Christmas

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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)

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Scott Weiland's take on traditional Christmas music is either awful, or it's awfully advanced. You can decide Dec. 19 at the 9:30 Club.

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Rudolph's nose (left) and chilly pear tree are two light cocktails made with Champagne, which means they're perfect for Christmas brunch. (Associated Press)

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**FILE** Christmas lights illuminate 125th Street in Harlem. (Associated Press)

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Ambulances are seen near a Christmas market in Liege, Belgium, on Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2011, after several men attacked a crowd in a busy square with hand grenades and gunfire. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

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Marvin Stoner sends some holiday cards at the post office in Bethlehem, Ind., on Tuesday. For decades, the post office in Bethlehem has been a Christmas destination for thousands of cards, each seeking a red-inked imprint (above) depicting the three wise men following a star. The stamps could soon be a Christmas memory. (Associated Press)

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Greenery referred to as a "holiday tree" by Gov. Lincoln Chafee is lit Tuesday in the statehouse in Providence, R.I. Mr. Chafee and Republican state Rep. Doreen Costa battled over whether to call the official spruce a "holiday" tree or a "Christmas" tree. (Associated Press)

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Creative ornaments hang from one of the Christmas trees during The National Christmas Tree Lighting 2011 on The Elipse in Washington, DC, Thursday, December 1, 2011. (Rod Lamkey Jr/ The Washington Times)

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A Christmas tree is seen with a setting sun during The National Christmas Tree Lighting 2011 on The Elipse in Washington, DC, Thursday, December 1, 2011. (Rod Lamkey Jr/ The Washington Times)

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Six well-armed women are among the many people who have taken up the Scottsdale Gun Club's offer for a ready-for-the-Christmas-card photograph with Santa Claus, complete with semiautomatic assault weapons.

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Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee's official "Take Back the White House" Christmas tree ornament is among the holiday offerings at gopstore.com.

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A worker with the architect of the Capitol cuts ropes that were tying down the branches of a 65-foot Sierra white fir from California's Stanislaus National Forest that will become the U.S. Capitol Christmas tree in Washington on Monday, Nov. 28, 2011. (T.J. Kirkpatrick/The Washington Times)

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A worker with the architect of the Capitol cuts ropes that were tying down the branches of a 65-foot Sierra white fir from California's Stanislaus National Forest that will become the U.S. Capitol Christmas tree in Washington on Monday, Nov. 28, 2011. (T.J. Kirkpatrick/The Washington Times)