2.+Artifact+Bag

** Wooden Shoes: ** Sinterklaas (St. Nicholas) hands out presents to good children on the eve of his feast, December 6th. This is a very special time for Dutch children, who set out their shoes in anticipation of the candy and presents they will receive in them the next morning.

** Hay, Carrots, and Water: **  The night before Sinterklaas Day (December 6th), families place a bucket of water and a bucket of hay and carrots by the fireplace for Sinterklaas’s white horse. Some children will place their wooden shoes by the fireplace with hay or carrots inside .

** Midwinter Horn Blowing: **  Prior to Christmas, a custom known as Midwinter Horn Blowing is still practiced in parts of the rural east, this starts on Advent Sunday and continues until Christmas Eve. At dusk, farmers take long horns made from elder trees and blow them while standing over a well, which lends an eerie sound to the call, which is an announcement of the coming Christ.  [Pictures attached in document]



** Playing Cards and Chips: ** In Greece, it is considered lucky to gamble on **New Year’s Day**, whether you win or lose, and traditionally, people would gather to play cards on a table covered with green felt. Since Greece has opened up its casinos to locals, this custom makes sure it's a busy day at the officia l  [|gambling palaces throughout Greece].

 ** Greek Art: Virgin Mary and Christ ** <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">This is a common style of Greek art and this particular picture is hung all over Greek homes everywhere, particularly during the **Christmas** holiday. This is the Greek depiction of the Virgin Mary holding Christ.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">** Evil-Eye Jewelry: ** <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">This is an Evil-Eye pendant necklace. The Evil Eye is believed to watch out for evil spirits and to keep them away. The **New Year** is all about fortune and keeping evil away, so a common gift during Christmas would be a necklace such as this.

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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">** Dried Beans: ** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">On New Year’s Eve, the houses are cleaned thoroughly from top to bottom and are decorated for the morrow. When everything is clean and neat, the father of the household marches through the house, followed by all the family dressed in their finest clothes, and drives the evil spirits out. He throws dried beans into every corner bidding the evil spirits withdraw and good luck enter.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">** Origami Swan: ** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">A very special decoration during Christmas is the origami swan. The swan- called ‘bird of peace’ has the heartwarming distinction of the toy exchanged by young people all over the world, as a pledge that war must not happen again. Everyone across the world should live in peace and harmony, if not for anything else, for the future generations to inherit a happier earth.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">** Takoage: ** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Takoage is a common activity throughout Japan in which children fly kites on New Year’s Day. Kites vary considerably in shape and decoration according to the locality. As in the past, kite-flying contests are still held all over Japan at this time.

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<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 28pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">** Chinese Robe: ** <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">This kind of robe can be seen worn during various festivals through-out the year. It's not only seen on Chinese New Year (even though that is one of their biggest holidays) but on another occasions/festivals. It is a more traditional way of dressing up for the celebrations that occur. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">** Wooden Shoes: ** <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">This of course is not worn in every day life, but it is something they wear on holidays and also can be seen worn by those who work in temples. It is a more traditional (just like the robe) wear of shoes. The shoe itself is made out of wood while there is a strap that separates the toes from each other. Of course, they don't all have Hello Kitty on them, but this is an example of what they would wear.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">** Happy New Year! (Gong Xi Fa Cai) ** <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> Depending on what dialect you speak, there are many ways to say "Happy New Year" to one another. However, the most common way to say it is "Gong Xi Fa Cai" (Mandarin) or "Gong Hey Fat Choy" (Cantonese). This is also how it is spelt when using simplified Chinese characters.

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