Christmas and holiday season
hideThe Christmas season, the (Christmas) holidays or the holiday season is a notable 2 to 4 month period that surrounds the Christmas holiday as well as other varying holidays. It is sometimes synonymous with the winter season, and is usually said to take place between approximately October and January. It has been found to have a proportionate effect on health, compared to the rest of the year. Its reference and naming by schools and governments has been the subject of controversy. It incorporates a period of shopping which comprises a peak season for the retail sector (the "Christmas shopping season"), and a period of sales at the end of the season (the "January sales").
The exact definition, name, and celebratory method of the period varies from culture to culture: According to Yanovski et al., in the United States the season "is generally considered to begin with Thanksgiving and end after New Year's Day". According to Axelrad, the season in the United States encompasses at least Christmas and New Year's Day, and also includes Saint Nicholas Day. The U.S. Fire Administration defines the winter holiday season as the period from December 1 to January 7. According to Chen et al., in China the Christmas/winter holiday season "is generally considered to begin with the winter solstice and end after the Lantern Festival". Some stores and shopping malls advertise their Christmas merchandise beginning after Halloween or even in late October, alongside Halloween items. In the UK Christmas food appears on supermarket shelves as early as September.
The precise definition of feasts and festival days that are encompassed by the Christmas/winter holiday season has become controversial over recent decades. Traditionally, the only holidays included in the "season" were Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day (in some countries), New Year's Eve, New Year's Day and Three Kings Day. In recent times, this definition has begun to expand to include Yule, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Thanksgiving and Black Friday. Due to the phenomenon of Christmas creep and the informal inclusion of American Thanksgiving, the "winter" holiday season has begun to extend into late autumn. (See also list of winter festivals.)
For more information about Christmas and holiday season, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with holiday season
Apple on track to launch tablet device next year, analysts say
Electronics / Consumer & Gadgets
Dec 09, 2009 |
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Apple Inc. is on track to launch a much-anticipated, tablet-sized computing device early next year, according to brokerage reports Wednesday.
Hollywood hopes an ensemble cast boosts Blu-ray
Dec 13, 2009 |
4 / 5 (1) |
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(AP) -- Although prices for some Blu-ray players dropped below $100 this holiday season, customers are hesitating to jump into the next-generation video format. Even people who already own Blu-ray players ...
Consumers overpredict the use of holiday gifts
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Dec 09, 2009 |
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Before you add that fancy "it" gadget to your holiday wish list, you should know you're not going to use it as much as you think you will. For a better estimate of the use you'll get out of your new toy, ask a stranger.
Nine gaming predictions for 2010
Dec 11, 2009 |
1 / 5 (1) |
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The end of the year offers a chance to look back on all that's come and gone in the past 12 months. It also offers a chance to use that knowledge of the past to bet on the outcome of the next 12 months for fun and profit.
Search results for holiday season
Parents: Be mindful of hazardous holiday ornaments
Dec 14, 2009 |
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A new study from Children's Hospital Boston's Division of Emergency Medicine has found that holiday decorations, particularly glass ornaments, are one more safety hazard parents must consider during the season. ...
Parents encouraged to avoid purchasing lottery tickets as gifts for minors
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
21 hours ago |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- In the flurry of activity before the holidays, some well-meaning family members consider buying lottery tickets and scratch cards as affordable, colourful, and potentially promising gift options for the children ...
November video game sales fall 8 percent to $2.7B
Dec 10, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Americans reached into their pockets - though not as deep as last year - to spend $2.7 billion on video games in November, according to figures reported Thursday by market researcher NPD Group.
What's the best hangover cure? Truth be told, there isn't one
Dec 09, 2009 |
1.8 / 5 (4) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- With the holiday party season at hand, UNC's Dr. James C. Garbutt offers these tips about how to enjoy a few drinks responsibly -- while sparing yourself and those around you from the potentially ...
Google hints at making mobile telephone
Electronics / Consumer & Gadgets
Dec 13, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (4) |
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The Internet on Saturday buzzed with renewed rumors of Google making its own smartphone, after the Internet powerhouse said it is internally dabbling with a mobile device.
NASA's AIM Satellite and Models are Unlocking the Secrets of Mysterious 'Night-Shining' Clouds (w/ Video)
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
19 hours ago |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM) satellite has captured five complete polar seasons of noctilucent (NLC) or "night-shining" clouds with an unprecedented horizontal resolution ...
Lost water of the Napa Valley vineyards
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
1hour ago |
5 / 5 (2) |
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Getting the most out of every drop of water is a high priority for grape growers in the southern Napa Valley, where summers are hot and dry and vines have to be irrigated to make it through the growing season. But Stanford ...
Hubble's Festive View of a Grand Star-Forming Region (w/ Video)
19 hours ago |
4.5 / 5 (4) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Just in time for the holidays: a Hubble Space Telescope picture postcard of hundreds of brilliant blue stars wreathed by warm, glowing clouds. The festive portrait is the most detailed view of the largest ...
New curriculum mixes nanotechnology and skiing (w/ Video)
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Dec 14, 2009 |
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Nanotechnology seems a daunting subject, but for mechanical engineering students at the University of Nevada, Reno, it has taken on a real world approach - in Ski Building 101.
New Algorithm Ranks Sports Teams like Google's PageRank
Technology / Computer Sciences
Dec 15, 2009 |
4 / 5 (1) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Sports fans may be interested in a new system that ranks NFL and college football teams in a simple, straightforward way, similar to how Google PageRank ranks webpages. The new sports algorithm, ...
List of search results for holiday season
