Minimum Legal Drinking Age Essay Example for Free

Minimum Legal Drinking Age Essay Do you believe the drinking age should be lowered to allow eighteen year olds to consume alcohol, or should the legal age to drink alcoholic beverages stay at the age of twenty-one? Prior to 1984 you were, once you turned eighteen, in most states permitted to purchase alcohol. It was completely up to the state government. At age 18 they are legally an adult, and can therefore abide by their own rules and if they make a bad decision they have to pay the price. Why is it that as an adult you are permitted to purchase rifles, tobacco products, you can vote, enlist in the military, go to a casino, get a tattoo, body piercings, get married and even work in a bar but you can’t buy or consume alcohol? When you think of alcohol and eighteen year-olds what generally pops into mind is underage drinking, binge drinking, wild parties and date rape. But that is only the view of the irresponsible side of drinking, just as there is an irresponsible side of drinking at age twenty-one. At age eighteen you should be allowed to purchase or consume alcohol as you please, because you are legally an adult and responsible for your own actions. The Minimum Legal Drinking Age should be lowered to age eighteen. When you turn eighteen in the United States of America you are legally considered an adult. Until the 1984 Minimum Legal Drinking Age act you were allowed (at least in some states) to buy alcohol when you wanted. Subsequently to the passing of that law every state was forced to raise their minimum age to twenty-one. One of the men who voted for the 1984 Minimum Legal Drinking Age act, Morris E. Chafetz, stated that he â€Å"voted for it; it doesn’t work† and goes on to say that â€Å"it is the single most regrettable decision of my entire professional career†: â€Å"The reality is that at age 18 in this country, one is a legal adult. Young people view 21 as utterly arbitrary- which it is. And because the explanation given is so condescending- because they lack maturity and judgment, these same people who can serve on juries and sign contracts and who turned out in overwhelming numbers to elect our first black president- well they dont buy it. And neither do I.† (Chafetz 554-555) The Unites States military is one of the largest in the world, and has many bases and various stations throughout the entire world. At the age of 18 you must (if you are male) sign up for selective service (the draft) and you are eligible to enlist in the military regardless of your gender. Why is it that you can deploy to another country, fight for your country, get shot, lose limbs and have the memories of that with you for the rest of your life, but you can’t purchase alcohol? If you are old enough to risk your life to fight for your country and fight for the freedoms of this country then you should be able to go buy a beer at the bar with your buddies. Jeff Rainforth, a man who ran for congress, said that â€Å"Since the age was raised, many young adults have drunk more abusively than in the past. Like national Prohibition, it was been counter-productive. Raising the drinking age brought about more problems than it solved.† and went on to say that he recommends that is the legal drinking age was not lowered he recommends that military members can not go to combat until age 21. John McCardell, who founded and is now the director of an organization that exists to lower the drinking age back to eighteen, and also started the â€Å"Amethyst Initiative† talks about his solution to the problem. McCardell has credibility on this topic due to the fact that he is a former college professor and president, and is now a vice-chancellor at the University of the South, who has personally seen the way teenagers on a college campus drink and has an idea what will help with this issue. He says â€Å"Alcohol education is what we need.† This would make teenagers aware of the harms of drinking alcohol and reduce the amount of binge drinking that goes on. Lowering the drinking age would teach teenagers moderation. If they are drinking in a controlled setting where they are allowed to drink and don’t have to hide it, they will be more likely to casually drink. McCardell says that the 1984 Minimum Legal Drinking Age law was â€Å"an abysmal failure; it hasnt reduced or eliminated drinking, it simply driven it underground, behind closed doors, into the most risky and least manageable of settings.† In the â€Å"60 minutes† interview with CBS, the Boulder, Colorado Chief of Police, Mark Beckner is also an advocate for lowering the drinking age to eighteen. He says that â€Å"we cant stop it. The best we can do is try to contain it.† According to the 2010 National Survey on Drug use and Health, driving under the influence of alcohol was associated with age. The age group with the highest number of infractions(including wrecks) was the twenty-one to twenty-five year-old group at 23.4% of infractions being drunk/having been drinking as opposed to only 15.1% in the eighteen-twenty year-old group and a mere 5.8% in sixteen and seventeen year-olds. As far as fatal crashes go, the highest percent of drunk drivers that were involved in a fatal car crash was the group of 21-24 year olds. 25-34 year olds came in at 30%, 35-44 at 24% and all fatal car crashes of individuals that were above age 44 and below age 21 was only 14%. Driving under the influence of alcohol was associated with age in 2010. The rate was highest among persons aged 21 to 25 (23.4 percent). An estimated 5.8 percent of 16 or 17 year olds and 15.1 percent of 18 to 20 year olds reported driving under the influence of alcohol in the past year. Beyond age 25, these rates showed a general decline with increasing age. Many other western have long had a much more lenient attitude toward alcohol and alcoholic beverages. Many have set their Minimum Legal Drinking Age at 18, some at 16 and some do not even have a Minimum Legal Drinking Age. In many countries, such as Germany, there are very few drunk driving incidents whatsoever. In these countries parents often consume alcoholic beverages with their children, including beer or wine(in countries like France). By the time Europeans are allowed to drive they have been educated on the effects of alcohol and have been consuming alcohol for several years. Safe alcohol consumption should the same way as safe sex practices and drivers education classes. No one us naà ¯ve enough to think that teenagers will practice abstinence to avoid sexual encounters only in order to avoid a sexually transmitted disease, so why are people foolish enough to believe that teens will avoid alcohol just due to its dangers? Lowering the Minimum Legal Drinking Age will cause the teens who drink to rebel against their authorities to not drink as much due to it not being rebellious. Until a solution is agreed upon about whether the drinking age should be lowered, or stay at the age of 21, this will remain a controversial topic. Using these strategies in this essay works well to effectively persuade every single viewer that underage drinking is in fact a problem, and is attributed to the current law not allowing people to buy or consume alcohol under the age of 21. Because of the problems that are created because of this current law, it would be in this countrys best interest to lower the drinking age. This would prevent an increased number of alcohol related deaths due to underage binge drinking in the future. These are just a few of the reasons that the Minimum Legal Drinking Age act of 1984 should be repealed and the Minimum Legal Drinking Age should be at age 18. Works Cited Chafetz, Morris E. â€Å"The 21-Year-Old Drinking Age: I Voted For It; It Doesn’t Work.† Good Reasons With Contemporary Arguments. Eds. Lester Faigley and Jack Selzer. Boston: Longman, 2012. 554-555. Print McCardell, John. â€Å"A Drinking Age of 21 Doesn’t Work.† Good Reasons With Contemporary Arguments. Eds. Lester Faigley and Jack Selzer. Boston: Longman, 2012. 550-553. Print. â€Å"Issue in Focus: Drinking on College Campuses.† Good Reasons With Contemporary Arguments. Eds. Lester Faigley and Jack Selzer. Boston: Longman, 2012. 548-550. Print. CBSNews. (2010, March 01). The debate on lowering the drinking age. Retrieved from http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-18560_162-4813571.html-

tom ford :: essays research papers

TOM FORD Born in Texas in 1962, Tom Ford went on to become arguably the most influential designer of the last decade. Having initially trained as an actor, he studied interior architecture at Parsons School of Design until 1986, and went on to take positions at Perry Ellis and Cathy Hardwick, before joining Gucci in 1990. Ford was hired by Gucci's then creative director Dawn Mello as chief women's ready-to-wear designer, and later appointed design director. When, in 1994, Gucci was acquired by a Bahrain-based investment firm called Investcorp, Ford was promoted to creative director and moved to Milan with his partner, journalist Richard Buckley. In his first year at the helm, he was credited with putting the glamour back into fashion introducing Halston-style velvet hipsters, skinny satin shirts and car-finish metallic patent boots. In 1995, he brought in French stylist Carine Roitfeld and photographer Mario Testino to create a series of new, modern ad campaigns for the company. By 1999, the house, which had been almost bankrupt when Ford joined, was valued at about $4.3 billion. "We didn't even have a photocopier at one stage," he admits. "We didn't have any paper." In 2000, Ford was named Best International Designer at the first VH1/Vogue Awards in New York. After Gucci bought a controlling stake in Yves Saint Laurent, Ford was appointed creative director of YSL, too, and communications director of the house's ready-to-wear business, while continuing to design for Gucci. A mighty challenge certainly, but Ford was adamant he could keep the two labels distinct. "Historically, [Gucci] is Sophia Loren. Yves Saint Laurent is Catherine Deneuve. They're both sexy," he told British Vogue in February 2001. "It's just that Gucci is a little more obvious than Saint Laurent. The YSL woman might tie her boyfriend up and drip hot wax on him before they have sex, for instance. The Gucci woman is just going to have sex." Ford believes that he owes his success not to talent, but to his energy. He admits to sleeping just two or three hours per night, keeping post-it notes beside the bed in case he wakes up with an idea. "There are many more talented designers than me," he once told an audience at the V&A in London. "But I have a lot of drive and won't let it go." He also credits his "mainstream" appeal. "I'm lucky, I have mass-market tastes," he says. "When I say I like a shoe, generally thousands of people will like it.

Fliptop Battle: the Modern Balagtasan Essay

Introduction: As a developing country on a contemporary period dominated with diverse influences, different sectors and government organizations as well as the non-governmental organizations anticipate on how to elevate and preserved the most powerful tool for communication – Language. Language is used to express inner thoughts and emotions, make sense of complex and abstract thought, communicate with others, as well as to establish rules and to preserved culture. It is used to inform people of what a person might feel, desire, anticipate, and communicate effectively with words, gestures, and tone of voice in a multitude of situation. Language is a special gift from God to mankind; if language doesn’t exist, human civilization would be impossible. Apart from being a means of communication, it is also a source of thinking as well as an expression. This is the reason why it is termed as â€Å"species uniform† possession of human beings.1 Language change and shifts as time passes by for a variety of reasons responding on social, economic, and political pressures. History records many examples of language changed and shifts fueled by invasions, colonization, and migration. Even without these kinds of influences, a language can change and shifts dramatically if enough users alter the way they speak.2 Media is a general form for modern channels of public information. Traditionally, they are radio, televisions, films, newspapers, and internet. These disseminate information and entertainment on a wide scale and their powers of manipulating public opinion are the subject of much discussion and research.3 Media are changing the terms of our engagement with language and social semiosis in late modernity, and with linguistic variation and dialect as part of that. Media made a great impact on language change by means of word adaptation as well as familiarization of words especially on Filipino people as shown on television, internet, radio, or even newspaper. Multimedia serves as a pathway for manifesting new ideas on preserving languages like the newl y formed Filipino rhythmical poetry debate known as â€Å"Fliptop Battle† popularized through â€Å"Youtube†, a very popular video sharing Web site that lets anyone upload short videos for private or public viewing. 4 Fliptop Battle is a rap battle league in the Philippines partake by young Filipino rappers or popularly called as battle  Ã¢â‚¬Å"emcees† considered as geniuses on a contemporary Filipino language and made to help Philippine rappers promote and train both rap skills and abilities as well as to educate the masses both on a hip-hop cultural level and on a commonsensical level. The league places these rappers in a pit against each other in a battle of lyrical creativity and innate musical rhythm.5 Balagtasan is Filipino art of publicly arguing in extemporaneous, scaled and rhymed poetry manner formed by a group of Filipino poets in April 6, 1924 to commemorate the birth of Francisco Balagtas. Similar to the Fliptop Battle of contemporary period, this were fought by two different â€Å"Makata†, has a moderator, and has jurors that will decide whether who among the two excelled. 6 Balagtasan is a prominent type of literature from the time when is was discovered in 1924 unt il the world war II started. Balagtasan brightens the popularity of lots of makata. Well-noted theatres such as Opere House, Olympic Stadium, and Teatro Zorilla as well as the different theatres in the Philippines were fulled by public. A very expressive battle of discourse on Magazines, Newspapers, and even on the Radio were labeled before the world war II started. Different versions of Balagtasan pop-up in every regions of the language, as well as adopted language like English and Spanish. Being a form of national literature, it is still part of the lives of every filipino not just the whole form balagtasan but every piece of it as a cultural expression.7 Fliptop Battle and the conventional Balagtasan are both battle of wisdom and free-flowing poetic discourse. They give entertainment through humorous approach, bullying using hard-hitting words, and proving who among them is the best. Fliptop Battle as the modern Balagtasan is the focus of this study. Analyzing and critiquing is the main purpose of this research paper. Specifically, this study sought why Fliptop Battle dubbed as Balagtasan of modern day. This study was likewise anchored on the assumption that Fliptop Battle: The Modern Balagtasan as one of the modern significant pathway on the preservation of Philippine Language and educating masses on a new breed of wordsmith and calling attention on a dying culture in the Philippines. Statement of the Problem: The study intends to investigates and analyze the benefits together with the profile of Fliptop Battle as the modern balagtasan. Specifically, this study  sought to answer to the following questions: 1. What are the characteristics of the Fliptop Battle: The Modern Balagtasan and the Conventional Balagtasan? 2. What is the common feature of the modern and the conventional balagtasan? 3. What are the existing influences of â€Å"Fliptop Battle: The Modern Balagtasan† poses along: a. Music b. Literature c. Language d. Entertainment 4. What is the significant contribution of â€Å"Fliptop Battle: The Modern Balagtasan† to the preservation of Philippine Language and Culture? Scope and Delimitation: The primary objective of the study is to know why Fliptop Battle is called as the â€Å"Modern Balagtasan† and how will it aid on the preservation of the Philippine Language and Culture. The secondary objective of this study is to know its role and to understand how Fliptop Battle: The Modern Balagtasan affects and influences the Philippine Music industry, Entertainment, Literature, and Language. As an addendum, the study will only include major information concerning Fliptop Battle. Significance of the Study: The reason why this study is significant can be explained from three aspects. First, this study investigates the nature, quality, traits, attribute, peculiarity, and distinctiveness of Fliptop Battle: The Modern Balagtasan to the conventional Balagtasan. Consequently, this research might offer an empirical awareness to the reader on a dying culture reincarnated through a modern method. Second, this study will give knowledge to the readers regarding the stand of Fliptop Battle to Philippine Music industry, Literature, Language, and Entertainment. Third, it is hoped that this study may help the readers, as well as the authorities on providing the information addressed to the contribution of Fliptop Battle to Philippine Language and Culture. The researchers believed that this study would be beneficial to the following: Literature and Language Teachers — this study will help them in demonstrating and discussing the Modern Balagtasan in  contrast to the conventional balagtasan and encourage the students to love for own culture. Other Researchers – the study will serve as their reference encouraging them to research on different issues concerning cultural problems that needs a corresponding action and a guide for their studies and related purposes. Authorities – this study will serve to different sectors, governmental and non-governmental organizations as additional reference and will call their attention not just on the preservation of Philippine language and literature but also on the conservation and promotion of Philippine culture. NOTES 1Brown, Steven & Attardo, Salvatorre â€Å"Understanding Language Structure, Interaction, and Variation: An Introduction to Applied Linguistics and Sociolinguistics for Non-specialists†, The University of Michigan Press, 2000,2005., Pp. 160 2Mulfwene, Saliko S. â€Å"Language Evolution: Contact, Competition, and Change†, Cromwell Press, Wiltshirem, Great Britain, 2009 Pp.197 3Hawksby, Lester â€Å"Philip’s Encyclopedia† Octopus Publishing Group, c2007., Pp. 505 4 http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/YouTube 5http://neillangit.wordpress.com/2010/08/09/modern-balagtasan/ (August 9, 2010) 6Zafra, Galileo S. â€Å"Balagtasan: Kasaysayan at Antolohiya† Ateneo de Manila University Press, Quezon City Philippines, c1999., Pp. 4-11 7 Ibid., 13. Chapter 2 Review of Related Literature and Studies This chapter presents the related literatures and studies gathered from various books, published and unpublished materials, internet and other references which are related to the present study. This section also consists of synthesis of the state of the art, analytical framework, analytical paradigm, definition of terms, and notes. Related Literature: This present the related literature reviewed â€Å"Fliptop Battle: The modern Balagtasan – An Analysis† is a product of research, and reading on several literatures and studies. Several books such as encyclopedias, journals, magazine, newspapers, audio-visual materials, and other standard reference were used. The Balagtasan: Kasaysayan at Antolohiya of Galileo S. Zafra is a collection of past events, origins, and literary works of popular â€Å"makata’s† in the Philippines since the era of Balagtasan has started and wrote about transforming the consciousness and fighting alien interests and the ills of the society concerning cultural awareness.1 In a documentary video done by Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho, it was discussed that Fliptop Battle is a new tool in preserving and reviving the forgotten oral tradition of the Filipinos namely the â€Å"Balagtasan†. Traditions of every ethnicity serve as an identity who they are and where they came from. Based on the documentary, the so-called Modern Balagtasan popularly known as Fliptop Bat tle is being practiced by youths anywhere such as in school, street, and bars. On one of the video footage where CBCP’s Fr. Melvin Castro was featured, he stressed that Fliptop Battle is a very good invention of the youth and can be developed, purified, and elevate the quality.2 Saab Magalona (2010) is a writer of Philippine Star Newspaper. She featured and wrote about Aric Yuson, the founder of the Balagtasan of the modern day. Aric is the son of Alfred Yuson, a well respected Filipino writer and according to the interview done by Magalona, Aric has always been a fan of the battling aspect of hip-hop and watches different battle leagues online such as the biggest rap battle in the world Grind Time Now by America and Canada’s King of The Dot. â€Å"As for rap or emcee battles, I enjoy the spontaneity, competition, and of course, the relatively twisted humor employed in degrading your opponent† Aric shares. The facet is entertaining in itself, but ultimately he enjoys how concepts are formed and then articulated in battle verse. He wanted to apply it to Philippine culture that’s why the Fliptop Battle was born. The merit of Fliptop Battle is to educate the masses on both hip-hop and dying culture in the Philippines which is the Balagtasan especially on the promotion of social awareness.3 In the documentary film done by Motorcycle Diaries of GMA News TV, Jay Taruc presented facts about the Fliptop Battle considered as the Balagtasan of the modern day, its nature, and how Fliptop battle is being practiced. The documentary also reveals that Fliptop Battle is somewhat a pathway for  rappers to promote and educate masses about the hip—hop culture.4 â€Å"Teenagers have a playful mind that’s why it is natural for them to invent their vocabulary; in fact they can form little language. Changes in Language are normal in every existing language like Filipino†. – It is according to Virgilio Almario, a Philippine National Artist for Literature on an interview done by Television channel GMA News TV on the show Balitanghali regarding the impact of Bekimon, Jejemon, and Fliptop Battle: The Modern Balagtasan to Filipino Language.5 In the July, 2010 issue of FHM Magazine, Fliptop Battle was featured together with the founder of it namely Aric Yuson, popularly known as ANYGMA. They presented facts about Fliptop Battle, its origin, behavior, nature, concept, and other important details. The article also stressed that â€Å"Fliptop Battle is one of the Youtube sensations of 2010 because it has gone viral with several of video hits million views in just a couple months†. Related Studies: This presents the related studies, which the researchers were able to find. The development of this study was taken from published and unpublished theses. The Published Doctor in Filipino Thesis of Galileo S. Zafra entitled, The â€Å"Dalumat ng Katuwiran mulang Duplo hanggang Balagtasan† is a study were Balagtasan is being invoked. It is the continuation of his past study entitled â€Å"Kasaysayan at Retorika ng Balagtasan. This study is vital to the following mainly the Literature, History of poetry, Ethnography of Native Culture, and to the Filipino and Ancestral Philosophy. In literature, it provides unique principles to elevate the native literature particularly in rhetorical and oral traditions of regarding verbal jousts and Balagtasan. In history of poetry, distinctions between poetical joust and Balagtasan from native rituals, it can be used as a cradle to reintroduce the history of poetry in the Philippines. In ethnography of native culture, this offers vital promulg ation of fundamentals which will awaken the existence of past events and can be used as a tool for studying culture and data. In Filipino and ancestral phisophy, the study could be a reference in philosophical discourse through the use of criticism. This study is related to the present study since both dealt with Balagtasan as a nearly forgotten tradition in the Philippines. Loreviza, et.al., â€Å"Philipine seditious dramas as a tool for  social awareness† a study mainly to create social awareness on every readers and researchers about the events may happen on the environment using the most powerful tool on influencing the masses – Media. â€Å"As long as the world shall last there will be wrongs, and if no man objected and no man rebelled, those wrongs would last forever – Clarence Darrow†, as part of the community people are subjected to be more critical thinker. If all of these wrongs get ignored, ancestral heritages would probably be forgotten especially the new generation. This study is related to the study since both dealt with social awareness. â€Å"Social issues are inevitable†, a phrase which was stressed on the study â€Å"Social problems reflected in the selected essays from Time Asia Magazine† by Bongalon et.al.,This study focuses on several essays concerning present social issues and aimed to have an understanding on the problems found in their surroundings and its implication to the society which has been taken for granted. In relation to the present study, both aims to persuade the masses in appreciating literary works and create social awareness regarding social issues. Synthesis of the State of the Art: The related literature reviewed helped the researchers on finding necessary information relevant to the present study, including the concrete definition of Balagtasan. The evolution of it from the early period to the present as well as how Balagtasan as a literary form has contributed to the lives of every Filipinos and how it mirrors the society. Especially on the Zafra has a wide scope of Balagtasan on his study â€Å"Ang Dalumat ng Katuwiran Mulang Duplo Hanggang Balagtasan†. He included the â€Å"Duplo† or poetic jousts in his study which is said to be one of the influences of Balagtasan although, the whole dissertation talks about Balagtasan itself. This study becomes the basis of the present study on the contextual of traditional Balagtasan and he then clearly portrays the Balagtasan as a whole. He proved Balagtasan as a form of literature that has vital role in traditions which is culture to the Filipinos. The presentation of the Balagtasan is unique, original, and convincing because of his methodology and ethnography which lead to an evident of the literature and to the society where it belongs. Bongalon et.al., focused on persuading the masses in appreciating literary works of Filipino writers and to generate awareness in the social issues. They used  essays from a magazine regarding social issues which nowadays have been overlooked by many. Loveriza et.al., objective was to convince the readers as well as researchers to become more socially aware on their society and to be more patriotic in their cultural heritages which is similar to the present study. They used Philippine Seditious Drama as a tool which will aid on the witlessness of the present society and in comparison to the present study, both uses audio-visual materials. In this regard the researchers were inspired by this study because no one has yet conducted a research about the Fliptop Battle as the Modern Balagtasan considering that is new in the present society which has a great bearing and significance to the society as whole. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK This study rests on the theory of Max Horkheimer’s (1937) Critical Theory. It deals with revitalization of radical, social and cultural criticism. This theory has two core concept: first is that â€Å"critical theory should be directed at totality of society in its historical specificity, and the second is that critical theory should improve the understanding of society by integrating all the major social sciences including geography, economics, sociology, history, political science, anthropology, and psychology. 2 The first concept deals with addressing it to the society through historical approach. In society, history is part of culture; failure to preserve cultural heritages will lead to overlooking. That’s the reason why Horkheimer have come up with this concept. The second concept states that critical theory should elevate the awareness of society by invoking the components of social sciences. A broad understanding of milieu particularly on societal components will aid on the preservation of cultural heritages and social awareness of every society. This theory aims not just to determine what was wrong with the contemporary society of the present but, by identifying progressive aspects and tendencies within it to help transform society for better.

The Joy of Christmas - 527 Words

The joy of Christmas is a wonderful thing. It makes you go insane with happiness. You see, things happen during the holidays. And when you look back and remember the things you did, you become giddy and embarrassed. One such thing happened to me, when I was twenty-three. I was roaming the streets, looking for shops that might hold gifts that my family would like. As I walked, I had my head buried in the shop windows, so I wasn’t looking where I was going. I walked right into someone, causing them to spill the contents in their arms. I turned, â€Å"I’m so sorry,† I apologized, â€Å"Here let me help you.† I scampered around the sidewalk, collecting the man’s things. As I handed him his things, our eyes met and we shared a moment of specialness. I quickly looked away and glanced towards the sky. To my surprise, mistletoe hung on a thin line dangling in the air. I blushed as the man spotted what I was looking at. â€Å"I’m Thomas ,† he stuck out his hand to shake, â€Å"I feel we must have a proper introduction before we, you know, go about the tradition.† I shook his hand and introduced myself, â€Å"I’m Victoria.† We stared at each other awkwardly for a few moments, waiting for the other person to make the first move. Finally, I turned, â€Å"Farewell, Thomas. I’ll see you around,† I called over my shoulder as I walked away. Our fates must have been intertwined, or he was following me, because it wasn’t but three days later, on the same street, that we ran into each otherShow MoreRelatedThe Day Of The Joy Of Christmas Essay1101 Words   |  5 PagesHey there! Merry Christmas! I hope that you are all able to spend time with your loved ones during these upcoming days. Part of the joy of Christmas is spending time with those we love. 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