Holidays.MyNC.com

According to U.S. Census Bureau projections, the Jan. 1, 2009, total U.S. population will be 305,529,237 — up 2,743,429, or 0.9 percent, from New Year’s Day 2008.

In January 2009, one birth is expected to occur every eight seconds in the United States and one death every 12 seconds. Meanwhile, net international migration is expected to add one person every 36 seconds to the U.S. population in January 2009, resulting in an increase in the total U.S. population of one person every
14 seconds.

More Fun Facts and Traditions

How To Achieve Your Goals, Plus Fun Facts About New Year’s

Gifts wrapped in silver and gold may be under your tree right now, but there’s one color to keep in mind before throwing holiday waste in the trash: green.
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Click below to track Santa’s location as he makes his flight across the world on Christmas Eve.

NORAD Santa Tracker

Below are all the links to help make your holiday travel a little less stressful.

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Not crazy about the sweater you received from Aunt Martha this year? How about the “unusual” wall sculpture from Grandpa Frank? Well, as they say, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” Instead of regifting them to an unsuspecting friend or acquaintance, why not regift them to your local GCF Donation Center & Store®? You’ll be helping yourself and your community, too. And don’t forget about those artificial holiday trees that you plan to replace next year. Go ahead and give your old one, if it’s still in good condition, to your local GCF Donation Center & Store®. (more…)

By Media General News Service

Considering a kitten or puppy as the perfect Christmas present? Some local experts encourage gift givers to think twice before purchasing that holiday pet. (more…)

NORTH CAROLINA — All Post Offices nationwide will be open Christmas Eve, Wednesday, Dec. 24, but most will shorten retail lobby hours and close at noon. Regular mail delivery for Dec. 24 will be unaffected by the change.

Revised hours will be posted at each Post Office and commercial customers are asked to check with their Bulk Mail Acceptance Unit for Dec. 24 hours of operation. Customers may call 1-800-ASK-USPS for information about specific Post Offices. In addition, mail should be deposited into blue collection mailboxes by noon for early pick-up on Dec. 24. Customers requiring postal services later that day are encouraged to contact their local postmaster.

Post Offices will be closed Thursday, Dec. 25. Express Mail only will be delivered on Christmas Day. All Post Offices will be open and regular mail delivery will resume Friday, Dec. 26.

Seriously, how many of you truly know the words to Auld Lang Syne by Robert Burns?  Every New Year’s Eve when the clock strikes midnight, I look around to see who is really singing Auld Lang Syne.  I won’t lie, I have never known the words.  I ususally would just move my mouth so it looked like I knew the words. 

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The Herald Sun wrote an article about the history behind Saint Nicholas, but many of us call him Santa Claus.  Today is Saint Nicholas’ Feast Day, an event celebrated by Catholic and Orthodox Christians.  Click here to learn more about the history of Saint Nicholas.