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135-531: The plot follows the Christmas holiday misadventures of the Stone family in a small New England town when the eldest son, played by Mulroney, brings his uptight girlfriend (played by Parker) home with the intention of proposing to her with a cherished heirloom ring. Overwhelmed by the hostile reception, she begs her sister to join her for emotional support, which triggers further complications. The Family Stone

270-658: A Festival in the Lutheran Churches , a solemnity in the Roman Catholic Church , and a Principal Feast of the Anglican Communion . Other Christian denominations do not rank their feast days but nevertheless place importance on Christmas Eve/Christmas Day, as with other Christian feasts like Easter, Ascension Day, and Pentecost. As such, for Christians, attending a Christmas Eve or Christmas Day church service plays an important part in

405-463: A Nativity play ; an exchange of Christmas cards ; attending church services ; a special meal ; and displaying various Christmas decorations , including Christmas trees , Christmas lights , nativity scenes , garlands , wreaths , mistletoe , and holly . Additionally, several related and often interchangeable figures, known as Santa Claus , Father Christmas , Saint Nicholas , and Christkind , are associated with bringing gifts to children during

540-542: A religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world . It is a feast central to Christianity . In the liturgical year , preparation for Christmas begins on the First Sunday of Advent (the fourth Sunday before), and it is followed by Christmastide , which historically in the West lasts twelve days and culminates on Twelfth Night . Christmas Day is a public holiday in many countries ,

675-411: A "Tomatometer" of 75% or better and at least 80 reviews (40 for limited release movies) from "Tomatometer" critics (including 5 Top Critics). Films earning this status will keep it unless the positive critical percentage drops below 70%. Films with 100% positive ratings that lack the required number of reviews may not receive the "Certified Fresh" seal. When a film or TV show reaches the requirements for

810-467: A Christian context. The prevailing atmosphere of Christmas has also continually evolved since the holiday's inception, ranging from a sometimes raucous, drunken, carnival -like state in the Middle Ages , to a tamer family-oriented and children-centered theme introduced in a 19th-century transformation. The celebration of Christmas was banned on more than one occasion within certain groups, such as

945-488: A bad score, as this only reflects a poor reception among film critics. As one independent film distributor marketing executive noted, "To me, it's a ridiculous argument that Rotten Tomatoes is the problem ... make a good movie!". ComScore 's Paul Dergarabedian had similar comments, saying: "The best way for studios to combat the 'Rotten Tomatoes Effect' is to make better movies, plain and simple". Some studios have suggested embargoing or cancelling early critic screenings in

1080-423: A critic on the website, a critic's original reviews must garner a specific number of "likes" from users. Those classified as "Top Critics" generally write for major newspapers. The critics upload their reviews to the movie page on the website, and need to mark their review "fresh" if it is generally favorable or "rotten" otherwise. It is necessary for the critic to do so as some reviews are qualitative and do not grant

1215-530: A customary holiday since time immemorial , it was not until 1871 that it was designated a bank holiday in Scotland. Following the Restoration of Charles II, Poor Robin's Almanack contained the lines: "Now thanks to God for Charles return, / Whose absence made old Christmas mourn. / For then we scarcely did it know, / Whether it Christmas were or no." The diary of James Woodforde, from the latter half of

1350-612: A cutoff date at which new reviews are not counted toward the Golden Tomato awards is initiated each year, usually the first of the new year. Reviews without ratings are not counted toward the results of the Golden Tomato Awards. Each movie features a "user average", which calculates the percentage of registered users who have rated the film positively on a 5-star scale, similar to calculation of recognized critics' reviews. On May 24, 2019, Rotten Tomatoes introduced

1485-474: A dedicated team who monitors our platforms regularly and thoroughly investigates and resolves any suspicious activity." WIRED published an article in February 2024 written by Christopher Null, a former film critic, that argued such methods are standard activities performed by all PR agencies. In particular, Null points out that sponsoring legitimate, honest reviews has a long history in other industries and

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1620-599: A distance in order to ease the pressure of war for the day) to friendly socializing, gift giving and even sport between enemies. These incidents became a well known and semi-mythologised part of popular memory. They have been described as a symbol of common humanity even in the darkest of situations and used to demonstrate to children the ideals of Christmas. Under the state atheism of the Soviet Union, after its foundation in 1917, Christmas celebrations—along with other Christian holidays—were prohibited in public. During

1755-491: A family-centered festival of generosity, linking "worship and feasting, within a context of social reconciliation." Superimposing his humanitarian vision of the holiday, in what has been termed "Carol Philosophy", Dickens influenced many aspects of Christmas that are celebrated today in Western culture, such as family gatherings, seasonal food and drink, dancing, games, and a festive generosity of spirit. A prominent phrase from

1890-413: A fresh vs. rotten dichotomy. It has also been criticized for being easy for studios to manipulate by limiting early screenings to critics inclined to be favorable, among other tactics. Rotten Tomatoes was launched on August 12, 1998, as a spare-time project by Senh Duong. His objective in creating Rotten Tomatoes was "to create a site where people can get access to reviews from a variety of critics in

2025-813: A major point of tension between the Anglican party and the Puritan party." The Catholic Church also responded, promoting the festival in a more religiously oriented form. King Charles I of England directed his noblemen and gentry to return to their landed estates in midwinter to keep up their old-style Christmas generosity. Following the Parliamentarian victory over Charles I during the English Civil War , England's Puritan rulers banned Christmas in 1647. Protests followed as pro-Christmas rioting broke out in several cities and for weeks Canterbury

2160-406: A moment of emotional confusion or clarity, he asks Julie to try on the ring, and it gets stuck on her finger. When Julie and Meredith lock themselves in the bathroom to get the ring off, they assume Everett is about to propose to Meredith. The family exchanges gifts and Meredith, unaware of Sybil's failing health, presents each family member with a framed, enlarged photograph of Sybil taken when she

2295-422: A more traditional Christmas display. The concentric assortment of leaves, usually from an evergreen , make up Christmas wreaths. Candles in each window are meant to demonstrate that Christians believe that Jesus Christ is the ultimate light of the world. Christmas lights and banners may be hung along streets, music played by speakers, and Christmas trees placed in prominent places. It is common in many parts of

2430-416: A new "Audience Says" blurbs within it, to give users an at-a-glance summary of the general sentiments of a film as experienced by critics and audiences. Prior to February 2021, only the "Critics Consensus" blurb was posted for each entry, after enough certified critics had submitted reviews. When the "Audience Says" blurbs were added, Rotten Tomatoes initially included them only for newer films and those with

2565-415: A numeric score, making it impossible for the system to be automatic. The website keeps track of all the reviews counted for each film and calculates the percentage of positive reviews. If the positive reviews make up 60% or more, the film is considered "fresh". If the positive reviews are less than 60%, the film is considered "rotten". An average score on a 0 to 10 scale is also calculated. With each review,

2700-722: A play be acted on Christmas night and that the court indulge in games. It was during the Reformation in 16th–17th-century Europe that many Protestants changed the gift bringer to the Christ Child or Christkindl , and the date of giving gifts changed from December 6 to Christmas Eve. Following the Protestant Reformation , many of the new denominations, including the Anglican Church and Lutheran Church , continued to celebrate Christmas. In 1629,

2835-737: A protest against the holiday. Instead, the importance of the holiday and all its trappings, such as the Christmas tree and gift-giving, was transferred to the New Year. It was not until the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 that the persecution ended and Orthodox Christmas became a state holiday again for the first time in Russia after seven decades. European History Professor Joseph Perry wrote that likewise, in Nazi Germany , "because Nazi ideologues saw organized religion as an enemy of

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2970-522: A response to poor reviews prior to a film's release affecting pre-sales and opening weekend numbers. In July 2017, Sony embargoed critic reviews for The Emoji Movie until mid-day the Thursday before its release. The film ended up with a 9% rating (including 0% after the first 25 reviews), but still opened to $ 24 million, on par with projections. Josh Greenstein, Sony Pictures President of Worldwide Marketing and Distribution, said, " The Emoji Movie

3105-489: A sacred and festive season, and established the duty of Advent fasting in preparation for the feast." This was done in order to solve the "administrative problem for the Roman Empire as it tried to coordinate the solar Julian calendar with the lunar calendars of its provinces in the east." The prominence of Christmas Day increased gradually after Charlemagne was crowned Emperor on Christmas Day in 800. King Edmund

3240-880: A sensation when it was published in the Illustrated London News in 1848. A modified version of this image was published in Godey's Lady's Book , Philadelphia in 1850. By the 1870s, putting up a Christmas tree had become common in America. In America, interest in Christmas had been revived in the 1820s by several short stories by Washington Irving which appear in his The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. and "Old Christmas". Irving's stories depicted harmonious warm-hearted English Christmas festivities he experienced while staying in Aston Hall , Birmingham, England, that had largely been abandoned, and he used

3375-436: A short excerpt of the review is quoted that also serves a hyperlink to the complete review essay for anyone interested to read the critic's full thoughts on the subject. "Top Critics", such as Roger Ebert , Desson Thomson , Stephen Hunter , Owen Gleiberman , Lisa Schwarzbaum , Peter Travers and Michael Phillips are identified in a sub-listing that calculates their reviews separately. Their opinions are also included in

3510-401: A significant audience rating, but suggested that they may later add them for older films as well. Each movie features a brief blurb summary of the critics' reviews, called the "Critical Consensus", used in that entry's Tomatometer aggregate score. These are written by Jeff Giles, a longtime author for the site. In February 2021, Rotten Tomatoes added an "Audience Says" section; similar to

3645-641: A subsection of the website. In February 2016, Rotten Tomatoes and its parent site Flixster were sold to Comcast's Fandango Media. Warner Bros retained a minority stake in the merged entities, including Fandango. In December 2016, Fandango and all its various websites moved to Fox Interactive Media's former headquarters in Beverly Hills, California . In July 2017, the website's editor-in-chief since 2007, Matt Atchity, left to join The Young Turks YouTube channel. On November 1, 2017,

3780-625: A substitute for assessment". Landon Palmer, a film and media historian and an assistant professor in the Department of Journalism and Creative Media director in the College of Communication and Information Sciences at the University of Alabama agreed with White, stating that "[Rotten Tomatoes applies a] problematic algorithm to pretty much all avenues of modern media art and entertainment". Director and producer Brett Ratner has criticized

3915-429: A verified rating system that would replace the earlier system where users were merely required to register to submit a rating. So, in addition to creating an account, users will have to verify their ticket purchase through ticketing company Fandango Media, parent company of Rotten Tomatoes. While users can still leave reviews without verifying, those reviews will not account for the average audience score displayed next to

4050-725: Is a "common tactic employed by indie titles to get visibility." American director Martin Scorsese wrote a column in The Hollywood Reporter criticizing both Rotten Tomatoes and CinemaScore for promoting the idea that films like Mother! had to be "instantly liked" to be successful. Scorsese, in a dedication for the Roger Ebert Center for Film Studies at the University of Illinois later continued his criticism, voicing that Rotten Tomatoes and other review services "devalue cinema on streaming platforms to

4185-561: Is a sentence in the Chronograph of 354 . Liturgical historians generally agree that this part of the text was written in Rome in AD 336. Though Christmas did not appear on the lists of festivals given by the early Christian writers Irenaeus and Tertullian , the early Church Fathers John Chrysostom , Augustine of Hippo , and Jerome attested to December 25 as the date of Christmas toward

The Family Stone - Misplaced Pages Continue

4320-638: Is a shortened form of 'Christ's Mass '. The word is recorded as Crīstesmæsse in 1038 and Cristes-messe in 1131. Crīst ( genitive Crīstes ) is from the Greek Χριστός ( Khrīstos , 'Christ'), a translation of the Hebrew מָשִׁיחַ ‎ ( Māšîaḥ , ' Messiah '), meaning 'anointed'; and mæsse is from the Latin missa , the celebration of the Eucharist . The form Christenmas

4455-531: Is another abbreviation of the Greek word). The holiday has had various other English names throughout its history. The Anglo-Saxons referred to the feast as "midwinter", or, more rarely, as Nātiuiteð (from the Latin nātīvitās below). Nativity , meaning 'birth', is from the Latin nātīvitās . In Old English , Gēola (' Yule ') referred to the period corresponding to December and January, which

4590-578: Is celebrated religiously by a majority of Christians , as well as culturally by many non-Christians, and forms an integral part of the holiday season surrounding it. The traditional Christmas narrative recounted in the New Testament , known as the Nativity of Jesus , says that Jesus was born in Bethlehem , in accordance with messianic prophecies . When Joseph and Mary arrived in the city,

4725-529: Is considered by some as Christianisation of pagan tradition and ritual surrounding the Winter Solstice , which included the use of evergreen boughs, and an adaptation of pagan tree worship ; according to eighth-century biographer Æddi Stephanus , Saint Boniface (634–709), who was a missionary in Germany, took an ax to an oak tree dedicated to Thor and pointed out a fir tree , which he stated

4860-402: Is considered wide release. There are also two categories purely for British and Australian films. The "User"-category represents the highest rated film among users, and the "Mouldy"-award represents the worst-reviewed films of the year. A movie must have 40 (originally 20) or more rated reviews to be considered for domestic categories. It must have 500 or more user ratings to be considered for

4995-452: Is dreading spending the Christmas holidays with Everett's family. Everett's tight-knit family responds awkwardly, and soon sternly, to Meredith's stiffness, making her feel like an outsider. Ben, Everett's brother, is the only one who seems to like Meredith. After a series of embarrassing moments, Meredith opts to stay at the local inn and begs her sister Julie to take a bus down to Thayer and join her for support. Everett finds himself drawn to

5130-790: Is intended for use in the US only; permission is required for use elsewhere. As of 2022, API access is restricted to approved developers that must go through an application process. Major Hollywood studios have come to see Rotten Tomatoes as a potential threat to their marketing . In 2017, several blockbuster films like Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales , Baywatch and The Mummy were projected to open with gross receipts of $ 90 million, $ 50 million and $ 45 million, respectively, but ended up debuting with $ 62.6 million, $ 23.1 million and $ 31.6 million. Rotten Tomatoes, which scored

5265-472: Is to include other services in the future for users who do not use Fandango. Upon its creation, the "Verified Hot" badge was installed retroactively on over 200 films which achieved a verified audience score of 90% or higher since the launch of Rotten Tomatoes' verified audience ratings in May 2019. In February 2021, a new "What to Know" section was created for each film entry, combining the "Critics Consensus" and

5400-469: Is unlikely to change". Other studios have commissioned a number of studies on the subject, with them finding that 7/10 people said they would be less interested in seeing a film if the Rotten Tomatoes score was below 25%, and that the site has the most influence on people 25 and younger. The scores have reached a level of online ubiquity which film companies have found threatening. For instance,

5535-544: The Puritans and Jehovah's Witnesses (who do not celebrate birthdays in general), due to concerns that it was too unbiblical. Prior to and through the early Christian centuries, winter festivals were the most popular of the year in many European pagan cultures. Reasons included the fact that less agricultural work needed to be done during the winter, as well as an expectation of better weather as spring approached. Celtic winter herbs such as mistletoe and ivy , and

The Family Stone - Misplaced Pages Continue

5670-904: The Star of Bethlehem ; in that country it is known in Spanish as the Flower of the Holy Night . Other popular holiday plants include holly, mistletoe , red amaryllis , and Christmas cactus . Along with a Christmas tree, the interior of a home may be decorated with these plants, along with garlands and evergreen foliage. The display of Christmas villages has also become a tradition in many homes this season. The outside of houses may be decorated with lights and sometimes with illuminated sleighs , snowmen , and other Christmas figures. Mistletoe features prominently in European myth and folklore (for example,

5805-525: The U.S ". As a fan of Jackie Chan , Duong was inspired to create the website after collecting all the reviews of Chan's Hong Kong action movies as they were being released in the United States. The catalyst for the creation of the website was Rush Hour (1998), Chan's first major Hollywood crossover, which was originally planned to release in August 1998. Duong coded the website in two weeks and

5940-440: The University of California, Berkeley : Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang. Although the name "Rotten Tomatoes" connects to the practice of audiences throwing rotten tomatoes in disapproval of a poor stage performance , the direct inspiration for the name from Duong, Lee, and Wang came from an equivalent scene in the 1992 Canadian film Léolo . Since January 2010, Rotten Tomatoes has been owned by Flixster , which

6075-581: The Virgin Mary . In the Gospel of Luke, Joseph and Mary travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem in order to be counted for a census, and Jesus is born there and placed in a manger . Angels proclaim him a savior for all people, and three shepherds come to adore him. In the Gospel of Matthew, by contrast, three magi follow a star to Bethlehem to bring gifts to Jesus, born the king of the Jews . King Herod orders

6210-698: The Yule log , Yule boar , and the Yule goat . Often leading a ghostly procession through the sky (the Wild Hunt ), the long-bearded god Odin is referred to as "the Yule one" and "Yule father" in Old Norse texts, while other gods are referred to as "Yule beings". On the other hand, as there are no reliable existing references to a Christmas log prior to the 16th century, the burning of the Christmas block may have been an early modern invention by Christians unrelated to

6345-585: The massacre of all the boys less than two years old in Bethlehem, but the family flees to Egypt and later returns to Nazareth. In the 2nd century, the "earliest church records" indicate that "Christians were remembering and celebrating the birth of the Lord", an "observance [that] sprang up organically from the authentic devotion of ordinary believers"; although "they did not agree upon a set date". The earliest evidence of Christ's birth being marked on December 25

6480-714: The three kings cake was renamed the "equality cake" under anticlerical government policies . In the early 19th century, Christmas festivities and services became widespread with the rise of the Oxford Movement in the Church of England that emphasized the centrality of Christmas in Christianity and charity to the poor, along with Washington Irving , Charles Dickens , and other authors emphasizing family, children, kind-heartedness, gift-giving, and Santa Claus (for Irving), or Father Christmas (for Dickens). In

6615-516: The "Certified Fresh", it is not automatically granted the seal; "the Tomatometer score must be consistent and unlikely to deviate significantly" before it is thus marked. Once certified, if a film's score drops and remains consistently below 70%, it loses its Certified Fresh designation. In 2000, Rotten Tomatoes announced the RT Awards honoring the best-reviewed films of the year according to

6750-406: The "Critics Consensus", it summarizes the reviews noted by registered users into a concise blurb. The Rotten Tomatoes staff noted that for any given film, if there were any external factors such as controversies or issues affecting the sentiments of a film, they may address it in the "Audience Says" section to give users the most relevant info regarding their viewing choices. Localized versions of

6885-467: The "User"-category. Films are further classified based on film genre . Each movie is eligible in only one genre, aside from non-English-language films, which can be included in both their genre and the respective "Foreign" category. Once a film is considered eligible, its "votes" are counted. Each critic from the website's list gets one vote (as determined by their review), all weighted equally. Because reviews are continually added, manually and otherwise,

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7020-534: The "father of the American Christmas card". On June 28, 1870, Christmas was formally declared a United States federal holiday . During the First World War and particularly (but not exclusively) in 1914, a series of informal truces took place for Christmas between opposing armies. The truces, which were organised spontaneously by fighting men, ranged from promises not to shoot (shouted at

7155-648: The 18th century, details the observance of Christmas and celebrations associated with the season over a number of years. As in England, Puritans in Colonial America staunchly opposed the observation of Christmas. The Pilgrims of New England pointedly spent their first December 25 in the New World working normally. Puritans such as Cotton Mather condemned Christmas both because scripture did not mention its observance and because Christmas celebrations of

7290-590: The 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s, the League of Militant Atheists encouraged school pupils to campaign against Christmas traditions, such as the Christmas tree, as well as other Christian holidays, including Easter; the League established an antireligious holiday to be the 31st of each month as a replacement. At the height of this persecution, in 1929, on Christmas Day, children in Moscow were encouraged to spit on crucifixes as

7425-662: The Anglican poet John Milton penned On the Morning of Christ's Nativity , a poem that has since been read by many during Christmastide. Donald Heinz, a professor at California State University, Chico , states that Martin Luther "inaugurated a period in which Germany would produce a unique culture of Christmas, much copied in North America." Among the congregations of the Dutch Reformed Church , Christmas

7560-687: The Christian world, dependent on local tradition and available resources, and can vary from simple representations of the crib to far more elaborate sets – renowned manger scene traditions include the colourful Kraków szopka in Poland, which imitate Kraków 's historical buildings as settings, the elaborate Italian presepi ( Neapolitan , Genoese and Bolognese ), or the Provençal crèches in southern France, using hand-painted terracotta figurines called santons . In certain parts of

7695-417: The Christmas season and have their own body of traditions and lore. Because gift-giving and many other aspects of the Christmas festival involve heightened economic activity, the holiday has become a significant event and a key sales period for retailers and businesses. Over the past few centuries, Christmas has had a steadily growing economic effect in many regions of the world. The English word Christmas

7830-426: The Christmas tree, many individuals place a star at the top of the tree symbolizing the Star of Bethlehem , a fact recorded by The School Journal in 1897. Professor David Albert Jones of Oxford University writes that in the 19th century, it became popular for people to also use an angel to top the Christmas tree in order to symbolize the angels mentioned in the accounts of the Nativity of Jesus . Additionally, in

7965-583: The Martyr was anointed on Christmas in 855 and King William I of England was crowned on Christmas Day 1066. By the High Middle Ages , the holiday had become so prominent that chroniclers routinely noted where various magnates celebrated Christmas. King Richard II of England hosted a Christmas feast in 1377 at which 28 oxen and 300 sheep were eaten. The Yule boar was a common feature of medieval Christmas feasts. Caroling also became popular, and

8100-503: The Presbyterian Church of Scotland discouraged the observance of Christmas, and though James VI commanded its celebration in 1618, attendance at church was scant. The Parliament of Scotland officially abolished the observance of Christmas in 1640, claiming that the church had been "purged of all superstitious observation of days". Whereas in England, Wales and Ireland Christmas Day is a common law holiday, having been

8235-690: The Roman date of the spring equinox. Most Christians celebrate on December 25 in the Gregorian calendar , which has been adopted almost universally in the civil calendars used in countries throughout the world. However, part of the Eastern Christian Churches celebrate Christmas on December 25 of the older Julian calendar , which currently corresponds to January 7 in the Gregorian calendar. For Christians, believing that God came into

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8370-421: The Stones, who are happy in a Hollywood kind of way and unhappy in a self-help kind of way. This tribe of ravenous cannibals bares its excellent teeth at anyone who doesn't accommodate the family's preening self-regard." In contrast, Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three stars out of four, saying the film "is silly at times, leaning toward the screwball tradition of everyone racing around

8505-414: The Tomatometer. On August 21, 2024, Rotten Tomatoes rebranded its audience score as the Popcornmeter and introduced a new "Verified Hot" badge. The designation is only given to films which have reached an audience score of 90 percent or higher among users whom Rotten Tomatoes has verified as having purchased a ticket to the film through Fandango. A representative for Rotten Tomatoes stated that their goal

8640-553: The U.S. box office, raking in $ 12,521,027 USD during its opening weekend behind King Kong and The Chronicles of Narnia . After spending 15 weeks in theatres, The Family Stone earned $ 60,062,868 in the US and $ 32,220,983 in foreign markets, bringing its worldwide total to $ 92,283,851. On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an approval rating of 53% based on 158 reviews, with an average rating of 5.9/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "This family holiday dramedy features fine performances but awkward shifts of tone." On Metacritic

8775-430: The U.S., Henry Wadsworth Longfellow detected "a transition state about Christmas here in New England" in 1856. "The old puritan feeling prevents it from being a cheerful, hearty holiday; though every year makes it more so." In Reading, Pennsylvania , a newspaper remarked in 1861, "Even our presbyterian friends who have hitherto steadfastly ignored Christmas—threw open their church doors and assembled in force to celebrate

8910-454: The United States after the American Revolution , when it was considered an English custom. George Washington attacked Hessian (German) mercenaries on the day after Christmas during the Battle of Trenton on December 26, 1776, Christmas being much more popular in Germany than in America at this time. With the atheistic Cult of Reason in power during the era of Revolutionary France , Christian Christmas religious services were banned and

9045-416: The anniversary of the Savior's birth." The First Congregational Church of Rockford, Illinois , "although of genuine Puritan stock", was 'preparing for a grand Christmas jubilee', a news correspondent reported in 1864. By 1860, fourteen states including several from New England had adopted Christmas as a legal holiday. In 1875, Louis Prang introduced the Christmas card to Americans. He has been called

9180-402: The better-known Academy Awards or Golden Globes . When Flixster bought the company, they disbanded the groups. As of February 2011, new community features have been added and others removed. For example, users can no longer sort films by Fresh Ratings from Rotten Ratings, and vice versa. On September 17, 2013, a section devoted to scripted television series, called TV Zone, was created as

9315-404: The context of a Christian celebration of Christmas, the Christmas tree, being evergreen in colour, is symbolic of Christ, who offers eternal life; the candles or lights on the tree represent the Light of the World —Jesus—born in Bethlehem. Christian services for family use and public worship have been published for the blessing of a Christmas tree, after it has been erected. The Christmas tree

9450-446: The conversation, her choice of words offends everyone and Everett's father Kelly, the most understanding of the family, angrily shuts her down. Distraught, Meredith attempts to drive off but crashes Everett's car, and Ben comes to comfort her. Ben's attraction to Meredith is apparent and the two of them end up at a local bar where, after several drinks, Meredith begins to relax and enjoy herself. She invites local paramedic Brad Stevenson,

9585-663: The cultural aspects of Christmas, such as gift-giving, decorations, and Christmas trees. A similar example is in Turkey , being Muslim-majority and with a small number of Christians, where Christmas trees and decorations tend to line public streets during the festival. Many popular customs associated with Christmas developed independently of the commemoration of Jesus's birth, with some claiming that certain elements are Christianized and have origins in pre-Christian festivals that were celebrated by pagan populations who were later converted to Christianity ; other scholars reject these claims and affirm that Christmas customs largely developed in

9720-462: The cultural conflict between the holiday's spiritual significance and its associated commercialism that some see as corrupting the holiday. In her 1850 book The First Christmas in New England , Harriet Beecher Stowe includes a character who complains that the true meaning of Christmas was lost in a shopping spree. While the celebration of Christmas was not yet customary in some regions in

9855-700: The custom of kissing under a mistletoe, are common in modern Christmas celebrations in the English-speaking countries. The pre-Christian Germanic peoples —including the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse—celebrated a winter festival called Yule , held in the late December to early January period, yielding modern English yule , today used as a synonym for Christmas . In Germanic language-speaking areas, numerous elements of modern Christmas folk custom and iconography may have originated from Yule, including

9990-523: The day often involved boisterous behavior. Many non-Puritans in New England deplored the loss of the holidays enjoyed by the laboring classes in England. Christmas observance was outlawed in Boston in 1659. The ban on Christmas observance was revoked in 1681 by English governor Edmund Andros , but it was not until the mid-19th century that celebrating Christmas became fashionable in the Boston region. At

10125-409: The early-19th century, writers imagined Tudor -period Christmas as a time of heartfelt celebration. In 1843, Charles Dickens wrote the novel A Christmas Carol , which helped revive the "spirit" of Christmas and seasonal merriment. Its instant popularity played a major role in portraying Christmas as a holiday emphasizing family, goodwill, and compassion. Dickens sought to construct Christmas as

10260-491: The ease at which large companies are able to manipulate reviewer ratings. The article cited publicity company Bunker 15 as an example of how scores can be boosted by recruiting obscure, often self-published reviewers, using the example of 2018's Ophelia . Rotten Tomatoes responded by delisting several Bunker 15 films, including Ophelia . It told Vulture in a statement, "We take the integrity of our scores seriously and do not tolerate any attempts to manipulate them. We have

10395-516: The end of the fourth century. December 25 was the traditional date of the winter solstice in the Roman Empire, where most Christians lived, and the Roman festival Dies Natalis Solis Invicti (birthday of Sol Invictus , the 'Invincible Sun') had been held on this date since 274 AD. In the East , the birth of Jesus was celebrated in connection with the Epiphany on January 6. This holiday

10530-448: The family reunites again for Christmas. Meredith and Ben are a couple, as are Everett and Julie, and Amy and Brad. Thad and Patrick have adopted a baby boy named Gus, and Susannah, the oldest daughter, has had another baby boy named Johnny. It is implied that Sybil passed away over the previous year, and the family remembers her as they gather around the Christmas tree. Songs heard on the film's soundtrack include: The film opened at #3 at

10665-585: The feast of St. Martin of Tours ), now known as Advent. In Italy, former Saturnalian traditions were attached to Advent. Around the 12th century, these traditions transferred again to the Twelve Days of Christmas (December 25 – January 5); a time that appears in the liturgical calendars as Christmastide or Twelve Holy Days. In 567, the Council of Tours put in place the season of Christmastide , proclaiming "the twelve days from Christmas to Epiphany as

10800-400: The film has a weighted average score of 56 out of 100, based on 35 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade "B+" on an A+ to F scale. Manohla Dargis of The New York Times wrote "All happy families resemble one another, Tolstoy famously wrote, and each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way, but Tolstoy didn't know

10935-458: The film three out of four stars and added, "It's a comedy with a dash of tragedy – the kind of thing that usually makes me puke. But I fell for this one ... Writer-director Thomas Bezucha lays it on thick, but he knows the mad-dog anarchy of family life and gives the laughs a sharp comic edge." Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ , observed primarily on December 25 as

11070-433: The films at 30%, 19% and 16%, respectively, was blamed for undermining them. That same summer, films like Wonder Woman and Spider-Man: Homecoming (both 92%) received high scores and opened at or exceeded expectations with their $ 100+ million trackings. As a result of this concern, 20th Century Fox commissioned a 2015 study, titled "Rotten Tomatoes and Box Office", that stated the website combined with social media

11205-589: The fire, card playing, dances with "plow-boys" and "maidservants", old Father Christmas and carol singing. During the ban, semi-clandestine religious services marking Christ's birth continued to be held, and people sang carols in secret. It was restored as a legal holiday in England with the Restoration of King Charles II in 1660 when Puritan legislation was declared null and void, with Christmas again freely celebrated in England. Many Calvinist clergymen disapproved of Christmas celebration. As such, in Scotland,

11340-604: The first commercial Christmas card was produced by Sir Henry Cole . The revival of the Christmas Carol began with William Sandys 's Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern (1833), with the first appearance in print of " The First Noel ", " I Saw Three Ships ", " Hark the Herald Angels Sing " and " God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen ", popularized in Dickens's A Christmas Carol . In Britain, the Christmas tree

11475-543: The first week of its launch; it attracted "600–1,000 daily unique visitors" as a result. Duong teamed up with University of California , Berkeley classmates Patrick Y. Lee and Stephen Wang, his former partners at the Berkeley, California -based web design firm Design Reactor, to pursue Rotten Tomatoes on a full-time basis. They officially launched it on April 1, 2000. In June 2004, IGN Entertainment acquired Rotten Tomatoes for an undisclosed sum. In September 2005, IGN

11610-566: The following century. The Georgian Iadgari demonstrates that Christmas was celebrated in Jerusalem by the sixth century . In the Early Middle Ages , Christmas Day was overshadowed by Epiphany, which in western Christianity focused on the visit of the magi . However, the medieval calendar was dominated by Christmas-related holidays. The forty days before Christmas became the "forty days of St. Martin" (which began on November 11,

11745-509: The friendly, more outgoing Julie, whom his family receives very warmly after Julie has a fall while getting off the bus. Meredith desperately tries to fit in with the Stones, but her strained attempts prove disastrous. During dinner, Everett's gay, deaf brother Thad and his partner Patrick express their plans to adopt a child, prompting a discussion about nature versus nurture and sexual orientation . When Meredith clumsily attempts to engage in

11880-407: The general rating. When there are sufficient reviews, the staff creates and posts a consensus statement to express the general reasons for the collective opinion of the film. This rating is indicated by an equivalent icon at the film listing, to give the reader a one-glance look at the general critical opinion about the work. The "Certified Fresh" seal is reserved for movies that satisfy two criteria:

12015-612: The high school flame of Everett's sister Amy, to the Stones' house for Christmas breakfast. The next morning, she awakens in Ben's bed and incorrectly assumes that they had sex. On Christmas Day, the Stone children learn that Sybil, their mother, and a breast cancer survivor, recently developed an aggressive recurrence of the disease. Sybil, who originally refused Everett's request for his grandmother's ring to propose to Meredith, reconsiders her position and offers it to him; but, by now, his feelings for Meredith have shifted to her sister Julie. In

12150-479: The house at the same time in a panic fueled by serial misunderstandings [but] there is also a thoughtful side, involving the long and loving marriage of Sybil and Kelly." In Variety , Justin Chang called the film "a smart, tart but mildly undercooked Christmas pudding" and added the "lovingly mounted ensembler [ sic ] has many heartfelt moments and a keen ear for the rhythms of domestic life, which make

12285-429: The inn had no room, and so they were offered a stable where the Christ Child was soon born, with angels proclaiming this news to shepherds , who then spread the word. There are different hypotheses regarding the date of Jesus's birth . In the early fourth century, the church fixed the date as December 25, the date of the winter solstice in the Roman calendar. It is nine months after Annunciation on March 25, also

12420-614: The legend of Baldr ); it is an evergreen parasitic plant that grows on trees, especially apple and poplar, and turns golden when it is dried. It is customary to hang a sprig of mistletoe in the house at Christmas, and anyone standing underneath it may be kissed. Mistletoe has sticky white berries, one of which was traditionally removed whenever someone was kissed under it. This is probably a fertility ritual. The mistletoe berry juice resembles semen. Other traditional decorations include bells , candles , candy canes , stockings , wreaths , and angels . The wreaths and candles in each window are

12555-445: The level of content". In 2015, while promoting the film Suffragette (which has a 73% approval rating) actress Meryl Streep accused Rotten Tomatoes of disproportionately representing the opinions of male film critics, resulting in a skewed ratio that adversely affected the commercial performances of female-driven films. "I submit to you that men and women are not the same, they like different things," she said. "Sometimes they like

12690-554: The neatly gift-wrapped outcome somewhat disappointing." Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times said, "A contemporary version of the traditional screwball romantic comedy, The Family Stone is a film that's at times as ragged and shaggy as its family unit. But as written and directed by Thomas Bezucha, its offbeat mixture of highly choreographed comic crises and the occasional bite of reality make for an unexpectedly enticing blend." In Rolling Stone , Peter Travers rated

12825-412: The observance of Christmas, claiming it undermined Islam . In 2023, public Christmas celebrations were cancelled in Bethlehem , the city synonymous with the birth of Jesus. Palestinian leaders of various Christian denominations cited the ongoing Israel–Hamas war in their unanimous decision to cancel celebrations. Christmas Day is celebrated as a major festival and public holiday in countries around

12960-581: The occasion of the 75th anniversary of the New York Film Critics Circle , its chairman Armond White cited Rotten Tomatoes in particular and film review aggregators in general as examples of how "the Internet takes revenge on individual expression". He said they work by "dumping reviewers onto one website and assigning spurious percentage-enthusiasm points to the discrete reviews". According to White, such websites "offer consensus as

13095-452: The pagan practice. Among countries with a strong Christian tradition , a variety of Christmas celebrations have developed that incorporate regional and local cultures. For example, in eastern Europe Christmas celebrations incorporated pre-Christian traditions such as the Koleda , which shares parallels with the Christmas carol . Christmas Day (inclusive of its vigil , Christmas Eve), is

13230-418: The pieces used to make the representation are considered a valuable family heirloom . The traditional colors of Christmas decorations are red, green, and gold. Red symbolizes the blood of Jesus, which was shed in his crucifixion ; green symbolizes eternal life, and in particular the evergreen tree, which does not lose its leaves in the winter; and gold is the first color associated with Christmas, as one of

13365-698: The recognition of the Christmas season . Christmas, along with Easter, is the period of highest annual church attendance. A 2010 survey by LifeWay Christian Resources found that six in ten Americans attend church services during this time. In the United Kingdom, the Church of England reported an estimated attendance of 2.5   million people at Christmas services in 2015. Nativity scenes are known from 10th-century Rome. They were popularised by Saint Francis of Assisi from 1223, quickly spreading across Europe. Different types of decorations developed across

13500-624: The same time, Christian residents of Virginia and New York observed the holiday freely. Pennsylvania Dutch settlers, predominantly Moravian settlers of Bethlehem , Nazareth , and Lititz in Pennsylvania and the Wachovia settlements in North Carolina, were enthusiastic celebrators of Christmas. The Moravians in Bethlehem had the first Christmas trees in America as well as the first Nativity Scenes. Christmas fell out of favor in

13635-550: The scores are regularly posted in Google search results for films so reviewed. Furthermore, the scores are prominently featured in Fandango's popular ticket purchasing website, on its mobile app, on popular streaming services like Peacock , and on Flixster, which led to complaints that "rotten" scores damaged films' performances. Others have argued that filmmakers and studios have only themselves to blame if Rotten Tomatoes produces

13770-516: The site announced that user reviews would no longer be accepted until a film is publicly released. The site also announced plans to introduce a system for "verified" reviews, and that the "Want to See" statistic would now be expressed as a number so that it would not be confused with the audience score. Despite arguments on how Rotten Tomatoes scores impact the box office, academic researchers so far have not found evidence that Rotten Tomatoes ratings affect box office performance. In January 2010, on

13905-410: The site available in the United Kingdom, India, and Australia were discontinued following the acquisition of Rotten Tomatoes by Fandango. The Mexican version of the site, Tomatazos  [ es ] , remains active. The Rotten Tomatoes API provides limited access to critic and audience ratings and reviews, allowing developers to incorporate Rotten Tomatoes data on other websites. The free service

14040-523: The site launched a new web series on Facebook, See It/Skip It , hosted by Jacqueline Coley and Segun Oduolowu. In March 2018, the site announced its new design, icons and logo for the first time in 19 years at South by Southwest . On May 19, 2020, Rotten Tomatoes won the 2020 Webby People's Voice Award for Entertainment in the Web category. In February 2021, the Rotten Tomatoes staff made an entry on their Product Blog, announcing several design changes to

14175-454: The site went live the same month, but the release of Rush Hour was delayed until September 1998. Besides Jackie Chan films , he began including other films on Rotten Tomatoes, extending it beyond Chan's fandom . The first non-Chan Hollywood movie whose reviews were featured on Rotten Tomatoes was Your Friends & Neighbors (1998). The website was an immediate success, receiving mentions by Netscape , Yahoo! , and USA Today within

14310-539: The site: Each film's 'Score Box' at the top of the page would now also include its release year, genre, and runtimes, with an MPAA rating to be soon added; the number of ratings would be shown in groupings – from 50+ up to 250,000+ ratings, for easier visualization. Links to critics and viewers are included underneath the ratings. By clicking on either the Tomatometer Score or the Audience Score,

14445-420: The tale, "Merry Christmas" , was popularized following the appearance of the story. This coincided with the appearance of the Oxford Movement and the growth of Anglo-Catholicism , which led a revival in traditional rituals and religious observances. The term Scrooge became a synonym for miser , with the phrase "Bah! Humbug!" becoming emblematic of a dismissive attitude of the festive spirit. In 1843,

14580-748: The three gifts of the Magi , symbolizing royalty. The Christmas tree was first used by German Lutherans in the 16th century, with records indicating that a Christmas tree was placed in the Cathedral of Strassburg in 1539, under the leadership of the Protestant Reformer , Martin Bucer . In the United States, these "German Lutherans brought the decorated Christmas tree with them; the Moravians put lighted candles on those trees." When decorating

14715-418: The totalitarian state, propagandists sought to deemphasize—or eliminate altogether—the Christian aspects of the holiday" and that "Propagandists tirelessly promoted numerous Nazified Christmas songs, which replaced Christian themes with the regime's racial ideologies." As Christmas celebrations began to spread globally even outside traditional Christian cultures , several Muslim-majority countries began to ban

14850-528: The tract Vindication of Christmas (1652) of Old English Christmas traditions, that he had transcribed into his journal as a format for his stories. In 1822, Clement Clarke Moore wrote the poem A Visit From St. Nicholas (popularly known by its first line: Twas the Night Before Christmas ). The poem helped popularize the tradition of exchanging gifts, and seasonal Christmas shopping began to assume economic importance. This also started

14985-577: The users can access "Score Details" information, such as the number of Fresh and Rotten reviews, average rating, and Top Critics' score. The team also added a new "What to Know" section for each film entry page, which could combine the "Critics Consensus" blurb with a new "Audience Says" blurb, so users can see an at-a-glance summary of the sentiments of both certified critics and verified audience members. Rotten Tomatoes staff first collect online reviews from writers who are certified members of various writing guilds or film critic-associations. To be accepted as

15120-669: The vocal disgust of influential critics such as Roger Ebert, who was prone to derisively condemn such moves, with gestures such as "The Wagging Finger of Shame", on At the Movies . Furthermore, the very nature of withholding reviews can draw early conclusions from the public that the film is of poor quality because of that marketing tactic. On February 26, 2019, in response to issues surrounding coordinated " bombing " of user reviews for several films, most notably Captain Marvel and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker , prior to their release,

15255-602: The website for "reducing hundreds of reviews culled from print and online sources into a popularized aggregate score", while expressing respect for traditional film critics. Writer Max Landis , following his film Victor Frankenstein receiving an approval rating of 24% on the site, wrote that the site "breaks down entire reviews into just the word 'yes' or 'no', making criticism binary in a destructive arbitrary way". Vulture ran an article in September 2023 that raised several criticisms of Rotten Tomatoes's system, including

15390-520: The website's rating system. The awards were later renamed the Golden Tomato Awards. The nominees and winners are announced on the website, although there is no actual awards ceremony. The films are divided into wide release and limited release categories. Limited releases are defined as opening in 599 or fewer theaters at initial release. Platform releases, movies initially released under 600 theaters but later receiving wider distribution, fall under this definition. Any film opening in more than 600 theaters

15525-403: The world for town squares and consumer shopping areas to sponsor and display decorations. Rolls of brightly colored paper with secular or religious Christmas motifs are manufactured to wrap gifts. In some countries, Christmas decorations are traditionally taken down on Twelfth Night . The tradition of the Nativity scene comes from Italy. One of the earliest representation in art of the nativity

15660-489: The world in the form of man to atone for the sins of humanity rather than knowing Jesus's exact birth date is considered to be the primary purpose of celebrating Christmas. The customs associated with Christmas in various countries have a mix of pre-Christian , Christian, and secular themes and origins. Popular holiday traditions include gift giving ; completing an Advent calendar or Advent wreath ; Christmas music and caroling ; watching Christmas movies ; viewing

15795-411: The world, including many whose populations are mostly non-Christian. In some non-Christian areas, periods of former colonial rule introduced the celebration (e.g. Hong Kong); in others, Christian minorities or foreign cultural influences have led populations to observe the holiday. Countries such as Japan, where Christmas is popular despite there being only a small number of Christians, have adopted many of

15930-442: The world, notably Sicily , living nativity scenes following the tradition of Saint Francis are a popular alternative to static crèches. The first commercially produced decorations appeared in Germany in the 1860s, inspired by paper chains made by children. In countries where a representation of the Nativity scene is very popular, people are encouraged to compete and create the most original or realistic ones. Within some families,

16065-527: Was a more fitting object of reverence because it pointed to heaven and it had a triangular shape, which he said was symbolic of the Trinity . The English language phrase "Christmas tree" is first recorded in 1835 and represents an importation from the German language. Since the 16th century, the poinsettia , a native plant from Mexico, has been associated with Christmas carrying the Christian symbolism of

16200-552: Was also used during some periods, but is now considered archaic and dialectal. The term derives from Middle English Cristenmasse , meaning 'Christian mass'. Xmas is an abbreviation of Christmas found particularly in print, based on the initial letter chi (Χ) in the Greek [Χριστός] Error: {{Lang}}: invalid parameter: |literal= ( help ) , although some style guides discourage its use. This abbreviation has precedent in Middle English Χρ̄es masse (where Χρ̄

16335-416: Was bought by News Corp 's Fox Interactive Media . In January 2010, IGN sold the website to Flixster . The combined reach of both companies is 30 million unique visitors a month across all different platforms, according to the companies. In 2011, Warner Bros. acquired Rotten Tomatoes. In early 2009, Current Television launched The Rotten Tomatoes Show , a televised version of the web review site. It

16470-466: Was built for people under 18 ... so we wanted to give the movie its best chance. What other wide release with a score under 8 percent has opened north of $ 20 million? I don't think there is one". Conversely, Warner Bros. also did not do critic pre-screenings for The House , which held a score of 16% until the day of its release, and opened to just $ 8.7 million; the lowest of star Will Ferrell 's career. That marketing tactic can backfire, and drew

16605-497: Was celebrated as one of the principal evangelical feasts . However, in 17th century England, some groups such as the Puritans strongly condemned the celebration of Christmas, considering it a Catholic invention and the "trappings of popery " or the "rags of the Beast ". In contrast, the established Anglican Church "pressed for a more elaborate observance of feasts, penitential seasons, and saints' days. The calendar reform became

16740-596: Was controlled by the rioters, who decorated doorways with holly and shouted royalist slogans. Football, among the sports the Puritans banned on a Sunday, was also used as a rebellious force: when Puritans outlawed Christmas in England in December 1647 the crowd brought out footballs as a symbol of festive misrule. The book, The Vindication of Christmas (London, 1652), argued against the Puritans, and makes note of Old English Christmas traditions, dinner, roast apples on

16875-619: Was eventually equated with Christian Christmas. 'Noel' (also 'Nowel' or 'Nowell', as in " The First Nowell ") entered English in the late 14th century and is from the Old French noël or naël , itself ultimately from the Latin nātālis (diēs) meaning 'birth (day)'. Koleda is the traditional Slavic name for Christmas and the period from Christmas to Epiphany or, more generally, to Slavic Christmas-related rituals, some dating to pre-Christian times. The gospels of Luke and Matthew describe Jesus as being born in Bethlehem to

17010-463: Was found in the early Christian Roman catacomb of Saint Valentine . It dates to about AD 380. Another, of similar date, is beneath the pulpit in Sant'Ambrogio, Milan . Rotten Tomatoes This is an accepted version of this page Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at

17145-413: Was going to be an increasingly serious complication for the film business: "The power of Rotten Tomatoes and fast-breaking word of mouth will only get stronger. Many Millennials and even Gen X-ers now vet every purchase through the Internet, whether it's restaurants, video games, make-up, consumer electronics or movies. As they get older and comprise an even larger share of total moviegoers, this behavior

17280-464: Was hosted by Brett Erlich and Ellen Fox and written by Mark Ganek. The show aired Thursdays at 10:30 EST until September 16, 2010. It returned as a much shorter segment of InfoMania , a satirical news show that ended in 2011. By late 2009, the website was designed to enable Rotten Tomatoes users to create and join groups to discuss various aspects of film. One group, "The Golden Oyster Awards", accepted votes of members for various awards, spoofing

17415-445: Was in turn acquired by Warner Bros. in 2011. In February 2016, Rotten Tomatoes and its parent site Flixster were sold to Comcast 's Fandango ticketing company. Warner Bros. retained a minority stake in the merged entities, including Fandango. The site is influential among moviegoers, a third of whom say they consult it before going to the cinema in the U.S. It has been criticized for oversimplifying reviews by flattening them into

17550-638: Was introduced in the early 19th century by the German-born Queen Charlotte . In 1832, the future Queen Victoria wrote about her delight at having a Christmas tree, hung with lights , ornaments , and presents placed round it. After her marriage to her German cousin Prince Albert , by 1841 the custom became more widespread throughout Britain. An image of the British royal family with their Christmas tree at Windsor Castle created

17685-694: Was not primarily about Christ's birth, but rather his baptism . Christmas was promoted in the East as part of the revival of Orthodox Christianity that followed the death of the pro- Arian Emperor Valens at the Battle of Adrianople in 378. The feast was introduced in Constantinople in 379, in Antioch by John Chrysostom towards the end of the fourth century, probably in 388, and in Alexandria in

17820-450: Was originally performed by a group of dancers who sang. The group was composed of a lead singer and a ring of dancers that provided the chorus. Various writers of the time condemned caroling as lewd, indicating that the unruly traditions of Saturnalia and Yule may have continued in this form. " Misrule "—drunkenness, promiscuity, gambling—was also an important aspect of the festival. In England, gifts were exchanged on New Year's Day, and there

17955-418: Was pregnant with Amy; thinking it's Sybil and Everett. Everyone is touched by her gesture, and Meredith relaxes slightly; but, when Everett asks to talk to her, she blurts out that she will not marry him. He counters that he didn't plan to ask her, and Meredith emotionally breaks down in front of the family. All the personality conflicts come to a head, and everyone begins the process of healing. One year later,

18090-570: Was released in the United States on December 16, 2005. It garnered mixed to positive reviews and was a commercial success, with a worldwide gross of $ 93 million. Parker was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for her performance, while Keaton, Nelson, and McAdams each garnered a Satellite Award nomination. Set in the fictional town of Thayer, located in New England , the film focuses on Everett Stone and his incredibly close family. Meredith, Everett’s anxious, bumbling and tightly wound girlfriend,

18225-572: Was special Christmas ale. Christmas during the Middle Ages was a public festival that incorporated ivy , holly , and other evergreens. Christmas gift-giving during the Middle Ages was usually between people with legal relationships, such as tenant and landlord. The annual indulgence in eating, dancing, singing, sporting, and card playing escalated in England, and by the 17th century the Christmas season featured lavish dinners, elaborate masques, and pageants. In 1607, King James I insisted that

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