DECK THE HOLIDAY'S

10 The Date In the early Church, Christmas was not celebrated as a major feast. The first evidence of the Church attempting to put a date on the day of Christ’s birth comes from 200 AD, when theologians in Alexandria decided it was the 20th of May. By the 380s, the Church in Rome was attempting to unite the various regions in using December 25th as the universal feast day, and eventually that is the day that stuck. As so often was the case in the early Church, the influence of the pagan feasts of Rome is seen, because December 25 was the festival for the birth of the sun. St Cyprian makes mention of this: “O, how wonderfully acted Providence that on that day on which that Sun was born . . . Christ should be born.” 9 The Nativity Scene Everyone knows who Saint Francis is – the famed saint who had an apparent miraculous control over animals, and who travelled to the Middle East to convert the Muslims – offering to be thrown int...

 Everyone gets the chills when they walk through a cemetery, especially at night but mostly it is all in our heads. How could walking through hundreds of deceased people that are buried six feet under, get you thinking that there's ghost in that thar graveyard? Come and take a walk through some of America's most haunted cemeteries and read about the ghosts that choose to hand around them. Bachelor's Grove Cemetery One of the Bachelor's Grove ghosts     This secluded cemetery located in Chicago is said to be the most haunted graveyard in America. Bachelor's Grove has had numerous paranormal investigators that have investigated this cemetery and it has been reported that it has had over 160 cases of documented paranormal occurrences, which include everything from floating "orbs" to light and full body apparitions. Lafayette Cemetery Collage of graves at Lafayette Cemetery     Located in New Orleans, ...

How they fight fat Greek yogurt's combo of protein, fat and carbs helps burn belly fat; the creamy stuff delivers twice as much protein as other yogurts do, so you'll feel more satiated. ingredients 1/2 cup reduced-fat cream cheese, at room temperature 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar 1/2 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract Vegetable oil cooking spray 3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, plus more for dusting 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 cup granulated sugar 3 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 egg white 1/2 cup skim milk, divided preparation Beat cream cheese and confectioners' sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer on high until smooth. Add yogurt and vanilla; beat until well combined. Coat 3 baking sheets with cooking spray. Heat oven to 400°F. Whisk flour, cocoa powder and baking soda in a second bowl. Beat sugar and butter with an electric mixer on high in a third bowl ...

Dragon Boat Racing History     On the fifth day of the fifth lunar month every year, Chinese communities worldwide celebrate the  Duanwu Jie festival , which commemorates the death of the Chinese patriot/poet  Qu Yuan .     As a rival state conquered his home kingdom, Qu Yuan committed suicide, drowning himself in the Miluo river on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month.     His countrymen paddled swiftly out to the middle of the river to retrieve his body, while others threw packets of rice in the water to distract the fish from eating the poet's body.     These two acts, it is said, are the origin of the festival's two main preoccupations - the glutinous rice dumplings known as zongzi, and the dragon boat races. Dragon Boat Racing in Modern Times     Dragon boat racing, despite its roots in ancient tradition, are as exciting a sport as they come. Two or m...

    Trumpets blare, women weep and a giddy crowd roars as burly men carrying towering wooden pillars charge through narrow streets in a medieval tradition of pride and devotion to their patron saint.     For more than 800 years, the ancient central Italian town of Gubbio has erupted in a riot of yellow, blue and black each May for the " Festa dei Ceri"  ( Festival of the  Candles) to honor patron saint  Ubaldo Baldassini , a 12th century bishop. one of the teams grimacing with the heavy candle     In a day filled with feverish festivities that include hurling jugs of water onto a crowd, the highlight is a strenuous race where three teams tear through the town and up a mountain with 400-kg wooden pillars balanced on their shoulders.     The festival taps into a deep-rooted sense of local pride and tradition -- the sort of fierce identity tied to their town or region that Italians are famous ...

These can be prepared a number of different ways. Pick one flavoring, then roll them in the coatings of your choice. ingredients 3 tablespoons raw cacao powder 1 1/2 cups Medjool dates, pitted 3 tablespoons (or more) unsweetened shredded coconut or quick-cooking oats Pinch of sea salt Flavoring options: (choose one) 1 tablespoon unsweetened shredded coconut 1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder Coating options: (mix and match) 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut 1/4 cup lightly toasted sesame seeds 1/2 cup crushed lightly toasted pistachios 1/2 cup crushed lightly toasted hazelnuts Ingredient info: Raw cacao powder and unsweetened shredded coconut can be found at natural foods stores, specialty foods stores, and some supermarkets. preparation Purée cacao powder, dates, 3 tablespoons coconut, and salt in a food processor until almost smooth, adding water by teaspoonfuls if too dry and crumbly and cocon...

This smooth, shiny glaze is ideal for cookies that will be decorated with food-safe pens. It covers cookies very well (the color of your dark gingerbread won't show through), and dries to a hard enough finish that iced cookies can be stacked on top of each other (perfect for storage or for putting into a holiday gift basket). Try building on the base layer of coating with an outline or decorations in a contrasting color. ingredients  Volume   Ounces   Grams 1/4 cup meringue powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 3 to 4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted 1/3 to 1/2 cup cool water 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Food color or paste directions 1. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the meringue powder, salt, and confectioners' sugar. Add 1/3 cup cool water and the vanilla and stir, or beat on slow speed. the mixture will seem hard and lumpy, but the sugar will dissolve after 4 or 5 minutes and everything will smooth out....