Christmas Essays (Examples)

Christmas Carol

Ebenezer Scrooge: Relationships and Redemption

Few stories have been retold or achieved such great cultural familiarity as has Charles Dickens' 1843 novel A Christmas Carol. Perhaps the reason for its success and permanence is its thematic universality. In its central character, readers are given a figure with a dramatically stunted way of relating to other human begins and yet one who is destined for redemption. This is the narrative thrust that drives A Christmas Carol, with the evolution of Ebenezer Scrooge from wealthy, miserly hermit to enlightened giver centering entirely on the way that he perceived other people and the way that other people perceived him. More than any other matter, the Dickens novel seems to center on the relationships that persist between human beings and how our approach to these relationships can bring great fullness or emptiness. As Scrooge's experience shows, this outcome will be dependent upon…

Men met as men, and as comrades-in-arms. They exchanged addresses for post-war visits and letters. Christmas carols rang out that brought the two sides even closer. They played soccer games. And, of course, some commanders protested against the frivolity and celebration. They were, for the most part, disregarded. Weintraub notes that this truce, ignored in history as an anomaly of little importance, was so emotionally consequential for those who participated that their letters home were filled with their disbelief that it happened.

The author gives a chronological account, from small events in December to Christmas Eve and following to the end of the truce, which in some cases, did not really end until sometime after Christmas. It is a moving book, especially when Weintraub, a former Penn State professor emeritus, biographer, and historian, uses the soldiers' own words to tell the story.

Weintraub never really discusses why the truce happened,…

Christmas Trees

The shiny green cone lit up our living room. It seemed to give off a light of its own, independent of the strands of tiny bulbs and streamers of tinsel that crowned its natural beauty. A dozen strategically placed red balls blossomed like fruit from its branches, which lingered languidly in the living room air. Perfectly bowed and perpendicular to the trunk, the needled arms of our Christmas tree extended themselves to us as friends would, delighted to grace our home with their joy, their abundance, and their fragrant gifts. The life still coursing through its trunk and veins, our tree stood strongly over the strewn wrapped presents at its base. Like a security guard, it kept an eye out for impatient children and unruly dogs that sniffed and questioned the boxes' contents.

Presiding over the entire living room, the foot-high white-and-gold angel blinked and waved her magic…

Christmas is a time that brings us together and while there are many movies and books that depict crazy times when families do get together, I love being around my family. Yes, we have our quirks, but being together with family is something that cannot be matched by anything. A few years ago, all of my family was able to get together for the holiday. That included all of my aunts and uncles and their children as well. It was great seeing everyone and hearing about what was going on with them. Christmas would not be nearly as special to me if I did not have the opportunity to share it with the people I love.

Finally, I love Christmas because it allows me to decorate and spread Christmas cheer. Decorating the house and the yard is refreshing to me because I get to move things around and have a…

This is everywhere in windows with the Apple iPad for example, where the device is showing up in 1960s retro windows as the futuristic toy of choice. It is an interesting strategy to juxtapose these images, but it works really well to bring attention to the iPad and get customers thinking about it. The best holiday window displays do this interweaving of storytelling and product imagery so well it is not noticeable. The holiday window displays are very adept at painting these visual images, bringing in products to support the messaging and tying it all together with a holiday theme.

One of the other factors about the windows is the amount of traffic they receive over time. Most of the viewing is done when people are going to and from work, Sundays, evening and during the holidays (Su, Myra, 1992). The permanence of the window displays through the holidays is…

Grinch Stole Christmas

There are tried and true methods of style in most classical and romantic literature, even back into the epics of Egypt and Babylon, and most certainly throughout Greek and oman mythology. One such method is for the hero to stand or represent the author's conception of a significant paradigmatic individual and theme for that work. Typically, the hero, while perhaps slightly flawed like the rest of humanity, possesses something special -- a deep and ominous understanding of the inner world and inner self, and the ability to employ that understanding to complete a set of tasks that often have parabolic meaning to the reader.

This hero seems to teach us the value of humanity, while helping us strive for excellence by understanding the value of the experiences rendered through intuition, emotions, and often feelings that are special to the hero -- often rather beyond that of logical…

John Grisham's Skipping Christmas.

Discussed are the strengths and weaknesses from my view and a published critic. Compare this book to other books by Grisham or other Christmas books.

Also examined is why I think this book became a best seller. Seven sources are used, including notes taken from a speech given this month by Jane Janke Johnson to the class session 2 of English 352. APA.

Skipping Christmas

John Grisham's "Skipping Christmas" could be called a Christmas story for the new millennium. It's the story of Luther Krank, his wife Nora, and their daughter Blaire. hen Blaire leaves for the Peace Corps at the beginning of the Christmas season, Luther sees it as a wonderful opportunity to skip the holiday hullabaloo and take a cruise with Nora. However, they quickly become outcasts by local merchants, the Boy Scouts selling trees, the firemen with their fruit cakes, the police selling…

The figure to the right shows the current promotional materials used throughout the Starbucks locations to promote the Christmas Blend.

In addition, Starbucks is offering coupons on Christ Blend bundles with coffee mugs and discount pricing on the combination of these two items. The promotion strategy is aimed at sustaining the pricing and margins on bundles with the brand loyalty that the Christmas Blend evokes (Starbucks Investor elations). Finally, the promotional strategy is specifically focused on uniting and strengthening the experience of visiting a Starbucks, getting a fresh, hot cup of Christmas Bland and enjoying the holidays with friends. This approach to experience-based marketing built around the Christmas Blend continues to be one of the most effective differentiator the company has against competitors, both national and regional in scope (Dobnik, 23, 24).

Place or Distribution

The experience of having a fresh, hot cup of Christmas Blend is at the center…

Music Review of Christmas on the Heights

On Sunday, December 2, 2009 the Boston College University Choral and Symphony Orchestra perform "Christmas on the Heights" on the campus of Boston College. It was night filled with joyous Christmas music directed by John Finney. The entire concert featured 18 well-known and well-loved Christmas songs. The auditorium was filled with honored guests who were eager to hear the Christmas selections.

The Boston College University Symphony Orchestra was comprised of a rich variation of musical instruments such as the violins, cellos, flutes, clarinets, trumpets, and trombones. This wide variation of instrumentation provided a musical presentation that captured the audience. "Joy to the World," "Hark! The Harold Angels Sing," and "Hallelujah" were among the songs played by the orchestra. These three particular songs were played very professionally and festively with a sound far above the quality of a typical orchestra. The balance of instrumentation,…

While Lawrence can indeed provide mediation between the cultures, he cannot substitute the release that women would have provided, had they been allowed to visit the camp. Thus, the violence is further exacerbated not only by the cultural divide, but also by the denial of sexual release either by means of hetero- or homosexual affection.

Again, from the point-of-view of audiences, the film could provide a type of warning in terms of a sense of fundamental honesty. The characters in the film are unable to honestly examine their feelings as a result of the cultural, battle, and sexual divides that exist between them. They are completely unable to overcome these divides by means of any contact with the Other if this does not involve some kind of violence. Even high ideals such as honor and loyalty are peppered with violence, as if violence is the only ideal that can survive…

The military short circuits the normal human experience and subverts normal sex and pleasure (homosexual or heterosexual) by throwing it in the closet. The sexual energy is released, contorted in a sadomasochistic fashion that fed into the energy needed to run a military, run a war, or to conquer and administer an empire. The state has hijacked the sexual urge and put it into the service of the state. This was done in Japan as the government hijacked the bushido philosophical code. This was done wholesale with all of its elements, sexual included.

e must visit Freud again as we plumb the depths of the war and its connection with sexuality. After hopes for humanity's peaceful advancement died in the trenches of Europe, more examination was necessary as Freud reflected upon the statements of his friend, Albert Einstein. Freud posits a death instinct with humanity itself, thereby confirming the suspicion…

Jesus - Christianity

Christmas, the day celebrated as the birth of Jesus Christ, is the basis of one of Christianity's holiest observances and its story proclaims the advent of a Savior, the miracle of God's invasion of human history (Sheler pp). Although only Matthew and Luke mention the birth of Christ, the birth is nonetheless believed to have fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies that "a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel," and that out of Bethlehem 'one will go forth ... To be ruler in Israel'" (Sheler pp).

There are numerous religious traditions within Christianity that vary by culture, as well as thousands of diverse beliefs and sects (Christianity pp). In fact, during the past two millennia, it has been grouped into three main branches, Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Protestantism (Christianity pp). Christianity is the world's largest single religion with over 2.2…

2011 Christmas holiday season that Hollywood movies sales experienced a rather lackluster performance. Theaters experienced both a decline in total revenue as well as total visits despite the fact that the average ticket price saw a slight increase. It has been traditionally the case that the holiday season represents one of the industry's best seasons with a fairly steady growth curve. Despite the overall decrease in sales the author argued that it wasn't a consistent trend. That is that some movies did well during the year, especially in the summer, while others seemed to suffer much worse than expected results.

The author took a very neutral tone in providing the information about the Hollywood movie tone. It was a similar tone that one might find in a mainstream newspaper publication. Furthermore, the author provided multiple opinions about the movie sales revenues. The author doesn't take a strong stance on any…

Daddy Don't Get Drunk This Christmas

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, my parents were alcoholics, and I didn't know the difference. Until that one Christmas, when our lives came crashing down. Then, I knew what alcohol abuse could do to a family.

The strains of "Please daddy, don't get drunk this Christmas, I don't wanna see my momma cry" wound their way throughout the house. For some reason, my mom always played that song at Christmas. My dad always used to laugh uproariously as it played, singing along with the lyrics, and usually swigging a can of beer at the same time. Mom would laugh at his antics, and play the song again. Other kids could sing "Silent Night" or "O Come All Ye Faithful," but I could sing every verse of "Please Daddy" by the time I was four, it seems.

I always thought…

Escobar’s “Bloody Christmas”: The History of Crime and Punishment in the United States

Escobar used the case of “Bloody Christmas” to highlight the larger cultural issues during the 1950s in L.A. by showing how the police beating incident led the way to a confrontation between the Mexican American community and the burgeoning Mexican American civil rights movement in the city. While 8 officers were indicted (Escobar, 2003), this was just the latest crime by police in a series of injustices that were motivated by race. For example, Escobar (2003) notes that “beginning with early twentieth-century police attacks on Mexican immigrants, through efforts to destroy Mexican American labor unions in the 1930s, the Zoot Suit riots of World War II, the attempts to suppress the Chicano movement of the 1960s, and culminating with the most recent Rampart scandal, the LAPD has a lengthy history of harassment, physical abuse, and civil rights…

In other words, he changes, and for Marx, the capitalist cannot change until forced to do so, specifically by the revolution he and Engels call for in the Communist Manifesto. Marx sees the economic development of history as a matter of class struggle, following the dialectic of Hegel as opposing forces fight and through that revolution produce a synthesis, or a new social order. Dickens sees change as possible more simply by showing people the error of their ways and so getting them to change to a different way of behaving. Marx sees the need for a revolution to force any change into existence.

Again, the England described by Dickens was the England that helped produce Karl Marx and that contributed to his social theory. Both Marx and Dickens see the social ills of the time and ascribe these to the greed and single-minded pursuit of money on the part…

Hightower dubs Byron Bunch as "the guardian of public weal and morality. The gainer, the inheritor of rewards

...(ibid. 147)." He is religious and keeps a low profile in his Christian humility.

Byron Bunch is portrayed in stark contrast to Mr. And Mrs. Hines, our old racists, This is in contrast to religious hypocrites like Mr. Hines that use religion to demean and downgrade from humanity another group of people so that the religious fanatic can feel superior. These airs of superiority are seen again as Hines couple is shown to be prejudiced not just against Blacks, but also against Mexicans as well (ibid., 151-152). Truly, he is an equal opportunity hater that does not discriminate in his distribution of racist zealotry and vitriol.

Joe Christmas as a Jesus Christ Type of Figure

In the book, Faulkner portrays Joe Christmas in the mode of Jesus Christ type of figure (ibid.,…

Last year, during the Lakers' Christmas game, the Lakers were routed by Cleveland, thanks to the talents of LeBron. This year's game is a grudge match against LeBron as well as an opportunity to show that the last several losses for the Lakers were flukes and not indicative of the overall strength of the team. All of the fans hope that this year the Lakers will be playing in the NBA finals this July. Additionally, after as he was ejected from the end of the last, disappointing game, I know that Kobe Bryant will be ready to fight -- and win -- on the holiday. I believe he will be the 'Grinch' that steals the Heat's thunder and breaks its streak of victories.

Christmas is not just about presents -- it is also about having memorable experiences. Having the experience of seeing my team win with other loyal fans would…

Jewelry Exhibition Plan

Exhibition Plan

Anderson & Sons Co. is a forty years old company specializing in diamond and platinum jewelry. It is planning to conduct an exhibition for its elite clients on 25th November, 2012. The idea of this exhibition is to present the new collection of Anderson & Co. And its strategic alliances to the respected customers. The jewelry collection is based on the theme of Christmas and will be released a month before this festival.

Our jewelry is designed by country's top designers who have worked with reputed brands like Tiffany, Swarovski, Chanel and enaissance. Along with our creations, we will be presenting selected and limited work of other apparel with the idea of presenting exclusivity and style under one roof.

Location of the Exhibition

We are planning to arrange this event in one of the most reputed art galleries of the New York City, Luhury Augustine…

Supply Chain Ann

Supply Chain Management Annotated Bibliography

Chopra, S., & Meindl, P. (2010). Supply chain management: Strategy, planning and operation (4th ed.).Upper Saddle iver, NJ: Prentice Hall

The text by Chopra & Meindl (2010) is an excellent starting point for this discussion, primarily because it serves as a rather exhaustive introductory reading on the subject. Providing academic explanation of the basic premise of supply chain management and an extensive investigation of the strategies used for maintaining and evaluating this business dimension, the Chopra & Meindl text is a highly useful primary and frequently employed reference source on the subject.

Lee, H.L. (2002). Unleashing the power of intelligence. International Commerce eview: EC Journal, 2(1), 61-73.

The above source is well-supplemented by the article from Lee (2002), which adds a discussion about technological and practical advancement to the subject. Here, Lee identifies shifts both in capability and orientation, particularly vis-a-vis the…

Later, I saw you again at my uncle's party. You looked so beautiful sitting there with Lizel and Denise. I wanted to come over and talk to you when you smiled and waved at me. I could not at that time because I was with Elizabeth.

Even though it was a long time before I would see you again, I never stopped thinking about you. I hoped I would see you more when Lizel started renting a room for my uncle. When she asked about renting the other room to you, I said, "no" due to having a girlfriend and I knew I could not handle having you so close to me all the time.

Lizel, however, never listens to me. To my surprise, the next day I see you walking down the steps. y heart almost stopped as I felt like I was going to faint when you sat…

S. But this incident was a turning point in the history of Iran and many believe that this conflict was staged to prove that Iran was not afraid of any country. The conflict played a huge role in exposing Carter's foreign policy. The book's weaknesses lie in its overemphasis on few successes of Carter's Presidency era and its failure to dwell on his numerous failures including inflation, poor international relations and unemployment. The book wants to show that it was President Carter who earned the release of hostages but the fact remains that these hostages were released the very day, he left the office and Reagan took over.

Carter, Jimmy. Sources of Strength: Meditations on Scripture for Daily

iving. New York: Random House, 1997

This book contains 52 lessons from the Bible that President Carter cherishes. Each lesson is meant for each week of the year. The book provides an…

Mayoral Decision

A group of our town's most prominent Christian leaders has come to the Mayor's office, asking that we allow them to erect a Nativity scene on the city property in honor of Christmas.

At one time this was considered a complex issue involving separation of Church and State. However, that issue has been settled by the Supreme Court recently, when they required that the Ten Commandments, something used by major non-Christian religions as well as Christian ones, from a courthouse, because it implied a religious connection to the judicial system.

At the same time it seems silly to completely ignore the fact that at least 80% of this town's population celebrates Christmas in one way or another. The Mayor's office feels that it should support all people in our multi-racial, multi-cultural and multi-religious town, but that this should be done in a way that shows respect for all…

Yet, it is not the global recession that prompted the problems, but it is more of the time when they surfaced. The cause is the poor personnel management implemented for years within the organization, meaning as such that a solution can only come with the improvement of the personnel management strategies. The lines below point out to some strategies that could be developed and implemented to address the problem of poor personnel management at British Airways:

(a)

The creation and implementation of a strong corporate culture focused not only on customer satisfaction, but also on employee on the job satisfaction. British Airways should constitute a safe, pleasant and dynamic working environment that values employee input and embraces employee diversity (Matthews, 1998); an advantage would be offered by incentives, such as flexible working schedules or telecommuting (Joice, 1991)

(b)

The creation of a technological infrastructure that allows communications among staff members;…

1939 by Robert L. May, Rudolph Story

Rudolph, an American Folk Hero

The story of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is an excellent example of taking a classic folk story theme and giving it new vitality by infusing the hero with distinctly American values and ideals. The combination of the classic theme and the American hero combined to make Rudolph's story an indispensable part of the Christmas holiday season for millions of people for the past 50 years. In fact, it seems as if Rudolph has always been a part of Christmas, but in reality he was only created 65 years ago. Because Rudolph has become such a celebrated part of America's Christmas tradition in such a relatively short amount of time, the study of the story of Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer is essential in any course examining the development of the fable or tale.

What is it about misfit stories…

Cathy is, although temporarily lowered to a servant when Lockwood first meets her, was brought up from birth by her father to be a refined young girl, and Hareton is the rightful owner of the estate he inherits, not a true orphan and stable boy like Heathcliff.

The shift in the individual and personal past cannot change society in Bronte -- perhaps because Bronte's tale is a romantic tale, embracing both female and male experience, and this acknowledges the limits of gender, of both partners in a relationship. In contrast, Scrooge's initially rejection of human kindness is solely told in male-directed, economic terms -- by providing a turkey and medical care for Bob Cratchit's family, Scrooge becomes a good man. Scrooge is more powerful, financially, even if he lacks a heart socially, than Catherine or Cathy is, as both are women who are possessed of an estate only through patrilineal…

Strengthening the Nurse Orientation Process

Strengthening the orientation process

The healthcare management has been recording increasing developments of shortage of the human resource. This worrying trend has severed the health facilities to near grounding their functioning and purpose. However, research and interviews have attributed this trend to factors related to the orientation programs (Christmas, 2008). Most orientation schedules have been faulty in delivering the desired attention in the practicing interim nurses so that they can remain in the unit of practice. For this reason, the role of the nurse leader is being questioned. How is the nurse leadership role effective in overseeing the nurse orientation process? In my role as a nurse leader, it is my initiative to ensure that the orientation schedule in my unit is effective.

To strengthen the nurse orientation process, there are certain key aspects that I will stress. These areas include the assessment section, communication,…

However, management needs to keep in mind a budget in order to make this possible (Bolman & Deal, 2008).

A way in which to get everyone to work together the organization can form teams under each division. Each team has a leader that reports to the manager and communication improves because of it. They can also have teambuilding activities once a quarter to help bring about unity, which will empower others to come and allow for "Total Quality Management (TQM)" to occur (Bolman & Deal, 2008). Instead of the negative attitude and the lack of people wanting to go to work, each person feels empowered, and they want to contribute positively. As a result, they choose to encourage others and feel good about helping the customers enjoy their stay at Happy Hotel. Management will then advocate as well as inquire to make sure employees are satisfied, which makes all their…

I felt a little said I couldn't take them all home and show them to Grandma, but that was soon overcome by feeling good about letting them go instead of being greedy and wasting nature's beautiful resources.

That just had to be one of the best days of my life because I still remember it with warmth in my heart, appreciation for what I learned, and a deep love for Grandpa for taking the time to teach me.

He saved my cousin Richard's life too. I was eight. Richard was twelve, and almost didn't make it to thirteen. It was Christmas vacation at Grandma and Grandpa's house in Arkansas. A heavy snow had fallen, and us kids were having an all-out snowball fight near the lake. Of course, Grandpa had warned us several times not to go near the lake, but, hey, we were kids and we were having fun,…

Education Scenario

Response from District Superintendent

Bill James

How did the parents' letter make you feel? Be candid in your response.

How did I feel when reading this belligerent letter? My first impression after reading half way through the letter was, here is a member of (or an ideological believer in) the Tea Party and the school's multicultural programs give him a perfect opportunity to rage against immigration. Reading all the way through, and reading it a second time, it is apparent that the father has a chip on his shoulder because he served in combat missions and now that he is out of uniform he believes he has the right to rage against what he feels is too much attention paid to other cultures / subcultures in America.

He can say that he was in the service with others of different nationalities and ethnicities -- and therefore he can't…

You were a blessing I will always be grateful for, and one I wish I knew how to reclaim and make a part of my journey through life again.

We didn't just have "our song," we had whole genres of music. There are some albums on my shelf that I can't really play anymore without growing despondent just thinking of you. There was never any boredom that crept into our many hurts together, but instead there was always laughter and excitement, not to mention passion. Even though we were together at work at the bar and together at home, we never seemed to get tired of each other or even really need a break from each other -- in fact, we took our breaks together, too, and our vacations -- remember our first Christmas at your parents house? Or the next year at mine? Even our families, crazy though they…

That incidence shocked my family and especially my father lost his emotional control. During those tumultuous times, my parents decided to part away and got divorced. It was double loss for me and suffering from depression, I decided to drop out of the college but my mother stood like a wall to support me and not to abort my studies. She encouraged me to continue my education with proper determination.

I completed my graduation in 1992. I was the first one in my family to graduate from a college. Yet, with all my hardship, the influence of the accidental death of my brother and subsequent divorce of my parents was deep, my GP was low and I had to overcome and improve. During all those times, my mother continually supported me as a great mentor in learning how to deal with difficult situations in one's life. I realize how important…

I was touched by the dedication of the eldest brother to feed his siblings and by the way he ate last only after caring for them, and only if there was any food left after they ate. To me, it was depressing just to see; for them, it was their daily life. I gladly gave them two hundreds taka (about 3 dollars).

Even that experienced paled in comparison to what I saw in the homes of the poor. Millions of people in Bangladesh can't afford anything resembling what we here would consider a "house" by any stretch of the imagination. They live in huts made from straw and scraps of wood; there are no floors inside either, just the hard ground with a roof on top. Still, it is a place that provides a sanctuary from the filthy streets. Naturally, these huts are all blown away and flooded during the…

The only questionable charge made by the union is that the company promised to pay employees for certain medical benefits to discourage them from supporting the union, although the announcement of such benefits does seem to come at a questionable time.

Concerning the granting of improved sickness and health benefits in late December, the company contended that the improved benefits were part of the company's annual review of its benefit program and the decision regarding the change of benefits was designed to coincide with the Christmas season, which seems possible. However, to 'cover' its actions by stating that of "most" Milton's statements and questions to employees were not coercive is not enough. It is still responsible for the egregious behavior of Milton. Milton's shadowing of employees, questioning, remarks about Thompson's apartment and demands to be informed of union activities are in clear violation of sections (a) and (b) of the…

The play implies that social conventions can mask the truth by forcing people to take on false appearances, and pretend to believe they are true.

The most upstanding characters in the play are Krogstad and Mrs. Linde. Mrs. Linde is not respectable because she has worked hard all her life and does not have the easy life of a pampered wife. Mr. Krogstad's reputation and his decision to bust Nora make him seem sleazy, but he is actually trying to hold down a job and raise children on his own without any support. He turns out to be, at heart, a good man. Ibsen wants us to know that appearances can be deceiving.

8. This play is supposed to be a tragedy, and is meant to enlighten us about how we lie to each other and to ourselves in order to save face and keep up appearances.

Nora's character changes…

Instead of needing his help and protection, Torvald finds out that it was only Nora's role playing and really she was capable of working and doing deceptive things. Torvald's response to the letter shows that he has very little self-awareness and really thought that the "role-plays" were reality.

5. Torvald believes that marriage and family are important, and that the man or husband is in control. Torvald thinks that men should make all of the choices and that they must protect and watch out for their families, particularly their wives. Torvald had already made up his mind to fire Krogstad since he saw Krogstad as a bad person. hen Nora tried to change his mind he probably thought she was weak or stupid or a little of both. He seemed to resent her trying to get involved with his work and his decisions, as women were not meant to have…

Unlike the culture of my interviewee, African-American isn't really broken into subgroups. I was born and raised in Buffalo, New York, which is very close to the Canadian Border and the "U.S. Peace Bridge." I grew up speaking English, and it is the only language I speak.

My religion is not typical of most African-Americans, who tend to be Baptist, Methodist, or Lutheran. I was raised as a Catholic and still practice that religion today. I'm not the only African-American I know who is Catholic, but it's not common in my subculture.

Like my interviewee, I think the media is generally doing a good job of representing African-Americans in the media. However, I still see instances when African-Americans seem to be portrayed as being ruthless and slovenly, which in my opinion makes all African-Americans appear to be the same way (association assimilation).

I believe that all cultures have something that…

10-year-old boy, Alec. The child has had pervasive relocations in his life, beginning at age 2 and endured a challenging separation between his parents. Since the separation he first experienced 50% split parenting, living with his mother one week then his father and stepmother the next, until such time as he was school age. He then began to live full time with his mother during the school week and visit his father and stepmother every other weekend, until age 7 when his mother relocated to an area which is a seven hour drive from his father at this point the mother also remarried. From that point to the present he has stayed with his mother and stepfather the majority of the time and traveled to visit his father and stepmother on the Christmas holiday, spring break and through the summer, which usually works out to be about 2 months. Prior…

Native American Symbolic Rituals

Three Pronged Symbolic System of the Totem Pole, Potlatch and Tamanawas Dance

The people who originally migrated to the North American continent came here tens of thousands of years ago. They brought with them many different customs such as the ability to move quickly from one place to another, a love of the Earth that they inhabited, and a reverence for life. These people became what are now termed Native Americans. Native because they were settled here thousands of years before people from any other location came here. The different groups that crossed the land bridge from Siberia moved down the coast and spread out to different inland locations as they moved. Some settled along the estern coast of Canada and the United States and developed traditions that have remained through the millennia. Among those traditions are the construction of totems, the ceremony of the potlatch,…

mall-Business Management & Entrepreneurship

The fruition of many years of dreaming and planning will be realized through the opening of a restaurant in the Tri Cities area. Opening any business requires serious planning and calculations, yet the special needs of a restaurant are particular to the idea that many restaurants have gradual and long-term returns on investment. tart-up costs are often very significant with hard goods and food costs making up a very large output, not to mention procuring a location and either a purchase or lease and either building or remodeling space to meet the needs of the business and procuring the real estate.

Breaking even is often a guiding light at the end of a very long tunnel, between six months and two years depending on the region, and turning a profit often takes much longer. Another consideration is of coarse that restaurants usually do not provide a…

paganism and mystery religions influenced Christianity.

Paganism

Paganism and mystery religions

Pagan Mystery religions have been associated with paving the way for Christianity presentation across the ancient and present world. They played the role of preparing the people emotionally and mentally in understanding the kind of religion which was represented by Christianity. They existed in varying degrees, examples was the Galilean cult which was to replace them. There encouragement was for a shift from the philosophical and state religion systems towards the craving for personal salvation as well as promise of immortality. It is believed that Christianity have been manifested through the paganism and mystery religions, since they were involved in doing the groundwork which paved the way for Christian missionary work. Most of the perception, as passed from paganism into Christianity got a highly insightful and spiritual meaning by Christianity.

The early church developed from the Greco-oman world which…

SEX: Male [X] Female [ ]

AGE: 18-30 [ ] 31- 45 [X] 46 and over [ ]

PLACE OF BIRTH -- Westminster, Colorado

US or Europe [X] W. Indies & Caribbean [ ] L. America [ ] Asia [ ] Africa [ ]

LENGTH OF RESIDENCE in the U.S.: Less than 5 years [ ] 5 to 10 years [ ] More than 10 years [X]

PRESENT NATIONALITY: American

RACIAL/ETHNIC IDENTITY: White

EDUCATION Up to 8th 9th to 12th Some college orgrade [ ] grade [ ] college graduate [X]

OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS

FAMILY MEMORIES

I grew up in Northglenn, Colorado, a suburb of Denver. I have lived here my entore life except for two stints of college. I grew up in a lower middle-class family. My parents divorced when I was 3 years old. Both parents agreed not to drag it out through the courts, and came up with…

Management was forced into ad hoc solutions because of its inability to model different demand and supply conditions in advance and develop appropriate contingency plans. The pace of gathering and processing data was simply too slow for such an intense period.

4.

The S&OP software represented a marked improvement in supply chain management for Sunsweet. The company was able to even out its production over the course of the year (it is not explained how this works with a perishable product). Sales forecasts were improved. Production was developed over the long run, allowing it to reduce the number of seasonal workers it hired. The system delivered a return on investment of 15-20%. Moreover, management was able to handle its planning, scheduling and analysis tasks in a much shorter time frame -- hours instead of days -- with the new software, freeing up managerial time to perform other tasks, and improve…

Witnesses reported the noticeable odor of decay was present and dried mucous on one of her nostrils. The child was dressed in a light colored long-sleeved turtleneck and light-colored pants (similar to pajama bottoms). Her distraught father placed her on the floor by the front door. A white cord was tightly embedded around her neck similar to the string around her wrist. On her neck at the base of her throat was a red circular mark about the size of a quarter (World Law Direct Forums web site).

Based on her own experience Det. Arndt believed the child was dead and that she had been dead for some time. John amsey told Det. Arndt that he had found JonBenet in the wine cellar under a white blanket, that her wrists were tied above her head, and that a piece of duct tape was over her mouth. He pulled the tape…

The Chistmas tadition, be it the length of time of its evolution o the desie by each subsequent cultue to make it an accepted eality, is not so open and obviously evolving, unless one eally looks at it, as Hutton has done.

Lastly, afte looking at Hutton's epesentation of the histoical undepinnings of the vaious aspect of the myth, itual and language of Chistmas one might look at how it continues to evolve in the pesent. The pesent meaning, moden day, with its myth, itual and language suounded by pomp, cicumstance and especially the gift giving (and eceiving) pat suounding what most people and especially Chistians believe Chistmas to eally be in thei histoy. I might add hee, that thee is a moden tend among Chistians to take Chistmas back to its histoical undepinning, o the believed histoical undepinnings of the holiday. What is inteesting about this is that when…

In conjunction with these car ads, car insurance companies took advantage of this by advertising their services as well. Car insurance companies that I noticed advertising through billboards were Safeco, Progressive, and All State. Progressive provided a catchy and positive note to its ad by having the slogan, "Happy drivers make good drivers." From what I can recall in the All State ad, it mentioned something about safe driving, again with a catchy phrase: "Safe driving bonus for not driving like a paparazzi." These car insurance ads, particularly for Progressive and All State, tackle issues relevant to motorists, their target market: both chose to discuss driving behavior, using different ad 'treatments.' Progressive addressed reckless/irresponsible driving by focusing on the ideal driving behavior and its positive outcome, that is, drivers must have a happy temperament in order to be a good driver. All State, meanwhile, chose to go the opposite route…

(Catholic Home Study Service: Sundays and Holy Days) Hence when a changeover was made from Sabbath to Sunday as the weekly day of worship, the traditional Holy Days began to be neglected, and Christmas and Easter evolved to be the significant festivals of the Christian community. (Christian Holy Days)

The Modern Christian church now orders its members to attend services on every Sunday and on all other Holy Days. The Church makes the Services mandatory on Holy Days and on every Sunday, since the Christians have prayers and offerings as a community and the Services is the crucial activity which shows the worship of the community. Since this crucial activity shows the worship of the community as a whole, the need to attend services on the Holy Days and on Sundays is looked upon by the Church as a serious obligation. Sidelining this is considered to be a grave sin.…

Using "Stage One: Rubric for Group Invesigative Roles" can be helpful here, a grading rubric that stresses the ability of students to present information aloud and on paper to with sources correctly cited, with understanding, etc. During the performance, students should be assessed not simply on acting ability, but as denoted in "Stage Three: Rubric for Peformance," that they can understand and morally evaluate what is going on, such as clearly explaining several ways in which a character 'saw' things differently than other characters. This may require teachers to meet with students one-on-one, before giving a final grade, so as to discuss what students learned from the project.

hat is the revision process once you have the results from your evaluation?

Students can fill out a questionaire, reporting and assessing their contribution to the experience to allow the teacher to assimilate new information into the lesson plan next year.

orks…

That is the viewer must be more attuned to pop culture to enjoy each episode because they're not watching the show for it's story arc or character development within each show (like in the earlier years), they're watching it to see what snarky political and social commentary the show will make or what movie the storyline of the episode will parody. This reflects a change in the media cultural milieu. We've become a society that watches former reality TV stars on new reality shows. In other words, it was once enough to comment on a bad movie or a pop-culture meme within an episode, but now animation shows must fully parody these phenomena. In a sense it's beyond post-modernism and intertextualization, it's an attempt of defining a show exclusively in terms of pop-culture.

It was Churchill who said, "Change is the price of survival." And perhaps The Simpsons needed to…

Readers know that Maria is very religious, and that she prays often and cooks for the family. On page 7 readers learn that in her haste to keep the Catholic ritual of crossing herself, she mixes cooking and religion. "She breathed a prayer and crossed her forehead. The flour left white stains on her, the four points of the cross." Her life is not at all about her, but about the men in her family. And it seems she is a literary counterpoint to Ultima, who is spiritually as strong as Maria is faithful to Catholicism.

On page 50 it is clear that Tony will not depend on his mother's nurturing for a long period of time. "He will be all right,' Ultima said. 'The sons must leave the sides of their mothers,' she said almost sternly, and pulled my mother gently." And as the friendship between Tony and his…

That way, families could coordinate their schedules and plan family get-togethers just as they do now, except that they would be able to travel without worrying about traffic and airport congestion that makes holiday travel such a nightmare when everybody travels at the same time.

If anything, that approach to holidays would increase their meaning in several ways rather than reducing their meaning. Today, Christmas, Father's Day and Mother's Day in particular have become so commercialized that they have lost most of their underlying meaning. For example, every Christmas season, millions of Americans endure miserable conditions shopping to complete their Christmas lists. Meanwhile, everybody on their lists goes through the exact same thing reciprocally. Instead of giving meaningful gifts to one another, this process has become a ritualized obligatory exchange of gifts of approximately equal value that often completely detracts from any real warmth or meaningfulness of the gifts. In…

There is no cautioning the children to get to bed early to wait for Santa Claus, as gifts are not traditionally exchanged upon this day in Cuban culture. Although some Cubans have adopted the concept of Santa Claus after living in America, traditionally Noche Buena and Christmas Day is more of an adult festival. The parties on Noche Buena, much like New Year's Day, last long into the morning hours, and children sometimes fall asleep on their feet! Everyone rises late and has a casual meal of the leftovers.

Usually, Cuban children receive their gifts on the 6th of January, the day of Los Reyes Magos, the Three Kings or Three Wise Men. This is a day of processions and gift-giving, and people dressed up as the Wise Men throw candy to the crowds of children watching in the streets. (if you really think about it, it makes more sense…

Therefore, the concept of a traditional Western marriage can be used as a tool for making those who are different from the norm, such as homosexuals, feel alienated and distant from society. On the other hand, advocates of gay marriage suggest that allowing homosexuals to share in the rites and responsibilities of traditional marriage can be a way of recognizing their personhood, and can lead to unification between seemingly diverse sub-populations among the larger Western culture. As the above example demonstrates, there is no easy answer to the question of whether traditions promote unity; some traditions promote unity, while some promote divisiveness, and even the same tradition can have different meanings in different communities.

Furthermore, though traditions develop from a community's shared experiences, it is important to differentiate between a tradition's appearance and the underlying reality. For example, in American weddings, the bride has traditionally worn white to signify virginity…

A small but vigorous Communist party already experienced with underground work was the first to initiate clandestine operations. They set up front organizations and recruited members. By April 1942, they had recruited enough people to form a guerrilla arm called ELAS. Aris Velouchiotis, a former schoolteacher and Communist revolutionary, was the leader of this group whose goal was to harass the occupiers and wear them down.

A charismatic leader with a strong streak of cruelty, he had a knack for communicating with peasants in the simple but subtle language of the mountains and possessed a flair for the dramatic. He draped his short, powerful figure with bandoliers, wore a black Cossack-style hat flamboyantly and was surrounded by a personal bodyguard of a score or more men, who adopted his headgear and hence were known as "black bonnets" (Bailey, 1978, p. 153).

Another group in Greece, EDES, developed in the mountains…

This is her suffering.

LUIS J. RODRIGUEZ, THE REPUBLIC OF EAST LA (2002)

"Unfortunately, Rosalba endured many scary nights staying in dingy hotel rooms with other migrants, mostly women, in downtown Los Angeles. She not only didn't have a man to help but no obvious skills except what she learned on the rancho. She had to survive being cast into a peculiar universe of neon and noise. This was a place where women sold themselves for sex or get stoned, and where people on city buses never say anything to you unless they happen to be drunk or crazy" (229).

In this extract, several things become clear about the nature of Los Angeles and its inhabitants. The migrant, whose group Rosalba joins, represents the suffering of poverty. The "peculiar universe of neon and noise" shows just how far Rosalba feels removed from this artificial, seemingly wealthy world. She has nothing…

... She puts a robe on and stares at me. I can hear thunder in the distance and it begins to rain harder. She lights a cigarette and I start to dress. And then I call a cab and finally take the Wayfarers off and she tells me to be quiet walking down the stairs so I won't wake her parents. (Ellis 1985, 120-122)

In the second situation, he is with a girl Blair who was once his girlfriend. The girl needs to know if Clay has any feelings for her and his response explains why he was so devoid of emotions.

BLAI: What do you care about? What makes you happy?

CLAY: Nothing. Nothing makes me happy. I like nothing.

BLAI: Did you ever care about me, Clay?

CLAY: I don't want to care. If I care about things, it'll just be worse, it'll just be another thing to…

Norwegian-Americans

Norwegians are credited with being the first Europeans to discover North America. The Norwegian/Icelander Leiv Eiriksson reached America by way of Norse settlements in Greenland circa A.D. 1000, nearly five centuries before Columbus. It is usually agreed that the Norwegian settlers in Greenland founded the capital settlement of Vinland at L'Anse aux Meadows, and that their territory included the entire isle of Newfoundland. Just how much they explored further past the Canadian Maritime Provinces in North America has been a matter of discussion for the past hundred years among romantic and ethnic nationalists as well as some lay historians. Some widely disputed evidence suggests that Norwegians having made a lot of settlements much further into the North American mainland than was thought before (Norwegian-Americans, 2011).

Norwegian migration to North American is thought to have started in July 1825, with the sailing of the sloop estauration from Stavanger bound for…

American Jews in Film

Narration is an old age tradition that has helped for centuries in protecting the tales and stories of humans and carrying it forth from one generation to other. here before the tradition carried forth in an oral manner, today the mediums for these narrations have changed drastically, and have moved on from oral traditions to written and even visual mediums. These mediums, which include, Newspaper, books, Radio, Television, stage, etc., today have captured the human imagination and created scenes for the human eye to perceive as a form of reality, rather than an image just in their head. It is not astonishing to believe since visuals in the form of a medium has been used from time unknown and are still present today for us to witness in the form of cave drawings (right 1).

There is no doubt that the power of the visual image…

He treated the other residents with dignity as he was working. He said that while there were many residents in the shelter, none of them was alike but people insisted on treating them the same way. Often, residents will find reasons to fight and argue with one another but he wanted to be above that kind of behavior. He was sensitive to the fact that all of them had rough experiences and were just like him in that they were trying to make things better. He would comment that all the residents were citizens of the country and they all deserved the same rights as anyone else, whether they had a home or not. He would rally around residents when they suffered an injustice and try to work toward an amiable situation with them if her could. In "Theme for English B," the wants to know more about the human…

They were zigzagging through the sugar cane field, a truly bizarre scene.

Also in Mendoza, it is a dark and evil scene as Mendoza's body is tied to the back of a donkey but the body kept sliding down under the donkey ("ass"). There is no respect for the dead here in this scene, and to take his bloody, muddy, and wet body to his wife's house, and throw it down in the threshold -- that is profoundly evil. He never had a chance, and now his family has to pay the price. The evil and "horrible grimace" that was on the face of the dead Mendoza must have been a terrible shock to his family and his children. His son (who had found what he thought was a corpse) now saw a real corpse, ironically the person he had seen earlier and mistaken for a corpse -- his own…