X'mas

(Source from Wikipedia)
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday that, in Christianity, commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ.It is celebrated on December 25, but this date is not known to be Jesus' actual birthday, and may have initially been chosen to correspond with either the day exactly nine months after some early Christians believed Jesus had been conceived,a historical Roman festival, or the date of the northern hemisphere's winter solstice. Christmas is central to the Christmas and holiday season, and in Christianity marks the beginning of the larger season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days.

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Although traditionally a Christian holiday, Christmas is also widely celebrated by many non-Christians, and some of its popular celebratory customs have pre-Christian or secular themes and origins. Popular modern customs of the holiday include gift-giving, music, an exchange of greeting cards, church celebrations, a special meal, and the display of various decorations; including Christmas trees, lights, garlands, mistletoe, nativity scenes, and holly. In addition, Father Christmas (known as Santa Claus in some areas, including North America, Australia and Ireland) is a popular mythological figure in many countries, associated with the bringing of gifts for children.

Because gift-giving and many other aspects of the Christmas festival involve heightened economic activity among both Christians and non-Christians, the holiday has become a significant event and a key sales period for retailers and businesses. The economic impact of Christmas is a factor that has grown steadily over the past few centuries in many regions of the world.

In chinese,
圣诞节，在台湾也称作耶诞节，是教会年历的一个传统节日，它是基督徒庆祝耶稣基督诞生的庆祝日。在圣诞节，大部分的天主教教堂都会先在12月24日的平安夜，亦即12月25日凌晨举行子夜弥撒，而一些基督教会则会举行报佳音，然后在12月25日庆祝圣诞节；而基督教的另一大分支——东正教的圣诞节庆祝则在每年的1月7日。根据天主教的福音书，耶稣是伯利恒的圣母玛利亚受圣灵感孕后生下的，玛利亚和丈夫约瑟当时正在去罗马人口普查注册的路上。耶稣的出生在信徒看来是犹太教预言中的默西亚将要到来计划的实现，因为伯利恒是约瑟祖先大卫一族的家。圣诞节也是西方世界以及其他很多地区的公共假日，例如：在亚洲的香港、澳门、马来西亚和新加坡。但耶稣确切的出生日期是存在争议的。

Greetings:
As "Merry Christmas," the traditionally used greeting for those from America and the UK, composed of merry (jolly, happy) and Christmas (Old English: Cristes mæsse, for Christ's Mass).
As "Merry Xmas," usually used to avoid the length of "Merry Christmas," with the "X" (sometimes controversially) replacing "Christ."
As "Happy Christmas," an equivalent that is commonly used in the United Kingdom and Ireland, as well as "Merry Christmas."

Wish you have a happy Christmas!

What now?

14-12-09

My final subject in SPM has ended now. Finally.
So, what now?

Feeling so free now, yeaaa...
................Just wait for the result

====================The Extraordinary Dancer[The LXD]====================
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"Choices" Teaser

Malaysian company buys Friendster

(source from The Star Online)


DONE DEAL: Bangah (extreme left) shaking hands with Kimber after the signing ceremony in Kuala Lumpur. The event was witnessed by the Tan (second from left) and Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) CEO Badlisham Ghazali

KUALA LUMPUR: Friendster, one of the most popular social networking sites in the world, is now owned by a Malaysian company.

The new owner, MOL Global Pte Ltd, is a newly-formed entity spawned from the recent MOL AccessPortal Bhd acquisition of California-based Friendster Inc.

The merger of the two companies is aimed at creating Asia’s largest end-to-end content, distribution and commerce network.

This will be achieved through the pairing of MOL’s offline retail channel partners and payment platform with Friendster’s large online footprint, social network and user community in Asia.

Friendster has 115 million members worldwide, with more than 75 million registered users in Asia alone. Today, 80% of its Asian members are youths aged between 16 and 24.

“We are creating a unique company that will be well positioned to provide content to a huge, regional user base, especially here in Asia,” said newly appointed MOL Global Group CEO Ganesh Kumar Bangah. Friendster’s former CEO, Richard Kimber, is now the non-executive chairman.

Bangah said a wide array of merchandise via MOL, such as games, goods, gifts, music and videos, will now be made available to the Friendster community.

MOL — an MSC Malaysia-status company whose business is payment solutions — has more than 500,000 physical and virtual payment channels across 75 countries for its content and services. Its core markets are Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and India.

The company also has relationships with more than 70 online games publishers, which in total provide more than 200 titles. It also has partnerships covering music, movie and video content.

Future plans

Earlier this month, Friendster announced several initiatives that will see it focusing more on the Asian youth market, including a rebranding exercise and redesigned webpages with emphasise on Asian relevance.

According to Bangah, MOL Global will continue with these directions set by the previous Friendster management before the merger.

“At the same time, we will look at combining both our valued assets to create Asia’s biggest content distribution and e-commerce platform,” he said.

Kimber said the deal provides Friendster with the kind of financial backing and resources — such as retail distribution centres and e-commerce infrastructure — to further the social networking site’s development.

“This merger enables us to accelerate our strategy and create more locally relevant, fun experiences for our users both on and offfline,” he said.

The offices of both MOL and Friendster around the world, including the Friendster headquarters in Mountain View, California, will be retained, said Bangah.

“In countries where both companies operate, such as Singapore and the Philippines, we will combine the staff and resources,” he added.

Friendster’s rivals include the popular Facebook and MySpace social networking sites, as well as local sites JomSocial and Ruumz.

The principal shareholder of MOL is Tan Sri Vincent Tan who is chairman and CEO of Berjaya Corporation Bhd.

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www.mol.com

www.friendster.com