Strategies Of Internationalization In Hospitality Industry Tourism Essay

Strategies Of Internationalization In Hospitality Industry Tourism Essay Introduction to the Hospitality Industry The hospitality industry consists of wide category of fields within the service industry that includes lodging, restaurants, event planning, theme parks, transportation and tourism industry. The hospitality industry is a several billion dollar industry that mostly depends on the availability of leisure time and disposable income. A hospitality unit such as a restaurant, hotel, or even an enjoyment park consists of multiple groups such as facility maintenance, direct operations (servers, housekeepers, porters, kitchen workers, etc.), management, marketing, and human resources. The hospitality industry covers a wide range of organizations offering food service and accommodation. The industry is divided into sectors according to the skill-sets required for the work involved. Sectors include accommodation, food and beverage, meeting and events, gaming, entertainment and recreation, tourism services, and visitor information. Hospitality industries that profitably cater to the needs of customers better than the competition are more likely able to sustain competitive advantage over time.   Catering to customer needs is dominant to delivering desirable levels of customer satisfaction in the tourism industry.   The formula for executing this task is particularly fragile in tourism because of the heterogeneous and simultaneous nature of service production and consumption.   Tourism experiences are rarely, if ever, delivered without in-depth employee-customer interactions.   Thus, tourism experiences are people-intensive on both sides of the service fence.   Additionally, tourists tend to have higher expectations for hospitality and overall levels of service quality because their context is typically more emotionally charged.   An empowered workforce is a secret to success in these unique area employees who are inspired and enabled to make meaningful and suitable decisions close to customers in order to take care of important customer needs.   Internationalization is described as the process of expanding firm activities beyond the borders of its domestic markets. Historically, the primary motivation for internationalization among firms was the need to become more efficient. Efficiency in the context of the post-industrial revolution era is achieved when a firm becomes larger and thus generates economies of scale. Many firms searched for and found attractive markets in countries with higher market growth rates, developing consumer consumption, and growing discretionary income. Strategies of internationalization in hospitality industry There are several strategies of internationalization to gain more customer satisfaction n with effectively and efficiently. The development of computer technology, communication technology, and new means of transportation all served as vital enabling forces to internationalization. Today, internationalization has become one of the key concern of firms As barriers to international trade fall down in many parts of the world, managers become aware of new opportunities in an ever-changing global environment. For example, a uniform currency (the euro) is gaining a leading position within the European market, Eastern European markets are developing rapidly, Asian markets are opening to the world, and the world business population has reached the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). International firms that consider all the elements in the geographic destination develop different strategies for each geographical market, each specially tailored for the specific market. Eg: In the area of express delivery services, Federal Express (FedEx) dominates the market in the Americas, yet in other markets, such as Europe, FedEx is not successful, and the market is dominated by DHL. Franchising agreements in which a franchiser grants a licensed privilege to a franchisee to do business. This may include permission to use a brand name, products, operating systems, central reservation systems, and more. Franchising is used by Hilton International as a component of its international strategy Management contracts in which management is separated from ownership, where a company can contract the management of its overseas operation to a management team in return for a fee. For a example: Sodehxo is one of the examples of a management contract company in the industry. Strategic alliances in which a connection or a partnership forms between two or more companies that can assistance from greater market coverage, economies of scope or scale, enlarged visibility for the brand name or minimized capital investment. One such example is the strategic alliance between Accor and the Japanese Hokke Group Joint venture, in which the multinational firm provides a partial equity stake to local businesses in order to secure their commitment to the agreement. Accor is actively involved in joint ventures in different Asian markets such as Korea, Vietnam, and Malaysia. Call Center Service Recovery means Telephone based customer service is the largest customer services channel in both North America, and Europe (The Editors 2007).   Call centers customer service volume is higher than electronic mail support service.Despite this lack of acknowledgement from call centers, there is a gap between the service provided and customer expectations. The Green strategy means industry perceptions and perspectives as a new market -driven business focus for gaining competitive advantages.All businesses no matter how benign or smart their operations are create some level of environmental harm. These impacts can be minimized or controlled by a adopting a well articulated firm-level green strategy. This require to green should not just be to address companywide environmental challenge but also a proactive strategy to stay on the right side of the regulation and for profitability. Issues and impacts of internationalization on hospitality industry Issues and impacts bring together the latest developments in international hospitality operations with the current management principles. It provides a truly international viewpoint on the hospitality and tourism industries and provides a fresh insight into hospitality and tourism management. Internationalization is a major trend for todays organizations. The services sector is also unquestionably becoming increasingly international in scope. A rapid Internationalization of world economy during the 1990s has increased the opportunities to export services and services are now the fastest growing part of international trade. Accelerated by their desire for growth and profit, incentives provided by the host governments, and a freer flow of capital throughout the world, hospitality organizations have discovered that their future survival and growth depend upon extending their services around the world. The hospitality industry is thus at the very core of international business. Hospitality companies therefore need to consider the implications of the global context in which they drive and must be prepared to address the questions that occur from this rapid changing environment. The Internationalization of business and lifestyles is characterized by communicating over huge distances in foreign languages, frequent travel to overseas countries, dealing in many currencies, and coping with a range of political and social systems, regulatory environments, cultures and customs. While these aspects of Internationalization of are easy to identify, understanding the underlying current and future trends can be analysis, however, reveals that a number of issues are reshaping the Internationalization hospitality industry, although there are clearly some complex questions that are still to be resolved: International spreading out with general product and brand position; Sales and marketing programs that fully capture global economies of scale; Organizational structures that tolerate delivery of services with local operational control; Cross-border employee training to support operations; and Use of the world capital markets as sources of funding. The Positive Impacts of Internationalization on the hospitality industry; 1. Exposure to different cultures: Due to the internationalization of the managers of hospitality industry, they would be able to gain knowledge of different cultures, as they get to fuse with people from different walks of life and thus, enhance their awareness. 2. Larger Market: Due to internationalization, the customer base has enlarged greatly. People travel not only for holidays, but business, health and various other purposes too. Thus, this has increased the market for the hospitality industry, which gets their major income from these international visitors. 3. Boosts the economy: As visitors come in and spend money it effects to the foreign exchange of the country and it gets increase. Thus it is of great value to the economy as internationalization helps to pump in money into the country. 4. Technology Advancement: Since one needs to attract as many tourists as possible, hospitality organizations frequently need to upgrade and improve their products and services. Example: Singapore Flyer, using faster and newer technology in hotels to so that the customer is satisfied. 5. Promotes Creativity: Organizations are continuously thinking of new and innovative ideas to draw more tourists. 6. More Job Opportunities: Due to internationalization, more visitors come into the country and thus more people will be required to serve and cater to their needs. So, with the arrival of internationalization, there are lot of more jobs opportunities for people within the areas which hospitality industries are located. 7. Boosts the Travel Industry: Due to internationalization more people travel around the countries. To facilitate this, the tours and travels industry require to develop as well. People who come into the country by air, ship or land, will use the transport services obtainable as well. 8. Variety of International Services / Cuisines: Since there are lot of diverse visitors from various cultures, traditions, cuisines, and languages, the hospitality industry includes recipes and various other services to cater to them. These services will be available to the locals too, which makes it even better. The negative impacts of internationalization on the hospitality industry; Language Barriers: Due to internationalization, the hospitality Industry can make use of people from different countries as it is usually cheaper. They may sometimes have troubles in communicating with the customers. Many customers get quite incensed as a result of this. Cultural Barriers: As there are people from a mixture of cultures, one needs to be watchful not to offend them. For Example, a muslim will not eat pork one needs to make sure not serve food which contains pork. (Unless specifically asked). Whats acceptable by one culture may be frowned upon by another. Events/Disasters in other Countries: A disaster or incident taking place in one country may affect to the country (the home country) also. For example, the financial crisis makes less people want to spend money or travel; due to increase in terrorism some visitors get are not ready to travel to certain countries. Seasonal Employment: During climax periods, a lot of jobs are available in some industries, but as soon as the tourists go back to their countries, the jobs get disappeared as well. For example: Goa India; the locals in Goa get their revenue only during the climax season, (Dec- Feb and April July) In other seasons, they have no jobs and no earnings. Growth of the Communication Technology: Due to international barriers, there has been a constant growth in the use of technology for communication (through the internet, voice recordings). This removes the human touch. Developing Countries: Countries that are unable to keep up with the advancement in technology tend to lose out. Example: Africa does not have the infrastructure or technology as yet to welcome a large amount of foreign visitors, though it does have a lot of natural attractions. To increase the flow, it would have to improve conditions; otherwise tourists have a vast sea of areas to choose from. Increase in Crime Rate: With the increase in tourists, crimes increase too. Example: pick-pocketing, hustling, rape, smuggling. Bad Habits: People from other countries sometimes influence the local youth in a bad way. Increase in drugs and promiscuous behavior, etc Integration of the hospitality industry To offer a better customer service and keep loyal client come back todays hospitality industry require integration system. Thereby they can maintain their controls and improve their business. To have a smooth running integration system can aid organizations with a sustainable competitive advantage by improving product quality and service while reducing cost. Good performance and a high-quality, sustainable product can also help a company to reduce the risk of conflict or problems with suppliers, governments, staff and local communities, and improve its status as a respected partner in destinations. This may mean enhanced access to key business resources such as capital, the ability to develop products to meet growing market demand, improved relationships with governments, and a motivated and loyal staff. Eg: The computer software is a combination of various modules, which cater to the various aspects of hotel management. It including with hotel staff management, hotel reservation and hotel accounting are taken care of by the different modules in a single software unit. Many software companies have gathered more areas of hotel management into their software. All the operations like bookings, billings, reservations, check-ins, checkouts and etc, are available on screen and can do within few clicks of mouse. Therefore, taken as a whole, efficiency of the hotel staff and the management system is increased. Clients can reserve the rooms and other services through the hotel website directly. There is no room for any third party connection in this events.. However, there are some advantages in this integration as follows; It leads to reduction of transportation costs as the common ownership results in closer geographic proximity. The transaction costs can be controlled if a firm acquires the other firms in the vertical chain, then one division of the same company will transfer goods to other divisions. So, transaction costs in form of transport, cost of negotiation, cost of control etc. will be eliminated. The overall average cost of the firm will decline because if the divisions are under same management control then there will be in house supply and departmental heads will determine the transfer price. An example could be pokarna granites limited. The company was established in 1991 as a partnership firm quarrying black galaxy granite in India. Transportation of granite to factories where they can be cut and polished is quite difficult. Since that time, the company has grown to a major quarrier and fabricator of stones from India and around the world. From the very beginning, the company has believed in vertical integration. They begin with the finest raw materials, invariably from their very own quarries, assuring consistent, high quality suppliers. If a firm purchases semi finished goods from an outside source then the work culture will be different and there are chances of dispute regarding terms and conditions of supply or if the outside supplier makes breach of contract and does not supply the goods on time then the firm can not fulfil its commitment to the third party and the goodwill of a firm will come to an end. Organizational inferences; If the supplier supplying the raw materials to a firm is big, in terms of size and structure, then it will dictate the terms and conditions. On the other hand if an in-house source is used then there will be no market variation and the supplier can not impose any unfavorable conditions. We can split the benefits of integration into short-term or static gains and more long-term dynamic gains.    The establishment of the Single market within Europe has led to significant gains for the participating member states. The removal of internal market barriers and the harmonization of national regulations are expected to lead to an increase in trade and reductions in cost. Conclusion Taken as a whole, Internationalization and integration are two major parts which leads to the growth of the Hospitality Industry and their impacts directly involve to the evolutionary change in the Industry.

Custom Essays: Hamlet as an Accessory to Ophelias Suicide

Hamlet as an Accessory to Ophelia's Suicide  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   William Shakespeare's character of Ophelia in Hamlet, suffers greatly, from the time she learns of her father Polonius' death, until her own mysterious death.   In Hamlet, Gertrude, Horatio and Claudius refer to her state, and conclude that she is crazy1[1].   Though there is some truth to their claim, Shakespeare created Ophelia as an overly- dramatic character, who is somewhat exaggerating her emotions to give an impression of madness.   Although their impression of Ophelia can be supported, evidence is not shown as much in her words, as it is shown in her actions.   Ophelia's songs seem like riddles and nonsense2[2], yet they are similar to the patterns of speech by Hamlet, revealing truths and true emotions, and at times sarcasm.  Ã‚   However, Ophelia's whimsical, and child-like behavior is quite different than the prim, reserved Ophelia at the beginning of the play.   Still, this behavior is not consistent with the   sad words in her grief-lad en songs, nor is it consistent with a woman in grief rather Ophelia's physical behavior is the strongest evidence that Ophelia may exhibit signs of madness.   Hamlet's act to convince his insanity to all that knew him influenced Ophelia to perform following Hamlet's lead with   his feigned madness, eventually leading to the girl's suicide, thus implicating Hamlet in her death.    In act four, scene five; Gertrude and Horatio discuss Ophelia's worsening condition directly prior to her entrance.   They attribute the young girls' decline to her concern for her recently dead father.   Ophelia displays signs of being overly sensitive and volatile, which concerns Horatio: "Spurns enviously at straws, speaks things in doubt / That carry but... ...    Notes: 1[1] Hamlet, (4.5.3,5-10). 2[2] Hamlet, (4.5.7) 3[3] Hamlet, (4.5.6-7).   4[4] Neely, Carol Thomas, "Document in Madness", University of Illinois, Shakespeare Criticism Yearbook 1991, Volume 19, pp 333-334. 5[5] Hamlet, (4.5.21).   6[6] Hamlet, (4.5.29-32) 7[7]Hamlet, (2.2.186) 8[8] Turner, John, "Hamlet: The Court in Transition".   University College of Swansea, Shakespearean Criticism, Volume 16, Yearbook 1990, p. 253. 9[9] Neely, p. 333. 10[10] Hamlet, (4.5.47-54) 11[11] Neely, p. 333. 12[12] Hamlet, (4.5.55). 13[13] Neely, p. 333. 14[14] Hamlet, (4.5.159). 15[15] Hamlet, (4.5.176-186) 16[16] Persoon, James. "Shakespeare's Hamlet: the meaning of Ophelia's distribution of herbs and flowers." Explicator, v. 55, Wntr 1997, pp 70-71. 17[17] Persoon, p 71. 18[18]Hamlet, (2.2109)   

Christianization throughout History Essay

Introduction â€Å"Curiosity about life in all of its aspects, I think, is the secret of great creative people†, Leo Burnett once said. I agree, and can proudly say that curiosity is my motive for writing this project. The purpose of this project is pure research. I want to gain knowledge about the subject of my choice and also improve my writing and planning skills. I chose this topic after watching a National Geographic program concerning Mithraism in ancient Rome. I became very curious about Religious customs, Christian in particular. My main form of research was the Internet. I read University studies and encyclopedia articles. Finally I ended up with 3 research questions. I wanted to find out the true origins of the 3 major Christian holidays: Christmas, Easter and Halloween. Where their (sometimes strange) traditions came from, if other cultures celebrated similar holidays in the past and how they came to be the Christian holidays we know today. 1. What are the true origins of Christmas? The dictionary definition of â€Å"Christmas† is: The annual festival of the Christian church commemorating the birth of Jesus. It is basically a feast in which Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, the most prominent figure in Christian belief, making this their most cherished holiday. Christmas is celebrated on December 25 (or January 7 in eastern orthodox churches, due to incompatibility between the Julian and Gregorian calendars). Popular customs of the holiday include gift-giving, music, church celebrations, a special meal, and decorations like Christmas trees, lights, garlands, mistletoe, nativity scenes, and holly. Today, Christmas is celebrated in many places around the world by Christians and an increasing amount of non-Christians, but few people know the true pagan roots of this holiday. First and foremost, the early Christians did not celebrate the birth of Christ. There were two reasons for it: The first was the simple truth that no one knew the exact day of Christ’s birth. Today, most historians believe, according to the biblical description, that his birth took place around September (approx. six months after Passover). One thing is sure though, that it is very unlikely that Jesus was born in December. The biblical story tells us there were shepherds tending their sheep in the fields that night. This is quite unlikely to have happened during a cold winter. The second reason came further in the church’s development. During the first three hundred years of the religion the church in Rome discouraged celebrating the birth of Christ, not wanting it to seem more like a pagan ritual than a Christian holiday. So why is Christ’s birth celebrated on the 25th of December? The Answer is simple: Christianization, or the conversion of native pagan culture to Christian use. Church officials developed different methods of conversion to Christianity, and the main one was based on the belief that conversions were easier if people were allowed to retain the outward forms of their traditions, while claiming that the traditions were in honor of the Christian God. Basically, the traditions and practices themselves were kept, but the reasoning behind them was altered. Many pagan societies held celebrations around the winter solstice (the shortest day of the year, which occurs between the 21st and the 25th of December) with the prevailing theme being the welcoming of the sun and the joy in the rebirth of the world. There are also many stories of children of wonder being born on or near the winter solstice, like Mithras, Attis, Dionysus or Apollo, who are all savior deities sent in manifestation at the darkest time of the year. The oldest winter solstice celebration known to us took place in ancient Egypt over 4000 years ago. Large parties were held to celebrate the rebirth of the sun god Horus. The held a 12-day festival that mirrored their 12 month calendar, which revolved around Horus. This Egyptian idea of a 12 day celebration was also the first of its kind. Local countries adopted these ideas from the Egyptians (perhaps wanting to share in Egypt’s success). A prominent celebration was the Babylonian â€Å"Zagmuk† honoring the creator-sun god Marduk. The Babylonians believed that while Marduk had created the world peaceful and beautiful he has to battle the monsters of chaos to keep it so. Every year as the weather grows colder the monsters regain their strength and Marduk has to fight them off, but he needs the help of the people. This battle lasted for 12 days and it was the duty of the people to cheer Marduk on and help him win the war. Only then peace would be restored, the earth’s beauty renewed and the people would be safe for another year. As we move east we reach the Persian â€Å"Sacaea†, a celebration honoring the return of the sun. The Sacaea was also celebrated by the Greek in honor of Zeus’s defeat of Kronos and the Titans. These celebrations consisted mainly of feasting, partying and light ing of large bonfires. The Roman holiday season lasted a week and was called Dies Natalis Invicti Solis, the Birth of the Unconquered Sun. It began on the 25th of December with the Saturnalia, the holiday honoring Saturn (the God of agriculture) and ended with the Kalends of January (the roman new year’s), which represented the triumph of life over death. This holiday was celebrated in honor of Sol Invictus (the invincible sun), The official Roman Sun God (whose day of rest was Sunday). Mithraism was also a common cult in the Roman Empire, and many celebrated the birth of Mithras on this date as well. This festival was marked by much feasting, gift giving and merrymaking in general. The Pagans of northern Europe also celebrated the winter solstice, with a festival called â€Å"Yule†. Yule has many names for the different tribes: For the Celts it was â€Å"Nodlaig†, for the Saxons â€Å"Gehul†, and for the Welsh is was â€Å"Hal†. More names were Juul, Oel, Heol and many more. The word Yule is derived from the Norse word Iul, meaning wheel. The wheel was a pagan symbol for the sun and for the cycle of life. The Yule celebration lasted for a number of days and involved feasting, fires, and sacrifices. Bonfires blazed in honor of the sun’s struggle against, and eventual triumph over, the darkness and cold of winter. One of the most prominent symbols of Yule was the evergreen tree. The evergreens seemed to have magic powers enabling them to resist the short and cold days. Evergreen trees would often be brought into home and evergreen boughs were carried as luck totems (especially Holly, which was considered the food of the gods). Sacred ceremonies were held by druids surrounding and worshiping these trees. More traditions included kissing under the mistletoe (a fertility ritual) and gift giving. Even the idea of Santa Clause can be found in many Yule celebrations. The Pagans viewed these celebrations of the return of the sun as the fact that good will prevail over evil, which made it easy to adapt them to Christianity, seeing how Jesus was born to save the world (according to the belief). Jesus has often been referred to as the â€Å"light of the world† and it only seemed fitting that his birth would be celebrated with the rebirth of the sun. So, in the year 350, Pope Julius the first and the roman emperor Constantine declared that Christ’s birth would be celebrated on December 25. There is little doubt that he was trying to make it as painless as possible for the pagan Romans (who remained a majority at that time) to convert to Christianity. The new religion went down a bit easier, knowing that their feasts would not be taken away from them. However, some experts believe it went the other way around. They say the early Christians were tempted by the partying and feasting, so the Christian leaders quickly decided to give the holiday a Christian reasoning so as not to lose their followers. 2. What are the true origins of Easter? Easter is the second major holiday in the Christian liturgical year. According to the New Testament, Jesus rose from the dead 3 days after his crucifixion. Easter Day is the celebration of his resurrection, also called Resurrection Sunday. Prior to Easter Day come a 40 day period called Lent. This is a time for fasting, praying and penance. The last week of Lent is called Holy week and it contains Good Friday, which honors the crucifixion of Christ. After Resurrection Sunday comes a 50 day period called Eastertide, ending with Pentecost Sunday. This is a time for rejoicing and growth. Easter is not fixed in the civil calendar because it is a lunar holiday. Easter Sunday occurs on the first Sunday after the full moon proceeding the vernal (spring) equinox, which occurs on March 21. Easter customs and symbols include a large feast (with ham as the main course), a sunrise worship service, egg hunting and decorating, hot cross buns, flowers, the Easter bunny and outdoor activities. The thing is, none of the customs and symbols, or even the name of this holiday, has anything to do with Christianity. The word Easter is actually the name of the pagan goddess of fertility, also named Ostare, Oestre, Ostara, Ishtar, Ashtoreth, and Asthart in different cultures. Many pagan cultures held vernal festivals in honor of this goddess, celebrating the arrival of spring and the awakening of life. The oldest of these festivals was held in ancient Babylon, Phrygia (modern day Turkey), Canaan and Phoenicia. The Phoenicians were a civilization of traders who brought the Easter customs to Greece, Rome and the northern countries of Great Britain. The legend of this spring festival begins with Nimrod. Nimrod is, according to the book of Genesis the son of Cush, grandson of Ham and great grandson of Noah. Nimrod was a powerful leader who formed the first empire in the world, Babylon, by conquering the â€Å"Land of the Seven Cities† (the Persian gulf). In his rule he made the people rebel against God and join in his own mystery religion, in which he figured prominently. When Nimrod eventually died, his mystery religion continued on. His wife Queen Semiramis saw to that. Once he was dead, she deified him as the Sun-god. In various cultures he later became known as Baal, the Great Life Giver, the god of fire, Baalim, Bel, Molech, etc. Queen Semiramis continued developing her mystery religion. She set herself as a goddess as well, proclaiming to have hatched from an egg that fell down from the moon on the first full moon after the spring equinox (she taught that the moon went through a 28 day cycle and ovulated when full). She became known as the goddess of fertility and the moon, mother of all life. She later became known as Ishtar, or Easter. Semiramis soon became pregnant, claiming that is the rays of the sun god Baal which caused her to conceive. She gave birth to Tammuz, who was the supposed savior, the son of God. Tammuz was a hunter, and was one day killed by a wild boar. He was sent to the underworld, but through his mother’s weeping he was resurrected and allowed to ascend to be with his father Baal. Another version tells that Semiramis (or Ishtar) was so grief stricken that she followed Tammuz to the underworld. With her gone, the world became a cold and barren place. Ea, the Babylonian God of water and wisdom, sprinkled them both with the water of life, allowing them to return to the world for 6 months of the year. The remaining part of the year Tammuz was to return to the underworld, causing Ishtar to follow him and the cycle to continue. This is how the people explained to themselves the miracle of spring that happened every year. Each year a spring festival was held to celebrate Tammuz’s resurrection from the underworld on the first Sunday after the full moon of the spring equinox, Ishtar Sunday. All of the common Easter traditions originate from this belief. Ham was to be eaten as a reminder of Tammuz’s death. The sunrise worship service is a common pagan practice honoring the Sun God. The egg is probably the oldest symbol of fertility and new life in pagan worship. Then there is the story of Ishtar’s hatching from the moon egg, known as the Ishatr, or Easter egg. The hare too, is an old fertility symbol, due to its rapid rate of reproduction. The story of the Easter bunny brings us back to Ishtar, or Ostara as she was called in northern Europe. The Goddes Ostara arrived late from the underworld one spring and found a little bird whose wings had frozen from the snow. Full of pity for the creature she made him her pet and turned him into a snow white hare (which would then become her symbol). She also gave him the gift of being able to run with incredible speed. In remembrance of his earlier form as abird, the hare had the ability to lay eggs, which were rainbow colored, but only on one day of the year (guess which?). The Hare eventually managed to annoy the goddess, and she put in the sky as the constellation Lepus (the hare). He was allowed to return to the earth once each year on Easter Sunday to lay his eggs. It became an Easter tradition to seek out the Easter hare’s rainbow colored eggs. Also, in Celtic culture, it was forbidden to eat hare meat except on Beltane (the 1st of May) when a ceremonial hare hunt was held (Beltane is the Celtic name for Easter – Bel meaning the same as Baal). The hare remains a symbol of luck and fertility even today. The Act of fasting in preparation for a great occasion can be found in many lands. The Babylonians and their neighbors fasted for 40 days in preparation for the annual celebration of Tammuz’s resurrection. This is probably the direct source of the Christian Lent, but a pennence period like this can be found in many other societies as well. Pagans in Mexico and the Andes mountains practiced a 40 day fast in honor of the sun around this time of year. The Egyptians fasted for 40 days to honor Adonis and Osiris. The lighting of fires was also a common pagan ritual. Fire was the symbol of Baal and the fires were used in ceremonies and even for human sacrifices. The New Testament says nothing about sunrise ceremonies, lent, colored eggs or bunnies. These are all classic examples of Christianization. The Christian leaders wanted to convert the pagans to Christianity, so they decided to adopt their rituals and give them Christian significance in order to make the transition easier. But perhaps there is another, more primitive reason. People enjoy celebrations and festivities, and do not care for the most part who or what the celebration honors. The pagans probably did not care what name was given to their festival, as long as they could continue feasting and rejoicing. 3. What are the true origins of Halloween? The name Halloween is actually a Scottish shortening of the name â€Å"All Hallows Evening† or â€Å"All Hallows Eve†. It is celebrated on October 31st and it is so named because it comes before All Saints Day (or All Hallows day) which occurs on the first of November. According to Christian tradition, the souls of dead roam the earth until All Saints Day, when the prayers of the people free them from purgatory and allow them to reach heaven. Halloween is the last night the dead spend on earth and their last chance of gaining vengeance on their enemies before moving on to the next life. To avoid being recognized by a soul, Christians would wear masks and costumes to disguise themselves. This is where the custom of dressing up and â€Å"trick or treating† came from. More traditions of Halloween include costume parties, carving jack-o’-lanterns, lighting bonfires, apple bobbing, visiting haunted attractions and playing pranks. In these traditions we can see the pagan origins of Halloween crystal clear. The Celts of Northern Europe celebrated their New Year on the evening of October 31st and the first of November (the Celts followed a lunar calendar and their days began at sunset). This holiday was named â€Å"Samhain† in Ireland, Galan Gaeaf in Wales and Allantide in Cornwall, and is Celtic for â€Å"summer’s end†. They believed that the New Year starts with the death of the sun god in winter. It was also believed that the veils of the world were thinnest as the old year waned into the new and that troublesome spirits, ghosts of the dead, fairies, and demons were free to roam about, scaring people and damaging crops. Traditionally, Samhain was time to take stock of the herds and grain supplies, and decide which animals would need to be slaughtered in order for the people and livestock to survive the winter. The reason for this was that the meat could keep since the cold months have come and also since summer grass is gone and free foraging is no longer possible . Large fires played a large part in the festivities. They were called Bonfires because the bones of the slaughtered cattle were thrown in as sacrifices to the sun and spirits. Often two bonfires would be built side by side, and the people would walk between the fires as a ritual of purification. The druids (celtic priests) performed ceremonies around these fires including divination concerning marriage, luck, health and death. Since the barrier to the otherworld was so thin this was the best time for these rites. Each family in the village would extinguish the fire in their home, and then relight their hearth from the common flame. This ritual was said to bond the village together and protect each family from the spirits roaming about. More attempts to ward off spirits included wearing costumes and masks and carving candle lanterns from turnips. Large turnips were hollowed out, carved with face and placed in windows. Samhain was also a night of mischief and confusion. The spirits were impersonated by young men with masked, veiled or blackened faces, dressed in white or disguises of straw. These young men would go from house to house â€Å"trick or treating† as a form of bribery. The family would give the â€Å"spirits† fruits or nuts to keep them from damaging their crops. Mischievous pranks were played on the ungenerous including moving farm equipment and livestock and bombarding their houses with cabbages pulled at random from gardens. Other than these young men people usually preferred to stay indoors on Samhain night. During the Roman rule in Britain (43-410 AD) aspects of Roman religion were incorporated into Samhain. Candied apples and bobbing for apples became associated with this holiday because of Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit trees and gardens, whose symbol was the apple. Traditions often involve fruit centerpieces and decorations. Furthermore, the Romans observed the holiday of Feralia, intended to give rest and peace to the departed. Sacrifices were made in honor of the dead and prayers were offered as well. The jack – o – lantern is perhaps the most famous Halloween symbol. It is named after the phenomenon of strange light flickering over peat bogs, also known as will –o –the wisp, representing the scary spirits roaming about. Furthermore, the Celtic folklore tells about a fellow named Stingy Jack, a thief that managed to trick and trap the devil. In order to be set free, the devil had to promise never to takes Jack’s soul. When the day came and Jack died, he wasn’t allowed to enter Heaven because of all the bad deeds he had committed in his life. He was sent to Hell, but the Devil kept his promise and wouldn’t take Jack in. Jack was condemned to roam the earth with only a burning ember in a turnip lamp to light his way. This is where the tradition of carving vegetable lamps came from. When the first English immigrants came to North America they traded the turnip for the larger native pumpkin, which was larger and readily available. This pumpkin lantern is the jack- o –lantern known to us today. Another important holiday honoring the dead belonged to the ancient Aztecs. It was named â€Å"The Day of The Dead† (El Dà ­a de los Muertos) and is still celebrated in Mexico, South America and around the world. Originally it fell on the ninth month of the Aztec calendar, symbolizing the nine stops the dead must pass on their way to heaven, and was celebrated for an entire month. Sacrifices were made to the lady of the dead, Mictecacihuatl. Today, â€Å"The Day of The Dead† is celebrated on the 1-2 of November, probably due to the Catholic Spanish conquering which led to the merge of the Day of The Dead with All Saints Day. Traditions of this holiday include a family meal with emphasis on remembering deceased family members, decorating graves and family altars, and prayer. These are the basic traditions, but in different cultures activities may vary, from kite-flying in Guatemala to skull decorating in Bolivia. The essence of this day is celebrating the lives of those who are gone and helping them on their way. The early Christians also had a day celebrating the remembrance of all the church’s martyrs. It was established by Pope Boniface the 4th and was set on May 13. Later, it was Pope Gregory the 3rd that changed the date to November 1st, and renamed it â€Å"All Saints day†, so it would correspond with the existing pagan holidays. Christianity continued to spread throughout the world, and pagan holidays were either Christianized or forgotten. Samhain and The Day of The Dead were absorbed into Halloween. Their traditions and rituals were preserved and incorporated into the new holiday, but their names were omitted. However, now, despite all of the Christian efforts, people essentially enjoy the aspects of the holiday that derive from pagan origins. The Halloween celebrated by the great majority of people today is just a fun holiday, and has lost its religious signifance for most people. Conclusion To summarize everything, I believe it can be safely said that Christian holidays rarely mean and originate where they seemed to at first. Christianization can be found throughout history in many different cultures and aspects, from major holidays to minor superstitions. Celebrations of the winter solstice were common around the world, and Christmas was just the latest addition. The early Christians merely replaced the birth of the sun with the birth of the son, but kept the rituals and traditions of the pagan festivals. The Easter holiday even managed to keep its pagan name. The festival of the earth’s rebirth is recycled today as the day honoring the resurrection of Jesus, and celebrated in the same way the Babylonians did 3000 years ago. Even Halloween is just a pagan holiday dipped in holy water. It’s as pagan as you can get, honoring ghosts, spirits and the like, but it got Christianized nonetheless. In my personal opinion, there is nothing religious about these holidays anymore. They merely represent how far ideas can travel when you take advantage of human nature. The early Christians understood that people are just simple beings who like to have a good time, and don’t really care in whose honor. Christianization was a smart idea, but I believe it breaks a few copyright laws. Working on this project I improved my research and writing skills, and also my time management. If I had been given the chance I would have written more about the Christianization of sacred places, like the pantheon and Celtic sacred groves. All in all, I learned a lot during the entire process and am satisfied with the result.    Bibliography Websites 1. http://www.nvcc.edu/home/lshulman/rel232/resource/RileyPaper.htm 2. http://www.pocm.info 3. http://searchforbibletruths.blogspot.com/2011/04/easter-origins-traditions-and-customs.html 4. http://www.thercg.org/books/ttooe.html 5. http://www.lasttrumpetministries.org/tracts/tract1.html 6. http://www.goddessgift.com/Pandora’s_Box/Easter-history.htm 7. http://www.essortment.com/christmas-pagan-origins-42543.html 8. http://www.wikipedia.org 9. http://www.simpletoremember.com/vitals/Christmas_TheRealStory.htm 10. http://www.goodnewsaboutgod.com/studies/holidays2.htm 11. http://christmas-celebrations.org/ 12. http://www.near-death.com/experiences/origen048.html 13. http://www.frontline-apologetics.com/Mithras.html 14. http://ldolphin.org/semir.html 15. http://www.sccs.swarthmore.edu/users/08/ajb/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Ninus.html 16. http://www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/edn-t020.html 17. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05224d.htm 18. http://www.goodnewsaboutgod.com/studies/holidays2.htm 19. https://pantherfile.uwm.edu/barnold/www/lectures/holloween.html 20. http://spanish.about.com/cs/culture/a/dayofdead.htm 21. http://www.traditioninaction.org/religious/e008rp_Halloween.htm 22. http://landscaping.about.com/cs/landscapecolor/a/halloweenOrigin.htm 23. http://www.allaboutpopularissues.org/origin-of-halloween.htm 24. http://inventors.about.com/od/sstartinventions/a/Samhain.htm 25. http://www.etsu.edu/writing/adcomp_f06/students/halloween.htm 26. http://www.cbn.com/spirituallife/onlinediscipleship/halloween/halloween_Pagan_Ankerberg.aspx 27. http://www.albee.org/halloween/history.htm Articles 1. Julia A. Gengenbach, â€Å"Is Christmas Christian†, Prism University of Wisonsin- Eau Claire Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, 2002 2. Prof. Bettina Arnold, â€Å"Halloween Customs in the Celtic World†, Center of Celtic Studies, Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee, 2001 3. Donna-Lynn Riley, â€Å"Christian Feast Days and their Relationship to Pagan Holidays† , Introduction to World Religions, 2003

James Ritty and the Invention of the First Cash Register

James Ritty was an inventor who owned several saloons, including one in Dayton, Ohio. In 1878, while traveling on a steamboat trip to Europe, Ritty was fascinated by an apparatus that counted how many times the ships propeller went around. He began to contemplate whether or not a similar mechanism could be made to record the cash transactions made at his saloons. Five years later, Ritty and John Birch received a patent for inventing the cash register. Ritty then invented what was nicknamed the Incorruptible Cashier or the first working  mechanical cash register. His invention also featured that familiar bell sound referred to in advertising as The Bell Heard Round the World.   While working as a saloonkeeper, Ritty also opened a small factory in Dayton to manufacture his cash registers. The company did not prosper and by 1881, Ritty became overwhelmed with the responsibilities of running two businesses and decided to sell all his interests in the cash register business. National Cash Register Company After reading a description of the cash register designed by Ritty and sold by the National Manufacturing Company, John H. Patterson decided to buy both the company and the patent. He renamed the company the National Cash Register Company in 1884. Patterson improved the cash register by adding a paper roll to record sales transactions. Later on, there were other improvements. Inventor and businessman Charles F. Kettering  designed a cash register with an electric motor in 1906 while working at the National Cash Register Company. He later worked at General Motors and invented an electric self-starter (ignition) for a Cadillac. Today, the NCR Corporation operates  as  a computer hardware, software and electronics company that makes  self-service kiosks, point-of-sale terminals, automated teller machines, processing systems, barcode scanners  and business consumables. They also provide IT maintenance support services. NCR, formerly based in Dayton, Ohio, moved to Atlanta in 2009. The headquarters was located in unincorporated  Gwinnett County, Georgia, with several locations throughout the United States and Canada.  The companys headquarters is now based in Duluth, Georgia.   The Remainder of James  Rittys Life James Ritty opened another saloon  called the Pony House in 1882. For his latest saloon, Ritty commissioned wood carvers from  Barney and Smith Car Company  to turn 5,400 pounds of  Honduras  mahogany  into a bar. The bar was 12 feet tall and 32 feet wide. The initials JR were put into the middle and the saloons interior  was built so that the left and right sections looked like the interior of a passenger railcar, featuring giant mirrors set back about a foot with curved, hand-tooled leather covered elements at the top and curved bezel mirror-encrusted sections on each side. The Pony House saloon was torn down in 1967, but the bar was saved and today is showcased as the bar at Jays Seafood in Dayton. Ritty retired from the saloon business in 1895. He died of heart trouble while at home. He is entombed with his wife Susan and his brother John at Daytons  Woodland Cemetery.