Kerry's Holiday Fun

Eater Related Holidays & Festivals

2009-03-20T15:21:00.000-07:00

Holy WeekIn the Christian liturgical year, the week immediately preceding Easter, beginning with Palm Sunday. Solemn rites are observed commemorating the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Special observances recalling the institution of the EUCHARIST are held on Maundy Thursday; Scripture readings, solemn prayers, and veneration of the cross recall the crucifixion of Christ on Good Friday. Holy Saturday commemorates the burial of Christ; midnight vigil services inaugurate the Easter celebration of the resurrection. Holy Week is sometimes called the "Great Week" by Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christians because it commemorates the great deeds of God for humankind.
Mardi Gras/Carnival(Fr., "fat Tuesday"), pre-Lenten festival celebrated in Roman Catholic countries and communities. In a strict sense, Mardi Gras, or Shrove Tuesday, is celebrated by the French as the last of the three days of Shrovetide and is a time of preparation immediately before Ash Wednesday and the start of the fast of LENT.
Mardi Gras is thus the last opportunity for merrymaking and indulgence in food and drink. In practice, the festival is generally celebrated for one full week before Lent. Mardi Gras is marked by spectacular parades featuring floats, pageants, elaborate costumes, masked balls, and people dancing in the streets.
Mardi Gras originated as one of the series of carnival days held in all Roman Catholic countries between Twelfth Night, or Epiphany, and Ash Wednesday; these carnivals had their origin in pre-Christian spring fertility rites. The most famous modern Mardi Gras festivities are those held in New Orleans, La.; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Nice, France; and Cologne, Germany.
Ash WednesdayIn Christian churches, the first day of the penitential season of Lent, so called from the ceremony of placing ashes on the forehead as a sign of penitence. This custom, probably introduced by Pope Gregory I, has been universal since the Synod of Benevento (1091). In the Roman Catholic church, ashes obtained from burned palm branches of the previous Palm Sunday are blessed before mass on Ash Wednesday. The priest places the blessed ashes on the foreheads of the officiating priests, the clergy, and the congregation, while reciting over each one the following formula: "Remember that you are dust, and unto dust you shall return."
LentPeriod of fasting and penitence traditionally observed by Christians in preparation for Eaaster. The length of the Lenten fast, during which observants eat sparingly, was established in the 4th century as 40 days. In the Eastern churches, where both Saturdays and Sundays are regarded as festival days, the period of Lent is the eight weeks before Easter; in the Western churches, where only Sunday is regarded as a festival, the 40-day period begins on Ash Wednesday and extends, with the omission of Sundays, to the day before Easter. The observance of fasting or other forms of self-denial during Lent varies within Protestant and Anglican churches. These bodies emphasize penitence. The Roman Catholic church has in recent years relaxed its laws on fasting. According to an apostolic constitution issued by Pope Paul VI in February 1966, fasting and abstinence during Lent are obligatory only on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.
Maundy Thursdayor "Holy Thursday", the Thursday before Easter Sunday, observed by Christians in commemoration of Christ's Last Supper. The name Maundy is derived from mandatum (Lat., "commandment"), the first word of an anthem sung in the liturgical ceremony on that day. In Roman Catholic and many Protestant churches, the Eucharist is celebrated in an evening liturgy that includes Holy Communion. During the Roman Catholic liturgy, the ceremony of the washing of the f eet, or pedilavium, is performed: the celebrant washes the feet of 12 people to commemorate Christ's washing of his disciples' feet. In England a custom survives of giving alms (called "maundy pennies") to the poor; this act recalls an earlier practice in which the sovereign washed the feet of the poor on Maundy Thursday. In most European countries, the day is known as Holy Thursday.
Good FridayFriday immediately preceding Easter, celebrated by Christians as the anniversary of Christ's crucifixion. The name Good Friday is generally believed to be a corruption of God's Friday. Since the time of the early church, the day has been dedicated to penance, fasting, and prayer.
In the Roman Catholic church, the Good Friday liturgy is composed of three distinct parts: readings and prayers, including the reading of the Passion according to St. John; the veneration of the cross; and a general communion service (formerly called the Mass of the Presanctified), involving the reception of preconsecrated hosts by the priest and faithful.
From the 16th century on, the Good Friday service took place in the morning; in 1955 Pope Pius XII decreed that it be held in the afternoon or evening. As a result, such traditional afternoon devotions as the Tre Ore (Ital., "three hours"), consisting of sermons, meditations, and prayers centering on the three-hour agony of Christ on the cross, were almost entirely discontinued in the Roman Catholic church. In most of Europe, in South America, in Great Britain and many parts of the Commonwealth, and in several states of the U.S., Good Friday is a legal holiday.
An article from Funk & Wagnalls® New Encyclopedia. © 2005 World Almanac Education Group, A WRC Media Company

Pagan Origins

2009-03-20T15:19:00.000-07:00

Easter, a Christian festival, embodies many pre-Christian traditions. The origin of its name is unknown. Scholars, however, accepting the derivation proposed by the 8th-century English scholar St. Bede, believe it probably comes from Eastre, the Anglo-Saxon name of a Teutonic goddess of spring and fertility, to whom was dedicated a month corresponding to April. Her festival was celebrated on the day of the vernal equinox; traditions associated with the festival survive in the Easter rabbit, a symbol of fertility, and in colored easter eggs, originally painted with bright colors to represent the sunlight of spring, and used in Easter-egg rolling contests or given as gifts.
Such festivals, and the stories and legends that explain their origin, were common in ancient religions. A Greek legend tells of the return of Persephone, daughter of Demeter, goddess of the earth, from the underworld to the light of day; her return symbolized to the ancient Greeks the resurrection of life in the spring after the desolation of winter. Many ancient peoples shared similar legends. The Phrygians believed that their omnipotent deity went to sleep at the time of the winter solstice, and they performed ceremonies with music and dancing at the spring equinox to awaken him.
The Christian festival of Easter probably embodies a number of converging traditions; most scholars emphasize the original relation of Easter to the Jewish festival of Passover, or Pesach, from which is derived Pasch, another name for Easter. The early Christians, many of whom were of Jewish origin, were brought up in the Hebrew tradition and regarded Easter as a new feature of the Passover festival, a commemoration of the advent of the Messiah as foretold by the prophets.

An article from Funk & Wagnalls® New Encyclopedia. © 2005 World Almanac Education Group, A WRC Media Company

What is Easter

2009-03-20T15:16:00.000-07:00

Easter is the annual festival commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the principal feast of the Christian year. It is celebrated on a Sunday on varying dates between March 22 and April 25 and is therefore called a movable feast. The dates of several other ecclesiastical festivals, extending over a period between Septuagesima Sunday (the ninth Sunday before Easter) and the first Sunday of Advent, are fixed in relation to the date of Easter.
Connected with the observance of Easter are the 40-day penitential season of Lent, beginning on Ash Wednesday and concluding at midnight on Holy Saturday, the day before Easter Sunday; Holy Week, commencing on Palm Sunday, including Good Friday, the day of the crucifixion, and terminating with Holy Saturday; and the Octave of Easter, extending from Easter Sunday through the following Sunday. During the Octave of Easter in early Christian times, the newly baptized wore white garments, white being the liturgical color of Easter and signifying light, purity, and joy.
The Christian festival of Easter probably embodies a number of converging traditions; most scholars emphasize the original relation of Easter to the Jewish festival of Passover, or Pesach, from which is derived Pasch, another name for Easter. The early Christians, many of whom were of Jewish origin, were brought up in the Hebrew tradition and regarded Easter as a new feature of the Passover festival, a commemoration of the advent of the Messiah as foretold by the prophets.

An article from Funk & Wagnalls® New Encyclopedia. © 2005 World Almanac Education Group, A WRC Media Company

Who Was St Patrick?

2009-02-22T10:51:00.000-08:00

St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, is one of Christianity's most widely known figures. But for all his celebrity, his life remains somewhat of a mystery. Many of the stories traditionally associated with St. Patrick, including the famous account of his banishing all the snakes from Ireland, are false, the products of hundreds of years of exaggerated storytelling.

Taken Prisoner By Irish Raiders
It is known that St. Patrick was born in Britain to wealthy parents near the end of the fourth century. He is believed to have died on March 17, around 460 A.D. Although his father was a Christian deacon, it has been suggested that he probably took on the role because of tax incentives and there is no evidence that Patrick came from a particularly religious family. At the age of sixteen, Patrick was taken prisoner by a group of Irish raiders who were attacking his family's estate. They transported him to Ireland where he spent six years in captivity. (There is some dispute over where this captivity took place. Although many believe he was taken to live in Mount Slemish in County Antrim, it is more likely that he was held in County Mayo near Killala.) During this time, he worked as a shepherd, outdoors and away from people. Lonely and afraid, he turned to his religion for solace, becoming a devout Christian. (It is also believed that Patrick first began to dream of converting the Irish people to Christianity during his captivity.)

Guided By Visions
After more than six years as a prisoner, Patrick escaped. According to his writing, a voice-which he believed to be God's-spoke to him in a dream, telling him it was time to leave Ireland.

To do so, Patrick walked nearly 200 miles from County Mayo, where it is believed he was held, to the Irish coast. After escaping to Britain, Patrick reported that he experienced a second revelation-an angel in a dream tells him to return to Ireland as a missionary. Soon after, Patrick began religious training, a course of study that lasted more than fifteen years. After his ordination as a priest, he was sent to Ireland with a dual mission-to minister to Christians already living in Ireland and to begin to convert the Irish. (Interestingly, this mission contradicts the widely held notion that Patrick introduced Christianity to Ireland.)

Bonfires and Crosses

Familiar with the Irish language and culture, Patrick chose to incorporate traditional ritual into his lessons of Christianity instead of attempting to eradicate native Irish beliefs. For instance, he used bonfires to celebrate Easter since the Irish were used to honoring their gods with fire. He also superimposed a sun, a powerful Irish symbol, onto the Christian cross to create what is now called a Celtic cross, so that veneration of the symbol would seem more natural to the Irish. (Although there were a small number of Christians on the island when Patrick arrived, most Irish practiced a nature-based pagan religion. The Irish culture centered around a rich tradition of oral legend and myth. When this is considered, it is no surprise that the story of Patrick's life became exaggerated over the centuries-spinning exciting tales to remember history has always been a part of the Irish way of life.)

St Patrick's Day Facts

2009-02-22T10:47:00.000-08:00

The Celebration

About 41.5 billion pounds and 2.6 billion pounds of U.S. beef and cabbage, respectively, were sold in 2007. Corned beef and cabbage is a traditional St. Patrick's Day dish. The corned beef celebrants eat on St. Patrick's Day may very well have originated in Texas, which produced 6.8 billion pounds worth of beef, while the cabbage most likely came from California, which produced 581 million pounds worth, or New York (580 million pounds).
Irish Soda Bread gets its name and distinctive character from the use of baking soda instead of yeast as the leavening agent.
Lime-green chrysanthemums are often requested for St. Patrick's Day parades and celebrations.

The Parade

The first St. Patrick's Day parade took place in the United States. Irish soldiers serving in the English military marched through New York City on March 17, 1762.
The New York City St. Patrick's Day parade marches up 5th Avenue from 44th street to 86th street. In 2009 the parade will be on Tuesday, March 17, and will begin at 11 a.m.
Over 100 St. Patrick's Day parades take place around the United States, but the parades in New York City and Boston are the largest.
The New York St. Patrick's Day parade does not allow automobiles or floats, but over 150,000 marchers participate in the parade.

Places to Spend the Day

There are 4 places in the United States named Shamrock, the floral emblem of Ireland. Mount Gay-Shamrock, W.Va., and Shamrock, TX, were the most populous, with 2,623 and 1,841 residents, respectively. Shamrock Lakes, Ind., had 162 residents and Shamrock, OK, 125. (Statistic for Mount Gay-Shamrock is from Census 2000; the other statistics in the paragraph are 2007 estimates.)
There are 9 places in the United States that share the name of Ireland's capital, Dublin. Since Census 2000, Dublin, CA, has surpassed Dublin, OH, as the most populous of these places (39,328 compared with 34,964, respectively, as of July 1, 2005).
If you are still not into the spirit of St. Paddy's Day after stopping by one of the places named "Shamrock" or "Dublin", then you might consider paying a visit to Emerald Isle, NC, with 3,686 residents
.
Population Distribution of Irish Americans

There are 36.5 million U.S. residents who claim Irish ancestry. This number is almost nine times the population of Ireland itself (more than 4 million). Irish is the nation's second most frequently reported ancestry, trailing only those of German ancestry.
The nation as a whole claims 12% of residents as having Irish ancestry. In Massachusetts this number doubles to 24 percent!
In Middlesex County, Mass., 348,978 residents are of Irish ancestry. Among the 54 counties where Irish is the largest observed ancestry group, Middlesex had the highest population of Irish-Americans, with Norfolk County, Mass., second, with 203,285.
There are three states in which Irish is the leading ancestry group: Delaware, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Irish is among the top five ancestries in every state but two (Hawaii and New Mexico).
There are 54 counties where Irish is the largest observed ancestry group. Forty-four of these counties are in the Northeast, with 14 in New York, 11 in Massachusetts and five in New Jersey.
A total of 4.8 million immigrants from Ireland have been admitted to the U.S. for lawful permanent residence since fiscal year 1820, the earliest year for which official immigration records exist. By fiscal year 1870, about half of these immigrants were admitted for lawful permanent residence. Only Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and Mexico have had more immigrants admitted for permanent residence to the United States than Ireland.

Data courtesy of the U.S. Census Bureau

History of St Patrick's Day

2009-02-22T10:33:00.000-08:00

The First Parade

St. Patrick's Day is celebrated on March 17, his religious feast day and the anniversary of his death in the fifth century. The Irish have observed this day as a religious holiday for over a thousand years.

On St. Patrick's Day, which falls during the Christian season of Lent, Irish families would traditionally attend church in the morning and celebrate in the afternoon. Lenten prohibitions against the consumption of meat were waived and people would dance, drink, and feast—on the traditional meal of Irish bacon and cabbage.

The first St. Patrick's Day parade took place not in Ireland, but in the United States. Irish soldiers serving in the English military marched through New York City on March 17, 1762. Along with their music, the parade helped the soldiers to reconnect with their Irish roots, as well as fellow Irishmen serving in the English army.

Over the next thirty-five years, Irish patriotism among American immigrants flourished, prompting the rise of so-called "Irish Aid" societies, like the Friendly Sons of Saint Patrick and the Hibernian Society. Each group would hold annual parades featuring bagpipes (which actually first became popular in the Scottish and British armies) and drums.

No Irish Need Apply

Up until the mid-nineteenth century, most Irish immigrants in America were members of the Protestant middle class. When the Great Potato Famine hit Ireland in 1845, close to a million poor, uneducated, Catholic Irish began to pour into America to escape starvation. Despised for their religious beliefs and funny accents by the American Protestant majority, the immigrants had trouble finding even menial jobs. When Irish Americans in the country's cities took to the streets on St. Patrick's Day to celebrate their heritage, newspapers portrayed them in cartoons as drunk, violent monkeys.

However, the Irish soon began to realize that their great numbers endowed them with a political power that had yet to be exploited. They started to organize, and their voting block, known as the "green machine," became an important swing vote for political hopefuls. Suddenly, annual St. Patrick's Day parades became a show of strength for Irish Americans, as well as a must-attend event for a slew of political candidates. In 1948, President Truman attended New York City 's St. Patrick's Day parade, a proud moment for the many Irish whose ancestors had to fight stereotypes and racial prejudice to find acceptance in America.

Wearing of the Green Goes Global

Today, St. Patrick's Day is celebrated by people of all backgrounds in the United States, Canada, and Australia. Although North America is home to the largest productions, St. Patrick's Day has been celebrated in other locations far from Ireland, including Japan, Singapore, and Russia.

In modern-day Ireland, St. Patrick's Day has traditionally been a religious occasion. In fact, up until the 1970s, Irish laws mandated that pubs be closed on March 17. Beginning in 1995, however, the Irish government began a national campaign to use St. Patrick's Day as an opportunity to drive tourism and showcase Ireland to the rest of the world. Last year, close to one million people took part in Ireland 's St. Patrick's Festival in Dublin, a multi-day celebration featuring parades, concerts, outdoor theater productions, and fireworks shows.

The Chicago River

Chicago is also famous for a somewhat peculiar annual event: dyeing the Chicago River green. The tradition started in 1962, when city pollution-control workers used dyes to trace illegal sewage discharges and realized that the green dye might provide a unique way to celebrate the holiday. That year, they released 100 pounds of green vegetable dye into the river—enough to keep it green for a week!

Today, in order to minimize environmental damage, only forty pounds of dye are used, making the river green for only several hours. Although Chicago historians claim their city 's idea for a river of green was original, some Savannah natives believe the idea originated in their town.

They point out that 1961, Savannah mayor Tom Woolley had plans for a green river, but due to rough water on March 17, the experiment didn 't work and Savannah never attempted to dye its river again.

Coutesy of History.com

Cheap, But Meaningful Things to Do on Valentines

2009-01-18T17:16:00.000-08:00

So everyone struggles with Valentine’s Day, well almost everyone. It’s a very overly commercial holiday, and the best way to get away from the hype is to get the bigger message that Valentine’s is supposed to mean.

That is the love for your partner.. There are many ways you can show you love your partner other then saying I love you. Here are a few low-cost suggestions and high meaning tips.

Kiss Differently

Try a new type of kiss, no—not the chocolate. Try kissing differently. One in particular, the upside-down kiss. Get your partner to lie down on their back with their head at your knees, your behind them kneeling, then bend down and kiss them upside down. Yep, it feels totally different, and if they don’t know you are going to do that, then they will really remember that. Do whatever you like with that kiss :)

Write something

Write a poem or words from the heart. This is so much better then words written in a card. Because you wrote them. You are allowed to read others poetry for inspiration, most people usually need something to spark their mind and get into the mindset for creating a perfect piece of love in the form of words. Or make it into your own card.

Cook for your Partner

Do you know the favorite thing your partner loves to eat? If not, find out. Then learn how to cook it, make it from scratch and even if you don’t do it well, learning how to do something for your partner tells them how much you love them. Doing this is absolutely a perfect way to show your a good friend as well.

I personally think, that almost anything that doensn’t cost money is the best present to your partner. It required thought, and money can buy anything but love. So it’s important to express your love without money.
By Lisa Hallman

Romantic Ideas and Things to Do for Valentine's Day

2009-01-18T17:13:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day - a holiday just for people in love - is fast approaching! Now, if you are like I used to be, you are thinking "Valentine's Day is a Hallmark Holiday." Well, to some extent I still agree with that, but I also think that Valentine's Day is a great chance to re-focus our lives on the one we love.

Bwedd.com W edding planning is more than likely taking up a lot of your time, and if it's not, then it is probably taking up a lot of your thoughts. Not to mention all of the other busy-ness that takes up our lives and time. Valentine's Day is a great excuse to put everything else aside for an evening or a day to show the love that we have professed, to forget whose mother said what, and to take a break from it all.

That is why I am dedicating this issue of the Cost- Effective Bride to celebrating Valentine's Day. You may wonder how this issue is going to save you money on your wedding, but being a cost-effective bride isn't always about saving money. Sometimes, it is about saving time, and often it is about replenishing energy.

So, what are you planning for Valentine's Day? A dinner out? A small gift? Flowers? This year, why not make it a Valentine's Day to remember? How, you ask? Here are some ideas:

1. Skip the dinner out - restaurants are busy and expensive on Valentine's Day - order or make your fiance's favorite meal and eat by candlelight in your apartment or house (even if it is McDonald's or Burger King, this can be nice).

2. Make a scavenger hunt for your fiance. Have each clue lead eventually to a small gift or even dessert.

3. Type up 10-15 things you love about your fiance. Write a short sentences about each one. Print them out and cut them into sections for each sentence. Take each sentence and tape or place them throughout your house or apartment. Watch as your fiance scrambles around trying to find each one when he or she gets there.

4. This one could take a bit of prep time, so get going! On colored construction paper cut out as many hearts as there are for each day from Valentine's Day until your wedding. On each heart, write something you love about your fiance, favorite memories, quotes from your favorite songs or movies, and quotes about love in general. Buy a photo album (make sure it has enough pages for each of your hearts) and label each page for the days from Valentine's Day until your wedding. If you have enough pages, every now and then place a picture of the two of you in the photo album. Put all of the hearts in a box or tin and give the album and box to your fiance for Valentine's Day. Tell him or her to pick a heart at random each morning or night and to place it in that day's page in the photo album. This is especially great if you do not get to see a lot of each other. (My fiance did this for me, and it became something I absolutely looked forward to every day!)

5. Write a poem or letter for your fiance about all of the things you love and appreciate about them or the things you are looking forward to in your marriage together. Recite or give it to your fiance to read.

6. Have a picnic in your living room. Spread a blanket. Buy some cheap wine, cheese and bread. Light some candles and have fun discussing your day and your future together.

7. Set goals. Believe it or not, this can be really romantic. My husband and I do this at least once a year and we always learn something new about each other. We share the things we want to accomplish within the coming year and other things that we just dream about. This really helps us to prioritize our lives and our marriage. We tend to do this on our anniversary, but I think that Valentine's Day would be another great time to do this. Be sure to write them down so that you can revisit them from time to time and have a record of the things you accomplished and those goals that simply changed. It will be fun in later years to look back and see the direction your life has gone in.

Whatever you decide to do, make a few rules for the evening or day, like "No TV" or "No wedding talk". Even if you just play a game together or spend the evening talking, focus on your love for each other and laughing together. Do the things that you know your fiance likes to do and make it special for him or her. I guarantee you that it will be special for you as well.

Bwedd.com(Note: I realize that most of my readers are women. And, I realize that what we, as women, really want, is for our fiance to do all of these things for us. Well, take the pressure of him for one night and show him how much you care about him. I think that he will like it so much that he may just return the favor on some other day! Give it a try, I think you will be glad that you did.)

I hope that this Valentine's Day will be one that you remember for a long time to come and that it will give you the chance to re-focus your relationship on one another and not just on your wedding. Have fun! And, Happy Valentine's Day!

Sincerely,
Kelly Kons

Top 10 Things to do on Valentine's Day

2009-01-18T17:10:00.000-08:00

Number 10
Reenact your first date
One of the most romantic things you can do is get nostalgic with your girlfriend. Women go gaga for guys who remember the details of the past, such as the restaurant you went to on your first date, what you ate and you did afterward. It will be like celebrating your anniversary and you can combine gifts with cards that mention how happy you are that you met her.
Number 9
Partake in a physical activity
No, not that kind of physical activity; I mean something that will get your heartbeat going, like ice skating or going for a hike in the woods and bringing wine to drink on the way. Such activities are perfect to boost an old and predictable relationship, and nothing will kick start a new relationship better than such a thrill ride. If you take her out, take her to a pottery and painting shop where you can actually talk, be creative and share your thoughts. If you want to invite her over, make sure you cook something together so you're both engaged in the activity.
Number 8
Go for the massage
Either you give her a full-body massage or better yet, reserve a double massage for him and her. You should both take some time off and enjoy some relaxation together. It is lover's day after all, not just girlfriend's day. Any kind of spa getaway is perfect for Valentine's Day.
Number 7
Make a path of rose petals
Girls flip over temptation, flirting and teasing, so buy a lot of rose petals or even potpourri, and leave a trail from the entrance of the house to your bedroom. Leave her a little gift on the bed and she'll feel like it's a romantic treasure hunt, and the rewards will be spectacular.
Number 6
Rent a hotel room & pretend you're tourists
There is something exciting about not having to clean up the bedroom afterward, so rent a hotel room, grab some bubbly, and use all your senses as you pretend to be out-of-town tourists on a love journey.

As the champagne is chilling, go in for the kill...
Number 5
Don't forget to do your homework
Nothing spices up a mundane relationship as much as staying at home, renting an erotic movie and "getting to know one another" better all over again. This is obviously not suitable for a first date if you catch my drift, but perfect for couples who have been together for some time.
Number 4
Have sex in public
Although this may not be for everybody -- and all climates -- some couples will get a thrill of a lifetime if they perform the act on risky grounds. It definitely serves as a bonding period and is sure to serve as a great inside joke between the two of you for years to come.
Number 3
Get away
If your work, time and budget allow it, plan a two or three-day vacation getaway, specifically at a ski or spa resort. This is guaranteed wild action, and may even take place outdoors.
Number 2
Dress up
Dress up as if you are going to the opera, and go to a restaurant or just have dinner at home. Girls love an excuse to get all dolled up and the fact that you'll be getting dressed up will make anything you decide to do seem like a special occasion. This will be telling her you think she is special, and she'll love it.
Number 1
Pop the question
If you think that the time is right and you have that look in your eyes... if you are sick of the single life, and if you are... well, when the I's are dotted and the T's are crossed, then maybe, just maybe, there is no better time to propose to her.
a time to shine
Hopefully this article gave you some fresh ideas for what to do with your girlfriend on Valentine's Day. You can combine some of them to make it an all-day event and you can modify as you see fit. Remember: Use the special occasion to make her feel special, and she'll be on cloud nine. Have fun and happy Valentine's Day.
By Shawn Croft

10 (Last-Minute) Romantic Things To Do On Valentine's Day Together

2009-01-18T17:08:00.000-08:00

The list of unique romantic things you can do as a couple on Valentine's Day is endless.

Perhaps you'll find something fun (or practical) from my own list of creative ideas for couples on Valentine's Day.

If not, then rest assured... you are guaranteed to find something fun in the Top 10 lists at the end of this article.

Enjoy!

1. Make an appointment for the two of you to get your picture professionally taken together.

2. See what his Horoscope is for this day & do something silly around that "theme".

3. Spice up your relationship... here are 5 ways to get creative with digital photos.

4. Attach a $50 bill to a lingerie store ad or catalog, along with a note, "You choose."

5. Give her a gift certificate for any of the following: professional massage, day at a spa, manicure, pedicure, facial from a local spa or nail salon.

6. Spend a couple hours together writing romantic ideas on separate slips of paper. After you get a total of 100 romantic ideas on 100 pieces of paper, then fill a jar with them. Every Sunday, from this day on, alternate who picks one and has to implement it by the following Sunday -- at which point the other partner will pick a new romantic idea and have a week to follow through with it.

7. Make a list of the top 10 reasons you love him/her.

8. Purchase an "I Love You" helium balloon from a local party store, then drive to his work and attach the balloon to the handle of his car door or windshield wiper.

9. Have some friends over and play some fun couples party games.

10. Spend the day just photographing each other... outdoors (at a local park, walking downtown, at the beach, on the playground), as well as indoors. Make sure you get someone to take some photos of the two of you together. Take some candids, and some posed. Then frame one!
Written by Lynnette

Romantic Movies to Watch by Yourself or with Someone

2009-01-16T21:29:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day is filled with love and joy but sometimes an excellent romantic movie will do the day justice. These love struck movies will tear at your heart strings and fill the room with thoughts of
love.

Breakfast At Tiffany's: This classic movie, based on the novel of Truman Capote, a young jetsetter woman, Audrey Hepburn, living in New York City meet a young man, George Peppard, aspiring to be a writer. Breakfast At Tiffany's is a romantic yet a little comedic movie. If you're with your Valentine or alone, definitely pick up this classic and some popcorn.

Titanic: This epic adventure takes place on the beautiful ship of dreams, The Titanic. A poor young man, Jack, saves a rich girl, Rose, from committing suicide. From that point on the pair fall in love and never leave each other. The winner of 11 Oscars, Titanic is a movie not to be missed.

Sixteen Candles: On the day of her sixteenth birthday, Samantha, Molly, suffers from embarrassment and the fact that her family forgot all about her birthday because of her sisters wedding. Sam's crush Jake Ryan begins to show interest in her and she is then the happiest girl in the world. This 80's movie is one of the greatest teen love stories of our time. With growing up, this movie shows a lot about our friends and us.

Never Been Kissed: Josie Geller, a journalist, enrolls into her old high school to cover a story that can make or break her career. Through the process, she uncovers old wounds and falls in love with her teacher, who does not know that she is undercover. Josie is faced with big conflicts, which turns into a great story. Never Been Kissed will make you smile from ear to ear with laughter for miles.

The Notebook: An old man reading a story to an old woman in a nursing home is how the movie begins. He reads to her the love story of Noah Calhoun and Allie Hamilton. The two meet at a carnival, but Allie's parents disapprove of Noah. The two young lovers are torn apart, but find each other in the end. The Notebook is a sappy love story that brings tears to your eyes. It is a perfect movie for Valentine's Day.

Time's Top 10 Television Shows

2008-12-27T12:56:00.000-08:00

The Shield
Talk about police brutality. The final season of FX's groundbreaking cop show outdid itself in emotional violence, as the bill finally came due for Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis) and his years of rationalized corruption. As his partner in crimefighting and graft, Shane (Walton Goggins), turned on him, the ensuing spiral of revenge destroyed the very families that the Strike Team had been skimming drug money to provide for. (In Shane's case, his family's destruction was heartbreakingly literal.) After seven years, the staggering finale of this drama allowed us to see Mackey's history of misdeeds — and his complicated motivations for them — with fresh eyes. In a word: arresting.
(FX)

Mad Men
The phenomenon of 2007 returned just as poignant and wry, and more complex than ever. Adman Don Draper (Jon Hamm) began 1962 at the top of his field, yet feeling old and outmoded in an age of Camelot, youth and changing mores. His efforts to hold to a code of honor at work clashed with his falling off the fidelity wagon at home. But the best parts of season 2 — which unfolded like a series of John Cheever short stories — were the development of the peripheral characters. Pete (Vincent Kartheiser) proved not just a weasel but a lost, damaged young man; Peggy (Elisabeth Moss) rocketed ahead as a rare female copywriter, while dealing with giving away her out-of-wedlock baby; and January Jones added layer upon layer to Draper's wronged wife Betty, who could be both manipulative and sympathetic and turned out surprisingly strong. A banner year for mad men and women alike.
(AMC)

The Presidential Election
It had everything: sex (well, gender politics, plus that John Edwards scandal), controversy and out-of-the-blue plot twists. And from the debates to the conventions to Barack Obama's primetime infomercial, the yearlong campaign brought record audiences to a drama with real stakes. The Daily Show and Saturday Night Live were at the top of their satirical game, Katie Couric came into her own as an anchor, and for all their risible gimmicks (like Anderson Cooper talking to holograms election night), cable news found a way to drum up viewers with issues meatier than shark attacks.
(Network, cable and online)

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog
The writers' strike, which began in November 2007, was the worst thing to happen to TV in 2008. But the best thing to come of it was this eccentric, tragicomic musical, which — like the strike itself — helped redefine what could be called "TV." Conceived as a strike-time diversion by Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), it starred Neil Patrick Harris as the title character, a would-be supervillain applying for membership in the exclusive Evil League of Evil. Whedon released it online, where it became an iTunes smash and inspired a deluge of homemade Evil League of Evil application-videos by fans. Cramming hilarity, heartbreak and high notes into a half-hour, it reminded us that no labor dispute can keep a genius from using his powers for Evil, and for good.
(iTunes)

The Wire
The Wire's last season was not its best, but even subpar Wire blows the doors off 99% of TV. HBO's sprawling saga of Baltimore started off as a cop show and became a vast social-realist novel of all the systems that make, and fail, American cities. Season 5 expanded its focus to the press, examining how a newspaper (here a fictionalized version of the Sun) can become too blind and decimated to notice the tragedies that The Wire had laid out for years. At the same time, the show wrote a poetic coda to its story of cops and gangsters, honoring and mourning the detectives and street kids who kept hope alive amid hopelessness. A combination of boozy Irish wake and searing hip-hop tragedy, The Wire put its story to bed, while helping us better understand the ongoing story of America.
(HBO)

Breaking Bad
Hey, America, who's up for a bleak buddy dramedy about drug dealing and mortality? This drama — in which a chemistry teacher (Bryan Cranston) gets terminal cancer and pairs up with a delinquent ex-student to make crystal meth — sounds damn near un-pitchable. But thankfully, creator Vince Gilligan pitched and sold it, affording Cranston (Malcolm in the Middle's Hal) the opportunity to transform himself in a surprise-Emmy-winning role. As nerdy, abrasive Walter White acclimates to the drug world to provide for his family after his death, Bad captures both the absurdity and the emotional reality of his situation.
(AMC)

Lost
Season 4 of Lost audaciously told us up front where it was going to end: with the Oceanic 6 getting off the mysterious Island and returning to civilization (as revealed at the end of season 3). What we didn't know was how and when — when being the big question, on a series that complicated its time-and-space-travel story deliciously. (How does a Frozen Donkey Wheel work, anyway?) Having spent the first half of the series flashing back to the characters' pre-island lives, season 4 started flashing forward, revealing tantalizing glimpses of the post-Island future that we're still trying to piece together. At season's end, Jack learned that the Oceanic 6's escape had disastrous consequences, and he vowed to return. We can't wait to get back either.
(ABC)

Battlestar Galactica
The closer Galactica came to Earth, the closer it came to God — or gods, or the absence thereof. The space saga took an even more philosophical and religious turn in the first half of its second season, as human leader/traitor Gaius Baltar got a new start as a Messiah figure; President Roslin continued to pursue her prophesied vision of leading her decimated people to the Promised Planet; and Starbuck was tortured by her own vision of the route to Earth, which put her in conflict with her leader. Meanwhile, the monotheistic Cylons took a break from trying to exterminate their human creators and had a devastating civil war, after which one camp joined with their former enemies to find Earth. When they arrived — and found the planet a nuclear wasteland — BSG left us with questions: Do the gods speak to man or to machine? And do we really want to hear what they're telling us?
(Sci Fi)

Architecture School
Architecture is the field of creativity where art literally intersects with where and how people live. This reality series followed a group of idealistic Tulane students building a modernist house in a poor New Orleans neighborhood devastated by Katrina. The laying out of the creative process — from conception and design to driving nails — was interesting enough. What made the show special, and sometimes devastating, was how it also chronicled the residents of the neighborhood — some of whom would love to buy the house but could not qualify for even "affordable" loan terms, others of whom saw it as an unwanted avant-garde experiment imposed on a poor black neighborhood. More than any cable competition or makeover show this year, Architecture School was a blueprint of how theory collides with practice.
(Sundance)

Chuck
It was a tough year for primetime comedies, in part at least because of the writers' strike, which threw some sitcoms off their game in the spring (30 Rock) or forced them to compress their stories (The Office). So it's worth recognizing one comedy that came back from the strike tanned, rested and recharged. This spy comedy always had a meringue of a premise (an electronics-store clerk becomes a spy after an email turns his brain into a supercomputer). But season 2, following an eight-month hiatus, developed the show's characters and romantic heart while still keeping the funny. On the strength of Zachary Levi's nerd-babe appeal, the title character became a more competent supernebbish while retaining his everygeek charm.
(NBC)

Top Ten Movies According to Time Magazine

2008-12-27T11:30:00.000-08:00

1) WALL- E

Most smart filmmakers want to parade their facility with all the tools in the modern movie box. Andrew Stanton, the director and cowriter of the Pixar animated feature WALL-E, experimented with what talking pictures could plausibly do without. Talking, for example: the first third of the movie has almost no dialogue. How about depriving the two main characters — the humble, lonely trash compacter WALL-E and his space princess EVE — of emotional signifiers like a mouth, eyebrows, shoulders, elbows? Yet with all the limitations he imposed on himself and his robot stars, Stanton still connected with a huge audience. Great science-fiction love stories (there aren't many) will do that. So will futurist adventures that evoke the splendor of the movie past. A dirt-of-the-earth guy hooking up with the ultimate ethereal gal, WALL-E and EVE could be the 29th century version of Tracy and Hepburn, or Seth Rogen and any attractive woman. It hardly matters that the movie is not-quite-silent, when it blends art and heart as spectacularly as WALL-E does.

2) Synecdoche, New York

Ambition. That's what most independent films lack, and what the directorial debut of screenwriter Charlie Kaufman has, ad infintum, ad gloriam. It's an epic tragicomedy about Caden Cotard (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a Schenectady, N.Y., theater director who moves to Manhattan with the gigantic notion of putting on a realistic drama as big as all New York City. A self-styled truth-teller (his full name anagrams to Acted Candor), Caden manages to exasperate or repel the fascinating women (including Catherine Keener, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Michelle Williams) who cross his downward path. The project drags on — it's his life's work, and it may take that long to finish — but Kaufman's imagination never falters. The movie keeps getting bigger and weirder and denser and sadder and finnier, till all the pressure on Caden leads to a final implosion. A movie so human you'll want to argue with it, spank it, take it home or give it some Xanax, Synecdoche is the richest, most devious — I'll cut to the chase and say best — live-action film of the year.

3) My Winnepeg

In 1942 the city of Winnipeg held an "If Day," dressing its burghers up as Nazis to show the locals some of the terrors of life under the Third Reich. For Canadian deranged-genius filmmaker Guy Maddin, every day is an If Day: his movies transform his hometown reality into comedy-dramas of sibling rivalry and family life that would give Freud the creeps. So Maddin is not the most reliable reporter. In spite or because of that, My Winnipeg is a trip: a "docufantasia" that mixes the city's history with Maddin family values. He moves back into the home where he grew up, hiring actors to play his relatives — including Ann Savage, the notorious harridan of the 1945 cheapo-noir classic Detour, as his mom. Filming in black-and-white, streaking the frame, explaining the action with silent-movie intertitles, Maddin must want us to understand that, in movies, nothing is real, and everything is true. Oh, and My Winnipeg: it's weird-hilarious.

4) 4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days

In Romania under the Ceausescu regime, abortion was banned, and within 20 years some half a million women had died from having botched illegal abortions. This severe thriller from writer-director Christian Mungiu focuses on Gabita (Laura Vasiliu), a pregnant college student, and her friend Otilia (Anamaria Marinca), who finds a man who'll do the job: a quietly thuggish fellow who calls himself Mr. Bebe (Vlad Ivanov). Remorseless long takes build the suspense as the young women secure a hotel room and, when Bebe explains how they'll have to pay, question whether it's worth the price. Strap yourself in for this minimalist, splendidly acted horror film — and count your blessings that you live in a country where choosing an abortion doesn't mean losing a life.

5) Milk

Affable and driven, Harvey Milk was a San Francisco politician who succeeded by inspiring crowds rather than making backroom deals. The country's first gay city supervisor, he used his energy and intelligence to help homosexuals secure civil rights. This exceptional docudrama — written by Darren Lance Black, directed by Gus Van Sant and starring Sean Penn — covers the last eight years of Milk's life, which ended when he was shot by fellow supervisor Dan White (Josh Brolin). Penn, who’s in nearly every scene, manages the neat trick of merging his star personality with the public figure well known from the 1984 documentary The Life and Times of Harvey Milk. Sunny, pushy and convincingly gay, Penn embodies a man hopeful for the future of his fellows but dreading what he believes is awaiting him. A how-to exercise in marshalling dozens of characters and one big political issue into exemplary, edifying entertainment, Milk is a must-see, right now.

6) The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

"He was born old." That expression, referring to the prematurely middle-aged among us, must have been what spurred F. Scott Fitzgerald to create his puckish 1922 short story about Benjamin Button, who was born an old man and got a day younger every day. In this greatly expanded, much less frivolous film version, Benjamin's birth year is moved from 1860 to 1918; instead of fighting in the Spanish-American War, Benjamin sees action in World War II. What neither of those times possessed was the technological legerdemain that enables Brad Pitt to play Benjamin, through computer effects work (and old-fashioned makeup), for most of the character's long life. But the most satisfying tricks are performed by writers Eric Roth and Robin Swicord and director David Fincher. They give flesh and feelings to the essentially passive Benjamin and provide him with a willful, glamorous partner: the dancer Daisy (Cate Blanchett). Of all the movie's dazzling effects, the most special are the internal ones. Benjamin, a minority of one, can raise his resignation into wonder, and lift the viewer along with him.

7) Slumdog Millionaire

Who wants to be a millionaire? Not 18-year-old Jamal, though he'd like enough to live on, since he's been scrambling to survive since he and his brother Salim were brutally orphaned as children. But he's gone on a nationwide quiz show hoping that his brief celebrity will catch the attention of the ravishing, unlucky Latika, whom he's loved for most of his life. Simon Beaufoy's script tells the three lives in flashbacks that illuminate India's dynamic and troubled history over the past 15 years (though not, obviously, of the last few weeks). As gaudy wealth and abasing poverty coexist in Mumbai, so Danny Boyle's movie catches the contradictions of slum drama, love story, social document and Bollywood musical in its capacious embrace. With its nonstop pace and fearless dives into affairs of the heart, Slumdog Millionaire is a dervish delight.

8) Iron Man

The weapons designed by arms manufacturer Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) are no sleeker, and his bombs no smarter, than the narrative lines of this marvelous Marvel Comics movie. A tin man who realizes that, if he is to become human, he must build himself a heart — and then a big red metallic airborne suit for buzzing unsuspecting planes and vanquishing his enemies. What a kick it is to see the thing fly. Same with the movie, for, like Tony, Iron Man is the perfect expression of Hollywood's engineering ingenuity. In an excellent year for action films (Wanted, Hellboy II, The Dark Knight and, as you'll soon see, Speed Racer), this was the coolest movie machine.

9) Speed Racer

Opening the week after Iron Man, the Wachowski brothers' race-car movie flopped at the box office. What can we say? Not every avant-garde FX masterpiece receives instant audience validation. This tale of a family of racers — Racer is the family name — exists simultaneously in the 1950s and today, in a live-action world and its own complementary alternate cyber-universe. Operating a pitch of delirious precision, the movie is a rich, cartoonish dream: non-stop Op art, and a triumph of virtual virtuosity. Maybe a lot of civilians didn't go see the picture, but you can bet it attracted the smart boys in Hollywood. They will pilfer its effects and, by next summer, produce a domesticated, more palatable version. My advice: Don't wait for the rip-offs; accept no substitutes. Speed Racer is the future of movies, on DVD now.

10) Encounters at the End of the World

If the German director-explorer Werner Herzog were to write an autobiography, this could be the title, for his 40 years of movies record his need to chronicle the lives of people as obsessed as he. The dramatic movies Aguirre the Wrath of God, Heart of Glass, Nosferatu the Vampire and Fitzcarraldo, and documentaries like The Great Ecstasy of Woodcarver Steiner, Grizzly Man and The White Diamond, are all about men with grand or deranged dreams, dizzied by the helium of their aspirations, which drives them to triumph or catastrophe. Even sane men, scientists in the remote clarity of Antarctica, have this intoxicating thirst. Encounters could be called a travelog: on a grant from the National Geographic Society, Herzog spent some time at the McMurdo Research Station, chatting up the scholars, technicians and workmen, following them on their expeditions across the ice and below it. Since Herzog has eyes as restless as they are acute, you'll see wonders here: active volcanoes, string band concerts, singing seals. The strangest, most affecting creatures are the men and women who've slipped down the modern world to end up here. They are adventurers, sometimes tearful with joy, and kindred souls to this great ecstatic filmmaker.

Top 10 Sites We Cannot Live Without 2008

2008-12-27T11:14:00.000-08:00

Wikipedia.org
Despite repeated attempts to compromise its integrity, Wikipedia remains the most popular online encyclopedia on the Web. Since anyone can create or edit a Wikipedia page, both companies and individuals have been caught airbrushing and embellishing their own entries. The Wiki community usually intervenes, however — egregious edits get reported on WikiScanner and Wiki trolls are given the heave ho — or at least a Wiki humiliation. Now you can even enjoy Wikipedia's wisdom without ever clicking on it. The Microsoft Live search engine automatically pulls up the first paragraph of any relevant Wikipedia entry in its search results. And a new print-it-yourself travel guide called Offbeat Guides (still in beta as of June 2008) culls information from the site to create custom travel guides tailored to the exact dates of your trip. Now that's neat.

Yahoo Finance
A haven for armchair investors and money junkies, Yahoo! Finance has everything you need to keep up with business — news, stock-specific research, charts, even press releases. In late May, Yahoo! Finance resumed free real-time quotes instead of the standard 20-minute delays on rivals like Google Finance. (The service had been suspended a couple years ago in a dispute with the major stock exchanges.) Power brokers can shell out $10.95 a month for real-time stock charting. For all the criticism about Yahoo!'s failure to innovate, its finance site showcases the best of what the company has to offer.

CraigsList
Its elementary page design has barely changed in 13 years, even as newer, flashier competitors vie for a chunk of the $15 billion online classified market. But so what? Craigslist is a Web pioneer that will never go stale, and remains the essential site for want ads ranging from real estate and used furniture to jobs, romance and one-night stands. Craigslist launched in 100 additional cities this spring, making the site's services available in over 500 cities in 50 countries. To stay ahead of other newcomers with a strong international presence — including Kijiji, Oodle and OLX — the venerable Craigslist now makes its listings available in Spanish, French, Italian and German in some cities. This way, you can't blame the language barrier for fumbling your "missed connection."

ESPN
ESPN is synonymous with sports. Die-hard fans come straight to this megasite for scores, schedules and analysis, then hang around for the video highlights, games and podcasts. Over the past year, ESPN has beefed up its fantasy sports league offerings and high school football coverage, and it's now pulling in news from college fan sites too. If you can't bear to leave your sports news at home, sign up for "ESPN Alerts" by text message and download small-screen videos.

Yelp
If it's a restaurant, shop or business, it's probably been reviewed on Yelp — an independent site with millions of user-submitted evaluations. Yelp's got a gaggle of rivals — most notably Yahoo! Local — but it's the only one that lets reviewees talk back. After businesses complained about their reputation getting trashed by careless reviews, this spring the site began allowing proprietors to e-mail reviewers directly, make instant changes to their company details on the site and see how many people have visited their Yelp listing. For you, that means more rounded and accurate reviews.

FaceBook
If MySpace is a PC, then Facebook is a Mac. The former may have more users, but the latter is classier and cleaner in design. Facebook also makes it super easy to find people you know, and it has won more fans among professionals and the thirtysomething crowd. The site has more than 30,000 add-on applications — among them, games, interactive maps and quizzes — to bling out your personal page (or spam your friends), and a redesign planned for later this year will restore the tidy Facebook look that the add-on apps have begun to clutter up. If you're on the hunt for new social networks to ply, check out upstarts Bebo and hi5.

Digg
Say you stumble across a news story you like. You "Digg" it, by clicking a link at the end of the story. The more people who Digg the same story, the higher it rises in the popularity ranking on Digg.com, where other Diggers can read and comment on it. While comments often read more like rants, they serve as an excellent barometer of the issues Web surfers are most interested in. In May, Digg announced plans to collaborate with Facebook, to let users see which of their Facebook friends also have accounts on Digg — as well as which stories they Digg. Next up: a planned recommendation engine that will suggest stories you might like based on your past Diggs. Handy upgrades like these should help keep Digg from getting buried by competitors such as Mixx and Reddit.

Google
Much more than a search site, Google has become the Microsoft of the tech world. Google Docs offers free spreadsheets, word processing and presentations. Photo-based Google Earth now operates inside a browser plug-in, no longer requiring a lengthy download to your desktop. You can even run Google on your mobile phone, including the iPhone. Next Google wants to help you get more out of your online social networks: its Friend Connect system, due out later this year, will make it easier to interact with your network contacts, even on remote sites. So, for example, Friend Connect might show you which of your Facebook friends also use the community music site last.fm — with your permission, of course — allowing you to share your favorite music with them more easily.

TMZ
There's no better way to spread gossip than to put it online. Sure, it's tacky, rude and unreliable, but TMZ is the most popular gossip site on the Web because it is chock-full of juicy celebrity tidbits, photos and videos. Check it out — it can help your otherwise dreary workday go a little faster. TMZ also breaks more stories on Britney, Lindsay and the rest of the Hollywood gang than any other gossip site. If you're still thirsting for more, you can watch TMZ on TV (find local listings here. Or read on at E! Online, Perez Hilton and The Superficial.

Flickr
Digital photo–sharing sites have come and gone, but Flickr has remained. It offers some of the smartest tools for managing your ever expanding picture collection — from Photostream, which lets you scan your pics quickly, to a newly added video tool for pro users (who pay $25 per year). We also dig Flickr's photo-editing capabilities provided by Picnik. Our quibbles: users who do not pay the annual subscription fee can upload only 100 MB of content per month, and Flickr's Photostream doesn't arrange newly added pics by the date the photo was taken.

By Anita Hamilton

Here Come the Marathons

2008-12-27T10:40:00.000-08:00

New Year's Eve Wednesday December 31 2008:

A&E: Dog the Bounty Hunter

Bravo: Project Runway

Cartoon Network: 6teen

Discovery Health: Untold Stories of the E.R.

E!: Keeping Up With the Kardashians

Food: The Next Food Network Star

Green: Living With Ed

GSN: $100,000 Pyramid

Logo: Sordid Lives

National Geographic: Earth: The Biography

Nickelodeon: Drake & Josh

Nick Toon: Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius

Science: Survivorman

Sci-Fi: The Twilight Zone

Spike: CSI

Sundance: Spectacle

TLC: Mystery Diagnosis

Toon Disney: Spider-man

TruTV: Most Daring / Speeders

TV Guide: Close Up

TV One: Divorce Court

TV Land: I Love Lucy

USA: Law & Order: Criminal Intent

Versus: Rocky movies

WE: Bridezillas / The Locator

New Year's Day Thursday January 1st 2009

A&E: The First 48

AMC: Rocky movies

BET: Notarized Top Video Countdown

Bravo: The Biggest Loser

Cartoon Network: Looney Tunes

CNBC: American Greed: Scams, Scoundrels and Scandals

Discovery: Mythbusters

DIY: Dream Home / Renovation Realities

ESPN 2: 2008 World Series of Poker

Food: Iron Chef America

Fox Reality: American Idol

G4: Spaceballs: The Animated Series / Human Wrecking Balls

Green: Living With Ed

History: Ice Road Truckers

MTV: Engaged and Underage Bridal Bowl

The N: What I Like About You

Science: Deconstructed / Weird Connections

Sci-Fi: The Twilight Zone

Soap: Private Practice

Spike: CSI: NY

TLC: Ashley Paige: Bikini or Bust / Inside Brookhaven Obesity Clinic

TNT: Bones

Toon Disney: Spider-man

Travel: Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations

TruTV: Speeders / The Smoking Gun Presents: World's Dumbest Criminals

TV Land: Brady Bunch

TV One: The Jeffersons

USA: Monk

Versus: World Extreme Cagefighting

We: Bridezillas / Momma's Boys

WGN: Honeymooners

New Year's Eve Battle for Viewers

2008-12-27T10:36:00.000-08:00

Two men enter. One man leaves with Dick Clark's crown on his carefully coiffed head. It's Seacrest vs. Daly in a New Year's Eve showdown for viewers because, yes, it turns out that 27 million of us are too pathetic to be anywhere but on our couches watching television when the clock strikes midnight.

Seacrest has the obvious advantage - being grandfathered into the annual countdown tradition by Clark himself - with ABC's Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve 2007. Daly has the scrappier of the two operations at NBC - New Year's Eve with Carson Daly presented by Chevrolet. The two hosts are engaged in a rumored tiff over who will reign supreme once Clark has bowed out for good. Both are on record denying the rivalry with Daly's producers pointing out that Carson is, like, way hipper because he has OK Go on his show and not lame-i-licious Fergie - "I mean, how many times have I heard Fergie sing 'Superlicious' or whatever she sings?"

Both men are in for a big surprise when the numbers come in. PBS is poised to take the night in a major upset. When this battle goes down in the history books, Garrison Keillor is coming out on top.

Norad is Tracking Santa

2008-12-24T21:12:00.000-08:00

Tracking Santa every Year has always been a BLAST for me. Just a Kid at Heart. NORAD

Favorite Christmas Recipes

2008-12-20T20:15:00.000-08:00

EGG NOG

Ingredients

4 eggs, separated (use only Grade AA)
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
4 C. (1 quart) homogenized milk
1 C. bourbon or brandy, optional
Nutmeg

Directions

In large mixer bowl, beat egg yolks until thick and light. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk, salt, vanilla, and milk. In small bowl, beat egg whites to soft peaks; gently fold into sweetened condensed milk mixture. If desired, stir in bourbon or brandy. Chill. Pour into chilled punch bowl or serving cups. Garnish with nutmeg. Refrigerate any leftovers.

Yield: about 2 quarts
____________________________________________________________________________

MEXICAN WEDDING CAKES

Ingredients

2 cups flour
2 sticks cold butter, cut into pieces
1 3/4 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup almonds
1/2 cup pecans
1 teaspoon anise seeds

Cooking Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
Grind almonds and pecans in food processor, then add butter and continue to grind until smooth.
Add 1/4 c powdered sugar and vanilla, then mix again.
Add flour and anise seeds and grind mix until blended.
After flouring hands, roll the dough into small balls.
Place them about an inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake 15-20 minutes, or until brown on the bottom.
Cool for 15 minutes, then roll the still warm cookies in the rest of the powdered sugar.
Let cool again, then add more powdered sugar.

____________________________________________________________________________

PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

Ingredients

½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
⅓ cup peanut butter
½ cup brown sugar
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1½ cups flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup sugar
24 Hershey’s® Kisses

Cooking Instructions

Heat oven to 375 degrees F. In large bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium until smooth. Add peanut butter. Beat until combined. Add brown sugar. Beat until combined, scraping side of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg yolk until combined. Add vanilla. Beat until combined.

Add flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat until combined.
Using 1 level tablespoon dough for each cookie, form each into a ball. Toss in sugar to coat. Transfer to cookie sheet and flatten slightly. Continue with remaining dough. Make an indent in the center of each cookie with the base of a kiss.
Bake 13 minutes, or until lightly browned.
Remove from oven and place a kiss on each one. Cool on cookie sheet 5 minutes. Remove to cooling rack to cool completely.

Substitution(s)

Dark brown sugar can be used in place of light brown sugar.

Make-Ahead

Cookies can be made through step 2 and stored in the refrigerator up to one week or in the freezer up to 6 months.

Tips & Tricks

For a more festive look, use sanding sugar (the large sugar crystals) to coat each cookie instead of granulated sugar.

Preparation Time:

30 minutes

Servings:

About 18 cookies

Baking Time: 13 minutes per batch
____________________________________________________________________________

SUGAR COOKIES

Ingredients

½ cup unsalted butter
½ cup sugar
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1½ cups flour
⅛ teaspoon salt

Cooking Instructions

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. In large bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium until smooth. Add sugar. Beat until combined, scraping side of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg yolk until combined. Add vanilla. Beat until combined.
Add flour and salt. Beat until combined, scraping down side of bowl occasionally.
Between two sheets of waxed paper or plastic wrap with a rolling pin roll the dough to ¼-inch thickness. Cut out shapes. Reroll and use scraps until all dough is used.
Bake 15 to 20 minutes,depending on the size of the cookies, or until lightly browned.
Remove from oven and cool on cookie sheet 5 minutes. Remove to cooling rack to cool completely. Decorate as desired.

Make-Ahead

These cookies can be made through step 3, wrapped well, and refrigerated up to 1 week, or frozen up to 6 months.

Tips & Tricks

These cookies are also the perfect consistancy for making spritz cookies.

Preparation Time:

25 minutes, not including decorating time

Servings:

About 2 dozen cookies, depending on the size of the cookie cutters

Baking Time: 15-20 minutes, depending on the size of the cookies

____________________________________________________________________________

CHOCOLATE CHIP & ORANGE COOKIES

Ingredients

½ cup unsalted butter, cold

1 tablespoon freshly grated orange peel
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup sugar
2 egg yolks, cold
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
⅛ teaspoon salt
1 cup chocolate chips

Cooking Instructions

Heat oven to 375 degrees F. In large bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add orange peel. Beat until combined. Add brown and granulated white sugars. Beat until combined, scraping side of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg yolks until combined. Add vanilla extract. Beat until combined.
Add flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat until combined, scraping down side of bowl occasionally. Add chocolate chips. Beat to combine.
Drop by tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10 minutes, or until lightly browned.
Remove from oven and cool on cookie sheet 5 minutes. Remove to cooling rack to cool completely.

Substitution(s)

Using all white sugar will result in a crisper cookie.
1 cup of toasted, or non-toasted, nuts may be added.
Using whole eggs in place of the egg yolks will make a crisper cookie.

Make-Ahead

Cookies can be made through step 2, wrapped well, refrigerated up to 1 week, or frozen up to 6 months.

Preparation Time:

20 minutes

Servings:

About 3½ dozen cookies

Baking Time: 10 minutes
____________________________________________________________________________

PISTACHIO CRANBERRY BISCOTTI

Ingredients

½ cup unsalted butter, cold

1 tablespoon freshly grated orange peel
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup sugar
2 egg yolks, cold
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
⅛ teaspoon salt
1 cup chocolate chips

Cooking Instructions

Heat oven to 375 degrees F. In large bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add orange peel. Beat until combined. Add brown and granulated white sugars. Beat until combined, scraping side of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg yolks until combined. Add vanilla extract. Beat until combined.
Add flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat until combined, scraping down side of bowl occasionally. Add chocolate chips. Beat to combine.
Drop by tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10 minutes, or until lightly browned.
Remove from oven and cool on cookie sheet 5 minutes. Remove to cooling rack to cool completely.

Substitution(s)

Using all white sugar will result in a crisper cookie.
1 cup of toasted, or non-toasted, nuts may be added.
Using whole eggs in place of the egg yolks will make a crisper cookie.

Make-Ahead

Cookies can be made through step 2, wrapped well, refrigerated up to 1 week, or frozen up to 6 months.

Preparation Time:

20 minutes

Servings:

About 3½ dozen cookies

Baking Time: 10 minutes
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SNICKERDOODLES

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 ounces butter, softened (1 cup = 2 sticks)
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, more or less according to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Prepare baking sheets by lining with parchment paper or spraying with vegetable shortening.
In a large bowl, mix flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt.Set aside.
Using a stand mixer, beat butter until creamy.
Add sugar and continue beating until fluffy. Scrape bowl.
Add eggs one at a time and mix well.
On low-medium speed, mix in dry ingredients two cups at a time. Beat well and scrape sides of bowl, making sure to get down to the bottom.
Chill the dough for 30-60 minutes before scooping and baking.
In another bowl, mix 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon together.
Using a cookie scoop or Tablespoon, measure out dough, roll into balls and coat completely in cinnamon sugar.
Place on prepared baking sheets, leaving room for the cookies to spread.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 13-16 minutes or until the outside of cookies feel slightly firm to the touch.
Remove and cool on racks before storing in airtight containers.
Makes 24-30 warm and delicious nickerdoodles!

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SOFT MOLASSES COOKIES

Ingredients

1/2 - 1 cup sugar for rolling cookies
6 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons baking soda
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground cloves
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 cups (one pound) butter, softened
3 cups brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup molasses, your choice
3 large eggs
1 cup raisins, optional
1 cup chopped nuts, optional

Directions:

This is a large batch of 48 cookies. If you don't have at least a 5 quart mixer, divide the recipe in half.
Prepare baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper or give it a good spritz with vegetable spray shortening.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. An oven thermometer is a handy item to have to insure your temperature is where it should be. Adjust if neccessary.
Measure 1/2 - 1 cup sugar in a large bowl for rolling cookies and set aside.
Blend flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and ginger in a large bowl and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl with a beater attachment, beat butter until creamy.
Add brown sugar and molasses and beat until fluffy. Scrape bowl.
Add eggs, one at a time and beat until light and fluffy. Scrape bowl again.
Add flour mixture a few cups at a time and mix only until well blended and scrape once more.
Add optional raisins and/or nuts.
Cover dough and chill for 30 minutes.
With a cookie scoop or Tablespoon, scoop and roll into balls. Roll cookies in sugar.
Place cookies on prepared baking sheets leaving some spreading room between them.
Bake at 350 degrees for 11-13 minutes or until slightly firm.
Remove to cooling racks and cool completely before storing in airtight containers.
Makes 48 warm, soft molasses cookies.

Christmas Facts

2008-12-20T19:36:00.000-08:00

Each year, 30-35 million real Christmas trees are sold in the United States alone. There are 21,000 Christmas tree growers in the United States, and trees usually grow for about 15 years before they are sold.

Today, in the Greek and Russian orthodox churches, Christmas is celebrated 13 days after the 25th, which is also referred to as the Epiphany or Three Kings Day. This is the day it is believed that the three wise men finally found Jesus in the manger.

In the Middle Ages, Christmas celebrations were rowdy and raucous—a lot like today's Mardi Gras parties.

From 1659 to 1681, the celebration of Christmas was outlawed in Boston, and law-breakers were fined five shillings.

Christmas wasn't a holiday in early America—in fact Congress was in session on December 25, 1789, the country's first Christmas under the new constitution.

Christmas was declared a federal holiday in the United States on June 26, 1870.

The first eggnog made in the United States was consumed in Captain John Smith's 1607 Jamestown settlement.

Poinsettia plants are named after Joel R. Poinsett, an American minister to Mexico, who brought the red-and-green plant from Mexico to America in 1828.

The Salvation Army has been sending Santa Claus-clad donation collectors into the streets since the 1890s.

Rudolph, "the most famous reindeer of all," was the product of Robert L. May's imagination in 1939. The copywriter wrote a poem about the reindeer to help lure customers into the Montgomery Ward department store.

Construction workers started the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree tradition in 1931.

Found on History.com

Christmas Trees the Beginning

2008-12-20T19:28:00.000-08:00

Long before the advent of Christianity, plants and trees that remained green all year had a special meaning for people in the winter. Just as people today decorate their homes during the festive season with pine, spruce, and fir trees, ancient peoples hung evergreen boughs over their doors and windows. In many countries it was believed that evergreens would keep away witches, ghosts, evil spirits, and illness.

In the Northern hemisphere, the shortest day and longest night of the year falls on December 21 or December 22 and is called the winter solstice. Many ancient people believed that the sun was a god and that winter came every year because the sun god had become sick and weak. They celebrated the solstice because it meant that at last the sun god would begin to get well. Evergreen boughs reminded them of all the green plants that would grow again when the sun god was strong and summer would return.

The ancient Egyptians worshipped a god called Ra, who had the head of a hawk and wore the sun as a blazing disk in his crown. At the solstice, when Ra began to recover from the illness, the Egyptians filled their homes with green palm rushes which symbolized for them the triumph of life over death.

Early Romans marked the solstice with a feast called the Saturnalia in honor of Saturn, the god of agriculture. The Romans knew that the solstice meant that soon farms and orchards would be green and fruitful. To mark the occasion, they decorated their homes and temples with evergreen boughs. In Northern Europe the mysterious Druids, the priests of the ancient Celts, also decorated their temples with evergreen boughs as a symbol of everlasting life. The fierce Vikings in Scandinavia thought that evergreens were the special plant of the sun god, Balder.

Germany is credited with starting the Christmas tree tradition as we now know it in the 16th century when devout Christians brought decorated trees into their homes. Some built Christmas pyramids of wood and decorated them with evergreens and candles if wood was scarce. It is a widely held belief that Martin Luther, the 16th-century Protestant reformer, first added lighted candles to a tree. Walking toward his home one winter evening, composing a sermon, he was awed by the brilliance of stars twinkling amidst evergreens. To recapture the scene for his family, he erected a tree in the main room and wired its branches with lighted candles.

Most 19th-century Americans found Christmas trees an oddity. The first record of one being on display was in the 1830s by the German settlers of Pennsylvania, although trees had been a tradition in many German homes much earlier. The Pennsylvania German settlements had community trees as early as 1747. But, as late as the 1840s Christmas trees were seen as pagan symbols and not accepted by most Americans.

It is not surprising that, like many other festive Christmas customs, the tree was adopted so late in America. To the New England Puritans, Christmas was sacred. The pilgrims's second governor, William Bradford, wrote that he tried hard to stamp out "pagan mockery" of the observance, penalizing any frivolity. The influential Oliver Cromwell preached against "the heathen traditions" of Christmas carols, decorated trees, and any joyful expression that desecrated "that sacred event." In 1659, the General Court of Massachusetts enacted a law making any observance of December 25 (other than a church service) a penal offense; people were fined for hanging decorations. That stern solemnity continued until the 19th century, when the influx of German and Irish immigrants undermined the Puritan legacy.

In 1846, the popular royals, Queen Victoria and her German Prince, Albert, were sketched in the Illustrated London News standing with their children around a Christmas tree. Unlike the previous royal family, Victoria was very popular with her subjects, and what was done at court immediately became fashionable—not only in Britain, but with fashion-conscious East Coast American Society. The Christmas tree had arrived.

By the 1890s Christmas ornaments were arriving from Germany and Christmas tree popularity was on the rise around the U.S. It was noted that Europeans used small trees about four feet in height, while Americans liked their Christmas trees to reach from floor to ceiling.

The early 20th century saw Americans decorating their trees mainly with homemade ornaments, while the German-American sect continued to use apples, nuts, and marzipan cookies. Popcorn joined in after being dyed bright colors and interlaced with berries and nuts. Electricity brought about Christmas lights, making it possible for Christmas trees to glow for days on end. With this, Christmas trees began to appear in town squares across the country and having a Christmas tree in the home became an American tradition.

Found at History.com

Rudolph the Ninth Reindeer

2008-12-20T19:22:00.000-08:00

Rudolph, "the most famous reindeer of all," was born over a hundred years after his eight flying counterparts. The red-nosed wonder was the creation of Robert L. May, a copywriter at the Montgomery Ward department store.

In 1939, May wrote a Christmas-themed story-poem to help bring holiday traffic into his store. Using a similar rhyme pattern to Moore's "'Twas the Night Before Christmas," May told the story of Rudolph, a young reindeer who was teased by the other deer because of his large, glowing, red nose. But, When Christmas Eve turned foggy and Santa worried that he wouldn't be able to deliver gifts that night, the former outcast saved Christmas by leading the sleigh by the light of his red nose. Rudolph's message—that given the opportunity, a liability can be turned into an asset—proved popular. Montgomery Ward sold almost two and a half million copies of the story in 1939. When it was reissued in 1946, the book sold over three and half million copies. Several years later, one of May's friends, Johnny Marks, wrote a short song based on Rudolph's story (1949). It was recorded by Gene Autry and sold over two million copies. Since then, the story has been translated into 25 languages and been made into a television movie, narrated by Burl Ives, which has charmed audiences every year since 1964.

Found @ History.com

The History of St Nicholas

2008-12-20T19:18:00.001-08:00

The legend of Santa Claus can be traced back hundreds of years to a monk named St. Nicholas. It is believed that Nicholas was born sometime around 280 A.D. in Patara, near Myra in modern-day Turkey. Much admired for his piety and kindness, St. Nicholas became the subject of many legends. It is said that he gave away all of his inherited wealth and traveled the countryside helping the poor and sick. One of the best known of the St. Nicholas stories is that he saved three poor sisters from being sold into slavery or prostitution by their father by providing them with a dowry so that they could be married. Over the course of many years, Nicholas's popularity spread and he became known as the protector of children and sailors. His feast day is celebrated on the anniversary of his death, December 6. This was traditionally considered a lucky day to make large purchases or to get married. By the Renaissance, St. Nicholas was the most popular saint in Europe. Even after the Protestant Reformation, when the veneration of saints began to be discouraged, St. Nicholas maintained a positive reputation, especially in Holland.
Found on History.com

History of Christmas

2008-11-28T14:05:00.000-08:00

The history of Christmas dates back over 4000 years. Many of our Christmas traditions were celebrated centuries before the Christ child was born. The 12 days of Christmas, the bright fires, the yule log, the giving of gifts, carnivals(parades) with floats, carolers who sing while going from house to house, the holiday feasts, and the church processions can all be traced back to the early Mesopotamians.

Many of these traditions began with the Mesopotamian celebration of New Years. The Mesopotamians believed in many gods, and as their chief god - Marduk. Each year as winter arrived it was believed that Marduk would do battle with the monsters of chaos. To assist Marduk in his struggle the Mesopotamians held a festival for the New Year. This was Zagmuk, the New Year's festival that lasted for 12 days.

The Mesopotamian king would return to the temple of Marduk and swear his faithfulness to the god. The traditions called for the king to die at the end of the year and to return with Marduk to battle at his side.

To spare their king, the Mesopotamians used the idea of a "mock" king. A criminal was chosen and dressed in royal clothes. He was given all the respect and privileges of a real king. At the end of the celebration the "mock" king was stripped of the royal clothes and slain, sparing the life of the real king.

The Persians and the Babylonians celebrated a similar festival called the Sacaea. Part of that celebration included the exchanging of places, the slaves would become the masters and the masters were to obey.

Early Europeans believed in evil spirits, witches, ghosts and trolls. As the Winter Solstice approached, with its long cold nights and short days, many people feared the sun would not return. Special rituals and celebrations were held to welcome back the sun.

In Scandinavia during the winter months the sun would disappear for many days. After thirty-five days scouts would be sent to the mountain tops to look for the return of the sun. When the first light was seen the scouts would return with the good news. A great festival would be held, called the Yuletide, and a special feast would be served around a fire burning with the Yule log. Great bonfires would also be lit to celebrate the return of the sun. In some areas people would tie apples to branches of trees to remind themselves that spring and summer would return.

The ancient Greeks held a festival similar to that of the Zagmuk/Sacaea festivals to assist their god Kronos who would battle the god Zeus and his Titans.

The Roman's celebrated their god Saturn. Their festival was called Saturnalia which began the middle of December and ended January 1st. With cries of "Jo Saturnalia!" the celebration would include masquerades in the streets, big festive meals, visiting friends, and the exchange of good-luck gifts called Strenae (lucky fruits).

The Romans decked their halls with garlands of laurel and green trees lit with candles. Again the masters and slaves would exchange places

"Jo Saturnalia!" was a fun and festive time for the Romans, but the Christians though it an abomination to honor the pagan god. The early Christians wanted to keep the birthday of their Christ child a solemn and religious holiday, not one of cheer and merriment as was the pagan Saturnalia.

But as Christianity spread they were alarmed by the continuing celebration of pagan customs and Saturnalia among their converts. At first the Church forbid this kind of celebration. But it was to no avail. Eventually it was decided that the celebration would be tamed and made into a celebration fit for the Christian Son of God.

Some legends claim that the Christian "Christmas" celebration was invented to compete against the pagan celebrations of December. The 25th was not only sacred to the Romans but also the Persians whose religion Mithraism was one of Christianity's main rivals at that time. The Church eventually was successful in taking the merriment, lights, and gifts from the Saturanilia festival and bringing them to the celebration of Christmas.

The exact day of the Christ child's birth has never been pinpointed. Traditions say that it has been celebrated since the year 98 AD. In 137 AD the Bishop of Rome ordered the birthday of the Christ Child celebrated as a solemn feast. In 350 AD another Bishop of Rome, Julius I, choose December 25th as the observance of Christmas.

Top 5 Family Thanksgiving Traditions

2008-11-17T18:40:00.000-08:00

1. Turkey and Trimmings From the first Thanksgiving to today's turkey burgers, turkeys are an American tradition dating back centuries. According to the National Turkey Federation, 95 percent of Americans eat turkey at Thanksgiving. Regional twists offer variations on the traditional roasted bird, including coffee rubbed turkey from Hawaii, salt encrusted turkey from New England, and deep fried turkey from the South.

2. Time Out for the Pigskin Throughout the United States, football on Thanksgiving Day is as big a part of the celebration as turkey and pumpkin pie. Dating back to the first intercollegiate football championship held on Thanksgiving Day in 1876, traditional holiday football rivalries have become so popular that a reporter once called Thanksgiving "a holiday granted by the State and the Nation to see a game of football."

3. Parading Around The first American Thanksgiving Day parade was held in 1920, organized by Gimbel's Department Store in Philadelphia, not Macy's as most people believe. The NYC Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade tradition actually began in 1924, and has grown into an annual event of balloons, bands, and floats, enjoyed by more than 46 million people each year in person and on TV.

4. Making a Wish Does your family fight over the wishbone from the Thanksgiving turkey? Known as a "lucky break" the tradition of tugging on either end of a fowl's bone to win the larger piece and its accompanying "wish" dates back to the Etruscans of 322 B.C. The Romans brought the tradition with them when they conquered England and the English colonists carried the tradition on to America.

5. Giving Thanks Last, but certainly not least, Thanksgiving is about giving thanks for the people and blessings of the past year. From pre-meal prayers to providing holiday meals to the homeless, the holiday is truly a celebration of praise and thanksgiving.

By Kimberly Powell

Thanksgiving Timeline in America

2008-11-17T18:20:00.000-08:00

• 1541 - Spanish explorer, Francisco Vasquez de Coronado, led a thanksgiving Communion celebration at the Palo Duro Canyon, West Texas.
• 1565 - Pedro Menendez de Aviles and 800 settlers gathered for a meal with the Timucuan Indians in the Spanish colony of St. Augustine, Florida.
• 1621 - Pilgrims and Native Americans celebrated a harvest feast in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
• 1630 - Settlers observed the first Thanksgiving of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in New England on July 8, 1630.
• 1777 - George Washington and his army on the way to Valley Forge, stopped in blistering weather in open fields to observe the first Thanksgiving of the new United States of America.
• 1789 - President Washington declared November 26, 1789, as a national day of "thanksgiving and prayer."
• 1800s - The annual presidential thanksgiving proclamations ceased for 45 years in the early 1800s.
• 1863 - President Abraham Lincoln resumed the tradition of Thanksgiving proclamations in 1863. Since this date, Thanksgiving has been observed annually in the United States.
• 1941 - President Roosevelt established the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day