!#5: Christmas Light Software Cheap: December 2011

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Christmas Lights - A Brief Look at the Different Types

!±8± Christmas Lights - A Brief Look at the Different Types

You know that you've had many different types of Christmas lights in your home. However, you might not know some of the differences between these types of lights, until now.

C7 and C9 Bulbs and Cords - Traditional Christmas Lights

Some of the most popular types of Christmas light sets are C7, C9 - they are the traditional Christmas lights that everyone remembers growing up. Their retro look has been making a comeback over the last several Christmas seasons. They can be used either indoors or outdoors. The 25 and 100 foot sets contain either replaceable or built-in fuses. They are glass and filament (incandescent) construction and can break if you drop them. (And I've noticed about a 30% loss rate when my 3 year old helped me install them 2 years ago around our flowerbed.)

Both C7 and C9 Christmas lights can be purchased pre-installed or separately for a wider choice of colors. The C7 and C9 Christmas bulbs are designed so that if one bulb fails, it only affects that bulb, and not any of the surrounding bulbs - even removal or failure. They come in a variety of colors, and the cords are usually either green or white with a common spacing of 12 inches.

One of the nice features of C7 and C9 sets is that you can alternate colors or set them up in any pattern you choose. You aren't limited to a pre-manufactured selection. These Christmas light bulbs commonly come in transparent, opaque (painted) and flashing. With the opaque bulbs, you can achieve pastel colors not available in any other style.

C7 bulbs are smaller, just over 2 inches, while C9 are about three inches long from base to tip of bulb. Also, C9 lights have a larger diameter base than C7 lights. Most of the time, C9 bulbs are a great choice for outlining buildings and other outdoor work.

Mini Lights

Christmas mini lights are smaller and spaced more closely than the C7 and C9 varieties. For the most part, mini lights bulbs are small and the sets come in wide variety of bulb colors, wire colors, and bulb spacings. Their incredible versatility is their biggest asset. You can use them for everything from Christmas to super-hero birthday party decorations.

Mini lights can be a little more trouble than C7 and C9 lights since they are wired in series. If one bulb is physically damaged or unplugged, its entire series or section of the set will not light. Their configuration, however, allows for a bulb to burn out and not break the circuit, it is only when a bulb is broken or comes out of the socket.

LED Christmas Lights

These Christmas light newcomers are loved and revered by some and not a replacement for the tried and true for others. They are based on Light Emitting Diode technology and are general housed in plastic casing which makes them durable for outdoor use.

The main assets of LED Christmas lights are their low energy usage which saves customers money when the December electricity bill arrives, their low operating temperature and the fact that they last longer than traditional Christmas lights. How much longer is dependent on the environmental conditions where they are used and how they are treated. Nothing can protect against harsh wintry winds and errant squirrels. But at least if you drop a set, you won't have to run for a dustpan. As a rule of thumb, UL and the LED manufacturers rate these sets for 90 days of outdoor seasonal use.

The final choice when selecting Christmas lights all too often just comes down to personal taste. Knowing their strengths and weaknesses, take an opportunity to try something new this season!

Christmas Lights - A Brief Look at the Different Types

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Sunday, December 18, 2011

How Is Christmas in Jamaica Celebrated?

!±8± How Is Christmas in Jamaica Celebrated?

Christmas in Jamaica is celebrated in almost all parts of the island. The residents celebrate it with so much vigor and festivity that it relentlessly attracts guests every year.

Throughout the Christmas season, most places in Jamaica are mostly adorned with vibrant banners, colorful balloons, accordion-style bells, tinsels, traditional wreaths and colorful Christmas lights. Homes are festooned with the newest tablecloths and curtains. Families spend Christmas together in big, festive reunions and gatherings.

Restaurants and food places are also memorable with the special foods and drinks served during the Christmas festivities. The unique-tasting ackee with salted fish, sumptuous roasted duck or chicken, tangy goat curry, appealing rice and gungo peas and mouth-watering stewed ox tail are a few of the usual meals served in the island during Christmas. Plus, these meals are mostly accompanied by the delectable sorrel - Jamaica's special Christmas drink made of cinnamon, rum, sorrel sepal, sugar and orange peel.

Store places, especially the Grand Market, are also filled with jubilance of Christmas. All are characterized by the galore of scrumptious food, holiday crafts, energetic street dancing and strongly accentuated offbeat Christmas music. Accessories, small things and various gift items are also sold in many kiosks in the market. They are all set up with toys, balloons, firecrackers, cakes like the grater cakes, sweets like the pinda and peppermint sticks. Fruit cakes made of mixed fruits, rum and wine are sold in almost all corners of market places. People come dressed in fancy clothes, most wearing bright hats or exclusively-made costumes for Christmas. They celebrate the holiday even until dawn.

The streets in Jamaica during Christmastime are filled with merrymakers dressed in amusing masquerade costumes. This is Jamaica's traditional way of celebrating the holiday, also known as the Junkanoo. During the Junkanoo, male revelers often wore huge masks adorned with marks, images or ornaments of cow heads, horse heads, devils, wild Indians and a lot more. Festivities are all replete with the smell of traditional foods that waft in the air and no day goes by without mysterious bands in gigantic costumes marching in cultural events.

Public places are decked with elaborate holiday ornaments. They are packed with seemingly never-ending concerts and parties during the season. Despite the fact that its natives have never seen snow, Santa Claus, giving gifts and Christmas carols are very present during this time of the year. Even ever popular Christmas songs Silent Night and Holy Night can be heard in all parts of the island. They are both played in its classical and reggae versions, together with the other all-time favorite songs during Christmastime.

Indeed, from the private homes to the streets and public places of this far, secluded Caribbean island, Christmas is nothing but a scintillating experience. It is marked with glee and excitement; it is filled with non-stop feasting, celebrations, parties, special treats, happy gatherings, entertainment and colorful parades; and it is never complete without Christmas ornaments and Christmas music in reggae. So as the song Christmas in Jamaica goes, Christmas in the island is nonetheless a perfect holiday.