5 Best cities for a Christmas vacation

 if your family likes to celebrate the holidays at a new place every year, why not suggest one of these festive wonderlands for your Christmas getaway? Each of these cities knows how to do Christmas with festivals, giant trees, parades and decorations galore, so you'll never feel out of the holiday spirit. If you plan on traveling, book your tickets and rooms now since these are serious hot spots!

 

 

Boston, Massachusetts

Boston is magical during the holidays. Back Bay streets are lined with festive Christmas lights, the Faneuil Hall tree glitters with hundreds of ornaments and Beacon Hill's cobblestone streets glisten under a soft dusting of snow. In addition to the sights, there are a ton of seasonal things to do. If you can, grab a sitter and catch the Slutcracker show, a burlesque parody of the Nutcracker, which runs from Dec. 2-24. For a more family-friendly event, visit Boston's Symphony Hall for the Holiday Pops, where the Boston Pop's play holiday tunes and narrate " 'Twas the Night Before Christmas."

Park City, Utah

Park City sees up to 40 inches of snowfall every holiday season, so you're sure to experience a white Christmas there. If skiing and snowboarding are your thing, check out one of the three resorts in town: Park City Mountain Resort, Deer Valley, and The Canyons. If you'd rather watch, grab tickets to the Sprint U.S. Snowboarding and Freeskiing Grand Prix which takes place at Park City Mountain Resort Dec. 21-22. If shopping is more your speed, take a stroll down the hip-and-funky Main Street, which houses more than 100 unique shops and is lit up with multicolored Christmas lights. For a unique take on A Christmas Carol, head to the Egyptian Theatre, which has a live radio broadcast of the story!
 

Leavenworth, Washington

This cozy town is a spitting image of Bavaria in the middle of Washington state with German and Bavarian-themed homes, shops, restaurants and hotels. What they are known for, besides their adorably themed village, are their festivals. The Christmas Lighting Festival is one of their largest and takes place on three weekends in December. During the festival, the town lights up in multicolored Christmas lights and townspeople dress as holiday characters. There is live entertainment all day, Bavarian food and holiday sweets as well as roasted chestnuts and a tree lighting ceremony. While you are there, check out the Leavenworth Summer Theater's production of A Christmas Carol.

Edinburgh, Scotland

This ancient Scottish town lights up during the holidays, literally, with a breathtaking fireworks display each year out of the Edinburgh castle. In addition to fireworks, hundreds of bagpipers surround the Sir Walter Scott Monument every Christmas to play "Amazing Grace." The city comes alive for six weeks, which makes it one the best places to spend Christmas in the U.K. Pick up some last-minute gifts at the renowned German Christmas Market and then strap on your ice skates to go skating in Europe's largest open-air skating rink at the Winter Wonderland in Princes street Gardens. You also can't miss the St. Giles' Cathedral Choir's annual concert in Parliament Square.

 

Montreal, Canada

If you're dreaming of Paris this Christmas, but it's out of your price range (or don't want the jet-lag), visit the French-Canadian city of Montreal instead! The city has multiple outdoor ice skating rinks that are lit up with holiday lights. One of the best for families is the Patinoire du Bassin Bonsecours in Old Montreal. Your kids won't want to miss the Santa Claus Parade, a Montreal holiday tradition since 1925, which kicks off at Ste. Catherine Street. Another family-favorite activity is the Montreal Christmas fireworks, which go off every Saturday in December at the Old Port. Don't forget to pick up last minute gifts at one of the three great Montreal Cristmas Markets.

 

Boston, Massachusetts

Boston is magical during the holidays. Back Bay streets are lined with festive Christmas lights, the Faneuil Hall tree glitters with hundreds of ornaments and Beacon Hill's cobblestone streets glisten under a soft dusting of snow. In addition to the sights, there are a ton of seasonal things to do. If you can, grab a sitter and catch the Slutcracker show, a burlesque parody of the Nutcracker, which runs from Dec. 2-24. For a more family-friendly event, visit Boston's Symphony Hall for the Holiday Pops, where the Boston Pop's play holiday tunes and narrate " 'Twas the Night Before Christmas."

Park City, Utah

Park City sees up to 40 inches of snowfall every holiday season, so you're sure to experience a white Christmas there. If skiing and snowboarding are your thing, check out one of the three resorts in town: Park City Mountain Resort, Deer Valley, and The Canyons. If you'd rather watch, grab tickets to the Sprint U.S. Snowboarding and Freeskiing Grand Prix which takes place at Park City Mountain Resort Dec. 21-22. If shopping is more your speed, take a stroll down the hip-and-funky Main Street, which houses more than 100 unique shops and is lit up with multicolored Christmas lights. For a unique take on A Christmas Carol, head to the Egyptian Theatre, which has a live radio broadcast of the story!
 

Leavenworth, Washington

This cozy town is a spitting image of Bavaria in the middle of Washington state with German and Bavarian-themed homes, shops, restaurants and hotels. What they are known for, besides their adorably themed village, are their festivals. The Christmas Lighting Festival is one of their largest and takes place on three weekends in December. During the festival, the town lights up in multicolored Christmas lights and townspeople dress as holiday characters. There is live entertainment all day, Bavarian food and holiday sweets as well as roasted chestnuts and a tree lighting ceremony. While you are there, check out the Leavenworth Summer Theater's production of A Christmas Carol.

Edinburgh, Scotland

This ancient Scottish town lights up during the holidays, literally, with a breathtaking fireworks display each year out of the Edinburgh castle. In addition to fireworks, hundreds of bagpipers surround the Sir Walter Scott Monument every Christmas to play "Amazing Grace." The city comes alive for six weeks, which makes it one the best places to spend Christmas in the U.K. Pick up some last-minute gifts at the renowned German Christmas Market and then strap on your ice skates to go skating in Europe's largest open-air skating rink at the Winter Wonderland in Princes street Gardens. You also can't miss the St. Giles' Cathedral Choir's annual concert in Parliament Square.

 

Montreal, Canada

If you're dreaming of Paris this Christmas, but it's out of your price range (or don't want the jet-lag), visit the French-Canadian city of Montreal instead! The city has multiple outdoor ice skating rinks that are lit up with holiday lights. One of the best for families is the Patinoire du Bassin Bonsecours in Old Montreal. Your kids won't want to miss the Santa Claus Parade, a Montreal holiday tradition since 1925, which kicks off at Ste. Catherine Street. Another family-favorite activity is the Montreal Christmas fireworks, which go off every Saturday in December at the Old Port. Don't forget to pick up last minute gifts at one of the three great Montreal Cristmas Markets.

Short Romantic Love Stories

Christmas is near and smell of joy and warm love is in the air .
Here's a compilation a short love storie ,take a look :

• Stories 1
  There was a girl named Becca and a boy named Joe. Becca was in a burning house. None of the firefighters could get in the house because the fire was too big. Joe dressed in one of the fire suits and got into the house. When he got up the stairs, the steps fell off behind him. When he got into her room he sealed the door up behind him. He held her tight, kissed her, huged her, then said that he loved her. She asked what was wrong, and he said that he was going to die. Her eyes widened as she began to cry. He picked her up and jumped out of the four story house. He landed on his back with her on top of him. He died to save her life.

• Stories 2
   One night a guy and a girl were driving home from the movies. The boy sensed there was something wrong because of the painful silence they shared between them that night. The girl then asked the boy to pull over because she wanted to talk. She told him that her feelings had changed & that it was time to move on.
  A silent tear slid down his cheek as he slowly reached into his pocket & passed her a folded note.
  At that moment, a drunk driver was speeding down that very same street. He swerved right into the drivers seat, killing the boy. Miraculously, the girl survived. Remembering the note, she pulled it out & read it. "Without your love, I would die."
  

•  Stories 3
  A girl asked a boy if she was pretty, he said "No". She asked him if he wanted to be with her forever, he said "No". Then she asked him if he would cry if she walked away, he said "No". She had heard enough; she needed to leave. As she walked away he grabbed her arm and told her to stay. He said "You're not pretty, you're beautiful. I don`t want to be with you forever, I need to be with you forever. And I wouldn't cry if you walked away, I would die."
  
• Stories 4 ( This is the best one )
  This is what love means.....
  
  
  Love Means... (a girl and guy were speeding over 100 mph on a motorcycle)
  Girl: Slow down. I'm scared.
  Guy: No this is fun.
  Girl: No its not. Please, it's too scary!
  Guy: Then tell me you love me.
  Girl: Fine, I love you. Slow down!
  Guy: Now give me a big hug. (Girl hugs him)
          Can you take my helmet off and put it on? It's bugging me.
  
  In the paper the next day: A motorcycle had crashed into a building because of break failure. Two people were on the motorcycle, but only one survived. 
   
  The truth was that halfway down the road, the guy realized that his breaks broke, but he didn't want to let the girl know. Instead, he had her say she loved him, felt her hug one last time, then had her wear his helmet so she would live even though it meant he would die.
  
  
  Just a simple story right ? how do u feel ?
  Well love is more than something ,it means anything ..
  
  Thank You
   
  

The history of Santa Claus: 7 interesting facts

 

As Christmas approaches, children around the world have Santa on the brain. They're anxiously wondering if they've been overly naughty or sufficiently nice, and eagerly daydreaming about their potential gift hauls. But exactly how did the jolly, bearded North Pole resident evolve into the cultural icon we know today? Here, seven interesting facts about his evolution:

1. He was real, sort of a....

Folklore may have turned Santa Claus into a toy distributor who mans a sleigh led by eight flying reindeer, but he is actually based, loosely, on a real person. Born around the year 270, St. Nicholas was the Bishop of Myra, a town in what is now Turkey. He earned a reputation as an anonymous gift giver,  by paying the dowries of impoverished girls and handing out treats and coins to children — often leaving them in their shoes, set out at night for that very purpose. Since his death, Nicholas has been canonized as the patron saint of children.

2. He's only been 'Santa Claus' for 200 years

A Dutch tradition kept St. Nicholas' story alive in the form of Sinterklaas, a bishop who traveled from house to house to deliver treats to children on the night of Dec. 5. The first anglicizing of the name to Santa Claus was in a story that appeared in a New York City newspaper in 1773

3. Satire first sent Santa down a chimney

In his satiric 1809 book A History of New York, Washington Irving did away with the characterization of Santa Claus as a "lanky bishop," says Whipps. Instead, Irving described Santa as a portly, bearded man who smokes a pipe. Irving's story also marked the first time Santa slid down the chimney,

4. "Twas the Night Before Christmas" introduced the reindeer

Clement Moore's 1822 poem A Visit From Saint Nicholas — which is now more commonly referred to as "Twas the Night Before Christmas" — was first published anonymously in the Troy, N.Y., Sentinel on Dec. 23, 1823. The 56-line poem introduced and popularized many of Santa's defining characteristics — chiefly, that he drove a sleigh guided by "eight tiny reindeer."

5. Coca-Cola created the modern Mr. Claus

When Father Christmas first began showing up in illustrations, he wore many different colored robes: Green, purple, blue, and brown, among others. Beginning in the late 1800s, it became popular to outfit Santa in a red suit. Artist Louis Prang depicted him that way in a series of Christmas cards in 1885, and The New York Times reported on the red garments in 1927. But the modern image of Santa Claus as the jolly man in the red suit was seared into American pop culture in 1931, when artist Haddon Sundblom illustrated him that way for a widely-circulated campaign for Coca-Cola.

6. The department store Santa is a 120-year-old tradition

In 1890, Massachusetts businessman James Edgar became the first department store Santa, according to The Smoking Jacket. Edgar is credited with coming up with the idea of dressing up in a Santa Claus costume as a marketing tool. Children from all over the state dragged their parents to Edgar's small dry goods store in Brockton, and a tradition was born.

7. Santa was a bachelor until the late 1800s

The first mention of a spouse for Santa was in the 1849 short story A Christmas Legend by James Rees. Over the next several years, the idea of Mrs. Claus found its way into several literary publications, like the Yale Literary Magazine and Harper's Magazine. But it wasn't until Katherine Lee Bates' widely-circulated 1889 poem Goody Santa Claus on a Sleigh Ride that Santa's wife was popularized. ("Goody" is short for "Goodwife," or "Mrs.")

Source : Colour Lovers, Independent, MSNBC, The Smoking Jacket