Christmas (IPA: /krɪsməs/), occasionally referred to as Christmas Day or Christmastide, is an annual Christian holiday celebrated on December 25 or January 7[2] that marks and honors the birth of Jesus of Nazareth.[3][4] The nativity of Jesus, which is the basis for the anno Domini system of dating, is thought to have occurred between 7 and 2 BC.[5] December 25 is not thought to be Jesus' actual date of birth, and the date may have been chosen to correspond with either a Roman festival,[6] or with the winter solstice.[7]
Modern customs of the holiday include gift-giving, church celebrations, and the display of various decorations—including the Christmas tree, lights, mistletoe, nativity scenes and holly. Santa Claus (also referred to as Father Christmas, although the two figures have different origins) is a popular mythological figure often associated with bringing gifts at Christmas. Santa is generally believed to be the result of a syncretization between Saint Nicholas and elements from pagan Nordic and Christian mythology, and his modern appearance is believed to have originated in 19th century media.
Christmas is celebrated throughout the Christian population, but is also celebrated by many non-Christians as a secular, cultural festival. Because gift-giving and several other aspects of the holiday involve heightened economic activity among both Christians and non-Christians, Christmas has become a major event for many retailers.
Christmas
Christmas is marked on the 25 December (7 January for Orthodox Christians).
Stained glass window showing Mary with the infant Jesus and her husband Joseph with a bright star above them
The Holy Family, Mary and Joseph with the baby Jesus ©
Christmas is a Christian holy day that marks the birth of Jesus, the son of God.
Jesus' birth, known as the nativity, is described in the New Testament of the Bible.
The Gospels of Matthew and Luke give different accounts. It is from them that the nativity story is pieced together.
Both accounts tell us that Jesus was born to a woman called Mary who was engaged to Joseph, a carpenter. The Gospels state that Mary was a virgin when she became pregnant.
In Luke's account Mary was visited by an angel who brought the message that she would give birth to God's son. According to Matthew's account, Joseph was visited by an angel who persuaded him to marry Mary rather than send her away or expose her pregnancy.
Matthew tells us about some wise men who followed a star that led them to Jesus' birthplace and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Luke tells how shepherds were led to Bethlehem by an angel.
According to tradition, Joseph and Mary travelled to Bethlehem shortly before Jesus' birth. Joseph had been ordered to take part in a census in his home town of Bethlehem.
All Jewish people had to be counted so the Roman Emperor could determine how much money to collect from them in tax. Those who had moved away from their family homes, like Joseph, had to return to have their names entered in the Roman records.
Joseph and Mary set off on the long, arduous 90-mile journey from Nazareth along the valley of the River Jordan, past Jerusalem to Bethlehem. Mary travelled on a donkey to conserve her energy for the birth.
But when they arrived in Bethlehem the local inn was already full with people returning for the census. The innkeeper let them stay in the rock cave below his house which was used as a stable for his animals.
It was here, next to the noise and filth of the animals, that Mary gave birth to her son and laid him in a manger.
History
For many centuries, Christian writers accepted that Christmas was the actual date on which Jesus was born.[9] However, in the early eighteenth century, some scholars began proposing alternative explanations. Isaac Newton argued that the date of Christmas was selected to correspond with the winter solstice,[7] which in ancient times was marked on December 25.[10] In 1743, German Protestant Paul Ernst Jablonski argued Christmas was placed on December 25 to correspond with the Roman solar holiday Dies Natalis Solis Invicti and was therefore a "paganization" that debased the true church.[6] In 1889, Louis Duchesne suggested that the date of Christmas was calculated as nine months after the Annunciation on March 25, the traditional date of the conception of Jesus.[11]
Thursday, 25 December 2008
Tuesday, 23 December 2008
What is Christmas all about?
uhm....
Long time I haven't update this blog.
Now I'm coming just to make some meaningless update.
Actually, I have nothing meaningfull to share here. I'd like to keep my things better than share it in public.
But, I'll try to share a little
Okay then...
I'll share about this year's Christmas of my experience.
Actually, I don't think that I really feel the warm of Christmas this time. There's no expected Christmas celebration.
Singing Christmas Carol, Having a wish for next year, Waiting a present from Santa, Standing next to Christmas tree to take photos...
Got nothing of them.
But, above those all, I just have realized about what Christmas is all about. For me, actually, I also miss that kind of environment; Hearing soft sound of Christmas Ballads; Feeling the light from candles; and making a little wish. And the great things I find this year is facts about what Christmas exactly talking about.
If you ever heard "We are the reason", it tells so much about the Christmas.
Here the lyrics that I found...
AS LITTLE CHILDREN WE WOULD DREAM OF CHRISTMAS MORN
AND ALL THE GIFTS AND TOYS WE KNEW WE'D FIND
BUT WE NEVER REALIZED A BABY BORN ONE BLESSED NIGHT
GAVE US THE GREATEST GIFT OF OUR LIVES
Then I think again
From the first time He created us, He has only one reason that is to share His Love to us. Then I realized the rest of that chronology that amazed me so much.
Think about this....
If He feel wrong with us when we fall to sin, then He could just removed us from the earth. He could delete us without bothering others creation. But what has happened today? He choose to make another plan that says " I love the men so much and they might not be demolished". The plan to save us that is the most amazing work.
So, at the end.... I say " Yes, It's all about us. It's only for our happiness, our hopes, our eternity... and what is the most valuable for me is that I have risen God, risen King, risen Lord, risen Savior, risen Best Friend, that is really loves me for the past, now and forever."
Long time I haven't update this blog.
Now I'm coming just to make some meaningless update.
Actually, I have nothing meaningfull to share here. I'd like to keep my things better than share it in public.
But, I'll try to share a little
Okay then...
I'll share about this year's Christmas of my experience.
Actually, I don't think that I really feel the warm of Christmas this time. There's no expected Christmas celebration.
Singing Christmas Carol, Having a wish for next year, Waiting a present from Santa, Standing next to Christmas tree to take photos...
Got nothing of them.
But, above those all, I just have realized about what Christmas is all about. For me, actually, I also miss that kind of environment; Hearing soft sound of Christmas Ballads; Feeling the light from candles; and making a little wish. And the great things I find this year is facts about what Christmas exactly talking about.
If you ever heard "We are the reason", it tells so much about the Christmas.
Here the lyrics that I found...
AS LITTLE CHILDREN WE WOULD DREAM OF CHRISTMAS MORN
AND ALL THE GIFTS AND TOYS WE KNEW WE'D FIND
BUT WE NEVER REALIZED A BABY BORN ONE BLESSED NIGHT
GAVE US THE GREATEST GIFT OF OUR LIVES
WE ARE THE REASON THAT HE GAVE HIS LIFE
WE ARE THE REASON THAT HE SUFFERED AND DIED
TO A WORLD THAT WAS LOST HE GAVE ALL HE COULD GIVE
TO SHOW US THE REASON TO LIVE
AS THE YEARS WENT BY WE LEARNED MORE ABOUT GIFTS
GIVING OF OURSELVES AND WHAT THAT MEANS
ON A DARK AND CLOUDY DAY A MAN HUNG CRYING
IN THE RAIN BECAUSE OF LOVE, BECAUSE OF LOVE
I FINALLY FOUND THE REASON FOR LIVING
IT'S IN GIVING EVERY PART OF MY HEART TO HIM
IN ALL THAT I DO EVERY WORD THAT I SAY
I'LL BE GIVING MY ALL JUST FOR HIM, FOR HIM
AND WE WERE THE REASON THAT HE GAVE HIS LIFE
WE WERE THE REASON THAT HE SUFFERED AND DIED
TO A WORLD THAT WAS LOST HE GAVE ALL HE COULD GIVE
TO SHOW US THE REASON TO LIVE
HE IS MY REASON TO LIVE
Then I think again
From the first time He created us, He has only one reason that is to share His Love to us. Then I realized the rest of that chronology that amazed me so much.
Think about this....
If He feel wrong with us when we fall to sin, then He could just removed us from the earth. He could delete us without bothering others creation. But what has happened today? He choose to make another plan that says " I love the men so much and they might not be demolished". The plan to save us that is the most amazing work.
So, at the end.... I say " Yes, It's all about us. It's only for our happiness, our hopes, our eternity... and what is the most valuable for me is that I have risen God, risen King, risen Lord, risen Savior, risen Best Friend, that is really loves me for the past, now and forever."
Wish you all a great Merry Christmas.
May the work of Christ does a lot in your life.....
God Bless ^^
Monday, 13 October 2008
World Statistics - "The Most Popular People in the world"
1 | Jesus Christ | 30.5 mil | ... Amazing ... |
2 | Elvis Presley | 22.0 mil | ... Grace ... |
3 | Bob Marley | 18.9 mil | ... How sweet the sound ... |
4 | Bill Gates | 17.9 mil | ... The most influential man alive ... |
5 | Albert Einstein | 17.5 mil | ... Albert has been slipping in his ranking lately ... |
6 | JFK | 16.8 mil | ... Looking over his shoulder desperately ... |
7 | George Bush | 16.5 mil | ... Storming up the field! Keep it up Uncle George! ... |
8 | John Lennon | 15.7 mil | ... Not quite as big as Jesus, but well done in coming 8th, John ... |
9 | Chuck Norris | 15.1 mil | ... There had to be a non-smoker in the top 10 for PC reasons ... |
10 | Saint Paul | 14.9 mil | ... After a terrible start, Paul has done much better lately ... |
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Why is the sky blue?
Diffuse sky radiation
In short...
The blue sky is caused by refraction of the blue spectrum by atoms in the air.
A clear cloudless day-time sky is blue because molecules in the air scatter blue light from the sun more than they scatter red light. When we look towards the sun at sunset, we see red and orange colors because the blue light has been scattered out and away from the line of sight.
http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/General/BlueSky/blue_sky.html
In the evening, the sky sometimes looks orange or red because of air pollution. Dust and other floating particles in the air act as a filter on the sunlight. When the sun is low the air layer is thicker and the light is more filtered, so it looks yellow, orange and finally red.
http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/sky_blue.html
In detail...
Light of a particular color is determined by its frequency. The higher the frequency, the more blue it appears.
Sunlight is made up of many frequencies that when mixed together produce white light. You may have seen a rainbow or the prism experiment where the white light is split up into several colors (frequencies).
The earth's atmosphere is filled with minute dust particles that act like a filter, scattering the light rays. The rays of light with the longer wavelengths, such as reds and yellows, tend to travel more easily through the atmosphere, while the rays with the shorter wavelengths, like blues and indigos, tend to be dispersed more easily. These more easily dispersed shorter light rays are what give the sky its blue color.
Incidentally, red skies at sunrise and sunset are caused by the same phenomenon. When the light hits the Earth at an angle it has more of the atmosphere to go through; this increases the filtering effect and that is why you see a red sky.
Answer
The sky appears blue because when sunlight filters through the oxygen in the atmosphere, the oxygen absorbs all other colors but blue. The reason the sky is not so blue that it is black though, is because only 20% of the atmosphere is oxygen.
The sun light from the sky is a result of the scattering of sunlight, which results in a light blue color perceived by the eye. In day Rayleigh Scattering gives the sky a blue gradient - dark in the zenith, light near the horizon. Light that comes in from overhead encounters an air mass 1/38th of the mass that of a sunbeam coming along a horizon paths. So, fewer particles scatter the zenith sunbeam, and, therefore the light remains a darker blue.
Sunday, 20 April 2008
Praying is the Best Way of All
3rd day of exam. For this time, the subject is Information System Strategic Planning.
Theory again. And I'm not really remember all I've read. N I'm not really sure to start this exam.
I've read and learn the topic. But, I'm not ready for this exam.
Above that all, I just wanna say thanks to my God that has give me opportunity to get to university. And now I just wanna pray because I know He preffered the best. I know through the pray, I'm not spontantly memorize all the content, I'm not spontantly be smart at all. But What I believe that He will make me calm when I face my exam.
That's all I know, and I just wanna do PUSH (Pray Until Something Happened) in my life.
:)
Thanks, Dad
GBU, guys
Theory again. And I'm not really remember all I've read. N I'm not really sure to start this exam.
I've read and learn the topic. But, I'm not ready for this exam.
Above that all, I just wanna say thanks to my God that has give me opportunity to get to university. And now I just wanna pray because I know He preffered the best. I know through the pray, I'm not spontantly memorize all the content, I'm not spontantly be smart at all. But What I believe that He will make me calm when I face my exam.
That's all I know, and I just wanna do PUSH (Pray Until Something Happened) in my life.
:)
Thanks, Dad
GBU, guys
Friday, 18 April 2008
I've JC in my life
Hi...
The time is closer to my exam.
Less then 1 hour left.
Today I have EUIS exam. EUIS stands for End-User Information System.
It's all about theory, such as meaning of Knowledge Management, the tools of EUIS, etc.
Actually, I feel hard to learn all things related to theoritical. I can't easyly capture them to my memory. I've try to learn and try to do my best.
Inspite of all my boundaries of life, I feel optimist for my future.
How can?
I just have no spesific reason
I only wanna say that I have HIM, Jesus Christ as My Lord, My Saviour, My Reedemer, My Friend, and My God to serve.
He's the Biggest One in my life. Big than my problem, Big than my logic, Big than my boundaries of life, and Big than anything else.
All I have to do is just surrender all my life in His hand.
Wanna feel what I feel?
Just taste Him in your life
God Bless...
The time is closer to my exam.
Less then 1 hour left.
Today I have EUIS exam. EUIS stands for End-User Information System.
It's all about theory, such as meaning of Knowledge Management, the tools of EUIS, etc.
Actually, I feel hard to learn all things related to theoritical. I can't easyly capture them to my memory. I've try to learn and try to do my best.
Inspite of all my boundaries of life, I feel optimist for my future.
How can?
I just have no spesific reason
I only wanna say that I have HIM, Jesus Christ as My Lord, My Saviour, My Reedemer, My Friend, and My God to serve.
He's the Biggest One in my life. Big than my problem, Big than my logic, Big than my boundaries of life, and Big than anything else.
All I have to do is just surrender all my life in His hand.
Wanna feel what I feel?
Just taste Him in your life
God Bless...
Wednesday, 16 April 2008
Quality Control Exam
I've just finished my first day of exam less then one hour ago. The subject is Quality Control and the term of exam is open book.
The question is very simple and easyly captured, but it's spent a lot of time to describe the answers. A little bit tired, but I feel satisfied with what have been done.
At all, I just wanna say thanks to my God, Jesus Christ, for His presence and for the Spirit He's gave to me.
I've do my best and I believe that I'll get the best.
Whatever we do, whatever we plan, whatever we are going to have, just seek for the best because He prefered The Best.
God Bless^^
The question is very simple and easyly captured, but it's spent a lot of time to describe the answers. A little bit tired, but I feel satisfied with what have been done.
At all, I just wanna say thanks to my God, Jesus Christ, for His presence and for the Spirit He's gave to me.
I've do my best and I believe that I'll get the best.
Whatever we do, whatever we plan, whatever we are going to have, just seek for the best because He prefered The Best.
God Bless^^
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