Thursday, December 26, 2013

'Twas the day after Christmas

 

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'Twas the day after Christmas,
and all through the house,
Every creature was hurtin', even the mouse.
The toys were all broken, their batteries dead;
Santa passed out, with some ice on his head.

Wrapping and ribbons just covered the floor,
While upstairs the family continued to snore.
And I in my T-shirt, new Reeboks and jeans,
I went into the kitchen and started to clean.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the sink to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the curtains, and threw up the sash.

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When what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a little white truck, with an oversized mirror.
The driver was smiling, so lively and grand;
The patch on his jacket said "U.S. POSTMAN."

With a handful of bills, he grinned like a fox
Then quickly he stuffed them into our mailbox.
Bill after bill, after bill, they still came.
Whistling and shouting he called them by name:

"Now Dillard's, now Broadway's, now Penny's and Sears
Here's Robinson's, Levitz's and Target and Mervyn's.
To the tip of your limit, every store, every mall,
Now charge away--charge away--charge away all!"

He whooped and he whistled as he finished his work.
He filled up the box, and then turned with a jerk.
He sprang to his truck and he drove down the road,
Driving much faster with just half a load.

Then I heard him exclaim with great holiday cheer,
"Enjoy what you got. . . . . .you'll be paying all year!"

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Source Unknown

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Christmas Day – For Unto Us A Child Is Born version 2

 

For Unto Us : The New London Chorale 1992

A Christmas Celebrity Moment

 

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Christmas Crafts To Enjoy

 

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Christmas Can Be Fun Too

 

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Christmas Trivia Bits 25 December

 

  • The Messiah, an oratorio about the life of Jesus Christ was written by German composer George Frederick Handel.
  • Queen Elizabeth II’s Christmas broadcast was first shown on TV 1957.
  • Recorded in 1942, the classic song by Irving Berlin, White Christmas and recorded by Bing Crosby has sold over 30 million copies.
  • On Christmas Eve 1978, Bjorn Ulvaeus and Agnetha Faltskog, members of the world wide pop sensation ABBA, announced their separation after seven years of marriage.
  • Paul McCartney, a member of The Beatles, became engaged to Jane Asher on Christmas Day in 1967 – the engagement was later broken.
  • On Christmas Day, Britain’s first Christmas tree is pout up at Windsor Castle by Queen Charlotte.
  • In 1968, Apollo 8 flew around the moon and broadcast a Christmas message to earth.
  • The late Princess Dianna’s first public solo duty was to turn on the Christmas lights at London’s Regent Street in 1981.
  • In Adelaide, South Australia, Test Cricket was played for the first time on Christmas day between Australia and the West Indies.
  • After auditioning hundreds of actresses for the role of Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind, producer David O Selznick offers the coveted role to Vivien Leigh on Christmas Day 1938.
  • If your birthday falls on December 25th, then you are born under the star sign of Capricorn.
  • Santa’s Little Helper is the name of the pet dog in the TV show The Simpsons.
  • The age of an unnamed British millionaire business woman who gave birth to twins on Christmas Day 1993 was 59.
  • The lead singer of the group Eurythmics Annie Lennox was born in Christmas day 1954.
  • During World War I, an un-official Christmas truce took place between British and German troops on the Western Front.
  • Pope Julius I designated December 25 as Christmas Day in 350AD.
  • The name of the Christian preparation period prior to Christmas is known as Advent.
  • The common name of the Australian wildflower blandiflorda is Christmas Bells.
  • William the Conqueror was crowned king of England on Christmas Day 1066.
  • The name of an evergreen tree with glossy leaves and bright red berries which has often been bestowed on girls born near Christmas is Holly.
  • Christmas Creek is the name of a creek in both the states of Victoria and Queensland.
  • The Australian Prime Minister of Australia when Cyclone Tracy hit Darwin on Christmas 1974 was Gough Whitlam.
  • Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar are collectively known as The Magi or the Three Wisemen.
  • The 1843 book A Christmas Carol was written by Charles Dickens.
  • For Christmas 1983, Cabbage Patch Kids were the must have present in the US with each doll being unique coming with adoption papers and no two dolls being alike.
  • An extortionist exploded a bomb in the Sydney, New South Wales, store of major retailer Woolworths on Christmas Eve 1980.
  • Assassinated Egyptian President Mohammad Anwar El-Sadat was born on Christmas day 1918.
  • In order to romanticise his past, Humphrey Bogart, male star of the movie Casablanca, falsely claimed to have been born n Christmas Day.
  • Long reigning Emperor Hirohito acceded to the Japanese throne on 25 December 1926.
  • Comic genius, Charlie Chaplin, noted for his role in The Tramp, died aged 88 on Christmas Day 1977.
  • Yule is another name for Christmas.
  • The Coronation Stone was stolen on Christmas Day 1950 from beneath its resting place under the Coronation Chair in Westminster Abbey, London.
  • According to Biblical records, Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem- Judah.
  • Boomtown Rat singer, Bob Geldorf, in 1977 sang Look After Number One, and later at Christmas time 1984 was looking after millions as part of Band Aid a charity supergroup featuring mainly British and Irish musicians and recording artists.
  • Animal character, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, was created for a children’s colouring book in 1939 and then became the subject of a popular song.
  • English ice-skating duo, Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, starred in the 1986 Christmas spectacular Fire and Ice.
  • Christmas Day 1913 was not a day of good cheer for one couple who were arrested in New York for kissing in the street.
  • Perry Christmas was a partner in the first store of retail giant Woolworths when it opened in Imperial Arcade in Sydney in 1924.
  • Shortly before its scheduled landing on Mars, the British built Beagle 2 space-probe mysteriously vanishes Christmas Day 2003 never to be heard from again.
  • In the Christmas song Six White Boomers the boomers are Kangaroos used by Santa Claus in his Australian run.
  • Australian Prime Minister Earle Page had Christmas as one of his names – Earle Christmas Grafton Page who was Prime Minister in 1939.
  • According to the song Twelve Days of Christmas, my true love sent me five gold rings.
  • Born on Christmas Day 1949 was Oscar award winner for Best Actress in Coal Miner’s Daughter – Sissy Spacek.
  • Soviet Union leader, Mikhail Gorbochev, tendered his resignation on Christmas Day 1991.
  • Christmas Hills exists in the Australian states of Tasmania and Victoria.
  • On Christmas Day, 1965 Rubber Soul by the Beatles moved to the top of the UK Album charts.
  • Sir Henry Cole is credited with the invention of the Christmas Card in 1843.
  • Adrian IV, enthroned on Christmas Day 1154, has been the only pope from English background.
  • Runaway British MP, John Stonehouse, was detained by police in Melbourne, Victoria on Christmas Day 1974.
  • What did Adam say to Eve on the day before Christmas – It’s Christmas, Eve.

Christmas Cakes As The Table Centre

 

 

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Christmas Is A Season

 

 

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Christmas is a season,
For gifts of every kind;
All the glittering, pretty things
That Christmas shoppers find;
Baubles, beads, and bangles
Of silver and gold.

Anything and everything
That can be bought or sold,
Is given at this season
To place beneath the tree;
For Christmas is a special time
For giving lavishly.

But there's one rare and priceless gift
That can't be sold or bought,
It's something poor or rich can give
For it's a loving thought.

And loving thoughts are something
For which no one can pay,
And only loving hearts can give
This priceless gift away.

Written By: Author Unknown

Madonna and Child

 

The Holy Family - Martin Schongauer

The Holy Family - Martin Schongauer 1470

Location: Alte Pinakothek, Munich, Germany

Christmas Day – For Unto Us A Child Is Born

 

Messiah (HWV 56), the English-language oratorio, was composed by George Frideric Handel between 22 August 1741 and 14 September 1741 in London.

With the text taken from Isaiah 9:6:

For unto us a Child is born,

unto us a Son is given,

and the government

shall be upon His shoulder;

and his name shall be called Wonderful,

Counsellor, the Mighty God,

the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.

See later in today’s blog for a contemporary version of this magnificent choral piece.

Christmas Day Quotable

 

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It’s Christmas!

 

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Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Rosemary Clooney sings "Let It Snow!"

 

"Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!", also known as "Let It Snow", is a song written by lyricist Sammy Cahn and composer Jule Styne in July 1945. It was written in Hollywood, California during one of the hottest days on record.

It is sung by Rosemary Clooney on an episode of the Rosemary Clooney Show and was released on Rosemary’s 1996 studio album White Christmas.

“One Thousand Christmas Beards” and other Vintage Christmas Books

 

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Published in 1955, written by Roger Duvoisin a Swiss-born American writer and illustrator, best known for children's picture books.

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The Father Christmas Letters, also known as Letters from Father Christmas, are a collection of letters written and illustrated by J. R. R. Tolkien between 1920 and 1942 for his children, from Father Christmas. They were subsequently released posthumously by the Tolkien estate and edited by Baillie Tolkien.

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Tom Smith was a Londoner, who started in business on his own in the mid 1840's. His origins in the confectionery business are confirmed. The earliest Tom Smith archive material in the Victoria & Albert museum in London offers his catalogues covering confectionery, superb cake decorations and fancy goods from the 1870's in which Crackers or "Cosaques" as they were known in their infancy are also listed.

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"A Visit from St. Nicholas", also known as "The Night Before Christmas" and "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" from its first line, is a  poem first published anonymously in 1823 and later attributed to Clement Clark Moore , who acknowledged authorship.

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The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus is a 1902 children's book, written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by Mary Cowles Clark

A Christmas Celebrity Moment

 

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Arlene Dahl

Grace Bradley

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Robert Mitchum wants you to have A Very Merry Christmas

The Chocolate Night Before Christmas

 

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'Twas the night before Christmas and all round my hips
Were Fannie May candies that sneaked past my lips.
Fudge brownies were stored in the freezer with care
In hopes that my thighs would forget they were there.

While Mama in her girdle and I in chinstraps
Had just settled down to sugar-borne naps.
When out in the pantry there arose such a clatter
I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter.

Away to the kitchen I flew like a flash,
Tore open the icebox then threw up the sash.
The marshmallow look of the new-fallen snow
Sent thoughts of a binge to my body below.

When what to my wandering eyes should appear:
A marzipan Santa with eight chocolate reindeer!
That huge chunk of candy so luscious and slick
I knew in a second that I'd wind up sick.

The sweet-coated Santa, those sugared reindeer
I closed my eyes tightly but still I could hear;
On Pritzker, on Stillman, on weak one, on TOPS
A Weight Watcher dropout from sugar detox.

From the top of the scales to the top of the hall
Now dash away pounds now dash away all.
Dressed up in Lane Bryant from my head to nightdress
My clothes were all bulging from too much excess.

My droll little mouth and my round little belly,
They shook when I laughed like a bowl full of jelly.
I spoke not a word but went straight to my work
Ate all of the candy then turned with a jerk.

And laying a finger beside my heartburn
Gave a quick nod toward the bedroom I turned.
I eased into bed, to the heavens I cry--
If temptation's removed I'll get thin by and by.

And I mumbled again as I turned for the night
In the morning I'll starve... 'til I take that first bite!

Source Unknown

Noel … Vintage Lettering

 

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Trivia Bits 24 December

 

  • First named in 2005, trypophobia is the fear of holes.
  • Life Education Australia’s mascot Healthy Harold is a loveable giraffe which for over 30 years has been teaching Australian children how to enjoy a healthy lifestyle by resisting participation in drug and alcohol abuse.
  • La primavera is Italian for season spring in many Romance languages.
  • In October 2012 Sky Movies 007 HD, a movie channel dedicated to the James Bond film franchise, was launched the United Kingdom and Ireland to celebrate Bond’s 50th anniversary but closed in August 2013.
  • Cold Chisel, a rock band that originated in Adelaide, South Australia, released the 1978 single Khe Sanh which was deemed too offensive for airplay on commercial radio.
  • The leader of the confederacy during the American Civil War was Jefferson Davis from its beginning in 1861 to its collapse in 1865.
  • Linguistics is the study of language and includes language form, language meaning, and language in context.
  • Agatha Barbara was the first female president of Malta being appointed the third President of the Republic for a five year term on 15 February 1982.
  • The continent with the fewest number of countries is Antartica which is governed by The Antarctic Treaty which was officially entered into force on June 23, 1961. The original signatories were the 12 countries active in Antarctica during the International Geophysical Year (IGY) of 1957–58. The twelve countries had significant interests in Antarctica at the time: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, France, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the United States.
  • In 2004, the Australian Embassy in Indonesia was the target of a bombing attack.
  • A Coup Droit D’Autorite is a movement in the sport of fencing and is a stroke which parries and then forces through an attack.
  • The Samba is a Brazilian dance and musical genre originating in Bahia, Brazil, and with its roots in Rio de Janeiro and Africa via the West African slave trade and African religious traditions
  • In the card game of Dixit, each player starts with a total of six random cards.
  • Agatha Christie, in her novel Ordeal by Innocence, used the location of Royal Castle Hotel as inspiration for characterizing the Royal George in the novel. Ordeal by Innocence was first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on November 3 1958.
  • I once had a girl are the opening words of the Beatles song Norwegian Wood written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, released on the 1965 album Rubber Soul and was the first example of a rock band playing the sitar in one of their songs played by George Harrison.

Coca Cola’s Vintage Christmas Advertising

 

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