CHRISTMAS PICTURES FROM THE 1920’s

QUOTES OF THE DAY

“Happy, happy Christmas, that can win us back to the delusions of our childish days; that can recall to the old man the pleasures of his youth; that can transport the sailor and the traveler, thousands of miles away, back to his own fire-side and his quiet home.”

Charles Dickens, The Pickwick Papers

“At one time, most of my friends could hear the bell, but as years passed, it fell silent for all of them. Even Sarah found one Christmas that she could no longer hear its sweet sound. Though I’ve grown old, the bell still rings for me, as it does for all who truly believe.”

Chris Van Allsburg, The Polar Express

“This is quite the season indeed for friendly meetings. At Christmas every body invites their friends about them, and people think little of even the worst weather. I was snowed up at a friend’s house once for a week. Nothing could be pleasanter.”

Jane Austen, Emma

QUOTES OF THE DAY

“Power always thinks it has a great soul and vast views beyond the comprehension of the weak; and that it is doing God’s service when it is violating all His laws… If we should perish, the primary cause would be that the strength of a giant nation was directed by eyes too blind to see all the hazards of the struggle; and the blindness would be induced, not by some accident of nature or history, but by hatred and vainglory.”

Reinhold Niebuhr, The Irony of American History

“Happy, happy Christmas, that can win us back to the delusions of our childish days; that can recall to the old man the pleasures of his youth; that can transport the sailor and the traveler, thousands of miles away, back to his own fire-side and his quiet home!

I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.”

Charles Dickens

“Let the children have their night of fun and laughter. Let the gifts of Father Christmas delight their play. Let us grown-ups share to the full in their unstinted pleasures before we turn again to the stern task and the formidable years that lie before us, resolved that, by our sacrifice and daring, these same children shall not be robbed of their inheritance or denied their right to live in a free and decent world. And so, in God’s mercy, a happy Christmas to you all.”

Winston Churchill, December 1941

Say No to Government Grinches and Corporate Scrooges

Guest Post by John W. Whitehead

Once upon a midnight clear, there was a child’s cry, a blazing star hung over a stable, and wise men came with birthday gifts. We haven’t forgotten that night down the centuries. We celebrate it with stars on Christmas trees, with the sound of bells, and with gifts… We forget nobody, adult or child. All the stockings are filled, all that is, except one. And we have even forgotten to hang it up. The stocking for the child born in a manger. It’s his birthday we’re celebrating. Don’t let us ever forget that. Let us ask ourselves what He would wish for most. And then, let each put in his share, loving kindness, warm hearts, and a stretched out hand of tolerance. All the shining gifts that make peace on earth.”—The Bishop’s Wife (1947)

What a year.

It feels as if government Grinches and corporate Scrooges have been working overtime to drain every last drop of joy, kindness and liberty from the world.

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Holiday Doings and Undoings

Guest Post by Jim Kunstler

Somehow I doubt that this Christmas will win the Bing Crosby star of approval. Rather, we see the financial markets breaking under the strain of sustained institutionalized fraud, and the social fabric tearing from persistent systemic political dishonesty. It adds up to a nation that can’t navigate through reality, a nation too dependent on sure things, safe spaces, and happy outcomes. Every few decades a message comes from the Universe that faking it is not good enough.

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Christmas Story

Guest Post by Jim Kunstler

These are the long, dark hours when cis-hetero white patriarchs sit by the hearth chewing over their regrets for the fading year and expectations for the year waiting to be born. I confess, I like Christmas a lot, Hebrew that I am, perhaps the musical and sensual trappings more than the virgin birth business. Something in my mixed Teutonic blood stirs to the paganism of blazing Yule logs, fragrant fir trees, rousing carols, and snow on snow on snow. I hope we can keep these hearty ceremonies… that they are not banished to the same puritanical limbo where the Prairie Home Companion archives were sent to rot.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY

Image result for manger scene

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

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MERRY CHRISTMAS TO TBPers AROUND THE WORLD

I’ve been scrambling across Montgomery County this morning picking up the multitude of food orders my wife made for our annual Christmas eve shindig. Most of her family, some of my family and neighbors will be shuffling in and out from 3:00 pm until past midnight. We expect at least 40 people. At least 4 cases of beer will be consumed, multiple bottles of wine and significant amounts of rum, vodka and whiskey. My wife had the bright idea to order half the food from Wegman’s in Collegeville and the other half from Corropolese Bakery in Norristown. The parking lots were like madhouses.

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CHRISTMAS AROUND THE WORLD

Via MSN

Slide 2 of 16: <p>Amsterdam certainly is beautiful at Christmastime but underrated Valkenburg is worth the trip as well. The town’s Christmas market is one of the oldest and biggest in all of Europe. It, for the most part, is set in passages of caves underneath Valkenburg. This is where you can buy some of the most unique presents, most of which are handmade and from marlstone. Santa’s village, however, and the parade are above ground.</p>

Repentance and Forgiveness the Wellspring of Joy

Guest Post by Jesse

Into the ancient holy land
Behold, the son of God is come to man.

Hoc est enim corpus meam.

In Innocence fall all heroes and their creeds;
An age is done, an age from here proceeds.

Hic est enim calix sanguinis mei,
Novi et aeterni testamenti.

What consuming pagan fires could not do—
A covenant of love, and Word made flesh, in You.

Qui pro nobis et pro multis effundetor;
In remissionem peccatorum.

Sleep swells His breast, though heavy pressed,
By Golgotha, and Adam’s sin,
And the hopes of he who signs his name herein.

Jesse

What a wonderful condescension and extravagance we have from God.   For although we were made and formed in His image, He has sanctified that image, and thereby redeemed us in His Incarnation.

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Christmas in a Vietnamese Jungle

Guest Post by Hardscrabble Farmer

My Uncle has always been a role model for me. He was only 13 years old the year I was born so he seemed more like a brother to me than anything else. He volunteered to serve in the Army when he was 18 years old and became a paratrooper that same year. He was sent to Viet Nam in the early part of the war and I remember well how much my grandparents looked forward to each letter that he would send and how they would read them aloud at the kitchen table.

The stories he told about his friends and what they were doing always excited something in me and it was no surprise that when I was old enough I also joined the Army and became a paratrooper as well, emulating a man I looked up to my entire life. He has served as an inspiration to me, his honesty, loyalty, work ethic and character were unsurpassed and in the years since his retirement as a Federal agent he bought a ranch and has lived a lifestyle I admire and respect. He reads everything I write and always has kind words for my work.

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BEST CHRISTMAS PRESENTS EVER

I’m guessing Wentz voted for Trump. I hear Kaepernick gave his offense linemen Castro t-shirts and BLM black armbands.

Via The Daily Mail

Eagles quarterback hands out personalized shotguns to teammates as holiday gifts – days after the team cut a player for having a gun

  • Carson Wentz’s Instagram page is littered with pictures of him on various hunts
  • He will hand a gun out to every member of his offensive line as a Christmas gift
  • The custom Silver Pigeon Beretta guns retail at about $2,000 each in stores
  • The Philadelphia Eagles cut wide receiver Josh Huff because of firearms charges

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz got into the festive spirit by buying personalized shotguns for his teammates – just days after a player was cut for having a firearm.

Keen hunter Wentz is understood to have purchased customized Beretta guns, which he will hand out to each member of the offensive line.

The shotguns, which retail at about $2,000, will all be engraved with player’s numbers, despite wide receiver Josh Huff’s departure from the franchise over firearms charges.

Carson Wentz, pictured right on a hunt, will hand out custom Beretta shotguns to his team

Carson Wentz, pictured right on a hunt, will hand out custom Beretta shotguns to his team

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Post-Christmas Chaos Strikes America’s Malls: SWAT, Gunfire, & Mass Brawls From Texas To New Jersey

Tyler Durden's picture

Two days ago, we reported that heading into Christmas, countless “mall brawls” had broken out across America’s as last minute holiday shoppers were filmed fighting with each other in shopping malls in New Jersey, Alabama, Georgia and other states for those last minute “holiday cheer” purchases. The videos made for for a very Unmerry Christmas.

Now, in the spirit of holiday symmetry, following the one day lull on Christmas Day, the brawls returned on the day after Christmas, with fights, disturbances and false reports of gunfire causing chaotic scenes and shutting down several malls across the United States on Monday, as shoppers scrambled for the best deals in the typically busy post-Christmas shopping day.

The first calls from the The Mills at Jersey Gardens came in just after nightfall Monday. Witnesses said they thought they had heard shots fired. That, along with a fight, led to what Elizabeth police Officer Greg Jones described as a “chaotic panic and everybody running all at once.”  Eight to 10 people suffered minor injuries during a melee in the food court at the Jersey Gardens malls the mayor there said on Twitter.

Panic followed when someone shouted “gun,” after a chair hit the ground, causing a loud noise in the mall’s food court, Elizabeth Mayor Chris Bollwage tweeted.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY

“But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid! For behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: Today in the City of David a Savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord! And this will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”…