In this video, learn about the history of Santa Claus and his real-life inspiration, St. Nicholas.

The poem, which has been called "arguably the best-known verses ever written by an American", is largely responsible for the conception of Santa Claus from the mid-nineteenth century to today, including his physical appearance, the night of his visit, his mode of transportation, the number and names of his reindeer, as well as the tradition that he brings toys to children. Prior to the poem, American ideas about St. Nicholas and other Christmastide visitors varied considerably. The poem has influenced ideas about St. Nicholas and Santa Claus beyond the United States to the rest of the English-speaking world and beyond. According to legend, A Visit was composed by Moore on a snowy winter's day during a shopping trip on a sleigh. His inspiration for the character of Saint Nicholas was a local Dutch handyman as well as the historical Saint Nicholas. While Moore originated many of the features that are still associated with Santa Claus today, he borrowed other aspects such as the names of the reindeer. The poem was first published anonymously in the Troy, New York, Sentinel on December 23, 1823, having been sent there by a friend of Clement Clarke Moore, and was reprinted frequently thereafter with no name attached. Only later did Moore acknowledge his authorship, and the poem was included in an 1844 anthology of his works. Moore had written it for his children, and being a scholar and professor, did not wish at first to be connected with the poem, but his children insisted that it be included in the anthology.

Moore's conception of St. Nicholas was borrowed from his friend Washington Irving's, but Moore portrayed his "jolly old elf" as arriving on Christmas Eve rather than Christmas Day. At the time Moore wrote the poem, Christmas Day was overtaking New Year's Day as the preferred genteel family holiday of the season, but some Protestants - who saw Christmas as the result of "Catholic ignorance and deception" - still had reservations. By having St. Nicholas arrive the night before, Moore "deftly shifted the focus away from Christmas Day with its still-problematic religious associations". As a result, "New Yorkers embraced Moore's child-centered version of Christmas as if they had been doing it all their lives"

In An American Anthology, 1787–1900, editor Edmund Clarence Stedman reprinted the Moore version of the poem, including the German spelling of "Donder and Blitzen" he adopted, rather than the earlier Dutch version from 1823, "Dunder and Blixem". Both phrases translate as "Thunder and Lightning" in English, though the German word for thunder is "Donner", and the words in modern Dutch would be "Donder en Bliksem".

Modern printings frequently incorporate alterations that reflect changing linguistic and cultural sensibilities: For example, breast in "The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow" is frequently bowdlerized to crest, the archaic ere in "But I heard him exclaim ere he drove out of sight" is frequently replaced with as, and "Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night" is frequently rendered with the modern North American locution "'Merry Christmas'" and with "goodnight" as a single word.

Each year, PNC, a financial company, creates its Christmas Price Index, which adds up the cost of all the items in the song.

This year, for the first time, it would cost over $100,000 to buy everything; $101,119 to be exact. The most expensive item? Those silly seven swans-a-swimming will set you back $6,300. The partridge, at just $15, is the cheapest.

I love Sarah McLachlan and Joni Mitchell. Joni wrote and released "River" many years ago. Sarah recently covered the song. I have include both, so you can play your favorite.

I saw this video on YouTube and thought it was a simple, but amazing craft idea. I would use two colors or three colors to make it a little more festive. Voila! A simple, but effective, wreath.

During the holidays, singles are often left thinking less about caroling and more about whom they will bring to their holiday office party or who will be their New Year's kiss. Match.com surveyed its members to illuminate singles' attitudes and opinions on a variety of holiday dating topics. Covering everything from holiday romance do's-and-don'ts to the dreaded "why are you still single?" question, the results shed insight on singles' reactions to many of the season's biggest stressors. 

Oh(bama) Christmas Tree: Michelle Obama, daughters, Bo, receive White House Christmas tree.

Actor James McAvoy talks Christmas, and his movie, Arthur Christmas.

Stress-free Christmas décor ... is it possible?

Christmas operation sends shoe boxes of gifts and hope and love.

THE ELF ON THE SHELF: AN ELF’S STORY follows one of the many scout elves from the North Pole who helps Santa Claus determine who to put on the naughty and nice lists. Named “Chippey” by his adoptive family, the elf is assigned to help a young boy, Taylor McTuttle, who struggles to believe in the magic of Christmas.

The Elf on the Shelf is a popular children’s storybook created by Carol Aebersold and her daughters, Chanda Bell and Christa Pitts, who self-published the book through their company CCA and B. The story was inspired by an Aebersold family tradition featuring their own pixie elf, Fisbee, who appeared in their home every holiday season. Since 2005, The Elf on the Shelf has sold nearly two million copies.

When hoops&yoyo – and their little friend, piddles – wait up on Christmas Eve to catch a glimpse of Santa, their curiosity lands them in his sleigh shortly after he goes down their chimney. Unable to exit the sleigh before takeoff without being spotted by Santa, they soon find themselves caught in the time-space continuum that allows him to travel the world in one night.

When turbulence jostles the trio from the sleigh, they fall through a wormhole and end up going back in time with a young Kris Kringle. After realizing they have disrupted Kris’s journey to fulfilling his destiny, hoops&yoyo and piddles race to set things right so the world will have its Santa Claus.

by Angie

It simply isn't Christmas in Germany without flat,crunchy and richly spiced Spekulatius. Traditionally Spekulatius are moulded into shapes with a small Christmas design on the surface. Well, those wooden Spekulatius forms are not cheap at all, so I have decided to use X'mas-themed cookie cutters to make these cookies. You can garnish the cookies with colourful sugar icings, or with confectionery coatings made with couverture chocolate, to decorate your X'mas tree, or table center.

500 grams All-purpose flour, sifted
4 grams Baking powder
2 grams Baking ammonia
200 grams Sugar
1 pack Vanilla sugar
2 Eggs
100 grams Almond, ground
teaspoon Cardamom, ground
teaspoon Cloves, ground
1 teaspoon Cinnamon, ground
200 grams Butter, chilled

In a large bowl, mix flour, baking powder and ammonia. Make an indent in the middle and add eggs, sugar, spices and extract, and combine all into a thick dough. Cut in the cold butter and together with the ground almonds and knead it well to form a smooth dough. If the dough is still sticky, then wrap and rest it in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F. Roll out the dough into 3mm thick circle and cut out the cookies with favourite Christmas cookie cutters. Place them onto greased baking sheet and bake until starting to brown, about 10 minutes. When cool, store cookies in an air-tight container.

• 1. Make Great Impressions…
  Welcome family and neighbours by lighting pathways with tealight garden lanterns, LED light sticks and fairy lights wrapped round tree trunks or branches. Have guests met by a beautiful red berry wreath and windows decorated with silver snowflake cut-outs, reindeers and Christmas trees using snow spray. Then as they enter inside beautiful displays of cross stitch Christmas paper chains fill all the empty spaces and fairy lights brighten the fireplace.
• 2. Sprucing Up The Tree…
  A tree full of glistening lights and an array of colouful decorations heightens wonder and expectation around Christmas. Colourful red skating tree decorations and other beautiful pieces will stand out against dark green trees. Pick out timeless and unusual decorations with a nostalgic touch such as charming wooden decorations or for something unique, silver and red personalized baubles. Add a few edible chocolate treats and candy cane sticks; something the younger members of the family will love. Save any spare fir branches from the tree for napkin decorations or to add above the fireplace for a touch of nature. Look out for make your own angel kits or Christmas decoration kits, a fun weekend activity to do with your children and a perfect creative accessory for the top of the tree.
• 3. Tis The Season To Be Baking…
  Cookies and biscuits are great additions to a family Christmas and children will love helping you make them. Look out for Christmas cookie cutter sets that come in a variety of shapes such as star, reindeer, snowflake or Christmas tree designs. Store your baked treats in tins and hand them out to friends who drop by, served with a steaming mug of hot chocolate. Hang biscuits on the tree by piercing a hole and threading pretty ribbons through them or wrap them in cellophane, tie with curling ribbon and hand them out as end of term gifts. Other wonderful festive treats include Christmas popcorn (caramelized and dusted with cinnamon) chocolate snowball truffles (coated in desiccated coconut) or chunks of gooey marshmallow-filled rocky road. Hand these out as end of term gifts or to family members, sealed in festive Christmas party boxes.
• 4. A Gingerbread house…
  Create a Scandinavian fairytale gingerbread house, good enough to eat. Not only will it look and smell appealing, it will bring out the child inside of everyone. Get your children to help build and decorate it with you and you can put it in a windowsill lit up or use it as a table centerpiece, adorned with hundreds of sweets!
• 5. All Dressed Up…
  Christmas themed tablecloths do all the ‘dressing’ aspect for you, there’s so much colour in the print you just need to add a centerpiece to give it some dimension such as an enchanted Christmas centrepiece. But if you’re opting for a more traditional table setting with plain red partyware, greens and whites then choose decorative cotten napkins, fun placemats and novelty place card holders. Fill bowls with colourful treats such as candy cane, peppermints and other shiny wrapped treats (Roses or Quality Streets). Alternatively festive baubles in vases or seven-tiered cake stands filled with an array of jovial delights. You can then arrange candles and nightlights at differing heights to create a dramatic and cosy atmosphere. Red crystal gems and snowflake confetti scattered in blank spaces on the table will glisten and catch the light, evoking a sense of enchantment. And don’t forget rocking Rudolph party poppers, chocolates and make-your-own party crackers – a few essentials that make a big difference.

In Tokyo, a special Christmas tree is on display at a posh jewelry store in the Ginza district.

A new, animated followup to the Ice Age movie series, Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas (airing on Fox, 8 p.m. tonight) features the return of Sid, the giant ground sloth, and Manny, the woolly mammoth. Yes, Santa was even around way back then!

In A Mammoth Christmas Sid ruins Manny’s favourite decorations. As punishment, Manny convinces Sid he’s on Santa’s naughty list. Worried that he won’t get his annual sacks of presents from Santa, Sid gathers his pals and treks to the North Pole to plead his case. Of course, nothing goes quite right for Sid ...

At 8:30 you can watch a much less Christmasy Peanuts special, Happiness is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown, in which the Peanuts gang tries to convince Linus to let go of his cherished, childhood security blanket.

So gather the kids (or send them to bed), make yourself some hot chocolate, and enjoy!

Christmas tree drop almost turns deadly: Pilot escapes chopper crash unharmed, caught on video!

Which Canadian province spends the least on Christmas gifts?

On the naughty list: Christmas decorations used to smuggle £4 million worth of drugs into UK!

Kim Kardashian's Quickie Marriage Causes a Christmas-Card Snafu.

Coldplay to headline Christmas charity gig at London's O2 arena.

In some parts of Europe, people still celebrate Christmas customs based on long-standing folk legends.

For the longest time I was convinced I hated this movie. I don't know why, but when I knew it was on I avoided it at all cost.

Then last year, when nothing else was on, I gave One Magic Christmas another chance. I watched it last year and fell in love with it. It wasn't at all what I thought it was.

The movie was first released in 1985 and stars Mary Steenburgen and Harry Dean Stanton. In one line: At Christmas time an angel shows a young mother the true meaning of the holiday.

Ginny Grainger (Steenburgen) is the mother of two children, Abbie and Cal. Her husband, Jack, has been out of work since June, and the family has to move out of the company house by January 1. He enjoys fixing bikes in his basement. Jack wants to open a bike shop of his own, but doing so would use up all their savings; Ginny just can't support him.

It's only after things take a very tragic turn that Ginny is forced to re-evaluate her life. But is it too late?

IMBD readers gave it 6.3 out of 10, but I think it deserves at least a 7.

Now, this movie does not air all the time and is not always easy to find on DVD. You can, however, order it online through Amazon, or download it through iTunes.

Mistletoe has often been a powerful component of many traditional faiths, believed to bestow life and fertility, offer protection against poison, or to create lustful thoughts. But its use as a Christmas decoration didn't take hold until sometime in the 18th century.

According to ancient Christmas custom, a man and a woman who meet under a hanging of mistletoe were obliged to kiss (relating to the plants relationship with sexuality). It was described in 1820 by American author Washington Irving in his The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon:

"The mistletoe is still hung up in farm-houses and kitchens at Christmas, and the young men have the privilege of kissing the girls under it, plucking each time a berry from the bush. When the berries are all plucked the privilege ceases."

Interestingly, Mistletoe is actually quite toxic, especially the berries.  If ingested, symptoms may include gastrointestinal distress, stomach pain, a slowed heartbeat and other reactions.

Avoiding a kiss under the mistletoe brings bad luck (often in relation to one's love life). It is also bad luck to remove it from the house until it is replaced the next year.

Of course, not everyone you meet under the mistletoe is kissable! Click here for some tips on how to avoid the mandatory kiss!

Out in the woods stood a nice little Fir-tree. The place he had was a very good one; the sun shone on him; as to fresh air, there was enough of that, and round him grew many large-sized comrades, pines as well as firs. But the little Fir wanted so very much to be a grown-up tree.

He did not think of the warm sun and of the fresh air; he did not care for the little cottage children that ran about and prattled when they were in the woods looking for wild strawberries. The children often came with a whole pitcher full of berries, or a long row of them threaded on a straw, and sat down near the young tree and said, “Oh, how pretty he is! what a nice little fir!” But this was what the Tree could not bear to hear.

At the end of a year he had shot up a good deal, and after another year he was another long bit taller; for with fir-trees one can always tell by the shoots how many years old they are.

“Oh, were I but such a high tree as the others are!” sighed he. “Then I should be able to spread out my branches, and with the tops to look into the wide world! Then would the birds build nests among my branches; and when there was a breeze, I could bend with as much stateliness as the others!”

Neither the sunbeams, nor the birds, nor the red clouds, which morning and evening sailed above them, gave the little Tree any pleasure.

In winter, when the snow lay glittering on the ground, a hare would often come leaping along, and jump right over the little Tree. Oh, that made him so angry! But two winters were past, and in the third the tree was so large that the hare was obliged to go round it. “To grow and grow, to get older and be tall,” thought the Tree–”that, after all, is the most delightful thing in the world!”

Every year Dr Who fans are treated to a special Christmas episode, and this year will be no different!

Watch the brand-new, just-released exclusive trailer for the 2011 Christmas Special, DOCTOR WHO: THE DOCTOR, THE WIDOW AND THE WARDROBE. Premiering this Christmas only on BBC America.

Evacuated to a house in Dorset from war-torn London, Madge Arwell and her two children, Lily and Cyril, are greeted by a madcap caretaker whose mysterious Christmas gift leads them into a magical wintry world.

... performed by bunnies!

by vanillakanela
Diples (Dipples) is a deep fried Greek pastry which is a cross between a doughnut and a funnel cake.

In this musical medley, Johnny and Chachi attempt to spread some jam-packed Christmas cheer by singing 25 popular Christmas songs in under two minutes. This would be a hilarious start to your seasonal service.

Check out this happy little tree. He's make a great tag holder! Download the PDF file here!

Coca-Cola has, believe it or not, done so much to shape the look and feel of Christmas. The fat man in a red suit? That's from Coke! The company has also created some amazing holiday commercials, like this one: