I never thought I'd say this, but I'm thankful for grammar. You heard me right. I'm thankful for grammar. I guess maybe I should say that I'm thankful that I learned grammar. It's really true. As an author, I learned quickly to be grateful for those years of elementary school, junior high, and high school grammar class.
The Angel of the North is a magnificent modern structure in Gateshead, near Newcastle, England. While the sculpture's unusual appearance initially attracted some local controversy, the Angel is now warmly regarded as a landmark of the North East and was chosen as one of the UK’s twelve official ‘Icons of England'.
Bill Vaughan said ‘An optimist stays up until midnight to see the New Year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.’ Although people have been celebrating New Years since the ancient Babylonians, at least 4,000 years ago, I don’t suppose you have yet thought about New Year 2008 unless you are either Scottish or one of those organised people who have already got a new diary and dates filled in for the next six months.
Has it ever occurred to you how much you are saying to people even when you are not speaking? Unless you are a master of disguise, you are constantly sending messages about your true thoughts and feelings whether you are using words or not.
Studies show that your words account for only 7% of the messages you convey. The remaining 93% is non-verbal. 55% of communication is based on what people see and the other 38% is transmitted through tone of voice. So think about it. In the business setting, people can see what you are not saying. If your body language doesn't match your words, you are wasting your time.
Years ago the Christmas holidays in Scotland weren't exactly the same as they are now. Christmas itself was, until recent times, a purely religious festival (the New Year, now called Hogmanay, was and still is the main holiday for Scots). It was even forbbiden to celebrate Christmas until 1950. This ban had lasted for about 400 hundred years because of John Knox, the religious reformer in Scotland, who had a big influence on the Scottish Church, and probably because of him the ban was strictly enforced in law. Until the sixties, last century, Christmas wasn't even a public holiday, so people barely celebrated it. Adults would work, although the children still had their presents. It was almost as if you could say: "Wanna have a real traditional Scottish Christmas? Go to work on Christmas day!" But most people didn't like that and nowadays Christmas looks pretty much the same as the US version.