DECK THE HOLIDAY'S

We know it’s really Christmas time when we see images of a jolly old man in his signature red cap and suit everywhere. While we do know that Santa Claus isn’t real (sorry kids!), there are those who have stepped up to the plate to become real-life St. Nicks. Let’s get to know and appreciate the people who, in true Santa Claus fashion, brought real joy and happiness to others—without expecting anything in return.  10 The Secret Santa Of Kansas For more than a quarter of a century, residents of Kansas City were baffled by the generosity of a secret Santa. He roamed the streets and handed out $100 bills (sometimes more) to total strangers, with no strings attached at all. The only thing he told the recipients was to perform a good deed for someone else. The secret Santa’s kindness wasn’t limited to Kansas—he also went as far as New York and Florida, where he gave out thousands of dollars to residents who suffered from the terrorist attacks or natural disasters...

   The World Egg Throwing Federation is based at Swaton, in the county of Lincolnshire, England. This ancient village has stood on this ground since before Roman times. The occupying army created a canal that ran from Lincoln to Cambridge which was fed by, and crossed, by the River Eau at Swaton. Much of the canal is still extant today. The village is mentioned in the Dooms Day book of 1068 as possessing a moated site. It’s known that this small village had a market, its own gibbet and the Church is considered to be one of the finest in England. The first female Sherriff of Nottingham is buried here.    The organised sport of Egg Throwing is thought to date back to at least 1322 when the newly appointed Abbot took possession of the Parish of Swaton by royal decree. It is said that he was the only person to own chickens and ensured the attendance at church of his peasant by providing them alms of one egg for each attendee. However, when the River Eau flood...

   Have you ever asked yourself where the scariest places in America are?  There are literally thousands of them and here are just a few to entice you.  Visiting these places may cause you to become a believer in ghosts and the supernatural, if you are not already one. The Jamestown Bridge     The first place is  The Jamestown Bridge  located in Piedmont, Triad North Carolina.  This bridge is said to be haunted because at night many tourists and visitors have claimed that they would pick up a little girl who was looking for a ride on the side of the road.  When they picked her up, everything would be going fine and then all of a sudden when they look over at her again, she is gone.  Many ghost hunters find this spot to be intriguing because it leaves so much to the imagination.  It is said that this girl wears a white dress and can be seen at night. Huntingdon College    The second pla...

Huendoara Castle   Hunedoara is not a name that frequently pops up in conversations about vampires and especially Dracula.  Few people know that Hunedoara is actually the castle where Vlad the Impaler, the man who gave inspiration to Hollywood's Dracula, was imprisoned during the fifteenth century.    Located in Transylvania, Romania, the castle pretty much stands the way it looked back then during Vlad's time.  The castle is Gotic in style and has both round and square shaped turrets with a red roof, perched over a cliff near the Hungarian border. Vlad the Impaler  Hunedoara, or Hunyadi as it is more properly known, has a rich background in Eastern European history.  Because of its close location to Hungary, at one point it was claimed as part of Hungarian territory when the nation was part of the Austrian-Hungarian empire until the end of World War 1.  As with any other castle, Hunedoara, also contains grand rooms fo...

    Tinku , an Andean tradition, began as a form of ritualistic combat. It is native to the northern region of Potosí in Bolivia. In the language of  Quechua , the word  “tinku”  means encounter. In the language of Aymara it means  “physical attack".  During this ritual, men and women from different communities will meet and begin the festivities by drinking and dancing. The women will then form circles and begin chanting while the men proceed to fight each other; rarely the women will join in the fighting as well. Large tinkus are held in Potosí during the first few weeks of May.     Because of the rhythmic way the men throw their fists at each other, and because they stand in a crouched stance going in circles around each other, a dance was formed. This dance, the Festive Tinku, simulates the traditional combat, bearing a warlike rhythm. The differences between the Andean tradition and the dance are the costumes, ...