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Christmas is a holiday that brings people together, so perhaps it should be no surprise that Facebook has become a part of millions of peoples' Christmas experiences. For the first time in its history, Facebook was the number one most visited website in the United States on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day this year, according to traffic analyst firm Hitwise today.

That's worth noting. HitWise reported last year that Facebook was number two behind Google on Christmas. People say that Facebook vs. Google will be the Web's biggest battle in coming years - but it looks like Facebook has already won the battle for Christmas.

Just before the holidays, we reported that, based on the raw traffic to its site, Amazon looked to be well on its way to having a great Christmas season. According to a report from Amazon this morning, Amazon's 14th holiday season was indeed its 'best ever,' with 6.3 million items ordered worldwide on December 15 alone. However, while Amazon provided us with a lot of data about how many items it shipped, it did not make any announcements about its revenue or profit yet, which could potentially look less rosy.

You've been good all year. But did you make the official "nice" list? If you celebrate Christmas, you'll no doubt be wondering when the big man will be swinging by your house with Rudolph and the gang. "Up on the housetop, click click click" and all of that. Instead of waiting around for the jingle of sleigh bells and the pawing of tiny hoofs, why not put technology to work for you? Google and the US-Candian North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) - because nothing says "Christmas" quite like tracking thermonuclear weaponry - have teamed up again to help you figure out when Santa Claus will be landing on a rooftop near you.

This is what I love about technological innovation: I'd thought singing Christmas ornaments were the most irritating thing human beings could possibly invent.

And then along came Facebook...