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The origin of Christmas can be traced to the pagan holidays. It was in the year 354 AD that Christians in the West began the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ on the 25th of December; before that time, it was celebrated on the 6th of January. At the time, Christians considered many of the pagan traditions and festivals of the season that was practiced in most parts of Europe and the Middle East as a means of making them increasingly irrelevant.

Christmas day or Christmas is an annual holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. Although it is observed on different dates in some churches, it is a fact that the actual time of the birth and death of Jesus Christ has not been determined. There are many sides to the celebration of Christmas, some of which are religious and some secular, including the myth of Santa Claus, the exchange of gifts, display and decoration of Christmas tree, and religious occasions.

Christians celebrate Christmas by recreating or remembering the Nativity of Christ. While the Western Church most Christians prefer to celebrate the Advent of Christ, the Eastern Orthodox Churches engage in the Nativity fast in anticipation of the birth of Christ. Children usually sing Christmas carols that make reference to the celebration or celebrate the events of the Nativity. Some Christians place a small size recreation of the Nativity in their houses using small sculptures to display the key persons in the story of the birth of Christ.

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The joy of bringing hope to the lives of others, bearing the burden of others, easy loads of others and filling empty lives and hearts with generous gifts is the true essence of Christmas. It is a period when people do things that they usually don’t do. Be kind to others if you have demonstrated wickedness throughout the year and such things as kindness, love and compassion are infectious. You may find yourself becoming loving and kind for the rest of your entire life which will do you a whole lot of good.

Christmas is a time of the year when we let go of the painful realities of this evil world and adopt and embrace a more real universe (heaven) which represents the ideals that we cherish and believe in but find it difficult to follow through in an unforgiving and ugly world which is inclined towards eroding the real loving nature of man.

The post HISTORY AND MEANING OF CHRISTMAS appeared first on NIR News / National Investigative Report.

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One of the oldest festivals celebrated throughout the history of man is Thanksgiving. There were instances of ancient tribes preparing feasts and making offerings to their gods and seek favor from them. In times of old, the Jews, the Romans and the Greeks also had similar celebrations to the gods and goddesses of harvest.

In the United States, it is believed that Thanksgiving was harvest festival originally held in 1621 by the pilgrims of the Plymouth colony. The pilgrims held a 3-day feast during the first Thanksgiving to celebrate their enormous harvest after they arrived North America.

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Although a national day of Thanksgiving was proclaimed by George Washington, the idea of having a national holiday of Thanksgiving was later dismissed by Thomas Jefferson. Later on in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln declared the last Thursday of November as a national day of thanksgiving. Again in November 1941, thanksgiving was approved specifically as the fourth Thursday of November by a joint resolution of Congress.

Thanksgiving Day or Thanksgiving is a day chosen to give thanks to God after the end of the harvest season. It is celebrated at different times and in different ways in various parts of the world. While Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday of October in Canada, it is a holiday in the United States and is observed on the fourth Thursday of the month of November. However, in the United Kingdom, it is not a major festival and it is known as the Harvest festival. On Thanksgiving, family and friends gather together to feast and to celebrate their bountiful harvest, relax and enjoy the company of each other. In a standard Thanksgiving recipe, Turkey is the main item. This day also denotes the unofficial commencement of the winter holiday period.

Andrea Westmoreland/flickr

Although the dates for observing Thanksgiving Day in different parts of the world are different, the celebration in Canada is in most part the same as in the United States. In the UK, Harvest festival is celebrated towards the end of September or October and special services of Thanksgiving are held in churches on that day.
The Jews all over the world observe Sukkot, a celebration of thanksgiving which last for nine days. Thanksgiving Day is observed by the Chinese as Zhong Qui or the festival of the Autumn Moon on the eight months of the Chinese calendar. In India, the festival is known as the Onam.

The post HISTORY AND MEANING OF THANKSGIVING appeared first on NIR News / National Investigative Report.

When we try to find answers about the history of Halloween, we need to trace back to the period of time prior to the birth of Christ. The history of Halloween originated in England among the Celtics New year festival.

Today, this event is an annual holiday celebrated on the 31st of October. The origin of Halloween however, has gone through a mixture of different practices and traditions. It is now a blend of Celtic practices, traditions of Europe and Roman Catholic religious activities.

Halloween is a day of celebration which has a superstitious side to it. Initially, it was a day believed to be a day when spirits visit the earth and communicate with the living. It was a day influenced by the Celtic day of Samhain, which translates to mean the end of summer. The Catholics observe the 1st of November as All saints day or Hallowmas and All Hallows or Halloween is celebrated on the eve of Hallowmas.

It is believed that the practice of the Christians celebrating the All Souls Day or All Saints Day on the evening before that day stems from the Jewish tradition of celebrating every holiday from the setting of the sun the previous day until the setting of the sun on the next day.

Now the Halloween of today is not the same as it was over 2000 years ago. Despite all the beliefs and traditions which influence the Halloween day, what we now celebrate is a holiday which is full of fun for children as they get involved activities such as telling Halloween stories which are scary, wearing Halloween costumes and enjoying Halloween recipes.

Halloween is a time of the year that is full of fun and freakish. It is a time when there is only a thin line between the world of the living and the world of the dead and you are sure to feel the scare with goblins, ghosts, werewolves, and witches prowling around ̶ both in their costumes and in their selves. Halloween is an event when to allow the naughty side of you to come alive while you play pranks, scare the living hell out of your folks and spruce up in freaky costumes.
The Celtic Druids or priests also made bonfires and offered sacrifices on this day. This reason for this was to scare away the spirits of the dead and avoid being possessed by them. Also to keep these spirits away, they dressed up as monsters and ghosts and put off all the lights in their houses

The post HISTORY AND MEANING OF HALLOWEEN appeared first on NIR News / National Investigative Report.

Los Angeles County has agreed to pay the sum of $800,000 to the parent of kids who were taken to custody from home without a warrant by social workers and Sheriff’s deputy.

The payment is meant to settle a civil right violation lawsuit that claimed that the kids were unlawfully taken away from their parent’s residence at San Gabriel Valley about four years ago. The state kept the children for four months.

The lawsuit was filed by the parents of the two kids who believe that it was a case of a violation of their civil rights.

The parents, Mirtha Lopez and Sebastian Xoss leveled accusation against the county of unlawful, unreasonable and baseless removal of their 8 year old son and 6 year old daughter on February 10, 2011 from a hotel where they staying at the time of the event. According to the lawsuit, they went to the hotel in a bid to escape suspected violation of their daughter by an abuser who is a close relation of Lopez.

The lawsuit also states that the social workers at the Department of children and family services claimed that the parents created an endangering and detrimental home environment for the children. By falling short of their responsibility for providing immunizations and nourishing food for their children. They went on to accuse Xoss of having an untreated mental health problem that pose a threat to the children’s safety.

According to the case summary as prepared by the counsel to the country, staff from the Sheriff’s department’s social workers and Special Victims Bureau was responding to a complaint of abuse. It is, however, unclear who lodged the report.

The parents on their part denied the allegations claiming that they were fabricated. They said that they were raising their children in an academically, emotionally, loving, and financially supporting home. They also had letters from their doctors as proof that they were exempted from immunizing their children on the basis of their religious belief.

The parents made accusations in their lawsuit against the social workers and deputy that they entered their hotel room without having a search warrant to do so. The lawsuit reveals that the deputy mocked at the parents for not immunizing their children because of their religious inclination and also teaching them at home without sending them to school.

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The post Parents Receive $800,000 As A Settlement After Police Took Custody Of Their Children Without A Warrant appeared first on NIR News / National Investigative Report.

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At First Baptist Dallas, exactly where the pulpit was embellished Sunday with red, white and also blue bunting to recognition the 4th of July, the pastor referred to the Supreme Court’s gay marriage decision an affront in the face of Almighty God.

The iconic rainbow shades that bathed the White House Friday night after the court legitimate same-sex marriage across the country signify depravity, degradation and what the Bible calls sexual perversion, the Rev. Robert Jeffress stated.

But we are now not discouraged, Jeffress stated. We will not be silenced. This really is an excellent chance for our church to reveal the truth and also the love of Jesus Christ as well as we will get it done.

On the very first Sunday after the high court taking over, theological conservatives grappled with their new position as exactly what the Southern Baptists call “a moral minority” on marriage. Ministers were defiant regarding openly keeping up their ideas, in addition to cautioned church people to make their selves for a difficult period in advance.

Welcome to the brand new entire world. It’s just simply transformed for you Christians. You will definitely be persecuted, Alabama’s Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore declared from the pulpit at the Kimberly Church of God, in Kimberly, Ala.

Moore, who fought a losing battle to maintain a Ten Commandments monument he set up inside Alabama’s state judicial developing, said the choice went against the laws of nature.

Is there this kind of a thing as morality any longer? Sodomy for hundreds of years was announced to be against the laws of nature together with nature’s God. And even right now should you say that openly, and I assume I am, am I violating somebody’s civil rights? Have we raised morality to immorality? Do we call excellent, bad? Exactly what are we Christians to do?

In their dissents to the ruling, Chief Justice John Roberts, and Justices Samuel Alito and Antonin Scalia, each stated comparable issues. Very first Amendment protections for clergy and worship are clear, making churches choose who they can marry. Nevertheless, religious freedom protections are considerably less particular for faith-based charities, schools and also hospitals that want to hire and fire depending on religious values.

I believe that people who cling to old values are able to whisper their ideas in the recesses of their homes , however if they repeat those views openly, they are going to risk becoming labeled as bigots and treated as such by governing bodies, employers, in addition to schools ,Alito wrote.

At liberal churches, pastors and congregants rejoiced since gay pride parties were held around the country.

Reverend Dr. Neil G. Cazares-Thomas/Facebook

In one decision we’ve quickly individuals from being second-class individuals to first class, claimed the Rev. Neil Cazares-Thomas, who was leading Sunday’s worship at the Cathedral of Hope in Dallas, a megachurch created in the past as a spiritual refuge for gays.

62% of white colored evangelical Protestants as well as 54% of non-white Protestants defend same-sex marriage, based on the Public Religion Research Institute.

However, support for gay marriage is increasing actually within certain evangelical communities, powered to some extent by younger generations that have gay friends as well as don’t see opposing same-sex relationships as central to their belief.
The separation might be observed in competing statements from evangelicals after the high court ruling.

One group of just about 100 leaders, organized by the Southern Baptist’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, granted a marriage certification known as “Here We Stand,” pledging to keep on “witnessing to the biblical teaching” of marriage as the union of a man along with woman “and live this reality at all costs .” An additional, by the pro-gay Rise Network and also authorized by approximately 100 pastors and community leaders, praised the taking over as “a significant stage towards justice and equality.”
As well as some congregations are conflicted.

There’s a combined sensation. There are combined understandings, alleged the Rev. Donald Jenkins at St. Paul United Methodist Church in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, whose denomination bars same-sex weddings. It’s simply something which we’re likely to need to look closely at, find out as we go along, just how we’re going to cope with it.
The U.S. bishops are going through a much better difficulty within, all the while they move ahead since the leading religious voice encouraging for lawful protections for people who object to gay marriage.

In the Roman Catholic Diocese of Arlington, Va. , Bishop Paul Loverde conducted numerously and put together a speech for the U .S. bishops’ yearly religious freedom commemoration, called “Religious Liberty For How Long? How to Prepare Spiritually for the Coming Persecution.”
About 58 % of Roman Catholics state they encourage same-sex marriage, based on Public Religion Research Institute, along with U .S. bishops have fought freely with how they may influence their faithful to follow church teaching.

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At New York’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Sunday, there was clearly absolutely no point out of the ruling from the pulpit. Outside, roughly 20 members of Dignity, a Catholic gay advocacy group, sang and greeted parishioners.

“Our message is now to our fellow Catholics that we would like to see our relationships recognized as holy within the church as well,” said Jeff Stone, a member of Dignity. “That is not something that can be accomplished by legal means. We are hoping to change hearts and minds of our fellow Catholics .”

The post Traditional Churches Face New Reality On Gay Marriage appeared first on NIR News / National Investigative Report.

Steve Bott

The U.S. Supreme Court struck down denials of same-sex marriage in each of the 50 states on Friday, in a decision held onto as a noteworthy time in history for LGBT rights.

In any case, now the decision must be issued — and numerous areas in Southern states where marriages of same-sex couples had been either banned or outlawed are not hurrying to change their policies in the wake of the decision.

Here’s a glance at how a few states have reacted:

Louisiana

Gov. Bobby Jindal, a outspoken opponent of same-sex marriage, has power over marriage licenses in the city of New Orleans and has said that the city can’t issue licenses to same-sex couples until the local federal court has ordered them to. Execution of the court decision has additionally been held up in different parts of the state: Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell advised the state’s 63 different parishes to hold off for 25 days before beginning to issue licenses, according to Times-Picayune. .

Alexandra Bellink

Texas

Disarray rules in the Lone Star State, where Attorney General Ken Paxton told clerk’s offices before the decision not to issue any licenses on the off chance that it was upheld, until he sent word to do as such. However, the decision came and Paxton has issued the word to issues licenses, as indicated by the Houston Chronicle. Still, some more liberal clerks have started issuing same-sex marriage licenses on their own.

Alabama

State Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, a famous adversary of same-sex marriage who administers the state’s probate courts, has not yet halted any nearby judges from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Yet, probate judges there have reacted in an assortment of ways, including some who have quit issuing marriage licenses for both straight and gay couples, according to AL.com.

Mississippi

The state clerks are waiting for the local federal court to request them to start issuing same-sex marriage licenses, per an announcement from state Attorney General Jim Hood. Another authority, Mississippi Judiciary Chairman Andy Gipson, recommended that the state should consider not issuing marriage licenses altogether as a result of the ruling, according to the Clarion-Ledger

The post Where Are Same-Sex Marriages Being Blocked in the U.S.? appeared first on NIR News / National Investigative Report.

Wikipedia/RWS

Some gamblers ended up winning $1.5 million at a casino. But, after the casino realized that the win was because the cards got shuffled they ordered the gamblers to return the money back.
Judge Donna Taylor from the State Superior Court sided alongside the Golden Nugget casino situated in Atlantic City, New Jersey. In this dispute, the 14 gamblers who were involved claim that it wasn’t their fault and that they should be permitted to keep the money the won.
The game which fell on the issue is mini-baccarat which was played back in April 2012. The casino had paid a manufacturer to pre-shuffle the cards, but it was later discovered that they have not been shuffled. The players started to realize the pattern in which the cards were coming, and they increased their bets from $10 right to $5000 and won 41 straight hands.

The ruling which was issued on Monday got publicized by the casino on Thursday. In it the judge determined that the games considered illegal under state law because they were not according to the rules and regulations of gambling.
The judge wrote that the dealer was in fault as it did not pre-shuffle the cards right before the beginning of the play. Thus, the cards were not pre-shuffled according to the regulations. He further stated that that this act was a violation of the Casino Control Act and, therefore, was not authorized. She ruled that any cash paid to the gamblers by the casino and any outstanding chips in their possession should be returned. In return of that, the gamblers would be refunded the money they first put up to play.

Wikipedia

The court’s ruling pleased the Golden Nugget and Tom Pohlman, the casino general manager said, “We believe it was the right decision.”
The ‘so called’ pre-shuffled cards were purchased by The Golden Nugget from a Kansas City manufacturer. In court, the manufacturer acknowledged that it failed to shuffle them. The casino accepted that the lawsuit with the manufacturer has been taken care of, but due to a confidentiality agreement, they can’t reveal the details.
This ruling by the judge was the latest in a long series of decisions which have been swinging between favoring the gamblers and favoring the casinos. Tillman Fertitta, Texas billionaire and the owner of the casino made the decision that the players keep their winnings. But this offer was dependent on the fact that the gamblers should drop their claims which they made against the casino, but they declined to do so.

For the disputed games, around $1 million chips remain outstanding, plus the casino paid out around $500,000 in winnings.

The post An Order Passed by the Judge; Gamblers Should Return $1.5 Million appeared first on NIR News / National Investigative Report.

A campaign to raise funds for North Charleston, South Carolina police officer Michael T. Slager, who was charged with murder in the shooting death of an unarmed black man during a routine stop, has been blocked by crowd funding site GoFundMe.

Photo Credit: Facebook

The release of a cell phone video on Tuesday shed new light on the death of Walter Scott, a 50-year-old father of four who was gunned down on Saturday. Slager was fired from the North Charleston Police Department on Wednesday, and the chief of the department said he was sickened after viewing the video of the shooting.

As protesters gathered outside the North Charleston City Hall calling for justice for Scott, others attempted to organize support for Slager in the form of an online crowd-funding initiative — even as the local police association decided not to provide funding for his legal defense.

In the video, Slager, 33, is clearly seen shooting Scott in the back eight times while he runs in the opposite direction. According to police reports, Scott was stopped because of a broken brake light.
“I have watched the video and I was sickened by what I saw. I have not watched it since,” Police Chief Eddie Driggers said Wednesday during a press briefing on Wednesday.

“It is a sad day for us all when a police officer makes what appears to be a very bad decision that resulted in an unnecessary death,” Alphin said. “The swift decision to charge the officer demonstrates that law enforcement will not tolerate the tarnishing of the badge and oath we all take so seriously,” read a statement from the group.

A Twitter account associated with the attempted fundraiser, dedicated to raising money to offset Slager’s forthcoming legal costs, noted that GoFundMe rejected the campaign and directed people to a similar fundraiser on Indiegogo. It is unclear who is behind the campaign or whether funds were ever raised.

The page carried the following message:

We’re campaigning to show our Support for Officer Michael T. Slager! We believe in all of our LEOs and want to publicly support them! Although he may have made missteps in judgment he was protecting the community. Michael is a former Coast Guardsman with two stepchildren and a wife who is expecting a child, served for more than five years with the department without being disciplined. Please help in any way you can. He has served five years with the department without being disciplined.

Photo Credit: Facebook

The person or people behind the campaign did not respond to requests for comment.

GoFundMe confirmed that the page had been removed, due to a violation of the site’s terms and conditions after it was reviewed by the team.

A spokesperson was unable to comment on which of the site’s terms and conditions were violated or how much money had been raised on the page prior to it being shut down. Yet Slager has been formally charged with murder, a crime that may fall under the site’s ban on “campaigns in defense of formal charges of heinous crimes, including violent, hateful, or sexual acts,” which is explicitly stated on its user page

Some Twitter users called for Indiegogo to follow suit and shut down the campaign on its site.

An Indiegogo representative told that the site “allows anyone, anywhere to fund ideas that matter to them and just like other open platforms — such as Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter — we don’t judge the content of campaigns as long as they are in compliance with our Terms of Use.”

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The post GoFundMe Rejects Campaign For The Officer Who Fatally Shot Walter Scott appeared first on NIR News / National Investigative Report.

Photo Credit: fpd/ David Castillo Dominici

Verbal communication is the main type of communication that everyone can identify with. The two different ways that we use verbal communication are through the words we speak or the words that we write. The words that you choose will send a message and have a significant impact on any of the people that you interact with. Your choice of words will affect the message you are trying to share. But verbal communication is only one part of how we communicate to other individuals.

PhotoCredit: fdp/ David Castillo Dominici

There is also non-verbal communication that is always occurring when you are interacting with another individual or a group of people. Examples of non-verbal communication are how you utilize the tone of your voice, you personal body language and gestures you use when communicating. Body language is a big signal of what you are really feeling when you are communicating. Crossing your arms can make an individual feel uncomfortable or not having eye contact sends a message that you are not interested in the person or group you are interacting with.

Facial expressions can send even more of a message than the words you speak. Your facial expression will give you away if you look like you do not want to be there or just failing to have a smile. Warm smiles can make even the more difficult conversations a little easier.

PhotoCredit: fdp/ David Castillo Dominici

If you understand the importance of your style of communication and examine your verbal and non-verbal forms of communication that you are utilizing, you can take the steps to improve your personal communication skills and find more success in the workplace and your personal relationships. Remember to always speak clearly and provide feedback, feedback is a tool to ensure that the person or group you are interacting with fully understands what you have communicated to them.

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The post The Importance Of Communication In Our Daily Lives appeared first on NIR News / National Investigative Report.

Chief Steven Bukala/Lowell Police Dept.

Officer Scot VanSolkema/Lowell Police Dept.

In the streets of Lowell, MI motorists are being pulled over for what they believe to be committing a
traffic violation, until the police reveal an unsuspected surprise.

Rob Bliss an internet producer and town local, teamed up with UP TV to create an uplifting video
showing the Lowell police giving back more to their community than just protecting and serving. Rob
Bliss thought it would be a great way to spread a positive message using the police in a “Santa’s
Helpers” role.

Chief Steve Bukala of the Lowell Police Department and Officer VanSolkema coordinated the traffic stops for each motorist. Chief Bukala came up with the idea of stopping a motorist for equipment violations which are something officers wouldn’t normally make stops for. From illegal tints to minor traffic violations each motorist was under the impression they were to be given a ticket. Out of 40 to 50 motorists, 30 of them were able to be gifted.

To make sure each stop ran safely and smoothly, Chief Bukala volunteered to be the traffic spotter down the road. He would then radio in to Officer VanSolkema to stop a car he believed to meet the minor violation. As the motorist would reach for their license and registration, officer VanSolkema would then engage in a small conversation about what their children would want for christmas. Once the motorist explained what gifts their children wanted, the information over the radio was dispatched to UP TV and Lowell Police Departments helpers to quickly grab the gifts from the local toy stores shelves. As the motorist and Officer VanSolkema get deeper in conversation, the helpers quickly arrive unseen to the back of VanSolkema’s police car with the motorists desired gifts. Each motorist was in deep astonishment once they found out what the traffic stop was really about. As the officer handed the gifts over, each motorist couldn’t stop giving praise to Vansolkema for his generosity.

In a time where tensions with police are high and many are perceived to be bad or above the law, it’s important to understand that not every cop out there is bad and has the intention to harm you. This short video was created to show that even police can have a good time spreading love and the holiday spirit.

I would like to thank UP TV, and Rob Bliss for helping Chief Bukala and Officer VanSolkema of the Lowell police Department create such a moving video showing the police officers for the classy gentlemen and heroes they really are.

We always like to hear your feedback so as always be sure to comment below on what you think about this recent story.

The post Are All Traffic Stops Bad? appeared first on NIR News / National Investigative Report.