Ukrainian Christmas Carols (???????)
Time: 7pm, January 29. Location: Ukrainian National Museum (2249 W. Superior Street, Chicago, IL)
Admission is $5
Contact: 312-421-8020

Source: CEERES eBulletin – an online resource for the center for eastern european and russian/eurasian studies

The halls are decked, snow is on the ground and twinkling lights line the frames of many homes in neighborhoods across the city.

It’s really beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

Problem is, it’s the end of January, people.

I understand snow and ice have all but buried many of us alive inside our houses over the past month. Taking Christmas lights down outside would have been next to impossible. In fact, the lights are still up on my house.

However, how hard is it to unplug the extension cord or flip the light switch?

A post-Christmas spending survey conducted by Consumer Reports revealed that U.S. consumers spent an average of $811 on gifts during the 2009 season, which was $112 “over budget” based on the results of its pre-Christmas poll. This first survey found that on average, shoppers planned to spend $699 per household on gifts. About one-fifth of respondents ended up spending $1,000 or more on gifts.

Consumer Reports found that overall, 81 percent of consumers purchased gifts, although this figure rose to 94 percent when households earning over $100,000 were factored in. Twenty-six percent of households earning less than $50,000 did not purchase Christmas gifts.

For the cookies:
3/4 cup Butter Flavor Crisco (Golden Crisco, in Canada)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 egg
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

For the drizzle:
1/2 teaspoon Butter Flavor Crisco
1/2 cup white melting chocolate, cut into small pieces
chopped pecans

A slip of paper recording a £5 bet between two generals over the military fate of Europe in the Second World War is expected to fetch £12,000 at auction.

General Bernard Montgomery of the British Army took a break from re-organising he Eighth Army in Italy to make a bet with his American comrade, General Dwight Eisenhower, about when the war would end.

Eisenhower, who oversaw the Allied invasion of Italy, felt confident he could march to Berlin by Christmas 1944, but Montgomery thought little of his chances.