-day controversy, colloquially known as the "war on Christmas", occurs mainly in China ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christmas Tree
A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen pinophyta, conifer, such as a spruce, pine or fir, associated with the celebration of Christmas. It may also consist of an artificial tree of similar appearance. The custom was developed in Central Europe, particularly Germany and Livonia (now Estonia and Latvia), where Protestantism, Protestant Christians brought decorated trees into their homes. The tree was traditionally decorated with "roses made of colored paper, tinsel, apples, wafers, and sweetmeats, confectionery". Moravian Church, Moravian Christians began to illuminate Christmas trees with candles, which were often replaced by Christmas lights after the advent of electrification. Today, there is a wide variety of Christmas ornament, traditional and modern ornaments, such as garlands, Christmas ornament, baubles, tinsel, and candy canes. An angel or star might be tree-topper, placed at the top of the tree to represent the Angel Gabriel or the Star of Bethlehe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his youth, Wojtyła dabbled in stage acting. He graduated with excellent grades from an All-boys school, all-boys high school in Wadowice, Poland, in 1938, soon after which World War II broke out. During the war, to avoid being kidnapped and sent to a Forced labour under German rule during World War II, German forced labour camp, he signed up for work in harsh conditions in a quarry. Wojtyła eventually took up acting and developed a love for the profession and participated at a local theatre. The linguistically skilled Wojtyła wanted to study Polish language, Polish at university. Encouraged by a conversation with Adam Stefan Sapieha, he decided to study theology and become a priest. Eventually, Wojtyła rose to the position of Archbishop of Kra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christmas By Medium
Christmas themes have long been an inspiration to artists and writers. A prominent aspect of Christian media, the topic first appeared in literature and in music. Filmmakers have picked up on this wealth of material, with both adaptations of Christmas novels, in the forms of Christmas films, Santa Claus films, and Christmas television specials. It also includes animation, comics, and children's books, including '' A Charlie Brown Christmas'', '' How the Grinch Stole Christmas!'', and ''Frosty the Snowman''. Films Many Christmas stories have been adapted to movies and TV specials, and have been broadcast and repeated many times on TV. Since the popularization of home video in the 1980s, their many editions are sold and re-sold every year during the holiday shopping season. Notable examples are the many versions of the ballet ''The Nutcracker'', the 1946 film '' It's a Wonderful Life'', and the similarly themed versions of Dickens' ''A Christmas Carol'', in which the elder ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trope (literature)
A literary trope is an artistic effect realized with figurative language – word, phrase, image – such as a rhetorical figure. In editorial practice, a ''trope'' is "a substitution of a word or phrase by a less literal word or phrase". Semantic change has expanded the definition of the literary term ''trope'' to also describe a writer's usage of commonly recurring or overused literary techniques and rhetorical devices (characters and situations), motifs, and clichés in a work of creative literature. Origins The term ''trope'' derives from the Greek (), 'a turn, a change', related to the root of the verb (), 'to turn, to direct, to alter, to change'; this means that the term is used metaphorically to denote, among other things, metaphorical language. Tropes and their classification were an important field in classical rhetoric. The study of tropes has been taken up again in modern criticism, especially in deconstruction. Tropological criticism (not to be confused with t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
How The Grinch Stole Christmas! (TV Special)
''How the Grinch Stole Christmas!'' (also known as ''Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas!'') is a 1966 American animated television special, directed and co-produced by Chuck Jones. Based on the 1957 children's book of the same name by Dr. Seuss, the special features the voice of Boris Karloff (also a narrator) as the Grinch. It tells the story of the Grinch, who tries to ruin Christmas for the townsfolk of Whoville below his mountain hideaway. ''How the Grinch Stole Christmas!'' was produced by The Cat in the Hat Productions in association with the television and animation divisions of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios (the company that Jones was under contract at the time). The special completed production in a year and originally aired in the United States on CBS on Sunday, December 18, 1966. The special is considered a perennial holiday special. Plot The Grinch is a surly, antisocial green creature with a heart "two sizes too small" who lives alone in a snowbound cav ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
