New York at Christmas is one of the most beautiful sights in the world--the city is lit up twenty four hours a day with multicolored Christmas lights, thousands and thousands of them, from Harlem to Wall Street. People watch movies like "Miracle on 34th Street" and "It's a Wonderful Life". We give to the poor and the homeless, and we are grateful for the things we ourselves have.

Pronounciation tip: Christmas is pronounced with a hard "k" sound at the beginning: Krismas (the 't' has no sound; it is silent.) But often in English, the 'ch' is a voiceless 'j'--take the front of your tongue, put it to the roof of your mouth, and vocalize in the back of your throat using your vocal cords--say, "judge" or "joker". Now try it without your vocal cords, just using your mouth and throat to shape the sound, so there is no vibration when you put your hand to your throat. Try "joker" without your vocal cords. It should come out "choker"! Now, try "jeer"--sounded with the buzz at your throat, with your vocal cords. Now try "cheer"--same word, sounded without your vocal cords.

Again, I am going to post some YouTube vids, or at least some sound samples, as soon as I am able. Stay tuned! ("Stay tuned" means, keep watching this blog--it comes from something radio hosts would say--"Don't touch that dial!" meaning, "don't change the radio station!")