The Cartoonist

1. Christmas (believe it or not) is not festival celebrating gluttony, drunkeness or consumerism. The festival now often referred to by busy people as ‘Xmas’ is an annual holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. Jesus of Nazareth (7-2 BC/BCE-26-36 AD/CE), also known as Jesus Christ, is the central figure of the religion of Christianity and is revered by most Christian churches as the Son of God and the incarnation of God. Islam considers Jesus a prophet, while many Hindus see him as an Avatar.

2. A gift or present is the transfer of something, without the need for compensation that is involved in trade (also know as commerce). A gift is a act which is voluntary does not require anything in return. Even though it may involve a social expectation of reciprocity, or a return in the form of prestige or power, a gift is meant to be free.
In many human cultures and societies, the act of mutually exchanging goods, money etc may contribute to enhancing social cohesion. Economists have elaborated the economics of gift-giving into the notion of a gift economy.
The term gift can also refer to anything that makes the other happier or less sad, especially as a favour, including forgiveness and kindness. Gifts aren’t always material objects!

3. There are several alternative names for Christmas. Crimbo is a slang term which first appeared in print in 1928. The variant ‘Crimble’ was first used by John Lennon in a Beatles’ Fan Club Christmas single in 1963. Xmas is an established abbreviation, though it is involved in the secularization of Christmas debate. Yule is used in Northern Europe. In the US, the term(s) “holiday” and / or “season” may be used.

4. Saint Nicholas is the common name for Nicholas of Myra, a Christian saint who was Bishop of Myra in Lycia of Anatolia (now known as Antalya province in Turkey, though at the time it was a Greek-speaking Roman Province). Because of the many miracles attributed to him, he is known as Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker. He had a reputation for secret gift-giving, and is now commonly identified with Santa Claus. Saint Nicholas Day is a festival in early December for children in much of Europe related to surviving legends of the saint, and particularly his reputation as a bringer of gifts.

Images of Santa Claus were popularised through Haddon Sundblom’s depiction of him in The Coca-Cola Company’s Christmas advertising in the 1930’s. The popularity of the image has since spawned urban legends that Santa Claus was himself an invention of Coca-Cola or that Santa wears red and white because those are the colors of the Coca-Cola brand. In fact, Coca-Cola was not the first soft drinks company to utilize the modern image of Santa in its advertising – White Rock Beverages used Santa to sell mineral water in 1915 and then later in ads for ginger ale in 1923. The massive advertising campaign by Coca-Cola simply popularised the depiction of Santa wearing red and white, in contrast to the variety of colours he wore prior to that campaign; red and white was originally given by the 19th century caricaturist and political cartoonist Thomas Nast. The modern depiction of Santa Claus as a fat, jolly man (or gnome) in a red coat and trousers with white cuffs and collar, black leather belt and boots, first became popular in the United States due to Nash’s work.

It is Christmastime and do we really all know what it is about? Not only that but what about what is fast appearing to be the most important aspect of Christmas and that is the favourite toys for kids at Christmas and more importantly the Bakugan Toys.

Well let’s take a look at what Christmas is all about first and get to the toys later.

Christmas day or Christmastide or just plain good old Christmas is arguably the most popular of all public holidays and is celebrated on the 25th of December and marks the anniversary of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. Contrary to popular belief, the actual date of Christmas in relation to Christ’s birth actually may be slightly different in that some 1500 years later the known world changed it calendar system from the Julian system to the Gregorian Calendar named after the then Pope of the day, Pope Gregory XVIII.

Nowadays to be brutally blunt, the holiday is all about commercialism, the purchasing of gifts and the giving of these gifts but lets not create too much of a downer on the entire season, who doesn’t like receiving gifts? The giving of gifts, the display of various decorations including the lighting up of lights on the Christmas tree with mistletoe etc are more representative of what Christmas actually means to us nowadays.

Also celebrated as a secular festival as well as being honoured by the worlds Christian population, the percentage of those who celebrate Christmas continues to rise. The holiday is widely celebrated around the world, including in the United States, where it is celebrated by 96% of the population. As has been mentioned the number of those worldwide celebrating Christmas has grown almost exponentially to appoint where for example, in the USA, it is reckoned that Christmas is celebrated by over 96% of the population.

It is the gift giving element that has turned Christmas , as far as the retailers are concerned into one of the most important times of the year. To sum up, Christmas is now big business whether we like it or not and it is one of the facts of modern day life that we are going to have to get used to.

Taking the historical angle away from it, where did the tradition of the giving of gifts originate from in the first place?

It has been argued that though originating from an interpretation of Christmas as seen through the eyes of the Western world characterized by the giving of gifts, these gifts have been attributed to the character called Father Christmas (otherwise accredited or known as Santa Claus, Saint Nicholas or St Nikolaus, Sinterklaas or Kris Kringle amongst others). The popular image of Santa Claus was created by the German-American cartoonist Thomas Nast, who drew a new image annually, beginning in 1863. It took until the 1880’s for the images created by Naast to evolve into the image we all now recognise.

Running alongside the largely Western European tradition of Father Christmas is the Latin American tradition whereby it is supposed that while Santa makes the toys, he then gives these toys to the baby Jesus who in turn actually delivers the gifts to the children’s homes. This story is meant to be a reconciliation between traditional religious beliefs and modern day globalization, most notably the iconography of Santa Claus imported from the United States.

So to arguably this years must have toys, the Bakugan Toys. One of the real surprise toys this Christmas is going to be the Bakugan toys. The Bakugan toys are a new group of toys that has made the old fashioned game of marbles fashionable and exciting again. The real difference is that with these toys, the “marbles” actually open up and feature mini action figures so it is quite easy to see why these toys are in fact so popular with boys.

It is Christmastime and do we really all know what it is about? Not only that but what about what is fast appearing to be the most important aspect of Christmas and that is the favourite toys for kids at Christmas and more importantly the Ben 10 Toys.

OK, Christmas first and then an explanation about the Ben 10 toys later.

The public holiday that we know nowadays as Christmas day, Christmastide or as has been mentioned before just plain old Christmas, celebrated on the 25th of December every year honours and marks the anniversary of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth.

Contrary to popular belief, the actual date of Christmas in relation to Christ’s birth actually may be slightly different in that some 1500 years later the known world changed it calendar system from the Julian system to the Gregorian Calendar named after the then Pope of the day, Pope Gregory XVIII.

It could be argued that actually nowadays the holiday is more of a celebration of the god Mammon rather than a celebration of the birth of Christ as the holiday probably has more to do with commercialism and the giving of gifts than anything else. Modern customs of the holiday include gift-giving, church celebrations, and the display of various decorations—including the Christmas tree, lights, mistletoe, nativity scenes and holly.

Christmas is celebrated throughout the Christian population, but is also celebrated by many non-Christians as a secular, cultural festival. The holiday is widely celebrated around the world, including in the United States, where it is celebrated by 96% of the population.

As has been mentioned the number of those worldwide celebrating Christmas has grown almost exponentially to appoint where for example, in the USA, it is reckoned that Christmas is celebrated by over 96% of the population. Because gift-giving and several other aspects of the holiday involve heightened economic activity among both Christians and non-Christians, Christmas has become a major event for many retailers.

To sum up, Christmas is now big business whether we like it or not and it is one of the facts of modern day life that we are going to have to get used to. So history and tradition aside, where exactly does the tradition of giving presents to one and all originate from?

Originating from Western culture, where the holiday is characterized by the exchange of gifts among friends and family members, some of the gifts are attributed to a character called Santa Claus (also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas or St. Nikolaus, Sinterklaas, Kris Kringle, Père Noël, Joulupukki, Babbo Natale, Weihnachtsmann, Saint Basil and Father Frost). The popular image of Santa Claus was created by the German-American cartoonist Thomas Nast, who drew a new image annually, beginning in 1863. It took until the 1880’s for the images created by Naast to evolve into the image we all now recognise.

Running alongside the largely Western European tradition of Father Christmas is the Latin American tradition whereby it is supposed that while Santa makes the toys, he then gives these toys to the baby Jesus who in turn actually delivers the gifts to the children’s homes.

This story is meant to be a reconciliation between traditional religious beliefs and modern day globalization, most notably the iconography of Santa Claus imported from the United States.

So to arguably this years must have toys, the Ben 10 Toys. These are action figures and more form the wildly popular Ben 10 TV Series. With the Omnitrix, Alien Creation Chamber and many action figures from which to chose from, the Ben 10 toys are incredibly popular amongst young boys.

In this passage we are about to discuss some unique ways to render a personalized or custom-made Christmas card. But before we get to the matter, it is imperative to realize why you need to take the trouble of creating a card when you can buy one without any hassle.

Sometimes a personal greeting card gets more attention than a heap of packaged gifts. This is true especially if the recipient is someone close to your heart or someone who values relationships more than formalities.  In fact, I have come across many friends who hate the practice of buying and sending fancy greeting cards. They claim that it is nothing more than a demonstration of friendship void of any personal feelings. And their reasoning is quite simple. A card is nothing but a message of love in someone’s name. For them it is a matter of feelings that has to be presented in a natural way. As long as the greeting is real it need not be stuffed with fancy designs or rich colors to be seen as something special. And if you can’t bring out that message from your heart, you do not mean it either. After all, no one would rate a card on the basis of its estimated cost.

Thus, proceeding along the path of our aforesaid belief, let me explain a few tips and tricks that can help you all in creating professional quality Christmas cards. There are different ways to personalize a card. The first step is to have a personal message composed and written in your own handwriting. The second part is to include some creative elements. Now you might think that this is where your artistic talents are put to test. However, the fact is you don’t have to be a talented artist in order to create an attractive Christmas card. The trick is to make it interesting and surprisingly different.

One straight method is to include your picture on the front cover. If you are sending the card on behalf of your family, this would be a great idea. Select a lovely photograph of your family and get it printed into a simple card pattern. You can easily find such designs on the internet. Print out the version once you are done with the designing part. Finally, add your personal message and send them through.

The next alternative is to include the picture of the receiver in a caricature form or as a portrait. You don’t have to worry about creating a portrait. There are photo editing softwares that can convert real photographs into paintings or posters. All you have to do is place them rightly before printing. Or you can get cartoon-like caricatures done from a professional cartoonist. You will find many freelance cartoonists functioning online. They can easily replicate ordinary people into amusing figures. It would be a great way to make someone laugh when they see your card.