Bonus Post

Christmas Traditions


In Italy they have no Christmas trees. Instead they decorate small wooden pyramids with fruit.

Ukrainians decorate their trees with an artificial spider and matching web. A spider web found on Christmas morning is believed to bring good luck.

The citizens of Caracas, Venezuela block off the streets on Christmas eve so that people can roller-skate to God's house.

It is a British Christmas tradition that a wish made while mixing the Christmas pudding will come true only if the ingredients are stirred in a clockwise direction.

A traditional Christmas dinner in early England was the head of a pig prepared with mustard.

Sending red Christmas cards to anyone in Japan constitutes bad etiquette, since funeral notices there are customarily printed in red.

In Norway on Christmas Eve, all the brooms in the house are hidden because long ago it was believed that witches and mischievous spirits came out on Christmas Eve and would steal their brooms for riding.

______________


A man from East Bergholt, England, won a suit against his employer after he suffered an injury that he claims increased his sex drive and ruined his marriage. Stephen Tame said an incident when he fell from a gantry at the bicycle warehouse he worked at in 2002 caused severe sexual disinhibition that has strained his relationship with his wife, The Times of London reported Wednesday. Judge Michael Harris must decide how much is owed to Tame by Professional Cycling Marketing. Tame's legal team is asking the judge for about $6.9 million. Tame, who was married right months before the accident, claims the incident has caused him to become rude and physically aggressive. Tame, a devout Christian, said his sexual urges have caused him to use pornography and visit a prostitute. "Mr. Tame has a presentation which can be described as 'fatuous euphoria' and has been significantly disinhibited sexually and a significant question has arisen in relation to Mr. and Mrs. Tame's marriage," said Bill Braithwaite, Tame's lawyer. "The sexual side of their life is pretty troubled and unfortunately reveals a visit to a prostitute recently."

Monkey Business 24/7.365

Woman called 999 for broken nail

A woman in a nightclub phoned for an ambulance after breaking a fingernail.

Another woman dialled 999 saying a mouse had swallowed her medicine.

Other calls included a man who needed someone to change the television channel, a man who had a dream he was unconscious and had collapsed and a caller who wanted a can of pop out of the fridge.

They were among thousands of timewasters revealed to have blocked 999 lines.
The North East Ambulance Service also highlighted the growing number of revellers who call an ambulance to save queuing for taxis.

They fake injury then wrongly assume ambulance staff will take them home after treatment.

A spokeswoman for NEAS said: "Some of the calls we get are ridiculous. We had two more just last night.

"One was from a woman who said her boyfriend was drunk and she needed help to get him upstairs to bed. Another was from someone who wanted us to deliver a takeaway to them."

Last year demand rose by 15% from November to December.

Control room manager Graham Robinson said: "At this time of year, our demand increases dramatically. We urge members of the public not to call 999 unnecessarily."

__________



Santa catches streaker

Father Christmas has been hailed a hero after helping to arrest a streaker in the US.
He helped police catch a 35-year-old man who was running naked outside a police station in Damascus, Virginia.

Santa told News Channel 11: "He sees you when you're sleeping, he sees when you're awake, and he sees when you're naked coming down the street.

"I've seen a lot of things in my life, but that has to be one of the strangest I have ever witnessed."

Santa, who requested that his identity be withheld, said he was driving his car when a man behind him began throwing trash, parts of his truck and then his clothing out the windows.

"By the time he got into Damascus and jumped out of the truck, he was stark naked," Santa said.

Police officers rushed out of the police station after hearing squealing tyres and Santa was able to point out the naked man who was promptly arrested.

Police Chief Tony Richardson said: "He said that he had been to the dentist and taken some pain pills and apparently he took too many.

"I'm standing here with this naked man handcuffed and then here comes Santa Claus. I said: "Can it get any better than this?""