The story is about a Christmas-hating miser named Ebenezer Scrooge. On Christmas Eve, he is visited by four ghosts who transform him into a kind and generous man. The story has a strong moral messages about greed and poverty. It is usually read at Christmas time and has been adapted to theatre, movies, radio, and television many times.
Ebenezer Scrooge is a Christmas-hating old miser and businessman. One Christmas Eve, Scrooge declines an invitation to his nephew's house for Christmas dinner, telling his nephew that Christmas is "Humbug". He then refuses to give a donation to two men who are collecting for charity.
Later that evening, he is visited by the ghost of his dead business partner Jacob Marley, a man whose greed and selfishness have doomed him to eternal hellfire. He tells Scrooge that he must change his ways or that hellfire will be his fate. Marley warns him that during the night he will be visited by three more ghosts. These will show him where he went wrong in his life, and how to be a better person in the future.
The first ghost is the Ghost of Christmas Past. This ghost shows him his unhappy childhood and how he did not get married. The second ghost is the Ghost of Christmas Present. This ghost shows him things which are happening now, such as how his clerk, Bob Cratchit, is having a nice Christmas despite not having much money. He also shows him Bob's youngest son, called Tiny Tim, who is crippled.
Later, the ghost shows him how his nephew is having a good Christmas, and how Scrooge is missing out. The third ghost is the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. This ghost shows Scrooge what Christmas will be like in the future if he does not change. First, people are shown celebrating a man's death and robbing his house. The ghost also shows him that Tiny Tim has died. Scrooge is then shown his own grave, and realizes that the celebrations were for his death.
On Christmas morning, Scrooge wakes up and realizes that he has to change. He decides to celebrate Christmas, and help Tiny Tim get well. He sends the Cratchit family a prize turkey for their holiday dinner. Through the ghosts' help, Scrooge becomes a better man.
The book made popular the phrase "Merry Christmas" as well as the name "Scrooge" and the ejaculation "Bah! Humbug". The book spurred charitable giving in the years following its first publication. Its lasting legacy is returning to Christmas the merriment and festivity the day lost after a period of Puritan sobriety.
Aruba
Aruba is an island in the Caribbean Sea, just north of the Venezuelan Paraguaná Peninsula. It is in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Unlike much of the Caribbean region, it has a dry climate and an arid, cactus-strewn landscape. This climate has helped tourism, because visitors to the island can reliably expect warm, sunny weather.
The island broke off from the Netherlands Antilles in 1986, hoping to gain its independence by 1996. In 1990, that effort stopped at the request of the island people.
Aruba is one of the four countries that form the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The other nations are the Netherlands, Curaçao and Sint Maarten. The citizens of these countries all share a single nationality: Dutch.
About three quarters of the Aruban gross national product is earned through tourism or related activities.
The island came into the news after U.S. high school student Natalee Holloway disappeared on a graduation trip on May 30, 2005. Today, some refer to Aruba as "One Happy Island".
Aruba is a generally flat, riverless island. It is in the southern part of the Caribbean Sea. The western and southern beaches have white sandy beaches. They are generally protected from the ocean currents. This is one of the reasons Aruba is a popular tourist location.
Together with Bonaire and Curaçao, Aruba forms a group referred to as the ABC islands. Collectively, Aruba and the other Dutch islands in the Caribbean are often called the Dutch Caribbean.
Aruba has no administrative subdivisions. For census purposes, it is divided into eight regions. Its capital is Oranjestad.
The Aruba population is about 75% mixed, 15% black, and 10% white.
Kingdom of the Netherlands
The Kingdom of the Netherlands (), commonly called the Netherlands is a transcontinental sovereign state whose form of government is a constitutional monarchy.
The country was formed in 1954 and is now made up of four countries:
European country:
Caribbean islands:
The "Caribbean Netherlands" are special municipalities ('public body') of the Netherlands (see ) and consists of:
The "Netherlands Antilles" doesn't exist anymore and were made up of the six above mentioned Caribbean islands.
Suriname was also part of the Kingdom until it became independent in 1975.
Kill Bill
Kill Bill is an American crime movie directed by Quentin Tarantino. It was released in two parts; "Volume 1" and "Volume 2". In most countries it is rated for adult viewing only because of extreme violence and profanity.
Drive-by shooting
A drive-by shooting is when a gun is fired from a moving vehicle, at a target outside the vehicle.
Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls were killed because of a drive-by shooting.
Andalusia
Andalusia () is the first in population among the 17 Autonomous communities in Spain and the second, after of Madrid, in area. The territory is divided into eight provinces: Almería, Cádiz, Córdoba, Granada, Huelva, Jaén, Málaga and Seville. Its capital is the city of Seville (Spanish: "Sevilla").
Andalusia is in the south of the Iberian peninsula, just to the south of the autonomous communities of Extremadura and Castile-La Mancha; west of the autonomous community of Murcia and the Mediterranean Sea; east of Portugal and the Atlantic Ocean; and north of the Mediterranean Sea and the Strait of Gibraltar. The small British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar shares a land border with the Andalusian province of Cádiz at the eastern end of the Strait of Gibraltar.
The name Andalusia is the modern version of the Arabic language "Al-Andalus" (الأندلس), name used by the Muslims for all of the territory of the Iberian Peninsula under their control. During that period, northern Iberian Peninsula was controlled by Christian kings and the southern Iberian Peninsula was controlled by Muslims.
In 711 CE, the Muslims invaded the Iberian Peninsula, then controlled by Christians of Visigothic origin. By 719 the Muslims conquered all of the peninsula except for a small area in the northern Pyrenees Mountains. The Muslims used the name Al-Andalus for all of the territory of the Iberian Peninsula under their control.
Christians in the north waged war for more than seven centuries against the Muslims, gradually taking over more and more of the southern areas. This process of war is called the "Reconquista" (a Spanish and Portuguese word meaning "to conquest again"). In the year 1492, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain retook the last stronghold in the southern area at Granada. In that same year, the Muslims and Jews were forced to leave Spain.
The Andalusian coat of arms shows the figure of Hercules and two lions between the two pillars of Hercules that tradition puts on both sides of the Strait of Gibraltar. The words below read "Andalucía por sí, para España y la Humanidad" ("Andalusia by herself, for Spain and Humanity"). Over the two columns is an arch in the colors of the flag of Andalusia, with the Latin words "Dominator Hercules Fundator".
The official flag of Andalusia has three equal horizontal stripes, colored green, white, and green respectively; the Andalusian coat of arms is on the central stripe. It was approved in a meeting in 1918 of Andalusian nationalists at Ronda, a city in the province of Málaga.
The anthem of Andalusia was composed by José del Castillo Díaz with lyrics by Blas Infante. The music was inspired by "Santo Dios", a religious folk song sung at harvest time by peasants.
The national holiday, the "Día de Andalucía", is celebrated on 28 February.