Christmas Around The World Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Christmas Around The World - Essay Example Perhaps what makes the concept of Christmas universal to all people is its idea of sharing. Taking after the gesture of the three Wise Men in the nativity scene, gifts has become one of the pillars of the Christmas season. People, at this time of the year, delight in giving gifts, from the simplest such as Christmas card, to the most expensive. Today, according to Ace Collins, (2003) â€Å"shoppers spend more than $4 billion per Christmas shopping day, or about $2.8 million each minute, during the holiday season in the United States alone.† (101) Gifts are also attributed to Santa Claus or Father Christmas and Saint Nicholas in other cultures. His iconography evolved through the years and has become one that visits houses on Christmas Eve to deliver gifts to children and families who have been good. As mentioned beforehand, there are unique Christmas customs across countries, so it would take a very long list to chronicle each of them, hence, we would discuss them in generalities. For instance, the Far East such Japan, Korea and the countries with different religions have a more secular celebration giving emphasis to gifts, the Christmas tree and preparing Christmas dinner. However, in countries like Ethiopia, Guatemala and Mexico, the spiritual aspects predominate – midnight mass, Christmas carol, religious procession and other solemn ceremonies. Countries such as the United States with its multicultural population have varying degrees of religious and secular celebrations and activities. Unique traditions significantly mark specific country celebrations. For example, the Philippines celebrates the longest Christmas season, starting as early as October. Two basic Christmas meanings or purposes predominate around the world - the religious and the secular. On the one hand there is an emphasis on the birth of Jesus and its significance to the world while on the other there is an emphasis on the abundant feasting, frolicking and good cheer.

Risk Management Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Risk Management - Case Study Example Experts cite Hurricane Katrina as being among the worst disasters that ever occurred in the history of the US, leading to the loss of over 1800 individuals (Moynihan, 2009). The disaster caused continued flooding, owing to the collapse of the artificial levees. This resulted in a series of industrial damages, pervasive pollution and a cut of critical facilities such as water, energy and communication networks. Moynihan argue that though the response was marred by several failures, it had it positive side. The 9-11 attack prompted the government to form bodies that would prevent and reduce the impacts of such calamities, including the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). FEMA was also in place and its response was significant in handling the calamity (Moynihan, 2009). FEMA had warned of the catastrophe earlier, and the evacuation process was underway. President Bush had affirmed a state of emergency and FEMA initiated its response operation. The evacuation significantly reduced the number of victims of the catastrophe. The magnitude of the catastrophe prompted the intervention of other stakeholders, in a bid to rescue victims and reduce their suffering (Levitt & Whitaker, 2009). As such, various organizations intervened and coordinated in the rescue, evacuation process and the delivering of essential products and services. Private charity organizations also played a significant role in the various forms of the response process. The military response was also critical in assuaging the sufferings of the victims. The large number of the deployed military officials aided the rescue operations, thereby lessening the hard task of the rescue team (FEMA, 2006). This served significantly in improving the relief efforts, hence reducing the number of affected victims. However, though various parties played significant roles in responding to the catastrophe, there several setbacks were evident. For instance, the slow response of the involved parties