Christmas

I've been celebrating Christmas for 21 years.. But then again.. It is only this year when i realise that i did not know the history of this celebration and how true it is that Jesus's birth is to be celebrated on the 25th of December...

Hence, i've browse on some sites and again.. i make my own summary of Christmas which i wish to share with my frens... No Christmas gift from me.. but i hope this will help~~ I'll make it as short as possible...

Pre-Christmas
The middle of winter has long been a time of celebration around the world. Centuries before the arrival of the man called Jesus, early Europeans celebrated light and birth in the darkest days of winter. In Scandinavia, the Norse (Norwegian) celebrated Yule from December 21, the winter solstice, through January. The end of December was a perfect time for celebration in most areas of Europe. At that time of year, most cattle were slaughtered so they would not have to be fed during the winter. In Germany, people honored the pagan god Oden (a God of death and wealth in gold) during the mid-winter holiday. In Rome, where winters were not as harsh as those in the far north, Saturnalia—a holiday in honor of Saturn, the god of agriculture—was celebrated. Also around the time of the winter solstice, Romans observed Juvenalia, a feast honoring the children of Rome. Members of the upper classes often celebrated the birthday of Mithra, the god of the unconquerable sun, on December 25. It was believed that Mithra, an infant god, was born of a rock. For some Romans, Mithra's birthday was the most sacred day of the year.

Origin of Date and Name
The word for Christmas in late Old English is Cristes Maesse, the Mass of Christ, first found in 1038, and Cristes-messe, in 1131.
It is unknown exactly when or why December 25 became associated with Christ's birth. The New Testament does not give a specific date. Thus, the date as a birthdate for Christ is traditional, and is not considered to be his actual date of birth.

In conclusion, Christmas festivities often combine the commemoration of Jesus' birth with various cultural customs, many of which have been influenced by earlier winter festivals. Although a Christian holiday, it is also observed as a cultural holiday by many non-Christians. The prominence of Christmas Day increased gradually after Charlemagne (Father of Europe) was crowned on Christmas Day in 800. Around the 12th century, the remnants of the former Saturnalian traditions of the Romans were transferred to the Twelve Days of Christmas (25 December - 5 January). Christmas during the Middle Ages was a public festival, incorporating ivy, holly, and other evergreens, as well as gift-giving.

Ok.. since Christmas is to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, then why Santa Claus?

Santa Claus

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. The name Santa Claus evolved from Nick's Dutch nickname, Sinter Klaas, a shortened form of Sint Nikolaas (Dutch for Saint Nicholas). However, the modern depiction of Santa Claus as a fat, jolly man (or elf) wearing a red coat and trousers with white cuffs and collar, and black leather belt and boots, became popular in the US in the 19th century due to the significant influence of caricaturist and political cartoonist Thomas Nast. So, basically.. Santa Claus has nothing to do with Christianity..

Rudolph - the red nose reindeer

I'm sure everyone has heard of the song, 'Rudolph the red nose reindeer, has a very shiny nose...' But does Rudolph really exist? 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. 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. 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. So, sorry to have your fantasy broken~~

Nevertheless, Christmas is still widely celebrated, perhaps, another holiday is better than none. And several writers have wrote stories about Christmas to keep the spirit burning. One of the all time favourite is "The Christmas Carol" but Charles Dickens. I've found a website containing this story online. If you have the time, go read on it.. it really helps recharge your faith and hope... http://www.literature.org/authors/dickens-charles/christmas-carol/index.html

Lastly, i came across an article whose title was: Santa: The First Great Lie. It started with the line, "The basic cause of all mankind's flaws is a lack of trust. We have lost faith. We do not know who to believe. We do not know who to trust." but then, it ended with, "The Santa Claus conspiracy is the first conundrum we encounter on a lifetime journey of losing faith, and that's the only thing in life you can trust - the true and certain knowledge that you can't believe in anything."

Hence, never lose Trust, Faith and Hope...

~~MErRy CHrIsTmaS to ALL~~~

National Treasure 2

22nd December, i went for movie with hooi thing, pei xian, and a di... as mentioned.. we watched National Treasure 2: Book of Secret. This movie is directed by Jon Turteltaub (the same guy who directed NT 1), written by Gregory Poirier. This movie too reunites the cast in NT1, and added Ed Harris as well as Helen Mirren.

• Nicolas Cage as Benjamin Franklin Gates
• Justin Bartha as Riley Poole
• Diane Kruger as Abigail Chase
• Jon Voight as Patrick Henry Gates
• Harvey Keitel as FBI Agent Peter Sadusky
• Helen Mirren as Emily Appleton Gates
• Ed Harris as Mitch Wilkinson
• Bruce Greenwood as US President

The whole search's of this treasure was to clear Ben's ancestor's name. When a missing page from the diary of John Wikes Booth surfaces, Ben's great-great grandfather is implicated as the key conspirator in Abraham Lincoln's death.

There are a few things which i hope i had knew before i watched this movie.. coz i really felt like an idiot when they were discussing about the History of America.. Hence, i would like to discuss on the ppl and things you should knoe before heading off for this movie..

1. Abraham Lincoln

• the 16th President of USA
• serving period: March 4, 1861 - April 15, 1865 (assassinated)
• During his term, he helped preserve the US by leading the defeat of the secessionist Confederate States of America in the American Civil War. He introduced measures that resulted in the abolition of slavery, issuing his Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 and promoting the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution in 1865.
• His assassination in 1865 was the first presidential assassination in U.S. history and made him a martyr for the ideal of national unity.

2. John Wikes Booth

• American Stage Actor and Confederate sympathizer who assassinated Abraham Lincoln.
• Booth began devising a plan to kidnap Lincoln in exchanged for the release of around 10,000 Southern soldiers held captive in Northern prisons. recruited his old friends Samuel Arnold and Michael O'Laughlin as accomplices.
  
• He later abandon the kidnap plan and began plotting for an assassination, which he succeeded by shooting him in the back of the head with a .44 caliber Derringer.
  

3. Édouard René Lefèvre de Laboulaye

• was a French Jurist
• careful observer of the politics of the United States, and an admirer of its constitution
• the intellectual creator of the Statue of Liberty.

4. Statue of Liberty

• Hundreds of smaller replicas of the Statue of Liberty have been erecter worldwide.
• The one shown in this movie is near the Grenelle Bridge on the Ile des Cygnes, an island in the river Seine
• it looks towards the Atlantic Ocean and hence towards its "larger sister" in New York Harbor

5. Resolute Desk

• It was a present from Queen Victoria to President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1879.
• Every President since Hayes, except Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Gerald Ford, has used the desk.
  
• President George H.W. Bush had the desk moved to the Treaty Room in the Executive Residence, but President Bill Clinton returned the Resolute to the Oval Office.

6. American Civil War (1861-1865)

• between the USA (the "Union") and the Southern slave states of newly-formed Confederate States of America under Jefferson Davis.
  

7. JFK (John F. Kennedy)

• 35th President of the USA
• famous for saying, "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."
• He was assassinated

8. Cibola

• myth that originated around the year 1150 when the Moors conquered Merida, Spain.
• The legend says that these cities grew very rich, mainly from gold and precious stones. This idea fueled many expeditions in search of the mythical cities during the following centuries.

And so... after reading these 8 things/ppl.. i hope that you'll get wat those actors were conversing about... unlike me.. i really catch no ball :P

And about the book of secret.. i really wonder if it exists.. and wat's on page 47... Curious to noe... If the Book of Secret really does exist, then a lot of conspiracy and mystery will be solved.. But then again... it's human's nature to uncover the truth yet it's human's nature to choose to leave certain things unknown.. hmm.. human is just so contradicting~~

Btw, all the info i obtained were summarized from Wikipedia...

So.. lastly... enjoy the movie~~

sam's chinese tag~~

Headache when i read it.. but then.. i'll try my best to answer.. given my chinese level... and i cant tag a lot of ppl.. since those bloggers i noe.. already been tagged by sam. and those not tagged.. are banana's...

被点名規則：
~被点到名字的要在自己的博客(日记就能了啦）里写下自己的答案~
~然後去掉一个你最不喜欢的问题再加上一个你的问题~
~仍然組成20個问题~传給其他8个人~
~列出其他需要回答問題的人的名字~
~还要到这8个人的博客里留言通知对方“你被点名了”~
~被点名者不得拒绝回答问题~
~完成游戏的人將会永远得到大家的祝福~

1。我是谁？
答案: 我是个在坚强中的女人

2.。空闲的时候你喜欢做什么？
答案：弹钢琴，睡觉，发白日梦．．

3。我希望我的另一半是？
答案：让神决定

4。喜欢去那里，为什么？
答案：去没人的地方．海边，没人的草场．能让自己静下来．．

5。你讨厌怎样的人？
答案: 说谎的人，　自以为是的人，　＇做做＇的人．

6。现在最想做的事是什么？
答案：不再爱他

7。最怕的东西是什么？
答案：骗子

8。单身还是恋爱中？
答案：单身，　不想再爱了．．

9。抽烟么？
答案：不

10。喜欢吃日本餐，西餐，中餐~
答案：随便，　能吃就吃

11。你最喜欢的偶像是？
答案：我爸，　够狠．．

12。身边的人出卖你，你会如何？
答案：take revenge...

13. 你的口头是？
答案：累啦～

14. 你最喜欢去那里？
答案：不是回答了吗？

15. 男生花心吗？？
答案：全都花心！！

16. 喜欢看星星吗？
答案：very much in love with stars :)

17. 说出你喜欢的人其中一个英文字母?
答案：没喜欢的人

18.你成熟吗？
答案：还好

19. 十年后的你是?
答案：成功的女人．

20。如果看着你喜欢的人喜欢着另一个人，你会？
答案：让他后悔

现在到我点名
chye hsiang.. (try use translator lar)
marsha... (use translator oso lar)
gui yan...
ah bee...
kei vin... (time to hv a blog)

Tang Yuan Nite

tonite, i cooked tang yuan coz tomolo is dong zhi... since most of our frens went back to hometown d... only 8 ppl came for tang yuan. Me, A di, Jing Wei, Pei Xian, Chui Ling, Hooi Thing, Chye Hsiang, and Kai Ming.. 4 guys n 4 gals.. Chui Ling and Chye Hsiang is going outstation tomolo...Neway... Pei Xian and me started preparing the tang yuan.. and the first packet was a total disaster.. lolz... i poured hot water instead of cold.. but i rememeber someone told me that i should pour hot instead of cold water... nvm.. then a di went to get another packet of rice flour. Luckily he was here.. else... no tang yuan this year :( then around 10pm.. Hooi Thing, Chui Ling and Kai Ming arrived.. Then all of us waited for Chye Hsiang.. since we dun have enough bowl too... and after tang yuan.. chye hsiang held his first performance at my house :) care for video??

Besides keyboard.. he can play violin too~~ (started learning that nite)...


wah.. he really look like miss lim ler~~

Then, around 12am... everyone went back home. Coz Pei xian had to finish her assignmnet, Chui Ling and Hooi Thing had to meet a fren, Kai Ming too.. And Chye Hsiang needed to shift his pet... then.. that's the end of the small gathering...
Here's the leftover...

1st x'mas pReSenT

YTd nite... b4 going out for dinner.. my 啊弟送我今年我收到的第一份 x'mas present... hmm... 其实也不算是个惊喜因为前几天他问我，我想要什么礼物呢。。他也很 observant... 发现到我钱包破了。。昨晚，他就送我那份礼物了。。我收到时，有点不好意思因为我没准备什么送他呀。。真得很感谢他送我那份礼物哦。。。 啊弟呀，除了谢谢。。 也不董该说什么才好。。 可是昨天也给了你一个吻了哦。。 算是礼物吗？哈哈。。 虽然是强吻，可是说什么也是一个吻咯。。

this is the present he gave me.. with a card summore...

"yo! Merry Christmas!!! The past is the past...So please don't think too much la.. You must look forward... Still ....(秘密)....So wish you all the best la.. And please la i beg you don't always think of 'XXX'."

累啦~~



再次要谢谢一直陪伴着我的朋友。。
陪伴着我的啊弟。。
大嫂。。

i noe.. in this world, there are still a lot of things waiting for me to do... thus, i will (like wat pei xian always say)

-KEEP MOVING FORWARD-

pre-x'mas dinner

20th December 2007... 8 bachelorettes had a pre x'mas dinner at Havana's Cafe... as usual.. when all the food arrived, mei shan starts taking pic... then my stomach already growling.. but she dun let me eat...(mama so bad de)... neway.. i must list out the 8 ladies... Me, Pei Xian, Mei Shan, Hooi Thing, Chui Ling, Wan Ting, Jing Hui, Ying Shuang. After dinner, we exchanged x'mas present... although it was 'flooding' at Havana... After dinner.. we decided to go Aloha coz everyone's dolled up.. such a waste to go straight back home... haha... wat an excuse :P when we reach Aloha.. the ambience was dull and not happening at all~ But no worries.. Diaane's here.. she's the crazy gal~~ That nite there.. we had a lot of ladies drink, then too pai seh d.. so bought a glass of magerita.. then soon after that, a guy from next table gave pei xian a bottle of heineken, and few hours later, the boss of Aloha gave us one bucket... hehe... Lastly, a guy from the table opposite of us gave pei xian a glass of martell... so... Look at wat pei xian brought for us??? Free DRINKS~~~ 1st time go 'pubbing'[1] get to drink for FOC~~


Who's the lucky one???


'civilised' ladies~~

[1] the word pubbing was created due to mei shan's influence. She made a promise to sumone that she'll not to clubbing.. so she went pubbing instead...

gui yan & michael’s b’day

another b'day again...Gui Yan's on 18 dec and Michael's on 21st... This time, the venue is Amigo, and 2nd round is at Bonami Cafe.







Some of the Food we ordered... Sambal Squid, Grilled Chicken, Mozzarella Turkey, and mushroom soup.

Then, at Bonami.. we had a small game.. whoever got caught cheating or maligning ppl had to be punished.. here are few pics~~


Who's that??? hmm~~ birthday boy???

so romantic huh?

summore got red light~~

ala titanic.. but the guy too ugly.. cant show head...

I'm fLyinG~~

Swimming

Few days later.. we went swimming at Ozana.. after that.. we went to Pak Putra again~~ and here are few pics taken after all the cannibals had their prey in their stomach...





That nite.. we ate RM70++ of food at mamak~~ imagine.. how hungry we were.. But it was really delicious.. Go PAk PUTrA noW~~ Wat are Ya WaitIng FOR??? Everything on the menu is super-duper-extremely delicous...it's finger licking good~~hand licking good~~ mouth licking good...

1st Mahjong Experience

That nite we reached MElaka from KL, gui yan, me, pei xian, and michael went to ate porridge. but the the porridge stall sold off all of their porridge. So we went to to Pak Putra for Tandoori Chicken and Naan...



From the pics.. it's already obvious that his chicken is.. wow.. Crispy on the outside yet soft and juicy in the inside.. Both thumbs up! Imagine while placing it into your mouth.. you can bite it, hear the sound, then the juice will flow into your mouth. it's naan too is simply delicious. Usually those naan we have outside, they will put in Baking Soda to make it expand..(i think that's the word), yet for Pak Putra, he dind't use it. Hence, it is more healthy as compared to the other naan. I would simply recommend Pak Putra if anyone we to find Tandoori Chicken.. and the boss is also friendly.. He's from Pakistan oo~~

Then, we went to Gui Yan's house for mahjong... that nite was my first nite playing mahjong.. and it was indeed addictive~~

All the gambling kings+queens... no need study liao lar~~

We winded up everything at 2am coz pei xian needs to attend class the next day.. and we skipped COA the next day..

USCI trip

Although the project superstar was a failure.. we still manage to go through the rest of the day with enjoyment although i had gastric due to nervousness.. once again.. pictures....
In the evening, after the mines, the audition, we went back to UCSI.. then had a visit around the campus.. For the 1st time in my life in MMU, i'm grateful that i'm from MMU and not UCSI.. lolz~~

Then, we went back to Caryn's house to rest before continue our journey in KL... hehe~~ it was around 10pm when I finally agreed to go out for dinner.. Kei Vin was very very hungry.. yet he still waited for me.. Thanks A Di for that
We went to a cafe near Leisure Mall.. dunno wat's the name of that cafe.. but the atmosphere was very nice and we met a cute waiter.. (Pei Xian had the honour to notice him 1st) but too bad, we didn't get to have a pic with him.. and after dinner there, we stayed till 1am. We played cards and uno stacko.. Although the foods are quite pricey.. but then it was indeed delicious. and not forgetting the tea me and pei xian had.. the Sleep tea.. it really made us sleepy...really unforgettable for me

after that, after the SLeep Tea, we went back to Caryn's apartment and ZzZzZZzz... though we slept in the living room, on a single bed tgt.. it was really a good nite sleep...

The next morning, she sent us to Bandar Tasik Selatan's komuter station and we took komuter to Seremban b4 boarding on a bus back to Melaka.

Reached Melaka at around 6pm.. the end of a memorable weekend...