Christmas Wish for You

Hello and welcome to a Christmas Saturday here at the Wannaskan Almanac. Today is December 25th.

We're on our way out the door for holiday adventures, so just a quick stop here at the Almanac before we head out.

The First Grader started my Christmas Eve morning with this question: "Do you know why I feel so joyful? Because today is Christmas Eve and tomorrow is Christmas."

This was followed by: 

"Does Santa live on the Earth?"

"What would you rather have: 10-inch eyelashes you can't cut or 20-inch toenails you can't cut?"

"What would you rather have: A world full of kindness or a world full of meanness?"

What a great way to start a holiday, though - with joy - because holidays don't always go that way. Some families are joyous through and through - so much so they radiate and glow, their own lights of love from within shining out like that single star in the sky hanging over Bethlehem.

Other families are pretty joyful but the stress of the holiday, the desire to pull together the perfect family celebration, makes people who are normally very loving kind of cranky. That's our kind of family.

Thursday night, as we made preparations for our family festivities, we joked that, in order to keep us all cheerful instead of cranky, we'd have to put a penny in a penny jar for every crabby instance. Ha-ha, right? Well, guess who was the first one to get crabby Christmas Eve morning? Moi.

We didn't pitch pennies into an actual jar, but we did call each other out whenever a not-so-nice comment came out sideways. There were some grumps and bumps the first half of the day, but we all, thankfully, pulled it together by the afternoon and - in short - had a very lovely Christmas Eve.

My Christmas advice I gift you today is this: Be kind.

The turkey might look cooked but turn out to be raw. Someone will forget the dinner rolls. A kid will complain about getting underwear for Christmas.

Take a deep breath and remember that you chose to come together on this day and throughout the holiday. Remember the very simple reason why you made this choice: Because you love them.

Life is messy. Families are messy. But on this day, let's set all that aside and instead hyperfocus on the very simple singularity of love. Then exhale and embrace the togetherness of the moment. (And, please, help with the dishes.)

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from our family to all of you and yours.

On This Day

Historic Highlights (credits)

1989 - Romanian President Nicolae Ceaușescu and wife Elena were executed

The communist leader and his wife were deposed after a revolution. Their trial lasted for about an hour and then they were summarily executed by a firing squad.

1979 - USSR invades Afghanistan

The airlift of Soviet troops into Afghanistan started a 9-year-long war. The anti-Soviet insurgents, the mujahideen, received support from the United States and other western allies.

1926 - Hirohito becomes the 124th emperor of Japan

Michinomiya Hirohito, known as Emporor Shōwa after his death, becomes the 124th emperor of Japan after the death of his father, Emperor Yoshihito. Hirohito was the Emperor of Japan for 62 years, making him the longest reigning Emperor of Japan.

1809 - First abdominal surgery performed

American physician Ephraim McDowell became the first person in recorded history to successfully remove an ovarian tumor. He is known as the father of ovariotomy and abdominal surgery. The procedure took about 30 minutes and was performed without any anesthesia.

1643 - Christmas Island discovered

Captain William Mynors on the East India Company ship Royal Mary did not stop at the Australian island, which owes its name to the date of its discovery by Europeans. It was not until 44 years later that the first Europeans stepped on the Island. Sparsely populated, the Indian Ocean island is rich in phosphate, which is mined from the guano–bird droppings.

Happy Birthday to You!🎶 

1984 - Alastair Cook, English cricketer

1924 - Rod Serling, American screenwriter, producer, created The Twilight Zone

1899 - Humphrey Bogart, American actor

1876 - Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Indian/Pakistani lawyer, politician, founder of Pakistan

1642 - Isaac Newton, English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, philosopher, theologian

Remembering You

2006 - James Brown, American singer-songwriter, producer, actor

1983 - Joan Miró, Spanish painter

1977 - Charlie Chaplin, English actor, director, producer, screenwriter, composer

1963 - Tristan Tzara, Romanian/French poet, critic

Merry Christmas and make it a great Saturday. 

Kim