One of the most famous Christmas food recipes is the Christmas turkey. To compliment your special turkey cooking, add these extras to make a mouth-watering Christmas turkey dinner.

1. Stuffing – A must with your xmas dinner! (I usually buy mine from the store to save time)

2. Pigs In Blankets - Wrapping sausages in bacon. These are great for nibbles, or to have with your main meal.

3. Potatoes and Parsnips – Beautiful combination that can be easily roasted together.

4. Gravy – De-glaze the pan to add some beautiful flavour to you gravy.

5. Cranberry Sauce – With your turkey, this is the ultimate taste combination.

6. Brussel Sprouts – Love them or hate them, they are a Christmas staple. Some pancetta and a knob of butter works a treat.

The taste of Christmas 2010 will never be complete without the turkey recipe. Mmmmmm!

Here are the following traditions people have been accustomed to:

• The theme of Christmas. Most families would generate different themes for their Christmas celebration. If you are one of those trying to come up with something new this year, you better start your research as early as possible.
• The foods for Christmas. One of Christmas traditions falls on the foods being prepared on Christmas Eve. This mostly comprise of turkey, roast nuts, pastas, and other gourmet that are specifically set on Christmas day.
• The get-together and gatherings. This tradition will never be removed from the beliefs and understanding of people about Christmas. This is the season where you party from one place to another yet never lose the energy for some fun and enjoyment.
• The gift-giving. Holiday traditions will never be complete without gifts. Either you’re waiting for Santa Claus to arrive nor expecting some presents from loved ones, the concept of gift-giving explicates Christmas in all intents and purposes.

These are some of the Christmas traditions practiced by people from all parts of the world who believe that Christmas will never be whole without these customs and ethnicity.

Generally December 25th is considered to be the day that a very well known story took place. According to many versions of this story a baby known as Jesus was born to a virgin mother, named Mary, in a stable somewhere in Bethlehem.

Obviously we all know this story but the reality is that it is very unlikely that Jesus was actually born on this day. So I guess it begs the question…. Why do we celebrate Christmas on December 25th.

As always with such questions the actual answer is unclear. However there are many theories.

You can go back and check this, but it must be noted that the New Testament  does not actually give a date for the birth of Christ.

Many cultures hold winter festivals. There could be many reasons for this from the fact that there are no crops to farm and, I believe, people need cheering up in dark and damp days.

Issac Newton argued that December 25th was accepted as a date to celebrate the birth of Christ due to the Roman date for the Winter Solstice.

Louis Duchesne (cite him here), put forward the idea that December 25h was chosen because it was 9 months after the tradition date believed to be the conception of Jesus, March 25th. Early Christians also believed that Jesus was crucified on this day. This coincides with a Jewish belief that prophets live for an integral number of years.

Hermann Usener, CITE AGAIN, suggested in an 1889 book that December 25th corresponded with a Roman festival in honor of Sol Invictus. He also argied that the church used to choose festibal dates to make it easier for Pagans to convert and keep some of their traditions. Many pagan traditions can be found in our Modern Christmas celebrations.

The title of Sol Invictus also allowed many solar dieties to be worshiped.

2. The President and family are given a tree each Christmas by the National Christmas Tree Association. This has been a tradition since 1966.

3. Since 1971 Boston, USA has received it’s Christmas tree from the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia continue this tradition to show their thanks for relief supplies provided by Bostonians after a ship exploded in Halifax in 1917. Parts of Halifax were destroyed and thousands of people ended up injured and dead.

4. The first state to recognize Christmas as an official Holiday was Alabama in 1836.

5. It is said that the Friday after Thanksgiving is the busiest shopping day of the year. This is however wrong. The busiest days are the Friday and Saturday before Christmas.

6. In North Vietnam, 1969, an American billionaire tried to airlift 28 tons of medical supplies and Christmas gifts to American POW’s. His name was Ross Perot

7. America’s official Christmas tree can be found in California’s King’s Canyon National Park. The tree is known as the “General Grant” tree and is over 90metres high. The tree was officially given it’s title in 1925.

8. 28 Christmas cards are mailed by the average American household every year. As it should fairly be, 28 cards are returned in their place.

9. Obviously Animal Crackers are not actually crackers. They are actually cookies that were brought into the USA from England in the later part of the 1800’s/ The originlal boxes originally has a string attached so that they could be hung from the Christmas tree.

10. From around 1822 the postmaster of Washington D.C became very concerned about the amount of extra mail that was coming through at Christmas. His solution was to place a law limiting the amount of cards that could be sent by an individual. Commercial cards were not even available at this time but already people were sending many home-made cards. This meant that 16 extra postmen were hired.

From mid November, you will certainly hear these songs either from children singing early Christmas carols or those that are being played on radios. These songs are simple reminders of the coming Christmas and holiday season.

Let the music flow and melodies be heard as you try to recall Christmas traditions through these songs.

• ‘Mommy Kissing Santa Claus’ and ‘All I want for Christmas’. This is one of those most liked and favored Christmas songs, as the lyrics comes with a bit of naughtiness yet still with a touch of glee.
• The Little Drummer Boy by Bing Crosby and David Bowie. This is one of the old time favorite songs played during Christmas and it will forever be a favorite.
• The all time classic, “And so this is Christmas and what have you done?
• Blue Christmas by Elvis Presley. Another classic and old time favorite song played and sung during the holiday season, and who would not love this song especially coming from Elvis?

There are still a lot of Christmas songs and traditions that were revived as years passed by. Although these songs will endure revisions and revival, one thing is certain, Christmas songs will all live in the hearts of people who believe in the true meaning of Christmas.

Jesus Christ
The true meaning of Christmas is Jesus Christ. Beyond all the pompous events and colorful lanterns, you should know the true essence behind the celebration – the birth of the Savior Jesus Christ.

Christmas Trees
The first person that brings Christmas tree into the scene is Martin Luther in the 16th century. According to some stories about his discovery, he was walking in the forest and got fascinated with stars shining through the branches of trees. This gave him the idea of having one in his home.

Santa Claus
The facts about Santa Claus have been changed as years passed by. But regardless of it being changed and passed from one generation to another, Santa Claus will always remain to be children’s favorite man during Christmas. Children believed that on the eve of Christmas Santa Claus will come sneaking into their rooms to give presents. So, have you been good this year?

Christmas Carols
This has been the tradition started by rich men in England. Christmas carols are played or sung as early as November.

Merry Christmas!

Here are the following Christmas tips you need to keep yourself armed with before you finding your wallet empty, bare and unfilled.

1.Your Christmas decorations need not be the latest and updated version. Always get into the habit of recycling your Christmas decorations by repeating some of the adornments and embellishments you’ve used last year. To put it simply, be creative and innovative.

2.As much as possible, avoid using your credit cards. When shopping for Christmas gifts, it is better to pay cash. You wouldn’t want your next bill ballooning to thousands of bucks.

3.Only buy gifts that you know will be of good use to the recipient. There are many bargain sales in local stores and malls and these places should be your ultimate target.

4.Avoid eating out at fine dining restaurants. This will only add up to your expenses. If it’s not really an important celebration, dining at cheaper food chains or cooking a good meal at home is a much better option.

5.If you’re spending Christmas in other places or countries, you need to book your flight and make reservations months before the holiday rush. This will provide you with great deals and perks.

It is at this time where people are happily hitting the streets for some fun, enjoyably watching concerts and plays, and even those spending time on amusement parks. One thing that best described these scenes: Happiness. Happiness in the sense that you see all smiles from people’s faces as they celebrate their own concept and idea of Christmas, happiness of being with their loved ones and happiness in the air of the celebration itself.

Christmas scenes will never be complete without Christmas decorations you see in every nook and cranny of people’s houses; the mesmerizing view of Christmas lights and symbolic sight of Christmas trees. Other scenes to watch out for during Christmas are the bazaars. This is the time of the year where business minded people go out their way to gain more profits. According to businessmen, Christmas is the season where they are able to generate more takings and incomes as many people are busy spending for the Christmas day.

If you will go out of the house and head somewhere else, the spirit of Christmas is felt in almost all places. Going to the mall allows people to see and participate to various Christmas programs. Apart from this, the lighting of big Christmas trees on significant places is also being held and most especially invitations to Christmas parties and year end celebrations.

These are just few of the many Christmas scenes that are definitely worthy to watch out for.

2. Swan’s and Peacocks were sometimes served at Christmas Banquets on the Middle Ages. They were served endored. This meant that the flesh was painted with a butter / saffron dye and then wrapped back up in their own skin and feathers.

3. Dicken’s considered a few other names for his famous character Tiny Tim from “A Christmas Carol”. These included Small Sam, Puny Pete and Little Larry.

4. Oregon is the USA’s top Christmas tree producing state. In 1998 they produced 8.6 million tress. Other top producers are North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Washington, Michigan and California.

5. Originally candy Canes were straight sticks of candy. The Master of the Choir at Cologne Cathedral decided to bend the ends to look like a shepherds stick. He passed them out to the children to keep them quiet during a service. This also made them convenient for hanging on trees. They gained their red stripes sometime at the beginning of the 20th century.

6. The famous quote “Bah Humbug” from Dicken’s character Scrooge was initially going to be “Bah Christmas”. It just does not work as well!

7. The hit pop song “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” was sung by a child named Jimmy Boyd. He was just under 13 years old.

8. The tradition of singing Christmas Carols door to door in the neighborhood came from the old English custom names Wassailing. This was originally to toast the neighbors to a long and healthy life.

9. In the Ukraine you can choose what day to celebrate Christmas on. December 25th lines up with the  Roman Catholic Gregorian calendar. January 7th is the other date which lines up with the Orthodox (Julian calendar) church holy day.

10. Christmas is a summer holiday in South Africa. Children are partial to producing and performing the old tradition of pantomimes such as “Babes in the Wood”. This is supposedly one of the oldest ballads in the English language.

Christmas is the most celebrated holiday in the Western world and most of us know roughly why it is celebrated but not many people actually know the origin of the name and other names that have been used.

The world generally used for the holiday today is quite obvious in origin. Christmas is a spin from Christ’s Mass. A day of mass to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. The actual date of Jesus’s birth is contested but people widely accept December 25th as a symbolic day.

Chrit’s Mass derives from a Middle English term Christemasse and an old English term Cristes mæsse. Cristes mæsse is thought to have been first recorded in 1038. The word “Cristes” derives from the Greek “christos” and mæsse is from the latin term,missa.

The term Xmas is also an accepted and often used abbreviation and often seen as a modern alternative but surprisingly this actually can be tracked back to the 16th century.

Some people have seen the X as a negative thing - I once heard that it was a reference to satan - however this is not so! In early versions of the Greek New Testament  the letter X, pronounced ‘chi’ in greek, is the first letter of Christ. The letter X has been known to be an abbreviation for Christ since the middle of the 16th century. Hence the term Xmas!