The Happy Time of Year (Ten Things of Thankful)

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It's the Thankful Day before Christmas!

Today i am thankful that i get to go see Grandma and Grandpa, as well as make arrangements to go back for Christmas.

For the first time in a while, Bigger Girl is coming along, and i'm very thankful for that.

Little Girl has the day off on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, so she and i can drive down there and both be doing the marathon of cooking and cleaning.  What a blessing!

Sweetie can keep the car up here for Christmas Eve and so be able to get himself to the Christmas Eve service.  He gets to sing in the choir and i get to watch on livestream.

Tomorrow evening is the Service of Nine Carols and Nine Lessons at the Episcopal church up the street from our church.  Sweetie was so impressed with the choir at that church at Pilgrimage that we are going to go to that, and i'm thankful because i really think we will both enjoy it.

As soon as that lets out, we will walk back to our church for the Live Nativity show.  We will get to see Amos the donkey and Bubbles the Camel, and the fainting goats!

Dr. D is out of town, and yes, i will miss her on Monday.  Thankfully i can offer my services to my Wednesday lady instead, so she doesn't have to miss out.

We've been listening to lots and lots of Christmas music, it leaves me feeling happy.

Also we've been working a lot lately, i am thankful we've had a bit extra and i will be just as thankful for a nap Sunday afternoon.

Mostly i'm just thankful for this time of year.  Merry Christmas, everyone!

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:

Divalia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (part of Saturnalia; feast of Angerona, goddess of secret sorrows)

Flashlight Day -- what better day, at least in the Northern Hemisphere, when dark is with us longest, to make sure you have one in good working order

Forefathers' Day -- Plymouth, MA, US (celebrates the landing of the Pilgrims)

Homeless Persons' Memorial Day -- US

Humbug Day -- those frustrated with their holiday preparations are allowed up to 12 humbugs today, just to help vent their frustrations; sponsored by Wellcat Holidays

Icelandic Yuletide Lad of the Day, Gluggagaegir -- Peeper, who peeps through the windows and will come steal toys he likes the look of

Look At the Bright Side Day -- Northern Hemisphere, and why not; after all, each day after this will have more sun!

National Hamburger Day

Pancha Ganapati -- India (through the 25th, a modern Hindu festival honoring of Lord Ganesha, Patron of Arts and Culture)

Phileas Fogg Wins A Wager Day (1872)

Poseidea -- Ancient Greek Calendar (festival to honor Poseidon; date approximate)

St. Peter Canisius' Day (Patron of Catholic press, Germany, writers of catechisms)

St. Thomas' Day, the Doubting Thomas (old date, now celebrated on July 3, but many of the superstitions related to it are still observed at this time)

    Mumping Day a/k/a Gooding Day -- UK (traditional day on which beggars beg for, or "mump", good things for Christmas, always on old St. Thomas' Day)

    Sao Tome Day -- Sao Tome e Principe (Dia de Sao Tome e Principe)

Winter Solstice Eve

Birthdays Today:

Jackson Rathbone, 1984

Jack Noseworthy, 1969

Kiefer Sutherland, 1966

Andy Dick, 1965

Florence Griffith Joyner, 1959

Ray Romano, 1957

Jane Kaczmarek, 1955

Chris Evert, 1954

Tina Brown, 1953

Samuel L. Jackson, 1948

Michael Tilson Thomas, 1944

Frank Zappa, 1940

Jane Fonda, 1937

Phil Donahue, 1935

Joe Paterno, 1926

Paul Winchell, 1922

Heinrich Böll, 1917

Josh Gibson, 1911

Joseph Stalin, 1879

Henrietta Szold, 1860

Benjamin Disraeli, 1804

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Billion Dollar Baby"(Musical), 1945

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs(Disney animated film), 1937

Tillie's Punctured Romance(Silent Film, first full length comedy), 1914

The Crossword Puzzle(First one ever published, 1913

Basketball, 1891 (first game under the direction of James Naismith, by the rules he had published)

Today in History:

A hurricane hits Holland/Friesland, destroying villages with widespread flooding, 1163

The Battle of Curalaba: The revolting Mapuche Native Americans, led by cacique Pelentaru, inflict a major defeat on Spanish troops in southern Chile; all Spanish cities south of the Biobio river are eventually taken by the Mapuches, and all conquest of Mapuche territories by Europeans practically ceases, until the 1870s "Pacification of Araucania", 1598

William Bradford and the Mayflower Pilgrims land on what is now known as Plymouth Rock in Plymouth, Massachusetts, 1620

Hue Tay Son becomes emperor Quang Trung of Vietnam, 1788

The Rochdale Pioneers commence business at their cooperative in Rochdale, England, starting the Cooperative movement, 1844

The first Permanent Force cavalry and infantry regiments of the Canadian Army are formed: The Royal Canadian Dragoons and The Royal Canadian Regiment, 1883

The first Word-Cross puzzle, which the printer mislabeled as a Cross-Word (the name that stuck), is published in the New York World, 1913

The first feature length color and sound cartoon, Disney's Snow White, premiers, 1937

Rondane National Park is established as Norway's first national park, 1962

Apollo 8, the first manned mission to the moon, is launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew performs the first ever manned Trans Lunar Injection and become the first humans to leave Earth's gravity, 1968

The United Nations adopts the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, 1969

Mexican volcano Popocatepetl, dormant for 47 years, erupts gases and ash, 1994

The city of Bethlehem passes from Israeli to Palestinian control, 1995

Scientists studying the Sutter's Mill Meteorite announce it contains the oldest material in the Solar System, 2012
The Mesoamerican Long Count calendar reaches the date 13.0.0.0.0, 2012