Honour Pakistan's Children -- Huge Response!

A band of men walked into a school in Pakistan and massacred over 100 kids. These Taliban extremists see education as a threat and the best way to respond to their heinous crime is to meet their attack with a global call to get every child in school

>> Sign The Petition! <<

[ Confirmed! UN Special Envoy on Education will deliver our call to the Pakistan Prime Minister within days. Click to join the campaign now before they speak -- let's make this the biggest call for education for all ever! ]

Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future: How Christmas Has Changed Over the Years

Contrary to what you might think when listening to older relatives recount stories of past Christmases - you know the ones, where they tell you about the good old days and explain that things are not quite like what they used to be - the festive season has indeed changed. Things are not the way they used to be, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. After all, wouldn't it be terrible if things always stayed the same?

Celtic Advent Blends Cultures

Celtic Advent in the pre Nicene church, early Christianity that pre-dates the Nicene Creed, the roadmap of what Christians, Catholic and Protestants believe. was very different than what we celebrate in the modern time. First Celtic Christianity participated and flourished in this period right up though the middle ages and had its own unique way of celebrating the season of Celtic Advent.

The Celtic Church was given this name to describe the period before the missionaries arrived. St. Patrick a famous saint arose out of the Celtic Christianity era for Ireland Wales and Scotland. He was a British missionary, maybe the most famous of all the Saints to rise out of this time approximately the 5th century. Although, from a historical perspective ironic, Ireland was evangelized and converted by the British Missionaries of which St. Patrick was a participant.

Where Did It All Start And Why Do We Do Christmas Gifts?

Christmas is, for many people, their favourite time of the year. Taking away the fact it is a time of rampant Christmas gift giving and stress, it is also the time of year when families most often come together and see each other. For others, it is the joyous occasion of celebrating Christ's birth, and as Christmas has been overtaken by the commercial side of the season, this religious basis for the celebration is often overlooked. However, many people wonder about the origins of Christmas, and especially how the tradition of Christmas gift giving came about in particular!

Exclusive! The A-Listers of Christmas - Baby Jesus, Santa, Rudolf, Frosty - Reveal Their Stories

When it comes to the biggest characters of the Christmas season, you might initially think of all of your television favourites. After all, what Christmas would be complete without at least the possibility of sitting down in front of the TV - post-lunch - and enjoying a repeat of ET, James Bond, Indiana Jones or - shock horror - perhaps even Mary Poppins? There's Rambo too, but not until after the kids have gone to bed. Or perhaps the Queen comes to mind when one thinks of the most important faces of Christmas. After all, who hasn't tuned into to Her Majesty's afternoon slot, and - filled with a sense of pride - listened to what the Queen considers to be the most important highlights of the year that is now drawing to a close? There really are few Christmas Gifts more magical than that.

But, Christmas would not be complete without a few more heavy-hitters; the real A-List celebrities of the festive season. And the Big Daddy of them all is little Baby Jesus. Also known as Jesus of Nazareth and Jesus Christ, Baby Jesus is a central figure of Christianity and a prophet of Islam.

Advent Tradition Circles Around a Wreath

If you ask any Catholic, they will tell you the season of Advent is a period of penance and preparing their heart for the coming of the Baby Jesus. But although not part of the Holy See’s opinion on Advent, the advent wreath, advent season and the family activities helps families stay focused on the real meaning of the season, Jesus, and not the commercialism Christmas has become.