Merry Christmas 2024

Christmas is a season of love, joy, giving and grand celebrations. Homes are decked up in sparkling lights and hearts are filled with thankfulness as the occasion draws near.

Reaching out to your loved ones, sending warm wishes and sharing the enchantment of the season are appropriate during this time of year.

A thoughtful wish can help capture the spirit of Christmas and share seasonal cheer, whether you’re celebrating with loved ones, friends or coworkers.

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Merry Christmas Eve 2024

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Christmas Eve takes place on December 24 and is probably one of the best nights of the year! Christmas has the power to reunite families and friends, to warm up our hearts, and remind us that we have so many things to be thankful for. So put on your cozy PJs, light up your fireplace, call your loved ones, and top off your hot cocoa with some fluffy marshmallows!

Christmas Eve marks the culmination of the Advent period before Christmas that started on the fourth Sunday before Christmas Eve. Many churches will mark the end of Advent with midnight church services. During modern times, it is popularly celebrated on the night before Christmas Day.

The tradition of celebrating Christmas Eve derives partly from Christan liturgical starting at sunset, inherited from Jewish tradition, and based on the Book of Genesis’s Story of Creation, saying the first day starts at the evening and ends during the morning. It is also believed that Jesus, or Jesus of Nazareth, was born during midnight in the region of Palestine. Many historical conceptions on many ancient traditions contributed to the development of Eve celebrations which persisted in the early Christian calendar.

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How your morning coffee habit is destroying your health

Experts revealed how to ensure coffee isn't harming your health

Having a coffee first thing in the morning could be destroying your health, according to experts, who claim the drink can do more damage than good if used incorrectly.

While coffee is said to be beneficial and fight against common health problems, it can also be associated with hormone disruption, poor sleep and even dementia.

Speaking to FEMAIL, Dr Sheena Burnell, from Brisbane, and anthropologist Siim Land revealed the simple routine tweaks to ensure your caffeine fix is helping your health - not harming it:

• Avoid drinking coffee first thing in the morning
• Don't have more than three coffees a day 
• Opt for plant-based milk
• Know how coffee affects you
• Enjoy the coffee and slow down

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Raising Kids In Singapore Is Expensive!

Here’s How To Reduce The Costs

With the rising cost of living in Singapore, raising a child here isn’t cheap, and it’s only going to get more expensive.

Fortunately, the government’s Baby Bonus and raft of childcare subsidies are there to help defray kid-related costs (though perhaps not quite enough — but that’s a story for another day).

So for those of you who are thinking of adding a new member to the family this year, just what subsidies do you qualify for, and what are you excluded from:

• Baby Bonus (from birth onwards)
• Baby Bonus cash gift
• Baby Bonus First Step Grant
• Dollar-for-dollar matching of savings in Child Development Account (CDA)
• Preschool, infant care & child care subsidies (up to 6 years old)
• Childcare Basic Subsidy
• Kindergarten subsidies (from 3 to 6 years old)
• Start Up Grant (SUG)
• Primary & secondary school subsidies (from 7 years old onwards)
• Edusave contribution

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Winter Solstice 2024 夏至 Xià Zhì

Winter Solstice

We often think of the winter solstice as an event that spans an entire calendar day, but the solstice actually lasts only a moment. Specifically, it’s the exact moment when a hemisphere is tilted as far away from the Sun as it can be

The farthest points from the equator where the Sun can appear directly overhead are referred to as the tropics. The tropics are lines of latitude that circle the Earth above and below the equator, at about 23.4 degrees north and south. This angle is set by Earth’s axial tilt.

There are two moments each year when one of Earth’s poles is tilted the most toward the Sun, and the Sun lies directly above one of the tropics. These moments are the solstices:

• The June solstice takes place sometime between June 20 and 22, when the Sun is directly above the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere. As a rough guide, the Tropic of Cancer passes through Mexico, northern Africa, the Middle East, India, and China.
• The December solstice happens sometime between December 20 and 23, when the Sun is directly over the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere. In brief, the Tropic of Capricorn runs through South America, southern Africa, and Australia.

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What is a Solstice?

A solstice is one of the two times of the year when the positioning and tilt of Earth relative to the sun results in the most amount of daylight time or the least amount of daylight time in a single day. There are two solstices during the year: one that occurs around June 20–22 (usually June 20 or 21) and one that occurs around December 20–23 (usually December 21 or 22).

The solstices are traditionally considered to mark the start of summer and winter. But which season begins with each solstice depends on which hemisphere you’re in. In the Northern Hemisphere, the summer solstice occurs in June and the winter solstice occurs in December. In the Southern Hemisphere, it’s the opposite. The summer solstice results in the longest day of the year, meaning it has the most time of daylight, and the winter solstice results in the shortest day of the year, meaning it has the longest period of darkness.

In contrast, an equinox is one of the two times of the year when the amount of daylight and nighttime hours are just about of equal length. The two equinoxes occur around March 20–21 and September 22–23. In the Northern Hemisphere, the vernal equinox (or spring equinox) occurs in March and the autumnal equinox occurs in September. In the Southern Hemisphere, it’s the opposite.

related: “Equinox” vs. “Solstice” - The Difference Between Them Is Like Night And Day

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