Wild antics on New Year's Eve - via Pope Greg 13's calendar

Hogmanay (pronounced IPA: [ˌhɔɡməˈneː] — with the main stress on the last syllable) is the Scots word for the last day of the year and is synonymous with the celebration of the New Year (Gregorian calendar) in the Scottish manner. It is, however, normally only the start of a celebration which lasts through the night until the morning of New Year's Day (1 January) or, in some cases, 2 January which is a Scottish Bank Holiday. Sydney, Australia, leads the world in one of the first major New Year celebrations each year, due to time zone. Sydney. Fireworks Newyear 2006. Opera House and Harbour. Over 1.5 million people gathered around Port Jackson (Sydney attendance of 2 million people). The fireworks display last from 15 to 25 minutes and is followed by music shows set on several stages throughout the beach. The Melbourne fireworks display as seen from Alexandra Gardens Chinese New Year's Eve in Meizhou, Guangdong, PRC. (also called Lunar New Year or Spring Festival. Lunar, not Gregorian calendar)

New Year's Eve in Times Square, New York, NY.

New Year's Eve Ball in Times Square. Bigger, better and brighter than ever.

Thoughts of Perspective and Parallax

	perspective
Part of Speech:	noun
Definition:	view, outlook
Synonyms:	angle, aspect, attitude, broad view, context, frame of reference, headset, landscape, mindset, objectivity, overview, panorama, proportion, prospect, relation, relative importance, relativity, scene, size of it, viewpoint, vista, way of looking
Notes:	perspective is a way of regarding situations or topics or a mental view or the state of one's ideas. Illusion Intolerent Lions and Christians of a Different View par⋅al⋅lax /ˈpærəˌlæks/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [par-uh-laks] –noun 1. the apparent displacement of an observed object due to a change in the position of the observer. 2. Astronomy. the apparent angular displacement of a celestial body due to its being observed from the surface instead of from the center of the earth (diurnal parallax or geocentric parallax) or due to its being observed from the earth instead of from the sun (annual parallax or heliocentric parallax). Compare parallactic ellipse. 3. the difference between the view of an object as seen through the picture-taking lens of a camera and the view as seen through a separate viewfinder. 4. an apparent change in the position of cross hairs as viewed through a telescope, when the focusing is imperfect. Origin: 1585–95; < class="ital-inline">parállaxis change, equiv. to parallak- (s. of parallássein to cause to alternate, equiv. to para- para- 1 + allássein to vary, akin to állos other; see else, allo- ) + -sis -sis Related forms: par⋅al⋅lac⋅tic  /ˌpærəˈlæktɪk/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [par-uh-lak-tik] Show IPA , adjective par⋅al⋅lac⋅ti⋅cal⋅ly, adverb Ah yes, the intolerant parallax perspective of us human charter members of The Flat-Earth Society, Catholic and infidel alike.... Such persistance prevailing in forbidden sexual dialogue between parent and child, about the differences between what is good for one from beautiful nature, and that which which is harmful, condemning babies to perpetual angst in guilty self-pleasures and such..... leaving shame in just holding hands... Can we talk freely about our wonderful natural carnality with those who may actually know something of the subject? Thank you Vatican, and co-conspirators against our children. Not all have abandoned control, however.... only lucidity. Click on this image for a Christmas serenade from a different perspective...

Christmas in London

St Paul's Cathedral has stood on this site since 604AD.

A History of St. Pauls Cathedral.

The current Cathedral – the fourth to occupy this site – was designed by the court architect Sir Christopher Wren and built between 1675 and 1710 after its predecessor was destroyed in the Great Fire of London.

Its architectural and artistic importance reflect the determination of the five monarchs who oversaw its building that London’s leading church should be as beautiful and imposing as their private palaces.

Since the first service was held here in 1697, Wren's masterpiece has been where people and events of overwhelming importance to the country have been celebrated, mourned and commemorated. Important services have included the funerals of Lord Nelson, the Duke of Wellington and Sir Winston Churchill; Jubilee celebrations for Queen Victoria; peace services marking the end of the First and Second World Wars; the launch of the Festival of Britain; the Service of Remembrance and Commemoration for the 11th September 2001: the 80th and 100th birthdays of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother; the wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, to Lady Diana Spencer and, most recently, the thanksgiving services for both the Golden Jubilee and 80th Birthday of Her Majesty the Queen. "God Bless Us, Every One!" - Tiny Tim*, A Christmas Carol. Added to Quicklis Click on this image above and turn up your speakers very loud. Added to Quicklist Click here for immediate anger gratification. WARNING! A clip of the one and only Tiny Tim* and his rare holiday classic "Santa Claus had got the aids", certainly THE most tasteless tune ever sung! Unless you are a willing anger junkie, just give this one a pass.... Added to Quicklist

Christmas at St Peter's Basilica

Click here for Christmas Music from the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music Introitus: Puer natus In recent years a Nativity Scene has been set up inside St Peter's Basilica at the Altar of the Presentation of Mary. Ever since the earliest days of Christianity, the Nativity of Jesus Christ has been one of the scenes most frequently depicted in Christian works of art. Sarcophagi dating from Roman times found in the catacombs bear sculpted reliefs of the first Christmas and the Visit of the Three Magi. The Lazio (Rome) region has a tradition of Nativity plays and tableaux, with amateur actors playing the different roles. The custom is said to have been introduced by St. Francis in 1223 in the hamlet of Greccio, near Rieti, and is still followed in many villages in the region, notably Corchiano, near Viterbo, and Sutri, where the scene is enacted in caves and a procession winds its way around the Roman amphitheatre. Each year the Christmas tree in St Peter's Square is donated by a different region. The 2008 tree, a Norway spruce from the municipality of Gutenstein in Lower Austria, was donated along with 40 smaller trees. In 2007, the 23-metre high cone-shaped fir came from Val Badia in Italy's north eastern Alps. The 2006 tree, the largest ever at over 100 feet, came from a mountainside in Italy’s Sila National Park. In 2000, the tree was imported from Poland, the homeland of Pope John Paul.

Christmas in The People's Republic of China

Chinese Virgin and Child Dun Che Lao Ren, or Christmas Old Man in Beijing, China A man in Shanghai decorates a giant Christmas tree. A Beijing diver with pink swim-fins dressed as Dun Che Lao Ren swims with a sea turtle. In the Zhejiang capital of Hangzhou, merchants prepare for Christmas Day. Dun Che Lao Ren is coming to town You better watch out You better not cry Better not pout I'm telling you why Dun Che Lao Ren is coming to town He's making a list And checking it twice; Gonna find out Who's naughty and nice Dun Che Lao Ren is coming to town He sees you when you're sleeping He knows when you're awake He knows if you've been bad or good So be good for goodness sake! O! You better watch out! You better not cry Better not pout I'm telling you why Dun Che Lao Ren is coming to town Dun Che Lao Ren is coming to town .... cachingggg!

Russian Christmas

Mammoth Christmas Greetings Submitted by Yuri Klitsenko, Russia

http://tinyurl.com/y9wzlkt

This is Bull of Frost (Chys Khan), which is Yakutian colleague of Russian Grandpa Frost (Ded Moroz) and Santa Claus.

Bull of Frost dwells in Tomtor, Oymiakon ulus, which is the coldest place in Siberia.

Winter lasts for 9 months in Tomtor, where the lowest temperature registered in Tomtor is -71,2 degrees Celsius.

Due to the climate, there are no bulls or cows there.

Scholars confirm that Bull of Frost is actually Mammoth, which is important personage in shamanic traditions.

For example, a large wooden representation of Mammoth was in a western "gallery" of Evenk shaman's tent etc.

Recently Yakutian Bull of Frost-Mammoth befriended Russian Grandpa Frost (Ded Moroz) and became popular in Russia. However some Christians are not happy to see their children playing with "Shaman's Mammoth".

Russian Christmas with father frost

Also featuring the new year pig and a skeleton. Apparently father frost is a throwback from the Soviet era, he's basically santa but wears blue etc.

Russian Orthodox Cathedral built by Tsar Nicolas in 1912

in Nice, Italy

Small Russian Nativity Figures

Small Cast Stone Nativity Sculpture (made in U.S.A.)