Bill Clinton

In his post-presidential years, Clinton also made it known that he would like to serve as Secretary-General of the United Nations. Theories include the following:. Bush as the first American heads of state to attend a papal funeral. No explanation of why it is celebrated on December 25 is universally accepted. Bush and former president George H.W. Many different dates have been suggested for the celebration of Christmas. [20] (http://apnews.myway.com/article/20050406/D89A4IV80.html) Clinton sat with both President George W. Related article: Chronology of Jesus' birth and death.

But on balance, he was a man of God, he was a consistent person, he did what he thought was right." He also claimed to have met "two great popes" in his life, when the other he was referring to was John XXIII, who died when Clinton was in high school without ever visiting America. The cliché recreation for them is "movies and Chinese food"; movie theaters remaining open to bring in holiday dollars and Chinese restaurants being less likely to be closed. Following the death of Pope John Paul II on April 2, 2005 Clinton stirred up two mini-controversies saying the late pontiff, "may have had a mixed legacy...there will be debates about him. Non-Christians in predominantly Christian nations may be left bereft of entertainment around Christmas. Five days later, he and Bush both appeared on the Super Bowl XXXIX pregame show on Fox in support of their bipartisan effort to raise money for relief of the disaster through the USA Freedom Corps, an action which Bush described as "transcending politics." Thirteen days later, they both traveled to the affected areas to see how the relief efforts are going. Because of holiday celebrations involving alcohol, drunk driving-related fatalities may also increase. On February 1, 2005, he was picked by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to head the United Nations earthquake and tsunami relief and reconstruction effort. Suicide and murder rates may spike during the holiday season, but the peak months for suicide are May and June.

Bush to lead a nationwide campaign to help the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. Because of the focus on celebration, friends, and family, people who are without these, or who have recently suffered losses, are more likely to suffer from depression during Christmas. This increases the demands for counseling services during the period. W. Christmas movies generally open no later than late November, as their themes are not so popular once the season is over. Bush named Clinton and George H. Next to summer, this is the second-most lucrative season for the industry. On January 3, 2005, President George W. In North America, studios release many high-budget movies in the holiday season, both to capture holiday crowds and to position themselves for Oscars.

However at the portait unveiling three years later Bush reeled in unusual praise for Clinton as one who "brought energy and joy into this [White] house" and displayed a liking for Clinton's "confidence." [19] (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6803476/site/newsweek). Frustrations over these issues and others can lead to a rise in Christmastime social problems. During the 2000 presidential campaign, Bush deemed Clinton "the shadow" and vowed to "uphold dignity" into the White House once he departed in January of 2001. They accuse the Christmas season of being dominated by money and greed, at the expense of the holiday's more important values. Since the official unveiling of his White House portrait in June 2004, and especially since the 2004 election, Clinton and Bush have met on occasion, although the nature of the friendship does not appear to be a reconciliation of political opinions. Many fundamentalist Christians, as well as anti-consumerists, decry the "commercialization" of Christmas. Bush. The economic impact continues after the holiday, with Christmas sales and New Year's sales, when stores sell off excess inventories.

There has been reported signs of a friendship growing between former president Clinton and George W. Christmas Day is the only day in the year that some shops and businesses are closed. On December 8, 2004, Clinton announced that he was the new spokesperson for Accoona, an internet search engine company. In the United States, the Christmas shopping season now begins on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. Bush) as honorary members of the board rebuilding the World Trade Center. Sales increase in almost all retail areas and shops introduce new products, as people purchase gifts, decorations, and supplies. W. Christmas is typically the largest annual stimulus for the economies of celebrating nations.

On November 22, 2004, New York Republican Governor George Pataki named Clinton and the other living former presidents (Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and George H. Among other classical Christmas pieces are the Nutcracker Suite, adapted from Tchaikovsky's ballet score, and Johann Sebastian Bach's Christmas Oratorio (BWV 248). Television networks add Christmas themes, run traditional holiday movies, and produce a variety of Christmas specials. Bush. He was also treated to a musical rendition from Bono and The Edge from U2, who expressed their gratitude at Clinton's efforts to resolve the Northern Ireland conflict during his presidency. Radio stations broadcast Christmas carols and Christmas songs, including classical music such as the Hallelujah chorus from Handel's Messiah. Bush, as well as from the current president, George W. Radio and television also cultivate Christmas themes. W. The story behind the Christmas carol "Silent Night" and the story of "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus" are among the most well-known of these.

Under rainy skies, Clinton received words of praise from former presidents Jimmy Carter and George H. A few true stories have become enduring Christmas tales. Clinton Presidential Center, in Little Rock, Arkansas on November 18, 2004. On Christmas Eve, a guardian angel finds him in despair and prevents him from committing suicide, by magically showing him how much he meant to the world around him. He dedicated his presidential library, which is the largest in the nation, the William J. Its hero, George Bailey, is a businessman who sacrificed his dreams to help his community. On March 10, 2005, he underwent a follow-up surgery to remove scar tissue and fluid from his left chest cavity, a result of his open-heart surgery. A notable example is the film It's a Wonderful Life, the theme of which mirrors A Christmas Carol.

The medical team responsible for Clinton claimed that, had he not had surgery, he would likely have suffered a massive heart attack within a few months. Since the 1980s, their many video editions are sold and re-sold every year during the holiday season. He was transferred to Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City, where he successfully underwent quadruple coronary artery bypass surgery on September 6, 2004. Many Christmas stories have been popularized as movies and TV specials. It was determined that he had not suffered a coronary infarction, and he was sent home, returning the following day for angiography, which disclosed multiple vessel coronary artery disease. Unlike the principals of anglophone Christmas lore, she meets a tragic end. On September 2, 2004, Clinton had an episode of angina and was evaluated at Northern Westchester Hospital. She dares not go home because her father is drunk.

Bush, saying that "Strength and wisdom are not opposing values.". The destitute little slum girl walks barefoot through snow-covered streets on Christmas Eve, trying in vain to sell her matches, and peeking in at the celebrations in the homes of the more fortunate. In it, Clinton criticized George W. C. Andersen's "The Little Match Girl". Many critics have argued that Clinton's speech is one of the best in Convention history. Some Scandinavian Christmas stories are less cheery than Dickens', notably H. He used his speech to praise candidate John Kerry. Although these Christmas icons have become widespread through television and movies, Christmas is still a time when national traditions are strong, and both Santa's appearance and the stories told vary from country to country.

On July 26, 2004, Clinton spoke for the fifth time in a row to the Democratic National Convention. It was further developed in 1931 by Haddon Sundblom for the Coca-Cola Company. He also talked about repealing the 22nd Amendment in the event of a terrorist attack. In 1881, the Swedish magazine Ny Illustrerad Tidning published Viktor Rydberg's poem Tomten featuring the first painting by Jenny Nyström of this traditional Swedish mythical character (tomte, elf, goblin) which she turned into the white-bearded friendly figure associated with Christmas. Clinton mostly talked about his book and how he went about writing it, his thoughts on the issues that confronted the Bush administration, and the 2004 presidential election. Nast's 19th-century cartoons gave Santa his familiar form (Harper's Weekly, 1863), while Moore's poem A Visit from Saint Nicholas (Sentinel, 1823, popularly known as The Night Before Christmas) supplied the rotund Santa and his sleigh landing on rooftops on Christmas Eve. Nor was there any mention of Hillary Clinton. Thomas Nast and Clement Moore provided the English-speaking countries with their popular images of Santa Claus.

On September 11, 2004, CBC Newsworld, which is the CBC's cable news network, began its sixth season of "Mansbridge One on One (http://www.cbc.ca/programs/sites/mansbridge.html)" with an interview Clinton gave with the program's host, the network's chief correspondent, Peter Mansbridge [17] (http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/clinton/interview.html) [18] (http://media.cbc.ca:8080/ramgen/newsworld/clips/rm-newsworld/mansbridge_clinton0408051.rm). Unlike Dimbleby, Mansbridge didn't mention the Lewinsky affair. Dickens is sometimes credited with shaping the modern Christmas of English-speaking countries (tree, plum pudding, carols, etc.) and the movement to close businesses on Christmas day. One of those was in Canada. Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol is the tale of curmudgeonly miser Ebenezer Scrooge. Scrooge rejects compassion and philanthropy, and Christmas as a symbol of both, until he is visited by the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future, who show him the consequences of his ways. Clinton has gone to other countries for his book tours and has given media interviews on them. Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker ballet tells of a Christmas ornament come to life in a young Russian girl's dream. He also spoke about the prospects of a future Clinton presidency, should his wife Hillary Clinton decide to run for office in 2008. Several have become part of the Christmas tradition in their countries of origin.

In an interview with David Dimbleby [16] (http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/programmes/panorama/transcripts/clintoninterview.txt) which aired on the BBC on June 23, 2004, Clinton was questioned at length about the effects to his presidency of his affair with Monica Lewinsky, conceding that he had made many mistakes while in office. Many fictional Christmas stories capture the spirit of Christmas in a modern-day fairy tale, often with heart-touching stories of a Christmas miracle. Commenting on memoirs in general, he said "some are dull and self-serving, hopefully mine will be interesting and self-serving." The book made an unprecedented three appearances on the Amazon.com best-seller list, before it was even released. Main article: Christmas in the media. Clinton collected his memoirs into a book entitled My Life, which was released on June 22, 2004. see also: list of winter festivals and Christmas around the world. Clinton won a second Grammy in February 2005, Best Spoken Word Album for My Life. People gather outdoors to sing carols by candlelight on Christmas Eve or another evening shortly before Christmas.

In February 2004, Clinton (along with Mikhail Gorbachev and Sophia Loren) won a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for Children for narrating the Russian National Orchestra's album Peter and the Wolf/Wolf Tracks. Carols by Candlelight started in Melbourne in 1938 and spread around the world. He assisted his wife Hillary Clinton in her campaign for office as a senator representing New York. This clashes with the traditional winter iconography, and leads to such oddities as Santas arriving by surfboard to awaiting crowds on Australia's Bondi Beach. Clinton's close relationship with the African American community has been highlighted in his post-Presidential career with his opening of his personal office in the Harlem section of New York City. In Commonwealth countries in the southern hemisphere, Christmas occurs at the height of their summer season. One notable theme is his advocacy of multilateral solutions to problems facing the world. Other states are catching up with Christmas celebrations in a bid to attract tourists.

In these, he continues to comment on aspects of contemporary politics. The festive season is celebrated with pomp and vigor in places like Bombay and Goa. Like many former American presidents, Clinton has engaged in a career as a public speaker on a variety of issues. Christmas is an official holiday in almost all states. Roosevelt (elected four times). Christmas is known as bada din (the big day) in Hindi, and revolves around Santa Claus and shopping. (The other two, Dwight Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan, were Republicans.) Clinton is also one of only five Democratic party candidates ever to be elected to two full terms as president — the others being Andrew Jackson, Grover Cleveland (non-consecutively), Woodrow Wilson, and Franklin D. In India, most educational institutions have a Christmas vacation, beginning shortly before Christmas and ending a few days after New Year's Day.

As of 2005, of the ten presidents to take office since the 22nd Amendment was ratified in 1951, Clinton is one of only three presidents to serve two full terms, and the only Democrat to do so. The Christmas festival is largely for lovers, and eclipses the country's two Valentine's Days. Bush, whose father he had defeated in 1992. Japan has largely adopted the western Santa Claus for its secular Christmas celebration, but their New Year's Day is more important. On January 18, 2001, he addressed the nation one last time on television from the Oval Office of the White House, two days before handing over the presidency to George W. The official holiday on that date is largely treated as if it were Christmas. Additionally, there is controversy over his foreign policy actions; while some Americans feel that his foreign policies had resulted in an environment that permitted terrorists like Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda network to strike on September 11th, others feel that his efforts at fighting terrorism were hampered by excessive partisan bickering and were not continued effectively by the succeeding administration. In Taiwan, December 25 is the date of the signing of the Constitution of the Republic of China in 1947.

Some of the personal failures and moral lapses of Clinton have tainted his legacy in the eyes of many Americans in spite of the good economic growth of the late 1990's. In South Korea and in Timor-Leste, where there are large Christian populations, Christmas is an official holiday. In a 21 January 2000 speech at the California Institute of Technology, Clinton said, "Some of our research goals may take twenty or more years to achieve, but that is precisely why there is an important role for the federal government.". The godparents also bless them for a prosperous and joyful life. The Initiative was a federal nanoscale science, engineering, and technology research and development program. On Christmas Day children visit their godparents to seek aguinaldos (gifts). Howard Lovy, a nanotechnology writer, said the National Nanotechnology Initiative may "turn out to be one of Clinton's most-important legacies". Family members dine together on traditional fare, which includes the queso de bola (ball of cheese) and hamon (Christmas ham).

Clinton advocated nanotechnology development. Christmas Eve is the much-anticipated noche buena—the traditional Christmas feast after midnight mass. Clinton was able to surmount this problem through sheer personal charisma, but his successors have been less successful. These Misas de Aguinaldo (Gallo) (Gift Masses) are more popularly known in Filipino as Simbang Gabi. The current quandary of the Democratic party is felt by many to be primarily due to its inability to define itself vis-à-vis the Republican Party and offer a clear alternative. Christmas Day is ushered in by the nine-day dawn masses that start on December 16, but unofficially the season starts as far back as September. During the 1990s, the Party was accused of abandoning its traditional base of support (unions, the working class, minorities) in pursuit of a center-right position, responding to — and funded by — corporate contributors, with the soccer mom representing his new base. The Philippines celebrates the world's longest Christmas season and, like other countries influenced by hispanic culture, the nativity scene is highly visible and lamp posts are decorated with parol (christmas lanterns).

Clinton is seen as having led — in conjunction with the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) — the Democratic Party away from the left, towards a more moderate centrist position. Christmas lights are a nearly universal, and with the summery weather, fireworks displays are also found, especially over the cities of Brazil. Clinton presided over the period of longest steady growth of the economy in modern American history. As in Mexico, village processions acting out the events surrounding the birth of Christ are also common. Family Christmas meals are important, their contents as varied as the number of South American countries. He sometimes criticized other political leaders for being "out of touch" with the acceleration of technology. In regions with large numbers of Native American descendants, such as Peru, the figures are often hand-carved in a centuries-old style. unlimited applications" [15] (http://www.rand.org/scitech/stpi/ourfuture/Rosetta/millennium.html). Nativity scenes are featured in South American Christmas, both in homes and in public places.

Clinton was characterized by good grasp of the scientific issues and strong support of "unlimited scientific discovery, and.. Gift giving in Argentina occurs on January 6, or "Three Kings Day," when children leave shoes under their beds to be filled with snacks or small gifts by the Magi, who stop off on their way to Bethlehem. Clinton was seen as an educated and intelligent person. South American "Santas" dress more lightly in keeping with their warmer Christmas, and have adopted a number of means, from ladders to trampolines, to enter homes at night. Other common nicknames include "Slick Willy" and "Clintoon" (by detractors), and the "Big Dog" (by fans). The latter two resemble Santa Claus. One of the earliest was "Bubba", which alludes to his Southern "good ol' boy" background. Gift giving traditions include El Niño Jesus (Baby Jesus), who brings gifts to children in Colombia, Chile's Viejo Pasquero (Old Man Christmas), and Brazil's Papai Noel.

Clinton is often referred to by nickname among both detractors and fans. The secular customs and gift-giving in these countries are an admixture of traditions handed down from European and Native American forebears, plus the increasing influence of American culture. The deadly Branch Davidian standoff near Waco, Texas in 1993 fomented further far right hostility to the Clinton administration. Religious themes predominate in heavily-Catholic South America. Among these were rumors of involvement with drug traffickers, personal cocaine use, and involvement in the death of long-time friend and aide Vince Foster (ruled a suicide). Over a nine day period, groups of townspeople go from door to door, symbolic of visitors to the baby Jesus, and are periodically called inside homes to participate in the breaking of a gift-filled piñata. Several lurid accusations were leveled by conservative talk radio. The focus of secular Christmas in Mexico is the posada.

Clinton was viewed with intense personal animosity by some on the far right. NORAD "tracks" Santa Claus' global transit each year, to wide attention by the mass media. After allegations had linked him to Paula Jones, Gennifer Flowers and Katherine Willey, Clinton's sex life would become the focus of his public image when in January 1998 recorded conversations by Linda Tripp contained statements by White House intern Monica Lewinsky about having oral sex. Christmas. Starting from 1992 Presidential election campaign, rumors about Clinton's adultery were floating about, and these surfaced and increased with Paula Jones' accusations of sexual harassment. The Christmas tree and skating rink at Rockefeller Center in New York City, and the White House Christmas decorations are hallmarks of the U.S. Clinton supporters point out that several prominent conservatives, including Newt Gingrich, had very similar charges of draft evasion, womanizing, and corruption in their past as well, and that these allegations are tied less to Clinton's actual "character" as they are to his refusal to conform to the conservatism expected from white Southern politicians. In the United States and Canada, the Santa Claus traditions are essentially the same, except in Quebec, where Père Noël may appear.

Many white southern conservatives viewed Clinton as a "traitor" to his class, with his Ivy League and Rhodes Scholarship education and liberal world view. In the United Kingdom Christmas is sometimes referred to affectionately by the slang terms Crimble or Crimbo. Clinton's working-class white Southern background was a complicating factor. The usual Christmas dinner meal is turkey, with christmas pudding or Christmas cakes, often decorated with white icing, as dessert. Intense opposition to the Clintons was perhaps the main factor in the phenomenal growth of conservative talk radio in the 1990s. It stands in Trafalgar Square and is the most famous Christmas tree in Britain. Although he was actually to the right of previous Democratic candidates for the presidency on many issues — he supported the death penalty, curfews, uniforms in public schools, and other measures opposed by youth rights supporters, and he expanded the War on Drugs greatly while in office — Clinton's actions during the 1960s were never forgotten by his opponents. Every year since 1947 the city of Oslo has presented the British a spruce tree as a token of appreciation for British support during the Second World War.

Clinton's marijuana experimentation — clumsily excused by Clinton's statement that he "didn't inhale" — further damaged his image with some voters. The festival of Nine Lessons and Carols at King's College, Cambridge is a popular religious programme. Clinton avoided the draft with a student deferment while studying abroad during the Vietnam War. Christmas crackers form an integral part of Christmas celebrations, and the Christmas pantomime is popular with young families. In the 1960s, however, Clinton might not have been viewed as such by many of those in the hippie subculture. Many current customs, including their Christmas tree, or yolka, were brought by Peter the Great, after his western travels in the late 18th century. Social conservatives were put off by the impression of Bill Clinton having been a "hippie" during the late 1960s, his coming-of-age era. Russians kept some traditions alive by shifting them to New Year's Day, including the visit by gift-giving "Grandfather Frost" and his "Snowmaiden".

Some even suspected that Hillary, and not Bill, was the dominant force behind the team. It centers on the Christmas Eve "Holy Supper", which consists of twelve servings, one to honor each of Jesus' apostles. Many people saw the couple as an unprecedented political partnership. Christmas celebration in Russia has been revived since 1992, after decades of government suppression. Hillary Clinton's very strong role in the administration led to a degree of criticism toward a First Lady not seen since the days of Eleanor Roosevelt. He is thought to descend more from Santa Claus than from Saint Nicholas. Toni Morrison dubbed Clinton "the first Black president", saying "Clinton displays almost every trope of blackness: single-parent household, born poor, working-class, saxophone-playing, McDonald's-and-junk-food-loving boy from Arkansas.". In Eastern Europe, Slavic countries have Ded Moroz ("Grandfather Frost"), who travels in a magical troika, a decorated sleigh drawn by three horses, and delivers gifts to children.

[14] (http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=122950). Both dates are official holidays. Clinton was very popular overall among African-Americans and made improving race relations a major theme of his presidency. In Belarus Christmas is celebrated twice, on December 25 and on January 7, because the country has significant populations of both Catholic and Orthodox faiths. Until his inauguration as president, he had earned substantially less money than his wife, and had the smallest net worth of any president in modern history, according to My Life, Clinton's autobiography. In 2001 a massive nativity scene was constructed and displayed in Bratislava's Plavecky Stvrtok, with plans to disassemble it for future displays in other cities. Clinton clearly came across as a man of the people. Christmas in Slovakia is largely a celebration of family, food, and religious observation.

Despite criticisms that his appeal to young voters lacked substance, Clinton won among Generation X voters in the 1992 election, with the highest Gen-X turnout ever. The following day is often spent visiting friends or celebrated with a family dinner. With his sound-bite rhetoric and pioneering use of pop culture in his campaigning, Clinton was declared, often negatively, as the "MTV president". It is a very popular custom to attend the midnight mass called Pasterka. Upon his entering the national political horizon, he was commented upon as an remarkably informal person with a "common man" touch – with his frequent patronage of McDonald's becoming a popular symbol of this image. No meat except fish is eaten on that day. As the first Baby Boomer president, Bill Clinton was seen during his presidency and during his candidacy as a change from the presidents of the World War II Generation. There is straw under the table cloth which is meant to symbolise the place of birth of Christ.

However, he was disbarred from practicing law for five years by the State of Arkansas and the United States Supreme Court--resulting from an admitted purjury. It is inevitable that there are 12 dishes on the table and that there is a free place for an unexpected guest. He was acquitted in his Senate impeachment trial. There are many other traditions in connection with the Christmas Eve supper. Bush. The feast begins with the appearance of the first star, and is followed by the exchange of gifts. No evidence was produced or charges brought; similarly unproven allegations of rape have also been lodged against Republican presidents Reagan and George W. In Poland, Christmas Eve is a day first of fasting, then of feasting.

Also in 1998, Juanita Broaddrick alleged that Clinton had raped her in 1978. Another tradition requires pouring molten lead into water and guessing a message from the shapes that appear when it hardens. In March, 1998 Kathleen Willey, a White House aide, alleged that Clinton had sexually assualted her. Girls throw shoes over their shoulders; if the toe points to the door, the girl will get married. Pardongate refers to a grant of clemency to FALN members in 1999 and pardons to Marc Rich and others in 2001. Apples are cut crosswise; if a star appears in the core, the next year will be successful, while a cross suggests a bad year. Chinagate involved Democrats accepting improper campaign contributions; allegedly the ultimate source of this money was the Chinese government. Other Czech Christmas traditions involve predictions.

Filegate refers to White House handling of hundreds of personnel files from individuals without asking for their permission. The gifts are displayed under the Christmas tree (usually spruce or pine), and people unpack them after the dinner. Travelgate refers to the firing of White House travel office staffers. Old traditions include fasting on Christmas Eve until a ceremonial dinner is served, in order to be able to see a "golden pig". In addition to impeachment, the Clinton White House was the subject of many lesser scandals. Gifts are brought by Ježíšek, or "little Jesus". Again, the impeachment effort lacked bipartisan support, with no Democratic votes for conviction. December 25 and 26 are also holidays.

The obstruction of justice charge was defeated with 50 for conviction and 50 against. In the Czech Republic, Christmas is celebrated mainly on December 24, or Christmas Eve - Štědrý den, or "open-handed day", when the gifts are given in the evening. The perjury charge was defeated with 45 votes for conviction and 55 against. In Greece, a ship is the traditional symbol of Christmas, though the tree has been imported. A two-thirds majority, 67 votes, is necessary to convict the President on impeachment charges. In recent years Babbo Natale, a Santa Claus-like figure, is becoming more common. No witnesses were called during the trial. In some regions, presents are brought on Epiphany by La Befana, and in others by Baby Jesus on Christmas day or eve.

The Senate impeachment trial lasted from January 7, 1999 until February 12. Food, religious observances, nativity displays, and gift-giving are prominent. Based on taped phone conversations between Lewinsky and her confidante, Linda Tripp, Starr reached the conclusion that Clinton's statement constituted perjury. The pagan feast of Saturnalia coincides with the Christian advent, and the holiday season spans from then through Epiphany. In a sworn deposition taken for this case, Clinton denied having sexual relations with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Modern traditions combine with holdovers from their Roman forebears in the celebrations of Natale, the Italian Christmas. Originally dealing with the failed land deal years earlier known as Whitewater, Starr, with the approval of Attorney General Janet Reno, expanded his investigation into Clinton's conduct during the sexual harassment lawsuit filed by a former Arkansas government employee, Paula Jones. After a quiet December 25, another large celebration follows on Boxing Day, when children may go door to door to receive treats and money from neighbors. Joulupukki (or Christmas Goat) is the Finnish Santa Claus. He travels with a sleigh and reindeer to deliver gifts to good children.

The charges arose from an investigation by independent counsel Kenneth Starr. The Norwegian Christmas celebration begins with feasting on December 24, followed by a visit by Julenissen, who brings gifts to children who have behaved. The Senate acquitted Clinton on both counts in a trial concluding on February 12, 1999. The most entrenched and nationally unifying Swedish and Danish Christmas custom is perhaps that of watching a Disney special at 3 PM on Christmas Eve. The charges were perjury and obstruction of justice. The Christmas feast focuses on baked ham, but there are wide regional variations as to what day it is best served. Clinton was impeached as President of the United States on December 19, 1998 by the House of Representatives. In recognition of the threat of holiday food poisoning, Swedish newspapers run seasonal laboratory tests of restaurant jullunches, warning of the danger of cold meats and mayonnaise left out at room temperature.

He made the following statement to the Joint Chiefs of Staff on February 17, 1998:. Julefrokost in Danish) in the weeks before Christmas. Critics also contend that Bill Clinton misled the public on matters of foreign policy another time when he made the claim that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. In Sweden and Denmark, businesses traditionally invite their employees to a Christmas smörgåsbord lunch (the julbord or jullunch. ([10] (http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/International_War_Crimes/ClintonWarCriminal_Herman.html), [11] (http://agitprop.org.au/stopnato/19990607clintoncriminal.php), [12] (http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=14713)). Commercially, the Striezelmarkt becomes a Christmas gift production center, boasting the specialities of the Dresden region, from ceramics and prints to various delicacies which are shipped worldwide. Other critics argue America's contemporary attacks on Somalia, Bosnia, Sudan, and Afghanistan violated international law. Nicholas, or by the Christkind, a sprite-like child who may represent the baby Jesus.

More of this can be found in Legacy by Rich Lowry. The gifts may be brought by the Weihnachtsmann, who resembles St. Many people, including many Israelis, believe that Clinton's main goal behind his attempts at brokering a peace agreement was to leave behind a good legacy and, potentially, receive a Nobel Peace Prize. The feast typically takes place at lunch on December 25, and usually involves poultry (typically roast goose). Many felt that he elevated the stature of Yasser Arafat (many believed he was a terrorist) to that of a world leader and asked Israel for too many concessions--and not enough from Arafat. Following Saint Nicholas Day, which is mostly for children, Christmas gift-giving usually takes place on Christmas eve, with gifts put under the Christmas tree. Many conservatives also felt that the treated the Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement in the wrong manner. In Germany, Christmas traditions vary by region.

Reason magazine studied the sanctions and concluded, "It seems awfully hard not to conclude that the embargo on Iraq has been ineffective (especially since 1998) and that it has, at the least, contributed to more than 100,000 deaths since 1990." ([9] (http://www.reason.com/0203/fe.mw.the.shtml)). Considering the ancestry of Santa Claus, Sinterklaas there is in competition with himself. Some people believe that Clinton's continuation of economic sanctions against Iraq caused civilian deaths. Shopkeepers prefer to start the Christmas season right after Sinterklaasavond, while others argue that the foreign, commercial Christmas impinges on the traditional Sinterklaas celebrations. Critics note that there were more civilian deaths caused by NATO than the amount of deaths Milosevic was charged with. In recent years, the Dutch have started to celebrate Christmas Eve with Santa as well. NATO stepped up its claims about Serb 'killing fields.'" The actual number of civilian deaths is debated, with the numbers as high as 5,700 claimed by Yugoslavia, and with NATO acknowledging it killed, at most, 1,500 civilians. In some parts of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, the frightening Knecht Ruprecht also appears, to the chagrin of many children.

In the aforementioned article, The Wall Street Journal wrote, "As the war dragged on [...] NATO saw a fatigued press corps drifting toward the contrarian story: civilians killed by NATO's bombs. He wears a red bishop's dress with a red mitre, rides a white horse over the rooftops, and is assisted by many mischievous helpers called zwarte Pieten (black Peters). Others have called Clinton a war criminal for the NATO bombing campaign during the Kosovo war. In Germany and the Netherlands, the celebration of Saint Nicholas Day resembles the Christmas of the English-speaking world. Sinterklaas brings presents on Sinterklaasavond, the evening of December 5, to good children. Instead, the pattern is of scattered killings.". Many secular aspects of Christmas are becoming common in developed Muslim nations. The Wall Street Journal wrote, "the [U.N.'s International War Criminal] tribunal has checked the largest reported sites first, and found most to contain no more than five bodies, suggesting intimate acts of barbarity rather than mass murder [...] Kosovo would be easier to investigate if it had the huge killing fields some investigators were led to expect. Christmas has some acceptance in the Islamic world, where Jesus is regarded as a prophet.

The headline of The Wall Street Journal on December 31, 1999 was "War in Kosovo Was Cruel, Bitter, Savage; Genocide It Wasn’t". Other faiths have emphasized their own winter holidays to serve as a Christmas surrogate, including Judaism's Hanukkah, which has evolved a similar tradition of gift-giving. The official NATO body count of the events in Kosovo was 2,788, with Slobodan Milosevic charged with the "murders of about 600 individually identified ethnic Albanians" ([7] (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/1402790.stm#kosovo), [8] (http://www.un.org/icty/indictment/english/mil-ai010629e.htm)). Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services may include a midnight mass or a Mass of the Nativity, and feature Christmas carols and hymns. They may have been murdered." ([4] (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/balkans/stories/cohen051699.htm)) Clinton also claimed that genocide was occurring, and spoke of "at least 100,000 (Kosovar Albanians) missing" ([5] (http://www.clintonfoundation.org/legacy/051399-speech-by-president-to-veterans-organizations-on-kosovo.htm)). Later, talking about Serbian elections, Clinton said, "They're going to have to decide whether they support his leadership or not; whether they think it's OK that all those tens of thousands of people were killed..." ([6] (http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/stories/1999/06/25/clinton.newser/)). These observations may include Advent carols and Advent calendars, sometimes containing sweets and chocolate for children. Some critics have accused Clinton of leading the United States to war with Kosovo under the false pretense of genocide. Defense Secretary William Cohen, claiming that genocide had occurred in Kosovo, said, "We've now seen about 100,000 military-aged men missing.. The religious celebrations begin with Advent, the anticipation of Christ's birth, around the start of December.

Navy destroyer Cole in Yemen in 2000. Candy and treats are also part of the Christmas celebration in many countries. by foreign terrorists included the 1993 bombing of New York's World Trade Center, the 1996 bombing of the military quarters at the Khobar Towers, the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, and the bombing of the U.S. In some regions, particularly in Eastern Europe, these family feasts are preceded by a period of fasting. During Clinton's tenure attacks on the U.S. On Christmas Day or on Christmas Eve, a special meal of Christmas dishes is usually served, for which there are traditional menus in each country. Along with the United Nations, the Clinton administration initially did not publicly acknowledge that genocide was occurring. Others are reminded by the holiday of man's fellowship with man, and do volunteer work, or hold fundraising drives for charities.

Clinton identified his major foreign policy failure as lack of response to the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. Groups may go carolling, visiting neighborhood homes to sing Christmas songs. Mr. Christmas pageants, common in Latin America, may include a retelling of the story of the birth of Christ. Subsequent events, including the collapse of the 2000 Camp David Summit and the commencement of the al-Aqsa Intifada, resulted in the Oslo Accords being widely discredited within Israel and in various Palestinian factions by 2004. In many countries, businesses, schools, and communities have Christmas parties and dances during the several weeks before Christmas Day. After his presidency, Clinton identified his proudest foreign policy accomplishments as mediating peace talks between Israel and Palestine, resulting in the Oslo Accords. This practice has led to much adjudication, as opponents insist that it amounts to the government endorsing one particular religious faith.

In December, 2002, North Korea expelled IAEA inspectors from its Yongbyon nuclear facility, and announced (privately in 2003 and publicly in 2005), that they possessed nuclear weapons. In the United States, decorations once commonly included religious themes. However, by the mid 1990s defectors from North Korea, along with reports from the IAEA, indicated that North Korea was violating both the Nuclear Accords and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Municipalities often sponsor decorations as well, hanging Christmas banners from street lights or placing Christmas trees in the town square. In exchange for assistance with energy needs, North Korea agreed to abandon all ambitions for acquiring nuclear weapons. Other popular holiday plants are holly, red amaryllis and Christmas cactus. The underlying concern was that North Korea was developing nuclear weapons technology under the guise of a nuclear power plant. The traditional Christmas flower is the poinsettia.

In 1994, Clinton negotiated and signed the Nuclear Accords with North Korea. In North and South America and to a lesser extent Europe, it is traditional to decorate the outside of houses with lights, and sometimes with illuminated sleighs, snowmen, and other Christmas figures. However, because he was scarred by the US defeat and humiliation in Somalia, he refused to get the US involved in the Rwandan genocide. Decorating a Christmas tree with lights and ornaments, and the decoration of the interior of the home with garlands and evergreen foliage, particularly holly and mistletoe, are common traditions. Bush assassinated. Many families enclose an annual family photograph, or a family newsletter telling activities of family members during the preceding year. W. Christmas cards are extremely popular in the United States and Europe, in part as a way to maintain relationships with distant relatives and friends, and with business acquaintances.

In addition, Clinton launched military strikes on Iraq several times to punish violations of UN sanctions and an attempt to have former President George H. Until the recent past, gifts were given in the UK to non-family members on Boxing Day. Clinton also committed troops twice in the former-Yugoslavia to stop ethnic violence, most notably in Kosovo. In most of the world, Christmas gifts are given at night on Christmas Eve, or in the morning on Christmas Day. Aristide, who had been elected, had been ousted in a coup just seven months into his term in 1991. One of the many customs of gift timing is suggested by the song Twelve Days of Christmas, celebrating an old British tradition of gifts each day from Christmas to Epiphany. troops into Haiti to restore Jean-Bertrand Aristide as president, ending a period of intense violence. In other countries, including Spain, gifts are brought by the Magi at Epiphany on 6 January.

In 1994, Clinton sent U.S. In such places, including the Netherlands, Christmas day remains more a religious holiday. troops fought the Battle of Mogadishu attempting to capture local warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid in Somalia. In much of Germany, children put shoes out on window sills on the night of December 5, and find them filled with candy and small gifts the next morning. In 1993, U.S. In many countries, Saint Nicholas Day remains the principal day for gift giving. military several times under hostile circumstances. Gift giving is not restricted to these special gift-bringers, as family members and friends also bestow gifts on each other.

Clinton deployed the U.S. In other countries, children place their empty shoes out for Santa to fill on the night before Christmas, or for Saint Nicholas on December 5. Although it is debated to what extent his policies were responsible, upon leaving office, Clinton proudly pointed to a number of economic accomplishments, including:. In the United States, children hang a Christmas stocking by the fireplace on Christmas Eve, because Santa is said to come down the chimney the night before Christmas to fill them. enjoyed continuous economic expansion, reductions in unemployment, and growing wealth through a massive rise in the stock market. In many countries, children leave empty containers for Santa to fill with small gifts such as toys, candy, or fruit. During Clinton's tenure, the U.S. Many shopping malls in North America and the United Kingdom have a holiday mall Santa Claus whom children can visit to ask for presents.

The combination of Clinton's 1993 tax increase, the Republican Congress' 1995 spending cuts, and Fed chairman Alan Greenspan's masterful interest-rate tinkering finally brought the federal budget into balance and ignited a boom in the American economy. Claus. Clinton appointed the following justices to the Supreme Court:. In some versions, elves in a toy workshop make the holiday toys, and in some he is married to Mrs.
. In some cultures Santa Claus is accompanied by Knecht Ruprecht, or Black Peter. In 2002, a UPI story stated that documents discovered in Afghanistan showed that al-Qaeda may have plotted to kill Clinton toward the end of his term.[2] (http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=04022002-082828-8434r). The French equivalent of Santa, Père Noël, evolved along similar lines, eventually adopting the Santa image Haddon Sundblom painted for a worldwide Coca-Cola advertising campaign in the 1930s.

By the beginning of 2005, however, the PIRA declared that it was withdrawing from the disarmament process. He spends the rest of the year making toys and keeping lists on the behavior of the children. His involvement set in motion the process that led to the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) commencing disarmament on October 23, 2001. In the Anglo-American tradition, this jovial fellow arrives on Christmas Eve on a sleigh pulled by reindeer, climbs down the chimney, leaves gifts for the children, and eats the food they leave for him. He took a personal interest in The Troubles in Northern Ireland and paid three visits there while he was president in order to encourage peace. In the UK, whilst this name is widely known, "Father Christmas" is more common, and is also used in many West African countries. In 1999, in conjunction with a U.S. Congress controlled by the Republican Party the United States had a balanced federal budget for the first time since Richard Nixon's presidency in 1969. In North America, English colonists adopted aspects of this celebration into their Christmas holiday, and Sinterklaas became Santa Claus, or Saint Nick.

Clinton developed a close working relationship with Tony Blair, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, when he was elected in 1997. The Dutch modeled a gift-giving Saint Nicholas around his feast day of December 6. In the 1996 presidential election, Clinton was re-elected receiving 49.2% of the popular vote over Republican Bob Dole (40.7% of the popular vote) and Reform candidate Ross Perot (8.4% of the popular vote), while the Republicans retained control of the Congress losing but a few seats. The concept of a mythical figure who brings gifts to children derives from Saint Nicholas, a good hearted bishop of 4th-century Asia Minor. The Republican-controlled Congress and Clinton sparred over the budget, Clinton's vetos resulting in a series of government shutdowns at a political penalty to the Republicans. Gift-giving is a near-universal part of Christmas celebrations. After the 1994 election, the spotlight shifted to the Contract with America spearheaded by Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. Since the customs of Christmas celebration largely evolved in Northern Europe, many are associated with the Northern Hemisphere winter, whose motifs are prominent in Christmas decorations and in the Santa Claus myth.

They lost control of both houses of Congress for the first time in 40 years, in large part due to stalled legislation, including a failed attempt to create a comprehensive health care system under a plan developed by the First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. A few present day Christian churches, notably the Jehovah's Witnesses, some Puritan groups, and some ultra-conservative fundamentalist denominations, still view Christmas as a pagan holiday not sanctioned by the Bible, and do not celebrate it. After two years of Democratic party control under Clinton's leadership, the mid-term elections in 1994 proved disastrous for the Democrats. Places where conservative Christian theocracies flourished, as in Cromwellian England and in the early New England colonies, were among those where celebrations were suppressed.³ After the Russian Revolution, Christmas celebrations were banned in the Soviet Union for the next seventy-five years. The First Lady played an active role in helping the President form policy, and Clinton's two best friends and most loyal supporters, Democratic spin doctors Paul Begala and James Carville, could often be seen defending the President's policies in Washington and the media. Rather than attempting to suppress such popular pagan feast days, Pope Gregory I allowed Christian missionaries to give them a Christian reinterpretation, while permitting most of the associated customs to continue with little or no modification.² The give and take between religious and governmental authorities and celebrators of Christmas continued through the years. This is not to say that Clinton was without political confidants in the White House. The Christmas tree is believed to have first been used in Germany.

He went through four White House Chiefs of Staff — a record number of men in a position that had once been the epicenter of the Imperial Presidency. This celebration of the winter solstice was widespread and popular in northern Europe long before the arrival of Christianity, and the word for Christmas in the Scandinavian languages is still today the pagan jul (=yule). As president, Clinton was characterized as being a much more "hands on" president than some of his Republican predecessors. While Bush and Reagan had operated under what some critics dubbed an Imperial Presidency of bureaucratic "courtiers," Clinton had much more fickle relationships with his aides, and did not delegate them significant powers. Most of the familiar traditional practices and symbols of Christmas, such as the Christmas tree, the Christmas ham, the Yule Log, holly, mistletoe, and the giving of presents, were adapted or appropriated by Christian missionaries from the earlier Ásatrú pagan midwinter holiday of Yule. It was the first major legislative defeat of Clinton's administration. An enormous number of customs, with either secular, religious, or national aspects, surround Christmas, and vary from country to country. Though initially well-received, it was ultimately doomed by well-organized opposition from conservatives and the health insurance industry, who urged Americans to read the actual details of the plan. Stephen's Day.

The most important item on Clinton's legislative agenda, however, was a complex health care reform plan, the result of a taskforce headed by Hillary Clinton, aimed at achieving universal coverage. In many European and Commonwealth countries, December 26th is referred to as Boxing Day, while in Ireland and Romania it is known as St. After much debate, Clinton and the Pentagon agreed to a "Don't ask, don't tell" policy, which officially remains in effect. In the Netherlands, Germany, Scandinavia, and Poland, Christmas Day and the following day are called First and Second Christmas Day. Shortly after taking office, Clinton fulfilled a campaign promise by signing the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, which required large employers to allow their employees to take unpaid leave because of a family or medical emergency. While this action was popular, Clinton's initial reluctance to fulfill another campaign promise relating to the acceptance of openly gay members of the military garnered criticism from both the left (for being too tentative in promoting gay rights) and the right (for being too insensitive to military life). Countries that celebrate Christmas on December 25th recognize the previous day as Christmas Eve, and vary on the naming of December 26th. Clinton's first act as president was to sign executive order 12834 (entitled "Ethics Commitments by Executive Branch Appointees"), which placed substantial restrictions upon the ability of his senior political appointees to lobby their colleagues after they leave office. Clinton rescinded the order shortly before he left office in executive order 13184 of December 28, 2000. In some instances, including Scotland's Hogmanay—which occurs at the New Year— it is celebrated more than Christmas.

Congress as well as the Presidency, for the first time since the administration of Jimmy Carter. This later holiday has its own parties. That election also brought the Democrats full control of the political branches of the federal government, including both houses of U.S. It extends beyond Christmas Day up to New Year's Day. His election ended an era in which the Republican party had controlled the Presidency for 12 consecutive years, and for 20 of the previous 24 years. In practice, the Christmas period has grown longer in some countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, and now begins many weeks before Christmas, allowing more time for shopping and get-togethers. Roosevelt, though he is the first President since John Kennedy to have never achieved a majority of the popular vote. Swedish children still celebrate a party, throwing out the Christmas tree (julgransplundring), on the 20th day of Christmas (January 13, Knut's day).

Clinton was the first Democrat to serve two full terms as President since Franklin D. Medieval laws in Sweden declared a Christmas peace (julefrid) to be twenty days, during which fines for robbery and manslaughter were doubled. Ross Perot (19.0% of the vote), largely on a platform focusing on domestic issues, notably the economic recession of the pre-election period — using the line "It's the economy, stupid!" For more information about Clinton's campaign, see Bill Clinton presidential campaign, 1992. This period corresponds with the liturgical season of Christmas. W. Bush (37.7% of the vote) and independent candidate H. These twelve days of Christmas, a period of feasting and merrymaking, end on Twelfth Night, the Feast of the Epiphany. Clinton won the 1992 presidential election (43.3% of the vote) against Republican George H. In the United Kingdom, the Christmas season traditionally runs for twelve days following Christmas Day.

While none of these alleged flaws led to Clinton's defeat, they did fuel unusually vehement opposition to Clinton among many conservatives from the very beginning of his presidency. Dates for the more secular aspects of the Christmas celebration are similarly varied. Allegations of womanizing and shady business deals also were raised. Prior to the celebration of Christmas, December 25th in the Roman world was the Natalis Solis Invicti, the Birthday of the Unconquerable Sun. Clinton's opponents raised various "character" issues during the campaign, including his avoidance of military service during the Vietnam War, and his glib response to a question about past marijuana use. Some scholars suggest that December 25 is a date of convenience chosen for other reasons, related to the time of Emperor Constantine. In retrospect, many now view Gore as a helpful factor in the successful 1992 campaign. The Armenian Church places much more emphasis on the Epiphany, the visitation by the Magi, than on Christmas.

Initially this decision sparked criticism from strategists due to the fact that Gore was from Clinton's neighboring state of Tennessee. This date results from their having accepted neither the reforms of the Gregorian calendar nor the Revised Julian calendar, with their ecclesiastic December 25 thus falling on the civil (Gregorian) date of January 7 from 1900 to 2099. (D-Tenn.) to be his running mate on July 9, 1992. The Coptic, Jerusalem, Russian, Serbian and Georgian orthodox churches celebrate Christmas on January 7. Gore Jr. Christmas is now celebrated on December 25 in catholic, protestant, and most orthodox churches. Albert A. Efforts to fix a date for the birth of Christ began some two centuries after his death, as the Catholic Church began to establish its traditions.

Sen. Christmas was not among the earliest festivals of the Christians. Clinton chose U.S. As one of the tenets of their faith, Christians accept the veracity of the story of Christmas, apparent difficulties reconciling the different versions of events notwithstanding. Positioning himself as a straight-talking everyman, Clinton handily won the Democratic Party's nomination. The major gaps in narrative details between Matthew and Luke, the absence of any reference to Christ's birth in the other gospels, and the fact that even the accounts of Matthew and Luke were written decades later, without confirmation by eyewitnesses, have led to much speculation about the accuracy of these reports. In the aftermath of the Persian Gulf War, President Bush seemed undefeatable, and several potential Democratic candidates — notably New York Governor Mario Cuomo — passed on what seemed to be a lost cause. Astronomers and historians have sought with varying success to explain what combination of traceable celestial events might explain the appearance of a giant star that had never before been seen.¹.

Bush. They are supposed to have come from Arabia, where they could have gotten their gifts of "gold, frankincense, and myrrh". W. The Magi, who Matthew reports seeing a giant star as well, have been variously interpreted as "wise men" or as kings. Despite this setback, Clinton prepared for a run in 1992 against incumbent president George H. Some Christmas carols refer to the shepherds observing a huge star directly over Bethlehem, and following it to the birthplace. Clinton's subsequent appearance on The Tonight Show was seen as a good way to defuse the criticism. Another aspect of Christ's birth which has passed from the gospels into popular lore is the announcement by angels to nearby shepherds of Jesus' birth .

Clinton's address, scheduled to last 15 minutes, became a debacle as Clinton gave a notoriously dull speech that lasted over half an hour (he joked about the length of this speech at the 1992 convention). When Jesus and his family returned to Israel, it was then that they settled in Nazareth, where they believed they might live more anonymously. Clinton's first major foray into national politics occurred when he was enlisted to speak at the 1988 Democratic National Convention, introducing candidate Michael Dukakis. Matthew then reports that the family next fled to Egypt to escape the murderous rampage of Herod, who had decided to have the children of Bethlehem killed in order to eliminate any local rivals to his power. However, several deals the Clintons made during this period led to the Whitewater investigation, which dogged his later presidential administration. Resolving to hinder the ruler, they returned home without notifying Herod of the success of their mission. Clinton's business-friendly approach mollified conservative criticism during his terms as governor. While staying the night, each Wise Man had a dream that contained a divine warning that King Herod had murderous designs on the child.

Clinton was elected governor again in 1982, re-elected in 1984, succeeded in getting the state constitution amended to allow governors four-year terms, then was re-elected in 1986 and 1990, serving until 1992. They presented Jesus with treasures of "gold, frankincense, and myrrh". Hillary took her husband's surname and adopted a more traditional public role as a political wife, while quietly establishing herself as a political force in her own right through her skills as an attorney. Further inquiry led them to Bethlehem of Judea and the home of Mary and Joseph. He established new relationships with business interests, and made amends with the political establishment of the state. The wise men, or Magi, first arrived in Jerusalem and reported to the local King Herod that they had seen a star heralding the birth of a king. Out of office, Clinton addressed the concerns that led to his political failure. This leaves ambiguous at whose home they were staying and whether Mary and Joseph were residents of Nazareth or, as their access to a home in Bethlehem suggests, of Bethlehem.

As he once joked, he was the youngest ex-governor in the nation's history. Matthew's gospel begins by recounting the genealogy and virgin birth of Jesus, and then skips to the coming of the Wise Men from the East to the home where Christ was staying after his birth in Bethlehem of Judea. White in 1980. Christ's birth in Bethlehem of Judea, the home of the house of David from which Joseph was descended, fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah. After only one term, Clinton was defeated by Republican challenger Frank D. There Mary gave birth to Jesus in a manger, which has been translated in various ways, most commonly a feeding trough or stall. Furthermore, Hillary Rodham's decision to keep her maiden name while Arkansas' First Lady raised many eyebrows in the traditionally conservative state. Finding no room in inns in the town, they set up primitive lodgings in a stable.

His first term was fraught with difficulties, including an unpopular motor vehicle tax and popular anger over the escape of Cuban prisoners (from the Mariel Boat Lift) detained in Fort Chafee in 1980. Shortly thereafter, she and her husband Joseph left their Nazareth home to travel to Joseph's ancestral home, Bethlehem of Judea, to enroll in the census ordered by the Roman emperor, Augustus. Bill Clinton was first elected governor of the state of Arkansas in 1978, when at the time he was the youngest state governor in the United States, and the youngest to be elected to a state governorship since 1938. According to Luke, Mary learned from an angel that she was with child, by virtue of impregnation without intercourse by the Holy Spirit. After his teaching stint, Clinton was elected Attorney General of Arkansas in 1976. The gospels of Mark and John do not address the childhood of Jesus, and those of Matthew and Luke give somewhat differing accounts, Luke's being closest to the public impression of the Christmas story and the version most often read in Christmas services. Clinton lost the election by over 6,000 votes. The story of Christ's birth has been handed down for centuries, based primarily on the Christian gospels of Matthew and Luke.

During this time, he ran for the House of Representatives in 1974 against Congressman John Paul Hammerschmidt. It is often abbreviated Xmas, possibly because the letter X resembles the Greek letter Χ (Chi), which is the first letter of "Christ" as spelled in Greek (Χριστός [Christos]). Clinton taught law at the University of Arkansas for a few years. "Christmas" is a contraction of "Christ's Mass", derived from the Old English Cristes mæsse. After Oxford, Clinton attended Yale Law School, where he met his future wife, classmate Hillary Rodham. Local and regional Christmas traditions are still rich and varied, despite the widespread influence of American and British Christmas motifs through literature, television, and other media. William Fulbright and won a prestigious Rhodes Scholarship to the University of Oxford in England. It is largely characterized by exchanging gifts within families, and by gifts brought by Santa Claus or other mythical figures.

Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in Washington DC, where he became a brother of Alpha Phi Omega, worked for Senator J. In predominantly Christian countries, Christmas has become the most economically significant holiday of the year, and it is also celebrated as a secular holiday in many countries with small Christian populations. Clinton attended the Edmund A. The precise chronology of Jesus' birth and death as well as the historicity of Jesus are still debated. (born 1956). Efforts to assign a date for his birth began some centuries later. His stepfather was a gambler and alcoholic who regularly abused his wife, and sometimes Clinton's half brother Roger, Jr. Early Christians celebrated more the subsequent Epiphany, when the baby Jesus was visited by the Magi.

Clinton grew up in a turbulent family. Christ's birth, or nativity, was said by his followers to fulfill the prophecies of Judaism that a messiah would come, from the house of David, to redeem the world from sin. Billy, as he was called, was raised by his mother and stepfather, using the last name "Clinton" throughout elementary school, but not formally changing it until he was 15. According to the Christian gospels, Jesus was born to Mary in Bethlehem, where she and her husband Joseph had travelled to register in the Roman census. His mother, born Virginia Dell Cassidy, remarried in 1950 to Roger Clinton. Christmas (literally, the Mass of Christ) is a holiday in the Christian calendar, usually observed on December 25, which celebrates the birth of Jesus. He was named after his father, William Jefferson Blythe Jr., a travelling salesman who had been killed in a car accident in Scott County, Missouri between the towns of Sikeston and Morley just three months before his son was born. It was appropriated from the birthday of Mithras, a savior figure of a Greco-Roman mystery religion that was popular with the Roman Legions.

Clinton was born William Jefferson Blythe III in Hope, Arkansas and raised in Hot Springs, Arkansas. [See Duchesne (1902) and Talley (1986).]. Bush and turning it into the largest surplus by the end of his office. Thus, rather than the date of Christmas being appropriated from pagans by Christians, the opposite is held to have occurred. W. They reasoned that Jesus died on an anniversary of the Incarnation (his conception), so the date of his birth would have been nine months after the date of Good Friday—either December 25 or January 6. He was elected twice with the highest percentage of the popular vote among his opponents (but never with a general majority). Characteristics of the period he presided as President included the lengthiest economic boom in American history, (though his opponents claim that this was due to the Republican majority in Congress) the most successful war in terms of American causalities during the Kosovo Conflict, inheriting at-the-time the largest American budget deficit from his predecessor President George H. To then calculate the date of Jesus' birth, they followed the ancient idea that Old Testament prophets died at an "integral age"—either an anniversary of their birth or of their conception.

history. Since the exact date of Jesus' death is not stated in the Gospels, early Christians sought to calculate it, and arrived at either March 25 or April 6. As such, his assumption of office marked a "generational shift" from the former Presidents who were mostly World War II veterans and had experienced the start of the Cold War in the 1950s. At times his approval rating was very low, setting a record low in his first year, but upon leaving office, it was the highest for a retiring President in modern U.S. The date of Christmas is based on the date of Good Friday, the day Jesus died. He was the third youngest president and the first of the baby boomer generation. Under the Old Julian calendar, the popular choice of 5 BC for the year of Jesus's birth would place the 25th of Kislev on the 25th of November. He became the second president to be impeached, on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice before a grand jury for his handling of the Monica Lewinsky affair [1] (http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?c105:3:./temp/~c105UynaA3::), but he was acquitted by the Senate. Kislev is generally accepted as corresponding with December.

He was also the subject of a series of independent counsel investigations by Congress, resulting in the indictment or conviction of many staff members, associates and friends, though never himself. It derives from the tradition that Jesus was born during the Jewish Festival of Lights (Hanukkah, the 25th of Kislev and the beginning of Tevet). Congress. It is an appropriation of the pagan Midwinter festivals, such as the Germanic Yule and the Roman festival of the birth of Unconquered Sun, celebrated on the day after the winter solstice, or the Roman festival of Saturnalia. His tenure was marked by an adversarial relationship with the Republican-controlled U.S. It is an appropriation by early Christians of a day on which the birth of several pagan gods, Osiris, Jupiter, and Plutus, or the ancient deified leader Nimrod, was celebrated. Internationally, his priorities included reducing trade barriers and mediating the Northern Ireland and Israeli-Palestinian conflicts. At Antioch, probably in 386, St John Chrysostom urged the community to unite in celebrating Christ's birth on December 25, a part of the community having already kept it on that day for at least ten years.

During his tenure as President, his domestic priorities included legislation to upgrade education, to restrict handgun sales, to strengthen environmental rules, and to protect the jobs of parents who must care for sick children. In Jerusalem, Egeria the 4th-century pilgrim from Bordeaux, witnessed the feast of the Presentation, forty days after January 6, which must have been the date of the Nativity there. A strong supporter of the Democratic Leadership Council, Clinton was generally considered a political moderate. By the time of the Council of Nicaea, AD 325 the Alexandrian church had fixed a dies Nativitatis et Epiphaniae. The December feast reached Egypt in the 5th century. Before his Presidency, Clinton served five terms as the Governor of Arkansas. The earliest evidence of celebration is from Alexandria, about AD 200, when Clement of Alexandria says that certain Egyptian theologians "over curiously" assign not just the year but the actual day of Christ's birth.⁴,on 25 Pachon (May 20) in the twenty-eighth year of Augustus. William Jefferson Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III on August 19, 1946) was the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. The Catholic Encyclopedia article on "Christmas" (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03724b.htm) offers a starting-point for Christmas, which does not appear among the earliest lists of Christian feasts, those of Irenaeus and Tertullian.

POTUS Speaks: Finding the Words That Defined the Clinton Presidency Simon & Schuster ISBN 0-74-320020-9. Michael Waldman (2000). ISBN 0-89-526302-5. Henry Holt.

Partners in Power: The Clintons & Their America. Roger Morris (1996). ISBN 0684818906. First In His Class : A Biography Of Bill Clinton, Simon & Schuster.

David Maraniss (1996). ISBN 1-59-129804-0. How To Destroy A Village : What The Clintons Taught A Seventeen Year Old, PublishAmerica. Fodeman (2003).

Jason D. ISBN 0-67-187147-1. Simon & Schuster. On the Edge: The Clinton Presidency.

Elizabeth Drew (1994). ISBN 0-31-227319-3. Martin's Griffin. St.

The Hunting of the President : The Ten-Year Campaign to Destroy Bill and Hillary Clinton. Joe Conason and Gene Lyons (2003). ISBN 0375414576. Knopf.

My Life. Bill Clinton (2004). ISBN 0-37-412502-3. Farrar Straus Giroux.

The Clinton Wars. Sidney Blumenthal (2003). ISBN 0-75-153035-2. William Morrow & Co., Inc.

Bill & Hillary: The Marriage. Christopher Anderson (1999). Bob Barr (2004) The Meaning of Is: The Squandered Impeachment and Wasted Legacy of William Jefferson Clinton Stroud & Hall Publishing ISBN 0-97-453762-4. Rozell (2000) The Clinton Scandal and the Future of American Government Georgetown University Press ISBN 0-87-840777-4.

Mark J. David Maraniss (1998) The Clinton Enigma : A Four and a Half Minute Speech Reveals This President's Entire Life Simon & Schuster ISBN 0-68-486296-4. James Bovard (2000) Feeling Your Pain: The Explosion and Abuse of Government Power in the Clinton-Gore Years St. Martin's Press ISBN 0-31-223082-6. Peter Baker (2000) The Breach : Inside the Impeachment and Trial of William Jefferson Clinton Scribner ISBN 0-68-486813-X.

Michael Isikoff (1999) Uncovering Clinton: A Reporter's Story Crown Publishing Group ISBN 0-60-960393-0. Starr on President Clinton and the Lewinsky Affair PublicAffairs ISBN 1-89-162024-X. Starr (1998) The Starr Report: The Findings of Independent Counsel Kenneth W. Kenneth W.