Magic of Christmas

"Did you see the wonderful tree we found to use as our Christmas tree?" he asked as he dug out a couple of boxes of very old ornaments from the attic.  "It was even growing on our property, just the right size, and the kids were so excited that we got to cut our own tree, just like I used to be when I was little!"

"That was one of your Grandmother's more innocuous wishes," the Djinn said with a reminiscing smile, "that there would always be one perfect Scotch pine, just the right size for Christmas, and on this property so no one could argue ownership."

"Oh," he said, a bit deflated, then added, "well, what's the fun in that if you know it's always going to be there?"

"You have to find it, of course, it's not like I'm going to put it in the same place all of the time!" the Djinn snapped.  Right before popping back into his bottle, he added a bit petulantly, "Now, please go get that thing decorated, I want to be able to see and feel the magic of Christmas in this house again, it's been too long."

Linking up with Uncharted Blog and Six Sentence Stories, where the cue is pine.





Today is:

Alcyone -- Ancient Greek Calendar (kingfisher goddess; date approximate, but during the Halcyon Days)

Bill of Rights Day -- US

Cat Herders Day -- for those whose job or life is like trying to herd cats; sponsored by Wellcat Holidays

Centipede Boot-Making and Shoe-Repair Season begins -- Fairy Calendar

Consualia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (Festival for Consus, god of graineries, with games and races in the Circus Maximus in his honor)

Coonskin Cap Day -- debut of "Davy Crocket" on TV's "Disneyland" in 1954 (and the original Davy Crockett hated the things, by the way)

Homecoming Day -- Alderney, UK

Icelandic Yuletide Lad of the Day, Pvorusleikier -- Spoon-licker, who tries to steal all the wooden spoons he can find

Kasuga Wakamiya on-Matsuri -- Nara Prefecture, Japan (dates to the 12th century, to pray against plague and for a good harvest; through the 18th)

Koninkrijksdag -- Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba; Sint Maarten (Kingdom Day)

National Lemon Cupcake Day

National Regifting Day -- be careful here!

Navidades begin -- Puerto Rico (traditional Christmas celebrations that last through Three Kings Day)

Setagaya no Bori Ichi -- Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan (a two day flea market that dates back to 1578)

St. Nino's Day (Patron of Georgia)

Trivial Pursuit Day -- honoring Canadians Chris Haney and Scott Abbott, who created the game on this date in 1979

Zamenhof Day -- International Esperanto Community


Anniversary Today:

Sylvester Stallone marries Brigitte Nielson, 1985


Birthdays Today:

Adam Brody, 1979
Garrett Wang, 1968
Helen Slater, 1963
Nick Beggs, 1961
Don Johnson, 1949
Dave Clark, 1942
Tim Conway, 1933
Edna O'Brien, 1931
Friedensreich Hundertwasser, 1928
Uziel "Uzi" Gal, 1923
Jeff Chandler, 1918
Stan Kenton, 1911
J. Paul Getty, 1892
Ludwik Lejzer Zamenhof, 1859
Alexandre Gustave Eiffel,1832


Debuting/Premiering Today:

Gone With the Wind(Film), 1939 (Atlanta only, general release Jan. 1, 1940)
"Song of the Forests"(Shostakovich Op. 81), 1949
"Charlie Girl"(Musical), 1965


Today in History:

Byzantine general Belisarius defeats the Vandals, commanded by King Gelimer, at the Battle of Ticameron, 533
Hulagu Khan captures and destroys the Hashshashin stronghold at Alamut in present-day Iran as part of the Mongol offensive on Islamic southwest Asia, 1265
Bartholomeus Diaz returns to Portugal after sailing round Cape of Good Hope, 1488
The State of Holland grants patent on a windmill with crankshaft, 1593
The first US law school is established at University of Pennsylvania, 1791
The first Irish magazine in US, Shamrock, is published, 1810
The first street-cleaning machine in US is used in Philadelphia, 1854
The King of Hawaii becomes the first reigning king to visit the Us, and is received by President Grant, 1874
The London Underground's Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway opens, 1906
Bandleader, Major Glenn Miller, is lost over English Channel, 1944
Gemini 6A, crewed by Wally Schirra and Thomas Stafford, is launched from Cape Kennedy, Florida; four orbits later, it achieves the first space rendezvous, with Gemini 7, 1965
Samoa becomes a member of the United Nations, 1976
U.S. President Jimmy Carter announces that the United States will recognize the People's Republic of China and cut off all relations with Taiwan, 1978
The 3rd reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant is shut down, 2000
The Leaning Tower of Pisa reopens after 11 years and $27,000,000 to fortify it, without fixing its famous lean, 2001
Boeing's new Boeing 787 Dreamliner makes its maiden flight from Seattle, Washington, 2009
The Mayor of Flint, Michigan declares a state of emergency over lead contaminated water supplies and calls for a criminal investigation, 2015