Nativity Thankful

Our church's Live Nativity was last night and i am grateful for: 

Sheep.

Goats.

The donkeys.

Backstage fun.

Mary, Joseph, and Baby (choir couple and their daughter).

Childrens angel choir.

Adult angel choir.

Magi helping each other glue on beards.

Three singing magi.

/

Shepherd dad’s who help with costumes.

Shepherd’s wives ditto.

Shepherds and their reluctant sheep.

A start to tell the news.

Bonus gratitude:

A visit from baby Lee!

The wonderful Josie Two-Shoes hosts Ten Things of Thankful.  Make a list, check it twice, and join in.  It's loads of fun.

Today is:

Bartender Appreciation Day -- with a guide to help you show your appreciation to the Heroes Behind the Bar 

Cape May Christmas Candlelight House Tours -- Cape May, NJ, US (tours of homes, b&bs, guesthouses, hotels, and churches for 3 consecutive Saturdays)

Chester Greenwood Day Parade and Celebration/Ear Muff Day -- Farmington, ME, US (celebration of Farmington's most famous resident, the inventor of the ear muff!)

Chichibu Yomatsuri -- Chichibu shrine, Chichibu, Saitama Prefecture, Japan (one of Japan's most impressive night parties; through tomorrow) 

Christmas Candlelightings -- Coshocton, OH, US (Roscoe Village opens for Christmas fun for 3 consecutive Saturdays)

Christmas on the Prairie -- Wahoo, NE, US (Christmas 1800s prairie style; through tomorrow)

Coats and Toys for Kids Day -- ME, US (charity drive across the state; even if you aren't in that state, there is probably a charity near you that would love to have your help)

Festival of the Finger Stalls -- Fairy Calendar

Holiday Happiness -- Upper Arlington, OH, US (Christmas fun for the family at the local public library)

Hollywood Beach Candy Cane Parade -- Hollywood, FL, US

International Day for the Abolition of Slavery -- UN

Live: Family Christmas at the Benjamin Harrison Home -- Indianapolis, IN, US (Christmas as it would have been during the life of the 23rd US President)

Natchitoches Christmas Festival Parade -- Natchitoches, LA, US (the biggest day in the Festival of Lights in Natchitoches, parade day and the first fireworks of the season)

National Day -- Laos; United Arab Emirates (trad.)

National Fritters Day

National Mutt Day -- US (because mixed breeds need an extra chance)   

Norskedalen's Old-Fashioned Christmas -- Coon Valley, WI, US (log home Christmas and fun for all; through tomorrow)

Oshiroi Matsuri -- Fukuoka, Japan (Face Paint Festival, to ask for good harvest next year)

Safety Razor Day -- the first disposable razor blades were patented by King Gillette this day in 1901

Shaker Christmas Fair -- Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village, New Gloucester, ME, US (traditional holiday church fair)

Shalako Festival -- Hopi and Zuni Native Americans (dates of main festivals and dance ceremonies vary by area, but usually the weekend nearest the 49th day after the 10th full moon)

SKYWARN Recognition Day -- National Weather Service, NOAA, and Amateur Radio Operators, working together to report dangerous weather conditions

Special Education Day -- US (anniversary of the first US special education law in 1975)

St. Bibiana's Day (Patron of epileptics, mentally ill people, single laywomen, torture victims; against epilepsy, hangovers, headaches, insanity, mental illness; and, appropriately considering the aforementioned list, Los Angeles, CA)

Walter Plinge Day -- UK (the British equivalent to George Spelvin, a name used to disguise the fact that an actor is playing more than one part in a production, but Walter was based on a real pub ownder who was generous to actors)

Birthdays Today:

Britney Spears, 1981

Nelly Furtado, 1978

Monica Seles, 1973

Lucy Liu, 1968

Randy Gardner, 1958

Dennis Christopher, 1955

Dan Butler, 1954

Stone Phillips, 1954

Cathy Lee Crosby, 1948

T. Coraghessan Boyle, 1948

Gianni Versace, 1946

William Wegman, 1943

Julie Harris, 1925

Maria Callas, 1923

Randolph Hearst, 1915

Charles Ringling, 1863

Georges Seurat, 1859

Debuting/Premiering Today:

Naked Gun(Film), 1988

"Mystery of Edwin Drood"(Musical), 1985

"Imus in the Morning"(Radio), 1961

Dancing Lady(Film), 1933 (first appearance of Fred Astaire)

"The Adventures of Charlie Chan"(Radio), 1932

Model A Ford, 1927 (first sold on this date, for $385)

"Sie Versunkene Glocke/The Sunken Bell"(Hauptmann play), 1896

"Samson et Dalila/Samson and Delilah"(Saint-Saens opera, Op. 47), 1877

"La Favorite/The Favorite"(Donizetti opera), 1840

Today in History:

The University of Leipzig opens, 1409

Dedication of the Touro Synagogue, in Newport, Rhode Island, the first synagogue in what became the United States, 1763

Napoleon defeats the Russians and Austrians at Austerlitz, 1805

The first Savings bank in the US opens, the Philadelphia Savings Fund Society, 1816

US President James Monroe declares his "Monroe Doctrine", 1823

US President James K. Polk declares it is the "Manifest Destiny" of the US to expand into the West, 1845

Charles Dickens gives his first public reading in the US, in NYC, 1867

King Camp Gillette patents the safety razor, 1901

Pu Yi (Hsuan-T'ung) became China's Last Emperor at age 2, 1908

Following 19 years of Ford Model T production, the Ford Motor Company unveils the Ford Model A, 1927

A team led by Enrico Fermi initiates the first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction, 1942

Riots break out in Jerusalem in response to the approval of the 1947 UN Partition Plan, 1947

The Granma yacht reaches the shores of Cuba's Oriente province and Fidel Castro, Che Guevara and 80 other members of the 26th of July Movement disembark to initiate the Cuban Revolution, 1956

Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Fujairah, Sharjah, Dubai, and Umm Al Quwain form the United Arab Emirates, 1971

Benazir Bhutto is sworn in as Prime Minister of Pakistan, becoming the first woman to head the government of an Islam-dominated state, 1988

A coalition led by Chancellor Helmut Kohl wins the first free all-German elections since 1932, 1990

The United Kingdom devolves political power in Northern Ireland to the Northern Ireland Executive, 1999

NASA announces finding an arsenic based life form on Earth, 2010