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1、 CHRISTMAS THE GOOD,THE BAD AND THE UGLY Christmas is one of those holidays which means very different things to different people.It can be a spiritual time,a family time,a time for giving,a time for partying or a time for just over-eating.Most people(in those countries where it is the main religiou
2、s festival of the year)find something to enjoy about Christmas,whether they are Christians or not.But hasnt Christmas in the consumer age become just a bit too big and a lot too commercial?I think so.The secret of a good Christmas is to be selective.Here is my personal list of the things Christmas(a
3、t any rate,Christmas in Britain)would be infinitely better without.Lets get rid of.Plastic Christmas trees Fussy people dont like trees that drop their needles on the carpet.Surely,in the age of vacuum cleaners,this is not a problem any more?Worst of all are those plastic trees that come with their
4、own decorations already attached,so depriving children of the great pleasure of hanging the decorations themselves.Replace with:Real fir trees,from sustainable forests.Fairy lights that dont work We have sent people to the moon.Computers have changed our lives.On the Internet,huge amounts of informa
5、tion travel all over the world at the speed of light.So it shouldnt be too difficult to put a few coloured light bulbs in a row,so they last until New Year without breaking down.Replace with:Candles.And fireproof fir trees.Slades Merry Christmas Everybody A stomping,two-chord song from the dark days
6、 of 1970s rock.Played endlessly in British pubs and on the radio through December.It is the musical equivalent of jumping up and down with heavy boots on and trying to drink beer at the same time.I remember once,at a Christmas party,picking up my beer and taking a sip-to find out someone had used th
7、e can as an ashtray.And this song is the theme tune of that kind of party.Replace with:The Pogues and Kirsty MacColls Fairytale of New York:a great,soulful Christmas song.Bing Crosbys White Christmas While were on the subject of Christmas songs,lets not forget that this sentimental 1950s tune is the
8、 biggest selling single of all time.Its ideal for falling asleep in an armchair but finally just too nostalgic.And very annoying.Replace with:Silent Night,a beautiful German carol known all over the world.Office parties Doesnt a computer decorated with tinsel,and an office with paper chains hanging
9、from the ceiling,look just a tiny bit depressing?And office Christmas parties are worse.Under the influence of cheap wine in paper coffee-cups,strange things happen with the photocopier.Rude messages are faxed to clients.Most people cant relax in the office.And those that can will probably do someth
10、ing theyll regret later.Replace with:an extra afternoon off work.British Christmas Weather In Richard Curtis films(like the recent hit Love,Actually),it always snows at Christmas in London.The city is covered with a beautiful white blanket,the perfect setting for a romantic happy ending.Whats the re
11、ality of Christmas weather in the South of England?Grey skies with a good chance of cold drizzle in the late afternoon.Replace with:Russian Christmas weather.TV Its a fact that we spend more time in front of the TV at Christmas than at any other time of year.The TV schedules are filled with old film
12、s,comedy“Christmas Specials”,soap operas with Christmas-related plots,and of course hundreds of adverts.Switch it off and visit your relatives instead.Replace with:log fires,board games.Turkey with Cranberry Sauce In Britain,the usual Christmas dinner is turkey with cranberry sauce although ultra-tr
13、aditionalists may prefer goose.Cranberry sauce is basically a kind of jam.We dont put jam on meat at other times of year,so why at Christmas?Replace with:No cranberry sauce.Consumerism You know what I mean.Adverts for toys on childrens TV.Department stores which put out Christmas decorations as earl
14、y as September.The stress of Christmas shopping.Everywhere the message is spend,spend,spend.Christmas is a Christian religious festival,to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.Its not just an excuse for making money.Replace with:Midnight carols at church,peace on earth,and goodwill to all men.So that
15、s my advice.Avoid these things and youll have a good chance of having a truly Merry Christmas.Which is what I wish you now.And a happy new year.Do you agree with the authors suggestions?Do you have other suggestions?Users texts Marija writes“In Lithuania Christmas begins on the evening of Christmas
16、Eve.On that evening all our family meets together.Usually the mother and other women prepare a dinner of 12 dishes(I think it comes from Christian religions).These dishes cant be with meat.Usually there is a lot of different ones made from herring,also cold soup with poppy-seed milk.And you should t
17、ry all 12 dishes.In my family we draw different lots to guess the future.And the next day we look under the fir tree for presents.After that we go all together to Church.I am not a great believer,but its like a ritual of our family.”Kirti writes“Christmas!From children to adults every body enjoys th
18、e auspicious occasion.It is not only the occasion but also we say good-bye to the present year and get ready to welcome the New Year.It is celebrated by people form all over the world.Of course the intention of the celebration is just to enjoy.And most of us forget the actual importance of Christmas
19、.Our interest has increased in shopping,food and parties.I agree with the author of the article that we have to maintain the simplicity.Our young generation should not forget the traditional values of Christmas.Let us think some other way.Think that by celebrating any occasion all the people come to
20、gether,share their happiness and keep tension away for some time.Though everybody has his or her own way of celebrating.Why dont we find the mid way by which the importance of Christmas remains and also it becomes enjoyable too?Merry Christmas!”Rustam Kamberov writes“I am from Kazakhstan.It is a for
21、mer USSR republic.Mostly Kazakhstanis celebrate New Year,but celebration of Christmas is becoming popular.In our country the celebration of New Year is similar to the celebration of Christmas in Europe.Usually people gather with their families,present gifts,eat homemade food and wish for the good dr
22、eams to come true.And we also decorate a New Year Tree with different toys and bulbs.As for me I respect the celebration of Christmas although I am not Christian.And I wish that everybody would respect and love people of all nationalities and religions.It is a little early but I would like to wish M
23、erry Christmas to everybody.”Donatella Aigotti writes“Christmas is a very important day for the Catholic religion,and for the whole of Christianity.His followers believe Jesus Christ,born on the 25th December,is the son of God.People usually give some presents.Streets,shops and homes are decorated w
24、ith lights and candles.Some people hate Christmas day,because they became sad,thinking about their solitude.On the other hand,there are some people who decide to spend the Christmas Day alone.On Christmas Eve my mother cooked us special meals,mainly baked cakes.She prepared excellent food for the Ch
25、ristmas lunch,when the whole family ate together.”Ines Aparici writes“Christmas is a pleasant occasion for me.It takes me back to my childhood,not only in my memory but in my sensations as well.Nowadays I live 3,000 kilometers away from my parents,sisters and relatives.However I have a large family
26、living with me in this part of the world.I live in Tierra del Fuego,which is located at the southernmost extreme of South America.Here I live with my husband and three children and they mean almost everything to me so it is not so hard to be away from all of those who I also love.Besides I have deve
27、loped a wonderful friendship here.These friends are almost as my own family and although I sometimes can go back to my parents house,every year I chose to spend these special days in my friends company.When I was a child,Christmas would mean the entire family and relatives meeting at my grandmothers
28、 house.She would roast a special chicken,which used to be decorated with golden ribbons tied to its legs.There was plenty of homemade food such as biscuits,and deserts and lots of candy,almonds and nuts.There was an attractive smell in the air from the very moment you came through the entrance.An ol
29、d aunt would cook some boiled eggs that were placed on a big dish wearing ears,noses,eyes and tails,looking like small white mice that we,the children,would fight for.So I will always remember it for its particular smell and taste besides the happiness the whole party gave us.Today things have turne
30、d out to be quite different.Besides the fact that our enormous family has scattered all over the country,things have turned difficult between some of us.So although we spend these holy days away from our grandmas house we do not forget about that nice time we once had.Anyway some of us still keep ce
31、rtain traditions such as a special dinner with nightdresses and home made food.And there is always a bright Christmas tree full of presents and good surprises at midnight.”Aily Tapia writes A brief story about how we celebrate Christmas in my City Christmas in Mexico City,is like a big party because
32、 a lot of Mexicans who live in the USA come to celebrate from December 12 until January 06,and is called Lupe-Reyes.We celebrate our the Festival of Lady Guadalupe on December 12 and we end the party on January 6th when all the children receive gifts from the Magic Kings(Reyes Magos),and we eat rosc
33、a,which is like a cake,and inside of it if youre lucky you will find a little boy that means that you have to make tamales on February 2nd on your own to share with your family,friends or co-workers.Tatiana writes“Christmas in Russia:In Russia we celebrate Christmas and New Year and the latter is mo
34、re popular because of restrictions during 70 years of socialism.But there are Christmas traditions in our New Year celebrations.The main one is Ded Moroz(not Santa Clause)who brings gifts for all and puts them under the New Year Tree.And one of the old traditions is when children come to every house
35、 and sing Christmas songs or carols,and people give them sweets and other gifts.This is called colyadovat.”grazynajastrzebska writes“I live in Poland and in my country Christmas is the most important festival in the whole year.our traditions date from the 10th century,since we became Christians.I am
36、 not religious at all but I love decorating the tree and having supper with my closest family on Christmas Eve.Christmas time is the best opportunity to meet your closer family and friends,impossible during the rest of the year.Seasons Greetings!May you find fulfilment and enjoyment in the New Year”
37、Gulseren Yaman writes“I am a Muslim and we dont celebrate Christmas but I appreciate Christians respect to their religion.Merry Christmas all Christians.”BuiDuyQuang writes“In my country Christmas is an important event.TV programs broadcast a lot of music about Christmas Day.At Christmas the Catholic people go to church and pray.The children receive a present from Santa Claus.So Christmas Day in my country is very interesting.”