In Central and South American nations, which have a fairly large Christian

The primary Christmas celebration in Mexico is called La Posada. It is a

religious procession that dramatizes how Joseph and Mary tried to find a place

where Jesus could be born. During the procession, the participants carry images

of Mary and Joseph and go from house to house seeking a place to stay. During

Midnight Mass, which is called la misa del gallo or 'rooster's mass,' those in

attendance sing lullabies to Jesus. On Christmas Day children receive gifts as

well as candies that are stuffed into a piñata. This may be one or more

sculptures made of papier mache that are hung from the ceiling. Children are

blindfolded and take turns hitting the piñata until it breaks and scatters the

candies on the floor. All the children then scamper around as they try to get as

much candy as they can. Children also receive a gift on Jan. 6 from the Three

Wise Men, if they were good.

People in Venezuela usually put out pesebres, which show the Nativity

scene, on Dec. 16. Early morning church services, called Misa de Aguinaldo, are

also common from Dec. 16 to Christmas Eve. After Mass on Christmas Eve, a grand

dinner is traditionally enjoyed.

In Argentina, red and white garlands are used to decorate houses. After

attending Midnight Mass, Argentinians have a meal, toast each other, dance and

go out to see fireworks. The meal may be roasted pork or turkey, stuffed

tomatoes, mince pies, Christmas bread and puddings. Drinks such as cider and

juice made from different fruits are used for the toast. Christmas gifts are

opened on Christmas Eve just before the family retires to bed.

In Chile, Santa Claus is Father Christmas and is known as 'Viejito

Pascuero.' He arrives in a similar but slightly different manner than Santa

Claus because his reindeer is pulled by a taxicab. Chileans use small figures

made from clay to place near the Christmas tree in a display called pesebre to

show the Nativity story. The traditional Christmas dinner includes chicken soup

with stuffed potatoes, onions and corn on the cob. Another favorite item is a

Christmas bread that is called pan de pasqua and which is made with candies and

fruits.

Christmas customs in Brazil originate from the many different ethnic groups who

make up the country. The Nativity scene is called the Presepio and can commonly

be found displayed in homes, churches and stores. Papai Noel, or Father Noel,

resides in Greenland and brings gifts at Christmas. He is said to wear silk

clothing because Christmas occurs during summer when it is very hot in Brazil.

Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve is called Missa do Gallo, because the coming day

is announced by the rooster and the Mass finishes at 1 am on the following day.

A traditional Christmas dinner, called Ceia de Natal, includes ham, turkey,

colored rice, a variety of vegetables and fruit dishes. Christmas Day Mass at

Catholic churches are mainly held in the late afternoon because people enjoy

sleeping late or going to the beach after having Christmas dinner. Christmas

festivities, which include folk dancing and singing, continue until January 6th,

which is called Three Kings Day.

Does the American government see its citizens as its children?

The founding fathers had an idea for a country and a way to govern the people, by the people and for the people, but does this mean that the government has the right to tell us we can not do something because it is bad for us.

Keywords:

gambling,casino,government,poker,blackjack,taxes,prohibition, alcohol,internet gambling

Article Body:

In Americas 230 year history the government seems to have forgotten that there job is to run the government as the people see as best and not the government telling the people what is best for them.

The most recent example is the Internet gambling Ban signed into law last week by President Bush. The bill makes it illegal for banks and credit card companies to transfer money to casinos for the purpose of wagering on sports or games of chance, like roulette, blackjack and poker.

These games are harmlessly enjoyed regularly by millions of Americans everyday, but some people become addicted to these games so the government is telling all of its citizens that no one is allowed to play these games in an online casino.

This is not the first case of the government going against the wishes of the people, in the early 1900’s the government decided that the consumption of Alcohol should be banned, because some people were developing health and mental problems related to drinking too much. So rather then educating the people on the ill effects of prolonged Alcohol abuse the American government banned Alcohol.

But instead of reducing the consumption of Alcoholic beverages it increased, and because the government was not allowing the production or importing of Alcohol, organized grime got into the moonshine business, and eventually the Government saw the error of their decision and repealed the law.

Another great example of a failed policy to protect the people is the war on drugs that the government has been aging since the early 1980’s Billions of tax dollars a year goes into the war on drugs, but what are the results?

The price of drugs has risen, and to support their habits many drug addicts have had to commit acts of robbery and murder to get their drugs.

The American prisons are packed full of people whose only crime was possession of these illegal drugs.

Instead of being an industry that is regulated and controlled you have people selling these drugs to kids in school playgrounds, and shooting each other to protect their territory.

Had the government decided not to criminalize drugs but make it a heavily controlled industry, they could use the tax money for social programs like schools ad to give Americans universal health care.

Please do not misunderstand me I am not in favor for legalizing hard drugs, but the current system is not working at all, but I am all in favor for legalizing online casino gambling.

If I choose to play some hands of blackjack or poker from the comfort of my home what rights does the government have to tell me not to, and what sense does it make that I can not play in a casino over the internet, but I can drive down the street to the local casino and play there.

To enforce this ban millions if not billions of dollars of software and computer hardware will be needed to monitor all of the banks transactions and that money will come from taxes instead of the government taxing online casinos or even having all the online casinos government controlled then they get all the profits to be used to improve the lives of the American citizens, millions of which are bellow the poverty line if not homeless.

The American government needs to start re-thinking its policy of treating its citizens like small children, or the American people need to demand a new government.