Whois & Analysis for department56.com

Department 56 is a manufacturer of holiday collectibles, ornaments and giftware, known for their lit Christmas village collections and their Snowbabies collection.

It is owned by Enesco and based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, USA.

An online locator service (also known as location finder, store finder, or store locator, or similar) is a feature found on websites of businesses with multiple locations that allows visitors to the site to find locations of the business within proximity of an address or postal code or within a selected region.

Types of businesses that often have this feature include chain retailers, hotels, restaurants, and other businesses that can be found in multiple metropolitan areas.

A gift or a present is an item given to someone without the expectation of payment.

An item is not a gift, if that item, itself, is already owned by the one to whom it is given.

Although gift-giving might involve an expectation of reciprocity, a gift is meant to be free.

In many countries, the act of mutually exchanging money, goods, etc.

may sustain social relations and contribute to social cohesion.

Economists have elaborated the economics of gift-giving into the notion of a gift economy.

By extension the term gift can refer to anything that makes the other happier or less sad, especially as a favor, including forgiveness and kindness.

Gifts are also first and foremost presented on occasions - birthdays and, in Western cultures, Christmas being the main examples and other occasions like birthdays.

Christmas or Christmas Day (meaning "Christ's Mass") is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed most commonly on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world.

A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, it is prepared for by the season of Advent or the Nativity Fast and initiates the season of Christmastide, which historically in the West lasts twelve days and culminates on Twelfth Night; in some traditions, Christmastide includes an Octave.

The traditional Christmas narrative, the Nativity of Jesus, delineated in the New Testament says that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, in accordance with messianic prophecies; when Joseph and Mary arrived in the city, 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 disseminated the message furthermore.

Christmas Day is a public holiday in many of the world's nations, is celebrated religiously by the vast majority of Christians, as well as culturally by a number of non-Christian people, and is an integral part of the holiday season, while some Christian groups reject the celebration.

In several countries, celebrating Christmas Eve on December 24 has the main focus rather than December 25, with gift-giving and sharing a traditional meal with the family.

A holiday is a day set aside by custom or by law on which normal activities, especially business or work, are suspended or reduced.

Generally, holidays are intended to allow individuals to celebrate or commemorate an event or tradition of cultural or religious significance.

Holidays may be designated by governments, religious institutions, or other groups or organizations.

The degree to which normal activities are reduced by a holiday may depend on local laws, customs, the type of job being held or even personal choices.