Playing at Church (Ten Things of Thankful)

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Thankful Day is a happy occasion, and today it’s all about playing at a play.

Our church loves to put on plays and productions (at least for now, the lady who has been doing it for 20+ years is retiring).  This year, in addition to our Live Nativity coming up, there is a presentation of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.

All of us are thankful to Ms. N for going out with a great one.

For anyone who does not know the premise of the book/play, the Herdmans are the worst kids in the world, and they end up taking over the Christmas pageant at the church.

Because of our transportation issues, i was not going to be able to catch the play, so i’m thankful i was welcome at the dress rehearsal.

Before it began, i had a wonderful time of discussion with the church organist about raising chickens.

It was great to see the magic behind the magic of a play production.

It was fun to hear the director snapping out directions, and even more fun to watch Mr. Jake standing behind him pantomiming his every move.

The baby angels in the choir had the electric candles, and seeing the ones who could not get theirs to light up was, while not funny to them, funny to everyone watching as they shook and turned them all over the place trying to make them work.

The fire scene, with the whole cast running through the aisles, including the baby angels, was done to perfection and is going to be the comic highlight, i just know it.  There are lots of funny lines and scenes, and that it going to stand out.

The young lady playing Imogene Herdman was a joy to watch, she got the touching parts just right.  She even had me tearing up, and i know the plot.

Our pastor actually got in there and did a great job as the church pastor.  Not much of a surprise there, but lovely to see.

Each of these is a reason i am thankful, and for the rest, some pictures.

Please write up your own list and link up to Ten Things of Thankful, where Kristi and her co-hosts always have a warm welcome waiting.    

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Today is:

Armed Forces Flag Day -- India

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!)

Christmas Candlelightings -- Coshocton, OH, US (Roscoe Village opens for Christmas fun for 2 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)

Day of Mourning for Dingle-Fritter, Gooseberry-Humple, Tiger-Get-By, LoneFolding, But Not Zimber-Quattor -- Fairy Calendar

Día de las Velitas -- Columbia (Day of the Little Candles, a celebration on the eve of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception)

Feast of Osiris in Abydos -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Hang a Wreath Day -- after all, by now it's about time

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 Civil Aviation Day -- UN

Letter Writing Day -- no origin info found, but think of how happy someone will be to get a letter if you write one!

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 Cotton Candy Day

National Heroes' Day -- East Timor

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

Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day  -- US

Quema del Diablo -- Guatemala (Burning of the Devil, to cast out impurities before the Feast of the Immaculate Conception)

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

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

St. Ambrose of Milan's Day (Patron of bee keepers, bees, candle makers/chandlers, domestic animals, learning, schoolchildren/students, wax refiners; French Commissariat; Milan, Italy)

Students' Day -- Iran

Spitak Remembrance Day -- Armenia

Anniversaries Today:

National Fire Safety Council founded, 1979

Delaware becomes the first US State, 1787

Birthdays Today:

Aaron Carter, 1987

Tino Martinez, 1967

C. Thomas Howell, 1966

Edd Hall, 1958

Larry Bird, 1956

Tom Waits, 1949

Johnny Bench, 1947

Harry Chapin, 1942

Ellen Burstyn, 1932

Ted Knight, 1923

Eli Wallach, 1915

Louis Prima, 1910

Willa Cather, 1873

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"City of Angels"(Musical), 1989

"Band on the Run"(Album), 1973 (UK release date)

"The Gondoliers; or, The King of Barataria"(Savoy Opera), 1889

Today in History:

Marcus Tullius Cicero is assassinated, BC43

Chinese Emperor Lo-Yang makes notation of a supernova (MSH15-52), 185

Connecticut Route 108, one of the oldest highways in the US, is completed to Trumbull, 1696

The Royal Opera House opens at Covent Garden, London, 1732

Marquis de Lafayette attempts to enter the American military as a major general, 1776

The New York Philharmonic plays its first concert, 1842

Max Planck, in his house at Grunewald, on the outskirts of Berlin, discovers the law of black body emission, 1900

Leo Baekeland of Yonkers patents the first thermosetting plastic, Bakelite, 1911

The Japanese attack Pearl Harbor, 1941

Prince Rainier III of Monaco revises the principality's constitution, devolving some of his power to advisory and legislative councils, 1962

The first ever general election on the basis of direct adult franchise is held in Pakistan for 313 National Assembly seats, 1970

The final Apollo mission is launched, and takes the photo now called The Blue Marble as they take off, 1972

Yasser Arafat recognizes the right of Israel to exist, 1988

The Galileo spacecraft arrives at Jupiter, a little more than six years after it was launched, 1995

The Recording Industry Association of America files a lawsuit against the Napster file-sharing client alleging copyright infringement, 1999

The Conservative Party of Canada is officially recognized after the merger of the Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, 2003

Scientists in Tanzania discover the oldest-known dinosaur fossil, and 243-million-year-old Nyasasaurus, 2012

NASA reports the GRAIL probes studying the moon reveal unexpectedly deep cracks, craters and tectonic structures, 2012

Beijing issues its first ever red alert for pollution, 2015

Naples' pizza spinning, Germany's organ music, Kyrgystan's Kok boru and India's Kumbh festival are all given UNESCO intangible heritage status, 2017