More Americans hunted for bargains over the weekend than ever before as retailers lured them online and into stores with big discounts and an earlier-than-usual start to the holiday shopping season. A record 226 million shoppers visited stores and websites during the four-day holiday weekend starting on Thursday, the Thanksgiving Day holiday, up from 212 million last year, according to early estimates by the National Retail Federation released on Sunday. Americans spent more, too: The average holiday shopper spent $398.62 over the weekend, up from $365.34 a year ago.

Black Friday proved to be troublesome at several of the retailer's outlets, with at least two dozen shoppers injured and several arrests stemming from overzealous shopping, robberies and other incidents. Troubles at the nation's largest retailer began late Thanksgiving Day, when about 20 customers, including kids, suffered minor injuries at a Los Angeles Walmart after they were pepper sprayed by a shopper. Police, who are still searching for the woman, say she used the pepper spray to gain an edge over fellow shoppers vying for discounted Xbox video game players.

The Ghost of Christmas Present is ____________, and the Ghost of Christmas Past is ___________.

The annual Leesburg dispute over holiday displays is getting as predictable as the rush of shoppers on Black Friday.   A skeleton, dressed as Santa Claus, nailed to a cross, was torn down by an enraged woman outside of the Loudoun County Courthouse.   The display was legally there, with the consent of the county, officials said.   Mary Czarnecki, a county resident, wasn't having it. She, piece by piece and bone by bone, took "Skele-Claus" off the cross and laid him on the courthouse's lawn.

They were a boy and girl. Yellow, meagre, ragged, scowling, wolfish; but prostrate, too, in their humility. Where graceful youth should have filled their features out, and touched them with its freshest tints, a stale and shrivelled hand, like that of age, had pinched, and twisted them, and pulled them into shreds. Where angels might have sat enthroned, devils lurked, and glared out menacing. No change, no degradation, no perversion of humanity, in any grade, through all the mysteries of wonderful creation, has monsters half so horrible and dread.

Hanukah is the Jewish celebration of light. The festival runs for eight consecutive evenings. _____________________. On the final night of the celebration, the largest of the gifts is traditionally exchanged.

Scrooge looked about him for the Ghost, and saw it not. As the last stroke ceased to vibrate, he remembered the prediction of old Jacob Marley, and lifting up his eyes, beheld a solemn Phantom, draped and hooded, coming, like a mist along the ground, towards him.

The ghost pointed to Bob Cratchit's home. It was a small house, with little more than one main room inside. The children were busy helping they mother cook the dinner. Scrooge smiled when he smelled the delicious odors wafting from inside the kitchen.

Tiny Tim had a heart of gold. Tiny Tim was the youngest of the Cratchits' five children. Tiny Tim was handicapped.

"To Mr. Scrooge," said Tiny Tim raising his cup, "the founder of the feast!"