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Michael Molnar, an astronomer formerly from Rutgers University in New Jersey, says he?s found the first mention of the star of Bethlehem outside the Bible. The reference is in a 4th-century manuscript written by a Roman astrologer and Christian convert named Firmicus Maternus.

Molnar believes that the star of Bethlehem was not a spectacular astronomical event such as a supernova or a comet but an obscure astrological one that would nevertheless have been of great significance to ancient Roman astrologers.
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A white Christmas is only a memory in most of the United States, according to Dale Kaiser and Kevin Birdwell, of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Looking at the snowfall in16 cities?mainly in the north?since 1960, the number of white Christmases per decade declined from 78 during the 1960s to 39 in the 1990s.People in Chicago, for example, saw the number of white Christmases, defined as at least one inch of snow on the ground, drop from seven in the 1960s to two during the 1990s. In New York, the number declined from five in the 1960s to one this past decade, and Detroit had just three white Christmases in the 1990s versus nine in the 1960s.
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Just in time for the Christmas holidays: It has been discovered that people who eat frequently have lower blood cholesterol levels than those who eat once or twice a day – even if they eat more food, according to a new study carried out by scientists in Norfolk, England.

Kay-Tee Khaw, a professor of clinical gerontology at the University of Cambridge, carried out the research after animal studies showed ?gorgers? had higher cholesterol levels than ?grazers.? Despite higher intakes of fat, people who ate six or more times a day had cholesterol levels five per cent lower on average and a reduction in coronary heart disease of 10 to 21 per cent.
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Last Christmas Eve, Astronaut Cathy Clarke heard Mission Control playing Jingle Bells over the intercom about 200 times. They had turned down her request for a Christmas tree because ?the pine needles would just float around and poke you in the eye. It?s a safety issue.?
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