Countdown to Christmas

Festivus is on December 23 and it’s perfect for those who don’t have a traditional holiday to celebrate. Although it sounds paradoxical, its purpose makes a lot of sense. Not everyone has a major holiday to celebrate like Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa and they can feel left out. This holiday gives many people a non-denominational and non-commercial holiday to call their own. Festivus is for everybody!

 

What is celebrated on 24th December?
Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve, which is the day before Christmas Day, is celebrated in many countries worldwide. It is a Christian observance that falls on December 24 in the Gregorian calendar.

Who celebrate Christmas on 24 December?
In Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Colombia, Denmark, Estonia, the Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Portugal, French Canada, Romania, Uruguay, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland and the Czech Republic, Christmas presents are opened ...

 

Important Events From This day in History December 24th

1962 - U.S.A. -- Return Of Captured Americans From Bay Of Pigs Operation
1962 : The US government reaches an agreement with Cuba for the return of prisoners captured during the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba paying a ransom of $53 million in food and medical supplies when the last of more than 1,000 men taken prisoner are returned to the United States in time for Christmas.


1865 - U.S.A. -- Ku Klux Klan
A group of Confederate veterans convenes to form the secret society the "Ku Klux Klan." The KKK wished to ensure the local African American population did not gain civil and legal rights.


1903 - England -- First Number Plate
1903 : The first car number plate ( A1 ) is issued to Earl Russel who camped outside the London County Council issuing office overnight to be sure he got it, ( he was the brother of the philosopher Bertrand Russell )
1902 - Mexico -- War Minister Resigns
Mexico's Minister of War, General Hernando Reyes, has quit his post and it is believed this would have a big political impact on Mexican politics. Senor Limantour who was the finance minister was in line to be take the post of Minister of War.


1927 - Ireland -- Immigrants In US
Irish workers in the U.S. sent an estimated $150,000 per week to poor relatives in Ireland. The republican war had devastated the country. In Kerry county 30% of the people were destitute. Their girls are sold to become domestic servants in America.


1933 - Italy -- Benito Mussolini
1933 : Benito Mussolini gave a speech in which he emphasized that agriculture was the main thing holding Italy together. He commented, “Fascist policy has leaned to agricultural rather than industry because we have far greater interests in agriculture.”



1943 - World War II -- Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower
Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower is appointed as the supreme commander of Allied forces.


1944 - Germany --
Those Germans who fled Adolf Hitler and his Nazis all expressed loathing for the dictator and his repression. Once allowed to live in a democracy like the U.S. they became very individualistic.


1958 - U.S.A. -- Telephone Use
According to a study by the telephone company Americans possessed 50% of the world's telephones, but Canada topped the charts for use of the phone with 497 phone discussions per year followed by 491 for Sweden and 460 for the United States.


1967 - Israel -- Bethlehem and Jerusalem
1967 : As a result of Israel's victory in war pilgrims to Bethlehem and Jerusalem were allowed in for the first time in 16 years. The mayor believed that 20,000 Arab and Christian travellers would flood in to the Holy Land.


1968 - U.S.A. -- Orbit The Moon
The first men ever to circle the moon and visit the dark side of the moon are Frank Borman, James Lovell and William Anders when Apollo 8 orbits the Moon, becoming the first manned space mission to achieve the feat.


1975 - Iran -- Push Up Oil Prices
1975 : The Shah of Iran and autocrat Muammar el-Qaddafi managed to quadruple the cost of oil. Shah Mohammed Raza Pahlavi told U.S. President Ford that he, the Shah, was going to play a leading role in Persian Gulf matters.


1979 - Europe -- Ariane 1
The first European built rocket, Ariane 1, part of the European Space Agency has successfully completed its maiden flight. The primary objective of the Ariane Program is to launch satellites on behalf of European nations


1989 - China -- Welcomed To US
President George Bush went against congress and extended the welcome mat to China even though the Chinese government was guilty of human rights violations and the murder of students at Tinammen Square.


1990 - Russia -- Mikhail S. Gorbachev
Mikhail S. Gorbachev, President of Russia, had proposed a new framework for Russian government and a cabinet shuffle. However, the average Russian on the street was experiencing deteriorating living conditions.

 

1992 - U.S.A. -- Bush Pardons Iran Contra
President Bush pardoned former Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger and five others involved in the arms for hostages Iran Contra scandal


1994 - France -- Hijack
Four Islamic extremists hijack Air France Flight 8969 in Algiers, flying the aircraft to Marseilles . The French Prime Minister Edouard Balladur uses French commandos to storm the aircraft killing all the terrorists and remaining hostages were released unharmed.


1997 - France -- Carlos the Jackal
Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, the self-proclaimed leftist revolutionary and mercenary known as Carlos the Jackal, was sentenced by a French court to life in prison for the 1975 murders of two French investigators and a Lebanese national at the OPEC headquarters in Vienna.


2002 - U.S.A. -- Laci Peterson
2002 : Laci Peterson was reported missing from her Modesto, California, home, by her husband, Scott, who was later convicted of murdering her and their unborn son.


2004 - U.S.A. -- Texas Snowstorm
A huge snowstorm strikes Texas and Louisiana before it headed northeast into the New England states. It was the most snow that Texas received since 1899. Some places in the state only received a few inches while other places, like Victoria, received up to 13 inches overnight.


2005 - U.S.A. -- Import Of Prescription Drugs From Canada
In the hopes of driving drug prices down in the U.S. senators and house officials were pushing for a change in federal law that would allow the importation of prescription drugs from Canada and other countries.


2006 - Iran -- Iran’s president rejects Resolution 1737
Iran's president has rejected U.N. Security Council sanctions against Tehran, insisting his country would be pressing ahead with its nuclear program. Ahmadinejad said the resolution passed on Saturday was a "piece of paper," and added that the fifteen countries who voted in its favor would regret it. Iran said it would begin installing three thousand centrifuges at a uranium enrichment plant at Natanz.


2006 - UK -- Queen Elizabeth addresses her soldiers
The Queen has acknowledged the 'great personal risk' that British servicemen and women face in Iraq and Afghanistan in a special Christmas message to them. The Queen said their 'courage and loyalty are not lightly taken.' She also told them that her thoughts and prayers were with the families of servicepeople who had been killed. The pre-recorded Christmas Eve radio broadcast is played to armed forces personnel at home and abroad. It is the second time in recent years that the Queen has recorded a specific message for troops in addition to her annual broadcast to the rest of the nation..


2008 - China -- The world’s largest Santa is unveiled
A giant Father Christmas made of ice, which is claimed to be the world's biggest Santa has been unveiled in China. The 525 feet long sculpture is the centerpiece at the world-renowned ice festival in the city of Harbin, where temperatures drop to well below freezing in the winter. But sculptor Tang Guangjun said unseasonably warm temperatures and hazardous conditions had made it very difficult to carve the figure, which centers on an enormous face of Father Christmas, complete with flowing beard and hat. An estimated 800,000 tourists from around China are expected to visit the festival, which traditionally runs from mid-December to early February.


2008 - Ukraine -- Serial killer of 100 people has been jailed
A court in eastern Ukraine has sentenced a man to life imprisonment for the murder and rape of about eighty girls and young women over twenty-five years. The trial took place in Dnipropetrovsk, and Serhiy Tkach claimed that he had murdered one hundred people, and that he was an animal who deserved the death penalty. An ex-policeman, he suffocated girls aged between eight and eighteen, and performed sexual acts on their bodies. Over the years ten innocent people were jailed for the murders that he had committed.


2009 - United States -- The Senate passes health care reform bill
The Senate has passed the final version of the historic health care reform bill, which aims to cover about 31 million uninsured Americans, and lead to the biggest change in U.S. healthcare for decades. Barack Obama has welcomed the bill as a 'real and meaningful' reform, saying that it was the most important piece of social legislation since the 1930s. It still has to be be reconciled with the legislation passed by the House of Representatives. The process of reconciling the two bills is expected to begin in January. Once this has been done President Obama will be able to sign the measure into law


2009 - Vatican -- Pope knocked down by a woman at Mass
Pope Benedict was knocked over by a female spectator when he was celebrating Christmas Eve Mass in St. Peter's Basilica. The woman, who is said to be unstable, had managed to grab him by his vestments near the neck before a security guard had been able to overwhelm her. The Vatican said she had tried to jump on the Pope last year as well. Proceeding with the Mass, the Pope looked slightly shaken.


2011 - Cuba -- Cuba To Free 2,900 Prisoners
2011 : The Cuban government has announced that it will free 2,900 prisoners, some political, as a goodwill gesture towards families and religious organizations that had been asking for the release of some prisoners.


2012 -United States -- Actor Jack Klugman Dies
Actor Jack Klugman died at the age of ninety in Los Angeles. Klugman was known for his roles on The Odd Couple and Quincy M.E., including a number of guest starring roles later in his career.



2013 - United States -- Astronauts Space Walk to Complete Repair
NASA announced that astronauts aboard the International Space Station successfully completed repairs on a cooling pump. The repairs required them to conduct a seven and a half hour space walk on Christmas eve.

 

Born This Day In History 24th December
Celebrating Birthday's Today

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Howard Hughes
Born: 24th December 1905 Houston, Texas, U.S.
Died: April 5th 1976 Houston, Texas, U.S.
Known For :
Howard Hughes best known as an eccentric reclusive lifestyle, multi billionaire, successful movie producer including ( Hell's Angels, Scarface, and The Outlaw ). He was also a leading aviator and engineer who built and flew the H-4 "Hercules" nicknamed the "Spruce Goose" aircraft which was the world's largest flying boat made from wood. As an aviator he set a number of world air-speed records including holding the round the world record in 1938 (3 days, 19 hours) which beat the earlier record by 4 days. Hughes was an aggressive businessman who took control of TWA in 1939 RKO in 1948, later as his obsessive-compulsive disorder became worse he bought hotels and casinos around the world to ensure he could stay in the Penthouse Suites, In nearly all the deals which many thought were quirky he still made money and ended his life as one of the richest men in the world.

 

Oh, I love that. xxx

 

A Visit from St. Nicholas
BY CLEMENT CLARKE MOORE
'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;
The children were nestled all snug in their beds;
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;
And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter's nap,
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow,
Gave a lustre of midday to objects below,
When what to my wondering eyes did appear,
But a miniature sleigh and eight tiny rein-deer,
With a little old driver so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment he must be St. Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name:
"Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! on, Cupid! on, Donner and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"
As leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky;
So up to the housetop the coursers they flew
With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too—
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.
He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a pedler just opening his pack.
His eyes—how they twinkled! his dimples, how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard on his chin was as white as the snow;
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke, it encircled his head like a wreath;
He had a broad face and a little round belly
That shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly.
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight—
“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”

 

Why is Christmas Day on the 25th December?
Christmas is celebrated to remember the birth of Jesus Christ, who Christians believe is the Son of God.

Why is Christmas Celebrated on the 25th December?

 

25th day of the 10th month, which is where october is now because of adding agustus and julius to the calander. makes a whole lot more sense.
close to the day we celibrate all hallows now, which is from samhain which means summers end. traditions accrew by their own mass.
yule was celtic winter solstice. early christians loved to steal whatever days someone else was already celibrating. including of course mythras.

few realize how recent most of todays traditions became associated with it. only a few hundred years.

nothing against. just saying. even if its only for a week, people being considerate of what each other have to experience if a good and wonderful thing.

at any rate, looking forward to the year being over, which five years ago i never imagined 2020 would be one which i would.

 

I hope next year is better.
We have a 12 days of Christmas thread in personal forums.

 

My hero!

 

The Raven
BY EDGAR ALLAN POE​

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore—
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
“’Tis some visitor,” I muttered, “tapping at my chamber door—
Only this and nothing more.”

Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December;
And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
Eagerly I wished the morrow;—vainly I had sought to borrow
From my books surcease of sorrow—sorrow for the lost Lenore—
For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore—
Nameless here for evermore.

And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain
Thrilled me—filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;
So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating
“’Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door—
Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door;—
This it is and nothing more.”

Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,
“Sir,” said I, “or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore;
But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping,
And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door,
That I scarce was sure I heard you”—here I opened wide the door;—
Darkness there and nothing more.

Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before;
But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token,
And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, “Lenore?”
This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, “Lenore!”—
Merely this and nothing more.

Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning,
Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before.
“Surely,” said I, “surely that is something at my window lattice;
Let me see, then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore—
Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore;—
’Tis the wind and nothing more!”

Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter,
In there stepped a stately Raven of the saintly days of yore;
Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he;
But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door—
Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door—
Perched, and sat, and nothing more.

Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,
By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore,
“Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou,” I said, “art sure no craven,
Ghastly grim and ancient Raven wandering from the Nightly shore—
Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night’s Plutonian shore!”
Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.”

Much I marvelled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse so plainly,
Though its answer little meaning—little relevancy bore;
For we cannot help agreeing that no living human being
Ever yet was blessed with seeing bird above his chamber door—
Bird or beast upon the sculptured bust above his chamber door,
With such name as “Nevermore.”

But the Raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only
That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.
Nothing farther then he uttered—not a feather then he fluttered—
Till I scarcely more than muttered “Other friends have flown before—
On the morrow he will leave me, as my Hopes have flown before.”
Then the bird said “Nevermore.”

Startled at the stillness broken by reply so aptly spoken,
“Doubtless,” said I, “what it utters is its only stock and store
Caught from some unhappy master whom unmerciful Disaster
Followed fast and followed faster till his songs one burden bore—
Till the dirges of his Hope that melancholy burden bore
Of ‘Never—nevermore’.”

But the Raven still beguiling all my fancy into smiling,
Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird, and bust and door;
Then, upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking
Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yore—
What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt, and ominous bird of yore
Meant in croaking “Nevermore.”

This I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing
To the fowl whose fiery eyes now burned into my bosom’s core;
This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining
On the cushion’s velvet lining that the lamp-light gloated o’er,
But whose velvet-violet lining with the lamp-light gloating o’er,
She shall press, ah, nevermore!

Then, methought, the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer
Swung by Seraphim whose foot-falls tinkled on the tufted floor.
“Wretch,” I cried, “thy God hath lent thee—by these angels he hath sent thee
Respite—respite and nepenthe from thy memories of Lenore;
Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore!”
Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.”

“Prophet!” said I, “thing of evil!—prophet still, if bird or devil!—
Whether Tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,
Desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted—
On this home by Horror haunted—tell me truly, I implore—
Is there—is there balm in Gilead?—tell me—tell me, I implore!”
Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.”

“Prophet!” said I, “thing of evil!—prophet still, if bird or devil!
By that Heaven that bends above us—by that God we both adore—
Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn,
It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore—
Clasp a rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore.”
Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.”

“Be that word our sign of parting, bird or fiend!” I shrieked, upstarting—
“Get thee back into the tempest and the Night’s Plutonian shore!
Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!
Leave my loneliness unbroken!—quit the bust above my door!
Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!”
Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.”

And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon’s that is dreaming,
And the lamp-light o’er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted—nevermore!​

 

i was watching that 12 days of christmas thing on pbs which made me realize just how recent how many of today's "traditions" really are.
the solstices and equanoxes are have been always there though, whatever ever evolving traditions come to be associated with them.
never really knew what the 12 days were or what they were about before seeing that, or who the heck was this steven in the winsischloss carol.
i thought the mummers were kind of cool.

 

We all learn so much on HIP.
I learn something new everyday. X

 

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