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A Visit from St. Nicholas Google Videos
The poem A Visit from St. Nicholas, also known as "The Night Before Christmas" from its first line, was first published anonymously in the Troy, New York Sentinel on December 23, 1823, and was reprinted frequently thereafter with no name attached. Authorship was later attributed to Clement Clarke Moore. The poem was included in an anthology of his works, but his connection with the verses has been questioned by some. Henry Livingston, a New Yorker with Dutch roots, is the chief candidate for authorship if Moore did not write it.
Regifting
Regifting or regiving is the act of taking a gift that has been received and giving it to somebody else, sometimes in the guise of a new gift. One example of a formalization of this activity are the white elephant gift exchanges, in which items can be regifted from year to year. In the USA, "National Regifting Day" is December 18. In Canada, eBay marketed "National Re-gifting Week" as December 26-30 (December 26 being Boxing Day, a time traditionally associated with gift-giving). Regiving differs from straightforward giving in that goods are not acquired specifically for donation. Typically, goods that have been received as a gift are offered to others, unbeknown to them that it was originally a gift to the person offering it. Often the motives are principally charitable but also includes giving items which are surplus to one's needs. However, re-gifting also refers the means of giving away unwanted gifts as a way of disposing them. Consider the "fruitcake gift" scenario. Someone receives a fruitcake but they don't like (or want) fruitcake but think someone else might. They give it away to someone who also may not like fruitcake either. Regiving differs from recycling in that recycling is most often associated with breaking components down and rebuilding into new products. Read more ...
Born on a Holiday
People born on or around holidays often feel cheated out of gifts. I know the feeling being born on February 17th - three days after Valentine's Day. My ex-husband Ralph and I had a great system. There was a special present for my birthday each year - usually jewelry - and for Valentine's Day - a box of candy. As our daughters arrived ... there would be candy for each little girl accompanied by a cuddly stuffed animal. Ralph was a Capricorn, January 5th, so his big present came at Christmas and a date night on his birthday. Top that all off with our wedding anniversary January 26th and there was lots of gifts for all.
Christmas Gifts 2013
I spend a lot of my time just making people laugh and shifting their consciousness with positive energy in stressful times. I know I can't change anyone's programming, but a few good laughs are often a great gift.
Many more people shopped online this year. A gift card can be the perfect present as people like choices.
This was the year of security leaks from former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) employee and National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden - to theft identity as hackers get better at defrauding the system.
Target: On December 18, 2013, security expert Brian Krebs broke news that Target was investigating a major data breach "potentially involving millions of customer credit and debit card records." The report quickly spread across news channels. On December 19, Target confirmed the incident via a press release, revealing that the hack took place between November 27 and December 15, 2013. Target warned that up to 40 million consumer credit and debit cards may have been compromised. Hackers gained access to customer names, card numbers, expiration dates, and CVV security codes. Target is encouraging customers who shopped at its US stores (online orders were not affected) during the specified timeframe to closely monitor their credit and debit cards for irregular activity. The retailer has also confirmed that it is working with law enforcement, including the United States Secret Service, "to bring those responsible to justice." As of 2013, this theft is the second-largest credit card breach in U.S. history.
