Many know the story of General Patton’s prayer for better weather in order to more efficiently kill the Germans in the winter of 1944. Few know of his Christmas Greeting that was issued along with the prayer, which he describes in War as I Knew It. Contrary to popular belief, the prayer was not ordered to be written during the […]

Good morning, it’s Wednesday, December 12, 2018. On this date in 1799, George Washington did what he did on most days since retiring from the presidency: He toured his sprawling estate on horseback to examine and direct Mount Vernon’s myriad farming activities. It was a Thursday and the weather was nasty. Snow was falling as Gen. Washington began his rounds […]

Alexander Solzhenitsyn was born in Russia, DECEMBER 11, 1918. He was arrested for writing a letter criticizing Joseph Stalin and spent 11 years in labor camps. He began writing and eventually received the Nobel Prize for Literature. Speaking in Washington, D.C., June 30, 1975, Alexander Solzhenitsyn gave a warning to the west: “In pre-revolutionary Russia…there were attempts of the Tsar’s […]

After Queen Victoria died, the country went into mourning, and the tree somehow died with her for a while in many homes. While some families and community groups still had large tinsel strewn trees, many opted for the more convenient table top tree. These were available in a variety of sizes, and the artificial tree, particularly the Goose Feather Tree, […]

Pennsylvania became the 2nd State to join the Union, DECEMBER 12, 1787. The Continental Congress had met there, the Declaration of Independence was signed there, and the Liberty Bell was rung there.  The Continental Army spent the freezing winter of 1777 at Valley Forge there. In 1787, the Constitution was written there, and from 1790-1800, the United States Capitol was […]

“The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave.” Patrick Henry An American attorney, planter and politician who became known as an orator during the movement for independence in Virginia in the 1770s. A Founding Father, he served as the first and sixth post-colonial Governor of Virginia, from 1776 to 1779 […]

Tinsel was invented in Germany around 1610. At that time real silver was used, and machines were invented which pulled the silver out into the wafer thin strips for tinsel. Silver was durable, but tarnished quickly, especially with candlelight. Attempts were made to use a mixture of lead and tin, but this was heavy and tended to break under its […]

“I heard the bells on Christmas Day Their old, familiar carols play, And wild and sweet The words repeat Of peace on earth, good-will to men!” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was an American poet whose works include “Paul Revere’s Ride”, The Song of Hiawatha, and “Evangeline”. He was also the first American to translate Dante Alighieri’s The Divine […]

December 12 is the 346th day of the year (347th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 19 days remaining until the end of the year. Holidays Christian Feast Day: December 12 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) Edburga of Minster-in-Thanet Feast of the Apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe (Mexico) Vicelinus Constitution Day (Russia, 1993-2005) Feast of Masá’il (“Questions”), the […]

Good morning, it’s Wednesday, December 11, 2019. Eighty-two years ago today, a thin and handsome man known to his beloved as “David,” but to the British people as Edward VIII, became the first English monarch to voluntarily abdicate the throne. He did so for love, which seems quaint today. As Tina Turner might say, what’s love got to do with […]

December 11 is the 345th day of the year (346th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 20 days remaining until the end of the year. This date is slightly more likely to fall on a Tuesday, Friday or Sunday (58 in 400 years each) than on Wednesday or Thursday (57), and slightly less likely to occur on […]

“Happy, happy Christmas, that can win us back to the delusions of our childhood days, recall to the old man the pleasures of his youth, and transport the traveler back to his own fireside and quiet home!” Charles Dickens Charles Dickens was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world’s most well-known fictional characters and is generally […]

Bob Kamman, Procedurally Taxing: “I searched other Tax Court orders and decisions available at the Court’s website. Surprisingly, this is the only reference to Jarndyce. I searched for Dickens. There were petitioners named Dickens, and petitioners with an address on Dickens Street. But the only other Dickens reference came from an opinion by the same Judge Holmes” [U.S. Tax Court […]

“Christmas can be celebrated in the school room with pine trees, tinsel and reindeers, but there must be no mention of the man whose birthday is being celebrated. One wonders how a teacher would answer if a student asked why it was called Christmas.” Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States (1981–1989) and the […]

December 10 is the 344th day of the year (345th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 21 days remaining until the end of the year. You Have Only 14 Days Left Till Christmas Holidays Alfred Nobel Day or Nobeldagen, presentation ceremony of the Nobel Prize. (Sweden) Christian Feast Day: Eulalia of Mérida Miltiades Translation of the Holy […]

Good morning, it’s Monday, Dec. 9, 2019. On this date in 1854, a London newspaper published a poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson so evocative of battlefield bravery that it was still being memorized by schoolchildren a century later — on both sides of the Atlantic. “The Charge of the Light Brigade” is short poem, comprising only six stanzas and 260 […]

by Erick Erickson  |  The Resurgent On Christmas Day 1863, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow sat in his chair at his writing table and began a poem. “I heard the bells on Christmas Day / Their old, familiar carols play, / and wild and sweet / The words repeat / Of peace on earth, good-will to men!” he wrote. His poem, “Christmas […]

(AmmoLand.com)- Not every soldier who enlisted in the fight against World War II tyranny was a young man. Army Pfc. Floyd Lindstrom was 30 when he joined. His bravery and passion for the cause was infectious, and that helped earn him the Medal of Honor. Lindstrom was born on June 21, 1912, in Holdredge, Nebraska. His family eventually moved to […]

December 9 is the 343rd day of the year (344th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 22 days remaining until the end of the year. Holidays Anna’s Day, marks the day to start the preparation process of the lutefisk to be consumed on Christmas Eve, as well as a Swedish name day, celebrating all people named Anna. […]

In America, Christmas Trees were introduced into several pockets – the German Hessian Soldiers took their tree customs in the 18th century. In Texas, Cattle Barons from Britain took their customs in the 19th century, and the East Coast Society copied the English Court tree customs. Settlers from all over Europe took their customs also in the 19th century. Decorations […]