FOR millions and millions of Christians all around the world, including Pakistan’s very own, Christmas is the best time of the year. It’s a time for families fun, and festivities! A time when family members get together and have those memorable gatherings and holiday meals. It’s also the time of the year for Santa, stars, carols, ornaments, gifts and twinkling lights, that is if you can find any with the pollution and hazy skies!
But, finding good Christmas sites these days, on the Internet especially ones that aren’t trying to sell you something or the other, are hard to find. Almost every Christmas link that you click, hoping to find something worthwhile, turns out to be a link that is pitching an online sales pitch; for something that is usually not worth that much. But, like I said, almost.
There are few good ones out there and the one that I enjoyed prying through is the aptly titled, Christmas on the Net http://www.holidays.net/christmas/. Among the many links of this site, there’s The Story of Christmas where I was surprised to find out that this winter festival is 4000 Years! the link tells us of the evolution of this festive season. From its roots in the ancient Mesopotamian culture, right down to its present Christian origins, the link is good reading. Other very good links include The Story of the Christ Child and Christmas, The Many Faces of Santa and The Christmas Tree where we trace the origins of the evergreen, how the Christmas tree came to become one of the most endearing symbols of Christmas. There are a bunch of other links as well, my favourite being the one on Christmas recipes. Though I do wonder, where we’ll be able to get our hands on a turkey? Would a chicken do?
This web site, with it bright red background really gives a very hearty and welcome look. Still, if you want to view something that isn’t that shocking (I am talking about the colour) to the eye, then opt for Merry Christmas.com http://www.merry-christmas.com/. From recipes, holiday stories and traditions to gift ideas and music, a lot of stuff is quite the same here. However, one very interesting link here, especially for children, is e-mail Santa. That’s right, you can mail Father Christmas and have him sent what you want this year. Just as a precaution, do tell your parents what you have asked from the guy in the red-garb.
If it is something more traditional that you are looking for, say Christmas Carols, then Christmas Carols http://www.christmas-carols.net/ is a good bet. A varied collection of lyrics to some of the best loved Christmas Carols in the world. Away in a Manger, Silent Night Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer are some of the few that are here. In fact, instead of just words, MIDI background music has now been added to a number of these carols, so if you’re really in the holiday mood why don’t you jump in and start singing?
Living in Karachi, the closest we come to a chilly Christmas, are the freezing winter nights of December. But that shouldn’t put a damper on your Christmas spirits. In fact, with all this technology around, you can have your very own Christmas moments on your very personal computer. Simply click to http://www.christmas-software.com/ and download screensavers that are sure to get you in the right mood. Download and install the Snowflake Screensaver, where some stunning winter scenes as well as realistic snow falls over each scene. And at the same time, your favourite holiday music songs play in the background. Other classics here include Flying Christmas where Santa heads flying around the monitor screen. Just imagine, you’re browsing through the Net when all of a sudden, Father Christmas pops out of the left corner and HoHos his way into the right corner of the screen.
Though most of the screensavers are free, some may have the irritating habit of being shareware programmes. So, either you pay a small fee, or you ignore them and click the OK button whenever it pops up.
Ah, now we come to my kind of site. See, Christmas isn’t exactly Christmas, unless of course you have a lot of eatables abound. Ask my good friend Joseph and he’s sure to tell you of my voracious appetite for Christmas goodies. And one great place to find them, especially Christmas cookies is http://www.christmas-cookies.com/. There are 365 Christmas Cookie recipes here, one for every day of the year, but all for Christmas. There are the Top 25 charts here (for cookies of course), Country of Origin and Baking tips. From storing the cookies to cooking them in bulk, the Tips are few, but handy.
Other than all the eating, the other most important thing for a person to do on Christmas, is to remember his near and dear ones and wish them the happiest of times. Fortunately, the Internet is also here at hand to help us. Like at http://www.christmas.com/pe/1427, where you’ll find not one, but more than 120 greetings in equally different number of languages. Now that’s a lot of greetings in a lot of different languages. And yes, there’s one from Pakistan, in Urdu as well.
But these aren’t the only kind of greetings that you get on the Net. Of course there are the virtual card, the e-greetings that are a must if sending a greeting via post is too expensive. And, one the best sites that are on the Net in this regard, is the BlueMountain www.bluemountain.com. There are animated, regular and those with Flash in them. And if you think that none of the numerous cards suit your taste, or the taste of receiver, well then, just register yourself, sign in and create one that you think is suitable. Now that’s what I call personalized cards. And if that wasn’t enough, get this. There are also Christmas screesavers, all for you to decorate your computer with.
So, what are you waiting for? The big Day is only five days away. And just in case I can’t make it to the dinner, Merry Christmas!
FOR millions and millions of Christians all around the world, including Pakistan’s very own, Christmas is the best time of the year. It’s a time for families fun, and festivities! A time when family members get together and have those memorable gatherings and holiday meals. It’s also the time of the year for Santa, stars, carols, ornaments, gifts and twinkling lights, that is if you can find any with the pollution and hazy skies!
