Germany set to celebrate 'anti-Santa Claus'
Christmas! (Go
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Washington:
A group of Germans have started an 'anti- Santa Claus'
campaign saying that he has become a symbol of the mindless
commercialisation of Christmas. In fact, pamphlets have
been handed out on street corners reminding people that
the traditional bringer of gifts is St Nicholas and not
the red-suited and cherry nosed white-bearded immigrant
from the English-speaking world. Santa has even been banned
from the local Christmas market in some towns and shopkeepers
are restricted to offering traditional Austrian products
and gifts as well as typical Austrian culinary delights
this festive season. "The Christian origins of Christmas,
like the birth of Jesus, have receded into the background.
It's becoming more and more a festival that is reduced to
simply worldly gifts and commerce," Ananova quoted a German
citizen as saying. "Santa Claus is not a typical Christmas
tradition neither in Germany nor Austria - this red-suited
man only turned up over the last decade or so. We want to
return to our roots and therefore we won't give Santa a
chance," added Hans Wieser, local tourism manager in St.Wolfgang.
Julia
Roberts was advised by celeb moms (Go
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London:
Celebrity moms Madonna, Jodie Foster and Gwyneth Paltrow
reportedly advised new mother Julia Roberts to lie about
the due date of her twins so she could avoid the paparazzi.
The Hollywood actress was reportedly cautioned by the superstar
mothers to claim her babies would be born a month or two
later than they were really due. "They told her to tell
everyone it was a month or two after the date she was actually
expecting to deliver," the Chicago Sun Times quoted a source
as saying. "In fact, Julia never actually lied - just dropped
little hints that made people think the babies would arrive
sometime after New Year's Eve," he added.
Colin
Farell hated kissing a man in 'Alexander' (Go
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London:
Actor Colin Farell has revealed that kissing a man in
the movie 'Alexander' was a terrible experience for him
and it only confirmed his belief in his heterosexuality.
"It was horrible. I mean, I've never had any doubts about
my own sexual preference for women, but doing that scene
was all the confirmation I could ever want. Not a pleasant
experience!" Farell confessed. "This bisexual thing is just
an example of how different society was. There wasn't any
of the hysteria about sexuality. Sex was just sex in those
days. Maybe we could learn something from that," Femalefirst
quoted him as adding.
Paris
Hilton is wary of fake breasts (Go
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London:
Paris Hilton has confessed that she almost went under
the knife for a boob job, but changed her mind when she
realised what fake breasts look like. The hotel heiress,
who stars in hit reality TV show 'The Simple Life' with
best friend Nicole Richie, reportedly begged her father
to allow her to undergo plastic surgery when she was just
16 and was devastated when he refused. Now, according to
Femalefirst, Paris admits it was a blessing in disguise.
"They (silicon implants) look deformed. All my friends that
have them, they look deformed," Hilton was quoted as saying.
Usher
splits with Naomi Campbell (Go
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London:
R&B artist Usher has split from his girlfriend of three
months, supermodel Naomi Campbell, after she refused to
accompany him to the Billboard Music Awards earlier this
month. Usher who won 11 awards at the ceremony was reportedly
very angry when Campbell declined his invitation to go with
him to Los Angeles where the ceremony was taking place,
reports the Mirror. "Things came to a head at the Billboard
Awards when she told him she wasn't going to go with him
and he got all tetchy with her. He went in by a back door.
That probably wouldn't have happened if Naomi had been there,"
the report quoted an insider as saying.
Iglesias
and Kournikova are not husband and wife (Go
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Washington:
Although rumours are rife that singer Enrique Iglesias
has tied the knot with former tennis player Anna Kournikova,
insiders have revealed that this is not true. A friend of
the couple says that the plain band Kournikova was spotted
wearing on 12 December at a Florida charity event, which
sparked off these rumours, is one which she has owned for
a year, reports People magazine. "They definitely did not
get married. They're very happy together, but marriage is
not something that they're planning in their lives right
now," the report quoted a source as saying.
Madonna's
demands leave Versace crew in a tizzy (Go
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London:
Pop icon Madonna recently had the crew of the Versace
shoot that she is modelling for in a tizzy after she handed
a huge list of diva demands. The "Material Girl" singer
is the face of Versace's spring summer collection and had
teamed up with the designer exactly ten years back for a
similar shoot, reports The Sun. Her demands included large
bottles of Kabbalah water, fresh yellow and white flowers
and a series of drinks at specific temperatures, among other
things.
Cameron
Diaz buys a home worth millions (Go
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London:
Cameron Diaz finally wants to settle down with boyfriend
Justin Timberlake and to this end she has bought a 1.4 million
pound home in the Hollywood Hills. According to The Sun,
the three-bedroom house was built in the 1950s and has a
guesthouse as well as stunning views over Los Angeles. Cameron
and Justin have already been together for 16 months. They
were rumoured to be planning a Christmas wedding that has
been shelved now.
DiCaprio
meets princesses in London (Go
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London:
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie recently got the opportunity
of meeting screen sensation Leonardo DiCaprio. The two princesses
met DiCaprio at the UK premiere of his new film 'The Aviator'
in London's Leicester Square, and their mother, the Duchess
of York, also chatted with the 'Titanic' star. The 30-year-old
handsome DiCaprio, who plays the role of an eccentric tycoon
in the Martin Scorsese directed movie, spent half an hour
signing autographs for the 3,000-strong crowd. DiCaprio's
co-star in the film Kate Beckinsale was also present on
the occasion. The 'Pearl Harbour' beauty said at the premiere
that she badly misses London, as it is her native place.
