Christmas

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Children make their way along the path en route to the Christ Church, where President George Washington once worshipped, for their performance in the Nativity scene of a Christmas pageant in Alexandria on Sunday, Dec. 18, 2011. (Rod Lamkey Jr./The Washington Times)

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Children get into their costumes as they prepare for their performances in the Nativity section of the Christmas pageant at Christ Church in Alexandria on Sunday, Dec. 18, 2011. (Rod Lamkey Jr./The Washington Times)

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Benjamin Hawley (center), 9, of Arlington gives his Christmas list back to his mother after visiting with Santa, played by Michael Graham, at Tysons Corner Center in Tysons Corner on Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2011. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

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Santa makes his rounds and meets with Union soldiers with Brady's Michigan Sharpshooters during the Civil War-era Christmas event called "Christmas in Camp" at Fort Ward in Alexandria on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2011. This holiday event, which explores how Christmas was observed during the Civil War, features living-history interpreters, a Victorian Christmas tree, period music and a Santa Claus from the 1860s. (Rod Lamkey Jr./The Washington Times)

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People open their umbrellas under one of three Christmas wreaths on display at Union Station in Washington, D.C., Tuesday, December 6, 2011, as a steady light rain falls throughout the day. (Rod Lamkey Jr./The Washington Times)

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People open their umbrellas under one of three Christmas wreaths on display at Union Station in Washington, D.C., Tuesday, December 6, 2011, as a steady light rain falls throughout the day. (Rod Lamkey Jr./The Washington Times)

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President Obama waves to people gathered outside in the rain as he shops for Christmas gifts Wednesday in Alexandria. The president's spokesman said Mr. Obama's assertion that he ranked among the greatest presidents was taken out of context. (Associated Press)

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Visitors are seen reflected in the rain streaked Vietnam Memorial wall by the Christmas tree in the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. on Dec. 21, 2011. (T.J. Kirkpatrick/ The Washington Times)

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Selena Hajiani, at center, with William Hynes, both of Albany, N.Y., holds an ornament with a photograph of a soldier who went missing in the Vietnam War, on the Christmas tree at the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. on Dec. 21, 2011. (T.J. Kirkpatrick/ The Washington Times)

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9-year-old Benjamin Hawley, center, of Arlington, VA, gives his Christmas list back to his mother after visiting with Santa. (Andrew Harnik / The Washington Times)

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Air Force Brigadier General Select Peter Masciola head home after surprising his 10 year old son Kevin, left, and 12 year old daughter Tamara, center, at their school, Saint Columbus School, by coming home for Christmas after a 6 month deployment outside Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, December 19, 2011. (Andrew Harnik / The Washington Times)

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Air Force Brigadier General Select Peter Masciola head home after surprising his 10 year old son Kevin and 12 year old daughter Tamara at their school, Saint Columbus School, by coming home for Christmas after a 6 month deployment outside Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, December 19, 2011. (Andrew Harnik / The Washington Times)

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Tamara L. Miller, right, and her husband, Air Force Brigadier General Select Peter Masciola, center, speak to reporters after surprising their 10 year old son Kevin and 12 year old daughter Tamara at their school, Saint Columbus School, by coming home for Christmas after a 6 month deployment outside Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, December 19, 2011. (Andrew Harnik / The Washington Times)

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Tamara L. Miller, left, smiles as her husband, Air Force Brigadier General Select Peter Masciola, surprises his 10 year old son Kevin and 12 year old daughter Tamara at their school, Saint Columbus School, by coming home for Christmas after a 6 month deployment outside Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, December 19, 2011. (Andrew Harnik / The Washington Times)

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Air Force Brigadier General Select Peter Masciola kisses his daughter, 12 year old Tamara after surprising her and her brother 10 year old Kevin by coming home for Christmas after a 6 month deployment. (Andrew Harnik / The Washington Times)

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Demonstrators march past Christmas decorations in downtown Lisbon on Wednesday on their way to the finance ministry. They are protesting the government's proposal to increase the hours of work in a week. Portugal needed a $103 billion bailout earlier this year as its high debt load pushed it close to bankruptcy. The government is enacting an austerity program of pay cuts and tax hikes. The posters say "Increase in the work hours is robbing in the salary." (Associated Press)