HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

There, i said it.

Come on, "Merry Christmas Patrol," come and get me.

At this point, i dare you.

Holiday, for those of you who seem so put out about it, means "Holy Day." Yes, as in holy, set apart, separate.

Despite your nastiness about it, it means i'm wishing that you have a beautiful, happy, holy day. And i mean whatever day you consider holy.

For me, and supposedly for you, though i would never know you claim the Lord of Love as your God by the rude way you are talking to me, that means Christmas.

For others, whom i respect, care about, and even love, as my Lord taught me to, that might mean another day. So be it.

Guess what -- i'm going to say Happy Holidays, and you can just get over it.

It's not a pagan substitute for Merry Christmas that i'm using to try to drive religion out of everyday life.

It's what i choose to say, because i like the way it sounds, i like the fact that it means holy day, and i want all people, no matter their choice of religion or lack of it, to have a blessed and set apart day of their choice to celebrate with friends.

Whether you like it or not, i'm going to respect their right to pick their holiday, and my right to pick mine, and us be friends, maybe even exchange traditions.

Happy Holidays. Let's all learn to play nice, shall we? Especially at this time of year.


Today is:

*Fairy Flute Fantasy -- Fairy Calendar

*Festival of Saturnia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (for the Sons of Saturn; Jupiter, Neptune, and Pluto)

*International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People -- UN

*Liberation Day -- Albania

*National Chocolates Day

*National Lemon Creme Pie Day

*National Unity Day -- Vanuatu

*St. Cuthbert Mayne's Day

*St. Saturnius' Day

*Square Dance Day -- internet generated, and fun to do

*Throw Out Your Leftovers Day -- if you've had it since Thanksgiving, and haven't frozen it or eaten it yet, get rid of it

*William Tubman's Birthday -- Liberia (it's longest serving President)



Anniversaries Today:

Erwin Rommel marries Lucie "Lu" Mollin, 1916


Birthdays Today:

Jon Knight, 1968
Kim Delaney, 1961
Cathy Moriarty, 1960
Jeff Fahey, 1956
Howie Mandel, 1955
Garry Shandling, 1949
Petra Kelly, 1947
Chuck Mangione, 1940
Peter Bergman, 1939
John Mayall, 1933
Diane Ladd, 1932
Vin Scully, 1927
Madeline L'Engle, 1918
Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., 1908
C.S. Lewis, 1898
Busby Berkeley, 1895
Louisa May Alcott, 1832
Christian Doppler, 1803


Today in History:

Jews of Augsburg, Germany, are massacred, 1349 (Sometimes, it seems, the more things change...)
King Philip II devalues Spanish currency, 1596 (See above...)
Sir James Jay invents invisible ink, 1775
San Jose, California, is founded as el Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe, 1777
Dessalines & Christophe declare St Domingue (Haiti) independent, 1803
First Italian opera in US, "Barber of Seville" premieres (NYC), 1825
Thomas Edison demonstrates hand-cranked phonograph, 1877
The first motorcycle race ever is held in Surrey, England; the distance was one mile and the winner was Charles Jarrot in a time of 2 minutes, 8 seconds, 1897
The first US patent for inventing the traffic lights system is issued to Ernest Sirrine. 1910
Fire destroys most of the buildings on Santa Catalina Island, California, 1915
Howard Carter opens the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun to the public, 1922
Richard Byrd becomes the first person to fly over the South Pole, 1929
The first surgery (on a human) to correct blue baby syndrome is performed by Alfred Blalock and Vivien Thomas, 1944
The United Nations General Assembly votes to partition Palestine, 1947
Mercury-Atlas 5 Mission – Enos, a chimpanzee, is launched into space, orbits earth twice, and is successfully recovered after splashdown, 1961
Canadian Space Agency launches the satellite Alouette 2, 1965
Nolan Bushnell (co-founder of Atari) releases Pong (the first commercially successful video game) in Andy Capp’s Tavern in Sunnyvale, California, 1972
The United Nations General Assembly passes a resolution stating that Soviet Union forces should withdraw from Afghanistan, 1983
The United Nations Security Council passes two resolutions to restore international peace and security if Iraq did not withdraw its forces from Kuwait and free all foreign hostages by the following January 15, 1990
A 7.4 magnitude earthquake occurs off the northern coast of Martinique, 2007