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Events, deaths, births, of 25 DEC
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the night started simply
Magi see star    the night started simply:
three richly robed men,
set out
in search of hope,
guided only
one by the other,
and by the glow of an extraordinary
star shining in the sky . .
.


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they did not have far to go

star flashes    that light brightened,
and then, the three magi kings
realized that
they did not have far to go,
since the hope that is Christmas
lives in our hearts.
. .

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they started to dance

Magi dance to star    so they started to dance
with that star that shone
so brightly in the Christmas sky.
..
Merry Christmas!
E-mail to John Canu
the shepherds came

Luke 2:1-20 (13 versions in English)      In those days Cæsar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his 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 room for them in the inn.
      And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
      Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”
      When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.
      When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

The Christmas that went BOOM!!!
Not a date, but an island.

Jesus in History Links  
In what year was Jesus Christ born?
What seems to be well established is that:
1. he was born, and:
2. that it was not 2000 years ago in the year 1 on 25 December, nor 2001 years ago, but a few years more than 2000 years ago. One line of reasoning places the birth of Jesus of Nazareth not prior to 6 BC and no later than Spring of 4 BC:
Jackpot winner, 26 Dec 2002On a December 25:
2307 Solar eclipse, the first one on this date since 2000.
2002 The twice-weekly Powerball lottery jackpot (tickets sold in 23 US states, DC, and the Virgin Islands) is announced to reach $314.9, a deceptive figure since it would be payed in 30 yearly instalments. Instead the winner or winners may choose a lump sum payment of $170 before takes, $111 after. Then the drawing comes up with the winning numbers 5-14-16-29-53 and Powerball 7. There is a single winner, but he realizes it only on 26 December. He is Andrew Jackson Whittaker Jr., 55 [photo >], a contractor from Scott Depot, West Virginia, who chooses the lump sum payment. He had bought $100 of tickets.
2001 Russian interior forces, special services, the military commandant office, the police, and puppet Chechen law enforcement agencies, blockade the village of Chechen-Aul in the Grozny rural of Chechnya and search all houses and other buildings for Chechen resistance fighters, weapons, ammunition, and explosives.
2001 In Makhachkala, Russian Dagestan's Supreme Court on Tuesday sentences Chechen “terrorists” (i.e. patriot fighters) Salman Raduyev to life imprisonment in a high-security correction colony, Turpalli Atgeriyev to 15 years, Husein Gaisumov to 8 years, and Aslanbek Alkhazurov to 5 years, for their role in a raid on the Dagestani town of Kizlyar in January 1996 (which was intended to prevent or delay an impending Russian aggression against Chechnya).
2001 At noon Buffalo, New York, registers a 24-hour snowfall of 64 cm, second only to a record 96 cm in 1998.
2001 The New York Times reports that archeologists excavating the ancient city of Gordion in Anatolia have discovered artifacts and human and animal remains confirming that the place was settled by Hellenized Celts, the Galatai, who practiced human sacrifices (such as for the druids to divine the future from the last movements of the victims). Gordion is otherwise known as the capital of Phrygian King Midas (8th century BC) and where Alexander the Great cut a knot (332 BC). According to the Roman historian Livy a king in Anatolia hired Celts as mercenaries to re-enforce his own army. They arrived in 278 BC, 20'000 of them, including provisioners and merchants as well as their families, in a caravan of 2000 baggage wagons.
2000 Partial eclipse of the sun, maximum at about 16:30 UT, visible in parts of North America.
2000 Vishwanathan Anand es proclamado en Teherán campeón mundial oficial de ajedrez tras derrotar al ajedrecista español de origen letón Alexéi Shírov.
1998 Los presidentes de Rusia, Boris Nikolaievich Yeltsin, y de Bielorrusia, Alexandr Lukashenko, firmaron una serie de documentos dirigidos a profundizar sus lazos y formar un Estado unificado (previo referéndum), con leyes y moneda comunes.
1996 Buffett goes on cruise that inspires A Pirate Looks at Fifty
      One of only a handful of writers to top both the fiction and nonfiction bestseller lists, singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett departs with his family on a three-week cruise around the Southern Hemisphere that will inspire his book A Pirate Looks at Fifty (1998). After achieving great popularity as a musician, Buffett released his first book, Tales from Margaritaville, in 1996. The book spent six months on the bestseller list. His next book, Where Is Joe Merchant?, about a seaplane pilot investigating the disappearance of a rock star in the Caribbean, topped the fiction lists. He turned to nonfiction when he realized his book contract called for another book, but not specifically a novel. So, he turned to nonfiction and began a memoir about the cruise, interspersed with memories about his Catholic upbringing and his adventures as a singer. The book hit No. 1, putting him in the company of Ernest Hemingway, John Steinbeck, William Styron, Irving Wallace, and Dr. Seuss as a writer topping both the fiction and the nonfiction lists.
1995 Navidad histórica en Belén por la presencia del líder palestino Yasser Arafat y su esposa Suha, musulmanos, en la tradicional Misa del Gallo de la iglesia franciscana de Santa Catalina. Haré lo mismo cada año hasta 2000, pero en 2001 los ocupantes israelies lo tienen bloqueado en Ramallah y le prohiben ir a Belén.
1992 In the US, Christmas shopping season retail sales are up 8% over the year before.
1992 El neocomunista Slobodan Milosevic es reelegido presidente de Serbia.
1991 Last USSR ruler resigns because no more USSR.
     Mikhail Gorbachev announces that he is resigning as president of the Soviet Union. In truth, there was not much of a Soviet Union from which to resign--just four days earlier, 11 of the former Soviet republics had established the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), effectively dismembering the USSR. The Soviet Union, for all intents and purposes, had already ceased to exist.
      In his televised farewell speech to the nation, Gorbachev indicated that the recent establishment of the CIS was the primary motive for his resignation, claiming he was "concerned about the fact that the people in this country are ceasing to become citizens of a great power and the consequences may be very difficult for all of us to deal with. “ In words that were sometimes prideful, sometimes resentful, Gorbachev stated that he stood on his record of achievement. He had, he claimed, overseen the Soviet Union's trip down the "road of democracy. “ His reforms "steered" the communist economy "toward the market economy. “ He declared that the Russian people were "living in a new world" in which an "end has been put to the Cold War and to the arms race. “ Admitting "there were mistakes made," Gorbachev remained adamant that he "never had any regrets" about the policies he pursued.
      In reality, Gorbachev had lost much of his power and prestige in the Soviet Union even before the establishment of the CIS. The economy was unstable. No one seemed pleased by Gorbachev-some opponents demanded even more political freedom while hard-liners in his government opposed any movement toward reform. In August 1991, he survived a coup attempt only through the assistance of Russian Federation president Boris Yeltsin. Following the failed attempt, Yeltsin became a vocal critic of the slow pace of economic and political reforms in the country. As Gorbachev's power slipped away, Yeltsin took over the Kremlin and other Soviet government facilities and replaced the Soviet flag with the flag of Russia. After over 70 years of existence, the Soviet Union-America's archenemy in the Cold War-was gone.
      As the Soviet Union crumbles, Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev announces his resignation as the eleventh and final leader of Communist Russia, and the hammer-and-sickle flag over the Kremlin in Moscow is replaced with the traditional white, blue, and red Russian flag. Gorbachev became a full member of the Politburo in 1980 and in 1985 replaced Konstantin U. Chernenko as the general secretary of the Communist party. In 1988, Gorbachev was elected president of a USS.R. plagued with serious economic problems, and in 1990 was given the new title of executive president. Gorbachev introduced liberal policies such as glasnost, or "openness," and perestroika, or "restructuring," in an attempt to revitalize Soviet socialism and society. In foreign affairs, he vastly improved relations with the United States and ended the Soviet Union's ten-year military involvement in Afghanistan. Beginning in 1989, Gorbachev chose not to interfere with the rapid movement for democratization in Eastern Europe, a peaceful gesture that, along with his decision to order the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, won him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990. In August of 1991, Communist hard-liners in the Soviet government staged a coup against him, but popular protest led by Russian President Boris Yeltsin forced Gorbachev's safe return. In the aftermath of the failed coup, Gorbachev resigned as general secretary of the Communist Party. Control of the government shifted to the democracy-minded and popularly elected Yeltsin, who officially took over as the sole Russian leader following Gorbachev's resignation in late December of the same year.
pectoral murciélago1989 Japanese scientists achieve -271.8ºC, coldest temp ever recorded
1985 Ladrones consiguen sustraer del Museo Nacional de Antropología de México 140 joyas arqueológicas, entre ellas la máscara zapoteca del dios murciélago. [dios murciélago zapoteco >]
1985 David Turner and Tim Pickhard arrive in John o' Groat's, Scotland, the northernmost point in Great Britain. They had set out four days earlier from Land's End, the southernmost point in Britain, in a battery-powered Freight Rover Leyland Sherpa driven by a Lucas electric motor. They traveled 1408 km on a single battery charge, completing the longest battery-powered drive in history.
1987 Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, who escaped 2 days earlier, recaptured
1979 Egypt begins major restoration of the Sphinx.
1978 Comienza el ataque vietnamita a Camboya.
1977 Israeli PM Menachem Begin meets in Egypt with Egyptian President Sadat
1974 Cyclone Tracy destroys most of Darwin Australia
1973 ARPANET crashes
     A massive crash paralyzed the fledgling ARPANET, which connected dozens of universities and research institutions around the country. The network, constructed in 1969 through the Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency, had been online for four years. However, the system still used the same code to route messages as it had in 1969, when a handful of initial message processors were installed at several pilot universities. On this day in 1973, a hardware bug at the Harvard server caused all messages on the network to be sent to the Harvard server, which quickly became overloaded and stopped sending messages on through the network. The network remained paralyzed until Harvard was essentially cut off from the network. Such problems were not unusual on the early ARPANET: Finally, the Christmas Day freeze and other similar incidents led Harvard graduate student John McQuillan to rewrite most of the software governing the traffic on the ARPANET entirely. The ARPANET evolved into the Internet in the early 1970s, when Dr. Vinton Cerf and Robert Kahn were commissioned by the federal government to extend the network for military, government, and academic use.
1973 Tommy Chambers (Scotland) finishes 51 year cycle tour (1'286'520 km)
1972 Christmas Bombing of North Vietnam resumes after pause
      After a 36-hour respite for Christmas, the US resumes Operation Linebacker II. The extensive bombing campaign was resumed because, according to US officials, Hanoi sent no word that it would return to the peace talks.
      On December 13, North Vietnamese negotiators walked out of secret talks in Paris with National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger. President Nixon issued an ultimatum that North Vietnam send its representatives back to the conference table within 72 hours "or else. “ The North Vietnamese rejected Nixon's demand and the president ordered Operation Linebacker II, a full-scale air campaign against the Hanoi area that began on December 18. During the 11 days of Linebacker II, 700 B-52 sorties and more than 1000 fighter-bomber sorties dropped an estimated 20'000 tons of bombs on North Vietnam--half the total tonnage of bombs dropped on England during World War II.
1972 US troop reduction in Vietnam.
      US headquarters in Saigon announces that American military strength in South Vietnam was reduced by 700 men during the previous week. The reduction brought the total US forces in South Vietnam to 24,000, the lowest in almost eight years.
1966 Reporter informs on US bombing damage to North Vietnam.
      Harrison Salisbury, assistant managing editor of The New York Times, files a report from Hanoi chronicling the damage to civilian areas in North Vietnam by the US bombing campaign. Salisbury stated that Nam Dinh, a city about 50 miles southeast of Hanoi, was bombed repeatedly by US planes starting on June 28, 1965. Salisbury's press report caused a stir in Washington where, it was reported, Pentagon officials expressed irritation and contended that he was exaggerating the damage to civilian areas. On December 26, the US Defense Department conceded that American pilots bombed North Vietnamese civilians accidentally during missions against military targets. The spokesman restated administration policy that air raids were confined to military targets but added, "It is sometimes impossible to avoid all damage to civilian areas. “
1962 Ransomed, the Bay of Pigs captives, after arriving in the US, vow to return to Cuba and topple Fidel Castro.
1961 La bula pontificia Humanae Salutis anuncia el concilio Vaticano II para 1962.
1954 Partial eclipse of the sun, the last one on this date until 2000. It is visible in southern Africa and the south Pacific.
1949 Juan Domingo Perón Sosa incrementa la lucha contra la prensa de la oposición Argentina, prohibiendo los periódicos de provincias.
1946 Chiang Kai-shek offers a new Chinese constitution pledging universal suffrage.
1944 Prime Minister Winston Churchill goes to Athens to seek an end to the Greek civil war.
1941 British surrender Hong Kong to Japanese.
      The British garrison in Hong Kong surrenders to the Japanese. Hong Kong was a British Crown colony whose population was overwhelmingly ethnic Chinese. It was protected by a garrison force composed of British, Canadian, and Indian soldiers. The British government, anticipating a Japanese attack, had begun evacuating women and children on June 30, sending them to Manila, capital of the Philippines. The Japanese had responded to the evacuation by posting troops across the Kowloon peninsula, blocking escape from Hong Kong by land.
      On 08 December 1941, one day after Pearl Harbor, the Japanese began their raid on Hong Kong as part of their broad imperial designs on China and the South Pacific. The British governor, Sir Mark Young, mobilized his forces, which were slim, and his weaponry, which was antiquated. Within two weeks, Japanese envoys issued an ultimatum-surrender or perish. The governor sent the envoys back with a definite refusal. Consequently, the Japanese followed up with a land invasion on the 18th of December. Ordered to take no prisoners, the Japanese rounded up captured soldiers and bayoneted them to death.
      Continued bombing raids severed water mains, and Japanese infantry took control of remaining reservoirs, as well as the power station, leaving the British with the threat of death by thirst. Despite cries from the governor to "hold fast for King and Empire," no further resistance was possible by the dwindling garrison forces. At 15:30 on Christmas Day, white flags of surrender were flown.
1941 Free French troops occupy St. Pierre and Miquelon
1939 Montgomery Ward introduces Rudolph the 9th reindeer.
1932 La I.G. Farbeindustrie alemana, en la que trabajaba Gerhard Domagk, solicita en esta fecha la patente del "prontosil", primera aplicación médica de las sulfamidas.
1927 The Mexican congress opens land to foreign investors, reversing the 1917 ban enacted to preserve the domestic economy.
1926 Hirohito became emperor of Japan (1926-1989) — El príncipe heredero del Japón,Hirohito, sucede a su padre, Yoshihito, como emperador.
1925 US troops in Nicaragua disarm insurgents in support of the Diaz regime.
1918 A revolt erupts in Berlin.
1914 Christmas Truce in WW I
      Just after midnight on Christmas morning, the majority of German troops engaged in World War I cease firing their guns and artillery, and commence to sing Christmas carols. At certain points along the Eastern and Western fronts, the soldiers of Russia, France, and Britain even hear brass bands joining the Germans in their joyous singing. At the first light of dawn, many of the German soldiers emerge from their trenches and approach the Allied lines across no man's land, calling out "Merry Christmas" in their enemies' native tongues. At first the Allied soldiers suspect it to be a trick, but they too soon climb out of their trenches and shake hands with the German soldiers. The men exchange presents of cigarettes and plum puddings and sing carols and songs and the Christmas Truce lasts a few days. There is even a documented case of soldiers from opposing sides playing a good-natured game of football, also known as soccer. The Christmas Truce of 1914 comes only five months after the outbreak of war in Europe, and is one of the last examples of the outdated notion of chivalry in warfare. Over the next year, the bloody conflict of World War I erupts in all its technological fury, and the idea of another Christmas Truce becomes unthinkable.
1914 Over 577'000 WW I Allied soldiers spend Christmas as prisoners in Germany.
1912 Italy lands troops in Albania to protect its interests during a revolt there.
1898 The first continental council of the Latin American Roman Catholic church is convened in Rome. It would issue 998 canons and try to check anti-Christian influences. 13 and 41 bishops are present.
1882 Por primera vez un árbol de Navidad es iluminado con lámparas eléctricas, en el hogar de Edward Johnson, un socio de Thomas Alva Edison, en Estados Unidos.
1868 US grants amnesty to Confederates.
      By presidential proclamation, President Andrew Johnson grants unqualified amnesty to all those who participated in the "insurrection or rebellion" against the United States. In April of 1865, days after the surrender of the army of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, leaving his successor Andrew Johnson to outline plans for the Southern Reconstruction. Since Congress was out of session, Johnson issued a series of proclamations that inaugurated a two-year period that would become known as Presidential Reconstruction. Among his early Reconstruction proclamations was a pardon to all southern white citizens except Confederate leaders and wealthy planters. Johnson believed that a qualified amnesty, orchestrated to keep the Southern political class out of Southern politics, was necessary in the fragile first few years after the Civil War. By the end of 1868, loyal governments had been established throughout the South, and finally, on Christmas Day, Johnson granted total amnesty to all Southerners.
1862 John Hunt Morgan and his raiders clash with Union forces near Bear Wallow, Kentucky.
1837 Battle of Okeechobee-US forces defeat Seminole Indians.
1833 Durante la primera guerra carlista, Baldomero Espartero consigue deshacer la fuerte partida del cabecilla Magranell en Valencia, que dominaba las tierras de Játiva y Onteniente.
1833 El pretendiente carlista al trono de España, Carlos María Isidro de Borbón, es coronado rey en Loyola, con el nombre de Carlos VII.
1818 "Silent Night," by Franz Joseph Gruber and Joseph Mohr is sung for first time, at the Church of St. Nikolaus in Oberndorff, Austria.
1812 José Gervasio Artigas, jefe de las fuerzas independentistas de la Banda Oriental de Uruguay, se niega a reintegrarse con sus hombres a las fuerzas porteñas que sitian Montevideo, en poder de los españoles.
1800 Austria signs the armistice of Steyr with the victorious French.
1780 El sultán de Marruecos ratifica el tratado de amistad con Carlos III, firmado por Francisco Antonio Moñino conde de Floridablanca y el embajador marroquí, Sidi Mohammed ben Otmán, que obliga a los navíos ingleses a abandonar la costa de Tetuán y el puerto de Tánger.
1776 Washington crosses the Delaware River
      During the War for Independence of 13 British colonies in America, Patriot General George Washington leads 5400 soldiers in a secret crossing of the Delaware River, from Upper Makesfield, Pennsylvania, hoping to surprise a Hessian force celebrating Christmas at their winter quarters in Trenton, New Jersey. The unconventional attack comes after several months of substantial defeats for Washington's army, resulting in the loss of New York City and other strategic points throughout the state. At about 23:00 on Christmas, Washington's army starts crossing the half-frozen river at three locations. The 2400 soldiers led by Washington successfully brave the freezing temperature, rain, and icy river, and reach the New Jersey side of the Delaware before dawn. The other two divisions, consisting of some 3000 men and important artillery, fail to reach the meeting point by the time of the attack. At approximately 08:00 on 26 December, Washington's remaining force, separated into two columns, reaches the outskirts of Trenton and descends on the unsuspecting Hessians. Trenton's 1400 Hessian defenders are groggy from the previous evening's festivities and, after months of decisive British victories throughout New York, underestimate the Patriot threat. The Patriots overwhelm the Germans' defenses, and by 09:30, the town is surrounded. Although several hundred Hessians manage to escape, nearly one thousand are captured at the cost of only four Patriot lives. However, because most of Washington's army had failed to cross the Delaware, he is without adequate artillery or men, and is forced to withdraw from the town. The victory is not a particularly significant one from a strategic point of view, although news of the Washington's initiative raises spirits in the precarious months after the US declaration of independence, and demonstrates that the Patriots are capable of victory.
Washington Crossing the Delaware (1851, 379x648cm; 287x500pix, 45kb) by Emanuel Leutze [1816–1868] _ detail (480x640pix, 64kb) _ engraving (706x1200pix, 289kb) by J. Rogers.
1775 Pope Pius VI encyclical on the problems of the pontificate
1758 Halley's comet 1st sighted by Johann Georg Palitzsch during return
1745 Treaty of Dresden gives much of Silesia to the Prussians
1651 The General Court of Boston levies a five shilling fine on anyone caught "observing any such day as Christmas. “
1621 Plymouth Colony imposes Puritan Christmas
      At the Plymouth Colony located in present-day Massachusetts, Governor William Bradford halts game playing by new emigrants to the colony, calling the behavior sacrilegious. One year before, the Mayflower arrived to the New World carrying approximately one hundred English settlers, commonly known as the pilgrims. The majority of the pilgrims were Puritan Separatists, who traveled to America to escape the jurisdiction of the Church of England, which they believed violated the biblical precepts for true Christians. On 23 December 1620, the pilgrims began construction on the first permanent European settlement in New England, and over the next few months endured a difficult first winter. In November of 1621, the Fortune, a British ship, arrived at the settlement with thirty-five new settlers. Several of these new settlers had come to the colony for its economic rather than religious opportunities, and it took time for these men and women to adjust to the austere religious codes of the Puritan colony. On Christmas Day, Governor Bradford, scandalized at the settlers' playing of games such as "stoole bar" and "pitching the barr," both of which were related to traditional winter solstice diversions, confiscated the gaming equipment and reprimanded the new settlers. Bradford went on to serve as Plymouth governor until 1656, enjoying immense discretionary powers as chief magistrate, high judge, and treasurer.
1563 The Council of Trent decides to reform the religious orders.
1356 El emperador Carlos IV promulga en Metz la Bula de Oro, ley constitucional fundamental del Sacro Imperio Romano Germánico.
1223 St. Francis of Assisi assembles one of the first Nativity scenes, in Greccio, Italy.

1185 Urban III is elected pope. He spent most of his pontificate in exile owing to his insistence that the pope, not the Roman Senate should govern the papal estates.
1066 William the Conqueror, crowned king of England
1003 John XVIII is consecrated Pope. An administrator, he would resign six years later and retired to a monastery.
1001 Etienne 1er est couronné roi de Hongrie par le pape Sylvestre II. Le peuple hongrois s'intègre à l'Europe quelques décennies à peine après son irruption dans la plaine du Danube.
The pope crowns Charlemagne emperor
0800 Charlemagne couronné Empereur
     A Rome, Charlemagne est couronné "Empereur des Romains" par le pape Léon III en présence d'une nombreuse délégation de Francs. En dépit du qualificatif de romain, c’est un nouveau monde qui naît sur les bords du Rhin et succède à l’ancien empire méditerranéen de Rome. Ce dernier tirait sa prospérité des relations maritimes entre l'Occident et l'Orient. Le partage de la Méditerranée entre deux religions antagonistes, la chrétienne et la musulmane, a réduit les échanges et obligé les royaumes barbares d'Occident à se recentrer sur les régions entre Rhin et Meuse.
0597 England adopts Julian calendar
0525 Easter tables by Dioysius Exiguus wrongly give December 25th as the date of Christ's birth.
Clovis of France is baptized with thousands of followers. A military defeat had turned to victory when he invoked his wife Clotilda's God.
0498 Clovis, 32 ans, et 3000 guerriers francs, baptisés à Reims.
      Grâce à ce baptême catholique (pas arien) collectif, les Francs prennent l'avantage sur les autres barbares dans la conquête de la Gaule romaine. Clovis, ou Khlodowig (dont on fera en latin Ludovicus puis... Louis), a été élu roi 17 ans plus tôt, à Tournai (Belgique actuelle). Il succède à l'âge de 15 ans à son père Childéric à la tête des Francs saliens, une tribu germanique établie dans l'empire romain, sur les bords du Rhin inférieur et dans l'actuelle Belgique. A peine élu, Clovis entreprend la conquête de la Gaule. Il rencontre sur sa route Syagrius, un général qui s'intitule «roi des Romains» et maintient l'illusion d'une permanence de l'empire romain entre la Meuse et la Loire. La région s'est en fait beaucoup appauvrie depuis le passage des terribles Huns, trente ans plus tôt. Le roi des Francs bat Syagrius et le fait égorger avant de s'installer dans sa résidence de Soissons. Clovis le païen entre alors dans un milieu très romanisé et de religion catholique. Il tombe sous l'influence de Rémi, évêque de Reims. Il comprend l'intérêt de se rallier les Gallo-Romains en adoptant leur religion. Sa femme Clotilde, fille du roi des Burgondes et pieuse catholique, le pousse à se convertir.
      En 496, à Tolbiac (en allemand, Zülpich), près de Cologne, les Francs repoussent une attaque des Alamans, une tribu germanique à laquelle nous avons emprunté le nom de l'Allemagne. Selon la légende, c'est au cours de cette bataille difficile que le roi des Francs aurait imploré le secours du Dieu de Clotilde et pris la résolution de se convertir. Il passe à l'acte deux ans plus tard, le jour de Noël. Tandis qu'il plonge dans le baptistère, avant tous ses guerriers, l'évêque Rémi lui lance la formule célèbre: «Depona colla, Sigamber!», ce qui signifie: «Dépose tes colliers [les amulettes des païens], Sicambre [autre nom donné aux Francs]». Grâce à sa conversion au catholicisme, Clovis peut s'énorgueillir du titre très symbolique de «Consul des Romains», conféré par l'empereur de Constantinople. Ce dernier dirige en théorie tout l'empire romain depuis que, quelques années plus tôt, en 476, le dernier empereur d'Occident a été déposé par un Ostrogoth. Clovis tire parti de sa conversion à la religion dominante de la Gaule pour achever la conquête de celle-ci.
      Le sud de ce qui sera la France est, comme une grande partie de l'Espagne, sous la domination des Wisigoths. Leur capitale est Toulouse. Comme les autres barbares, à l'exception des Francs, les Wisigoths pratiquent l'arianisme. Il s'agit d'une hérésie chrétienne très mal vue des Gallo-Romains, massivement catholiques. Alaric, le roi des Wisigoths, a du mal à asseoir son autorité sur ses sujets. Avec les encouragements de l'épiscopat catholique, Clovis va combattre Alaric. La rencontre a lieu à Vouillé, près de Poitiers, en 506. Alaric est tué et les Wisigoths n'ont d'autre alternative que de se replier en Espagne, au-delà des Pyrénées. Clovis domine désormais toute la partie occidentale de l'ancien empire romain, entre l'embouchure du Rhin, aux mains des tribus frisonnes, et les Pyrénées, où sévissent les terribles Basques. Il déplace sa résidence à Paris. L'ancienne Lutèce, qui a pris le nom des premiers habitants de la région, les Parisii, accède pour la première fois au statut de capitale. Les descendants de Clovis vont régner pendant trois siècles, sous l'appellation de Mérovingiens (d'après Mérovée, un ancêtre légendaire) avant de laisser la place à Charlemagne et aux Carolingiens. Le baptême de Clovis va faciliter la fusion entre les Gallo-Romains et leur vainqueurs, les Francs. Mais il serait erroné d'y voir la naissance de la France. Celle-ci émergera 500 ans plus tard, comme l'Allemagne, sur les ruines du «Regnum francorum», le royaume des Francs de Clovis et de Charlemagne.
0376 In Milan, Ambrose, the Bishop of Milan, forces the emperor Theodosius to perform public penance for his massacre.
0336 Earliest known year that Jesus' nativity was celebrated on 25 December, as mentioned in the Philocalian Calendar of A.D. 354. Jesus' birth was commemorated on 06 January in Greek Orthodoxy, although by the 400s most of the Eastern churches had accepted the Roman date. antes se conmemoraban conjuntamente el nacimiento y el bautizo de Jesús el 06 Jan.
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Deaths which occurred on a 25 December:
2003 Rashidi Ahmad Boone Simmonds, 33, shot in the neck at 23:50, just south of Sacramento as he was driving his pickup truck which then crashes.
2003 Matthew Seivert, 19, of gunshots to the head and chest he suffered on 24 December before 02:00 as he was driving in Sacramento, California, his vehicle then crashing.
2003 Katrine Juarez, 7; her mother Rosa Juarez, 40; George Monzon, his wife Clara Monzon, their children Wendy Monzon, 17, Racquel Monzon, 10, and Jeremiah Monzon, 6 months. ; and 7 others , most of them children; at 13:30 by a sudden 70 km/h, 2 to 4-meter-high mud flood in the Waterman Canyon of the San Bernardino Mountains in California, where 27 persons, mostly Guatemalan immigrants, were having a Christmas gathering at the closed Greek Orthodox Saint Sophia camp with Monzon, the caretaker. Some 15 cm of rain washed down the mountain slopes bared by wildfires in October and November 2003. Some horses, mules, donkeys, cattle, bears, and other animals are also killed by the mudslides in the canyon.
2003 Janice Arlene Stout-Bradley, 60, and Carroll Eugene Nuss, 57, by a mudslide in the Waterman Canyon of the San Bernardino Mountains in California, where Stout-Bradley was the manager of a KOA campground (8 km from the Saint Sophia camp) near Devore.
Severed cockpit2003 Makled Hamid, 39, head of the Islamic Jihad's military wing in the Gaza Strip, two other Islamic Jihad members and two bystanders, by at least two missiles fired by Israeli helicopter gunships at a car driving between Gaza City and the nearby Jabalya refugee camp, in the evening. About 12 persons are wounded.
2003 Four Israeli and suicide bomber Said Hanani, 18, of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, at a bus stop under the Geha bridge on Jabotinsky Street, between Petah Tikva and Bnei Brak, east of Tel Aviv. 18 persons are wounded.
2003:: 139 of the 161 aboard the Boeing 727 jetliner of United Transit Airlines Flight 141 taking off from Cotonou, Benin, after the back of the plane hits a building at the end of the runaway at 14:55 (13:55 UT) and the plane breaks up and crashes into the ocean 500 m away. The plane was Guinean-owned plane had been chartered by a Mr. Khazen and another Lebanese businessman to take some Lebanese workers home. The flight started in Conakry, Guinea, and landed in Freetown, Sierra Leone, with 76 passengers, and took on more passengers there. It then left for Cotonou, picking up 61 Lebanese, including three children, and three non-Lebanese. The plane was scheduled to arrive in Beirut at 23:00 (21:00 UT). A few of the 139 dead survived the crash but died later of their injuries. The 22 survivors include the pilot. [the broken-off cockpit ends up on the beach >]
2002 Mohammad Shafi Wani, and his two sons, Zahoor Ahmad and Jehangir, in the evening, shot by gunmen inside their home in Gopalpora, Indian-occupied Kashmir.
2002 Najma, 8, and 2 other young girls, by grenade thrown at 20:30 by two burqa-clad attackers into the 40 or so worshippers in a small United Presbyterian church in Chianwala, Daska district, Punjab province, Pakistan. The policeman supposed to guard the church had not come. 13 persons are wounded.
2000 More than 300, mostly from smoke inhalation, in fire which starts at 21:35 in Luoyang, Henan. Most of the dead were in a disco on the 4th floor. Construction workers were on lower floors and may have accidentally started the fire in the basement..
2000 Gareth Macfadyen, 24, from burns suffered from synthetic grass skirt fire on 22 December.
     The horrific death of a New Zealand share trader whose Hawaiian grass skirt was set alight at an office Christmas party has been described in court as a practical joke "gone terribly, terribly wrong". Merrill Lynch investment banker Matthew Paul Schofield, 26, of Takapuna, appeared in the Auckland District Court on Friday 29 December 2000 to face fresh charges of manslaughter and causing disfigurement following the death of his colleague Mr Gareth Macfadyen from burns on Monday night 25 December 2000. Mr Macfadyen, a 24-year-old share trader, died from burns to 70% of his body after his synthetic grass skirt was set alight in the men's toilets of the Quay West Hotel during the Merrill Lynch Christmas party the previous Friday night 22 December 2000. Fellow office-worker Ms Angela Offwood was also burnt. She remains in a stable condition in hospital. Defence lawyer Mr Stuart Grieve, QC, told Judge Stan Thorburn that the incident had been a practical joke gone terribly wrong. “One can describe it as an act of stupidity committed in the atmosphere of a Christmas party where alcohol had been consumed," Mr Grieve said. Mr Macfadyen and Ms Offwood had been in a men's toilet cubicle wearing grass skirts when Schofield entered and allegedly used a cigarette lighter to ignite the bottom of one skirt from under the toilet door. Mr Grieve said Schofield had walked out of the toilets before Mr Macfadyen's skirt caught fire.
     A New Zealand investment banker has been jailed for two years for the manslaughter of a colleague by setting fire to his costume at an office Christmas party, the banker's lawyer said Tuesday 24 April 2001. Matthew Schofield, an investment banker with finance house Merrill Lynch, admitted to reaching under a toilet cubicle door and setting fire to Gareth MacFadyen's synthetic grass skirt a company Hawaiian theme Christmas Party in December, Radio New Zealand reported. MacFadyen suffered burns to 95% of his body and died three days later. Justice Rodney Hansen said he accepted 27-year-old Schofield was truly remorseful and any sentence would not compare with the punishment of knowing he had killed his friend, the radio reported. But he said a term of imprisonment was required to reflect the sanctity of human life. Schofield was also been sentenced to nine months, to be served concurrently, for injuring another Merrill Lynch employee in the incident, and ordered to pay NZ$37,000 to the two victims' families.
1997 Giorgio Strehler, dramaturgo italiano.
1991 José Guerrero, US painter born Spanish on 29 October 1914. — more
1989 Nicolea Ceausescu, dictator of Romania, and his wife Elena, summarily executed bajo la acusación de genocidio.
1986: 62 personas al estallar un avión iraquí, secuestrado en vuelo entre Bagdad y Amman por miembros de Yihad Islámica.
1983 Joàn Mirò, at his home in Majorca, Catalán surrealist painter and sculptor born on 20 April 1893 in Barcelona. MORE ON MIRÒ AT ART “4” DECEMBER with links to images.
1977 Charlie Chaplin dies in Switzerland at 88
1976 Over 100 Muslims, as their boad sinks returning from a pilgrimage to Mecca.
1971: 156 in worst hotel fire in history, Taeyokale Hotel in Seoul
1961 Dr Rheinhold Rudenberg inventor of the electron microscope
1953 Some 150 by lava flow (Ruapehu volcano, New Zealand)
1951 Harry T Moore Florida NAACP official, killed by bomb.
1950 Xavier Villaurrutia, escritor mexicano.
1939 Day 26 of Winter War: USSR aggression against Finland. [Talvisodan 26. päivä]
More deaths due to Stalin's desire to grab Finnish territory.
  • Eastern Isthmus: in the morning, a fresh Soviet division launches the third wave of the offensive at Taipale, crossing Lake Suvanto in three places: at Sakkola, Kelja and Volosula. The enemy assaults are repulsed everywhere apart from Kelja.
  • Francesc MaciàFinnish troops enter Soviet territory..
  • Soviet aircraft bomb 11 localities across Finland, including Hanko, Turku, Tampere, Porvoo, Viipuri and Ilomantsi. Three civilians are killed.
  • Northern Isthmus: Käkisalmi comes under fire from as many as 50 enemy aircraft.
  • The author Hella Wuolijoki offers to help the Finnish Government make contact with the Soviet Union with a view to opening negotiations.
    1933 Francesc Macià (1859-1933) Primer President i restaurador de la Generalitat moderna (1931-1933) [foto >].
          Dirigent del partit Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC), després d'una gran victòria electoral en les eleccions municipals del 14 d'abril de 1931, proclamà la República Catalana des del Palau de la Generalitat a Barcelona.
          Tres dies més tard, i com a conseqüència d'una negociació amb representants del Govern de Madrid, s'acordà que la nova institució d'autogovern rebria el nom de Generalitat de Catalunya.
          Francesc Macià, governant d 'una enorme popularitat, morí exercint el càrrec de president de la Generalitat el dia de Nadal de 1933.
    1932 Some 70'000 persons in 7.6 magnitude earthquake in Gansu, China, with epicenter at 39º42'N, 97º00'E.
    1926 Yoshihito, emperador de Japón.
    1913 Alberto Aguilera Velasco, alcalde de Madrid.
    1901 Joseph Noël Paton, Scottish painter, illustrator, sculptor, and collector, born on 13 December 1821. MORE ON PATON AT ART “4” DECEMBER with links to images.
    1898 James Alexander Walker, British artist born in 1841.
    1889 William Wyld, British artist born in 1806.
    1881 Ignacio Suárez Llanos, pintor español.
    1861 Jakob Joseph Eeckhout, Flemish artist born on 06 February 1793.
    1761 Empress Elizabeth .
    1669 Giovanni Andrea Ferrari
    , Italian artist born in 1598.
    1717 Theodore Maas, Dutch artist born on 12 September 1659. — more
    1406 Enrique III, rey de Castilla y León.
    0795 Adrian I
    , Pope. At his consecration, the Lombards had vowed to bring him in chains to their court. Charlemagne rode to the rescue, crushing the Lombards forever and making the Donation of Charlemagne which confirmed a grant made to the popes by the Frankish king Pepin.
  • Births which occurred on a December 25:
    1947 Aid to the Church in Need
    (Kirche in Not / Osterpriesterhilfe) is founded by Father Werenfried van Straaten [17 January 1913 – 31 January 2003], of the Norbertine order, on the 827th anniversary of its founding by by Saint Norbert [1080 – 06 June 1134]
    1944 Kutta, mathematician.
    1941 Molien, mathematician
    1931 Carlos Castañeda US, writer/mystic (Eagle's Gift, Fire From Within)
    1929 MacMahon
    , mathematician.
    1925 Jaime Salom
    , dramaturgo español.
    1921 Bohl
    , mathematician
    1920 Le Parti Communiste Français.
          Pendant le congrès des socialistes français qui se tient à Tours, une forte minorité des militants quitte la SFIO (section française de l'Internationale Socialiste) et fonde le Parti Communiste Français, affilié à la IIIe Internationale. Elle accepte les 21 conditions posées par Lénine, parmi lesquelles figure un alignement inconditionnel sur la politique décidée à Moscou.
    1918 Anwar el-Sadat Egyptian President (1970-81, Peace Nobel 1978).
    1917 Why Marry?, comedy by Jesse Lynch Williams, which would be the first dramatic play to win a Pulitzer Prize (1918), opens at the Astor Theatre in New York City.
    1916 Ahmed Ben Bella, presidente de Argelia.
    1911 Louise Bourgeois, French / US sculptor — LINKS
    1906 William McChesney Martin Chairman of US Federal Reserve Bank (1951-70).
    1904 Gerhard Herzberg Can, physicist (molecular structure-Nobel 1971)
    1902 Manuel Halcón, escritor y periodista español.
    1901 Juan Vicente Chiarino Ravenna, político uruguayo.
    Zygmund1900 Antoni Zygmund
         Mathematician Zygmund worked in analysis, in particular in harmonic analysis. He created one of the strongest analysis schools of the 20th Century.
         Born in Warsaw (then in the Russian Empire), Zygmund obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Warsaw in 1923 for a dissertation written under Aleksander Rajchman's supervision. From 1922 to 1929 he taught at the Polytechnic School of Warsaw. After a year in England he took up a post at the university of Vilnius, Lithuania. He held this post until he was drafted into the Polish army at the start of the Second World War.
          In 1940 Zygmund escaped with his wife and son from German controlled Poland to the USA. After a number of posts he was appointed to the University of Chicago in 1947 and remained there until he retired in 1980. John Canu took one or more of his courses in 1948-1950.
          Zygmund was to create at Chicago a major analysis research centre. In 1986 he received the National Medal for Science for his building this research school. He supervised over 80 research students in his years at Chicago.
          Zygmund's book Trigonometric Series (1935) is a classic that, together with later editions, is still the definitive work on the subject. Other major works include Analytic functions in 1938 and Measure and integral in 1977.
          His work in harmonic analysis has application in the theory of waves and vibrations. He also did major work in Fourier analysis and its application to partial differential equations.
         Zygmund died on 30 May 1992 in Chicago.
    1893 “Robert” Leroy Ripley, illustrator (Believe it or Not) who died on 27 May 1949. He originated the Believe It Or Not! cartoon panel which features true-life oddities from around the globe, always with the tagline "Believe It... Or Not!" Ripley's first such cartoon appeared in the New York Globe in 1918. As his readership grew Ripley began traveling abroad to find tidbits for his cartoon; he became famous as a globe-trotting adventurer, eventually claiming visits to 198 different countries. The cartoon was continued by a succession of illustators after Ripley's death and its success spawned radio and TV shows, books and museums which continued into the 21st century.
    1887 Conrad Hilton hotel mogul (Hilton Hotels)
    1884 Layne Hall of Silver Creek, New York. At his death on 20 November 1990, he had a valid driver's license, making him the oldest legal driver ever.
    1883 Maurice Utrillo, French painter who died on 05 November 1955. MORE ON UTRILLO AT ART “4” DECEMBER with links to images.
    1883 Henri Léopold Hayden, French artist who died on 12 May 1870. — Paysage Beka
    1882 Gonzalo Zaldumbide Gómez de la Torre, escritor y diplomático ecuatoriano.
    1876 Mohammed Ali Jinnah Karachi, founded Pakistan (1947)
    1875 Manuel Benedito Vives, pintor español.
    1874 Carl Fahringer, Austrian artist who died in 1952.
    1870 Rosa Luxemburg, Polish-born founder of the Spartacus League which later became the German Communist Party.
    1865 Evangeline Cory Booth Salvation Army general.
    1852 Lionel Noël Royer, French painter of history, genre, and portraiture, who died on 31 July 1926. — links to three images.
    1834 Anders Monsen Askevold, Norwegian artist who died on 22 October 1900.
    1821 Clara Barton Oxford Mass, nurse, founded American Red Cross
    1814 Solemn Review of the Customs of War by Rev. Noah Worcester, of Brighton Massachussets, an early peace movement pamphlet, is published.
    1812 William Henry Haines, British artist who died on 22 June 1884.
    1812 Manuel Ancízar, escritor colombiano.
    1806 Kaspar Kaltenmoser, German artist who died on 08 March 1867.
    1800 José Manuel Francisco Antonio del Pilar Groot, artista colombiano.
    1782 Jacques-Noël-Marie Frémy, French artist who died in 1867.
    1765 Samuel Drummond, British painter who died in August 1844. — links to and comments on images.
    1760 An Evening Thought, poetry by Jupiter Hammon, New York slave, is published —HAMMON ONLINE: An Address to the Negroes in the State of New-York (24 Sep 1786)
    click for Boemaert's Nativity scene1721 William Collins Chichester England, (Mayor-Chichester)/poet
    1642 (Julian date, which is 4 January 1643 Gregorian) Isaac Newton, English mathematician and scientist who enunciated the laws of motion and the law of gravity.
    1564 Abraham Bloemaert, influential Dutch Mannerist painter and engraver who died on 27 January 1651. MORE ON BLOEMAERT AT ART “4” DECEMBER with links to images.
    1491 Ignatius Loyola, Basque saint, founder of the Jesuits. He died on 31 July 1556. — LOYOLA ONLINE: Ejercicios Espirituales. — Autobiografía. — (in English translation): Spiritual Exercises.
    1120 The Canons Regular of Prémontré (= Premonstratensians, = Norbertines) are founded by Saint Norbert [1080 – 06 June 1134] and his companions.
    0001 Jesus of Nazareth, according to calendar-maker Dionysus Exiguus
    4 --BC- Jesus of Nazareth, religious leader, miracle worker, God born as man, the Christ, the Prince of Peace (estimated year, date on which it would be commemorated)
    Holidays England : New Year's Day observed before 1068 / Taiwan : Constitution Day (1946)

    Religious Observances Christian : Christmas Day Peace on Earth, good will towards men / RC : New Years Day (until 12th century) / La Natividad de Nuestro Señor Jesucristo. Nuestra Señora de Belén. Santos Anastasia, Eugenia, Noelia, Susana y Felipe. / La fête de Noël: Noël est une déformation de Emmanuel (en hébreu, «Dieu avec nous»). Cette fête rappelle l'oracle du prophète Isaïe: «Le Seigneur vous donnera un signe: la vierge enfantera un fils et l'appellera Emmanuel». Aux premiers temps de notre ère, les chrétiens fêtaient la naissance de Jésus Christ le 14 Nissan (28 mars), soit le jour anniversaire d'Isaac, fils d'Abraham. A Rome, vers 330, l'Eglise reporta cette célébration au 25 décembre, en remplacement d'une fête que les païens avaient coutume de consacrer au soleil. / Christmas is the festival celebrating the birth of Christ and is observed in most countries on December 25. Christmas is sometimes called Yule (from the Anglo-Saxon) or Noel (from the French). Christian churches throughout the world hold special services on Christmas Day to give thanks for the birth of Christ. In addition to religious observances, Christmas is a time of merrymaking and feasting. North American customs are a combination of those of the various European countries from which the original settlers came. On Christmas Eve children hang stockings for Santa Claus to fill with gifts. The Christmas tree, usually an evergreen, was first used in Germany. Topped with a star or spire and decorated with colored lights and shiny ornaments, the tree plays an important part in the celebration. Mistletoe was sacred to the Druids, priests of ancient Britain and Gaul. The Norse used holly and the Yule log to keep away evil spirits. Gifts were exchanged during the Roman celebration of the Saturnalia, a feast to the god Saturn. Gift-giving came to symbolize the gifts brought to the Christ Child by the Magi. The most popular Christmas legend however, is that of Santa Claus, whose name came from Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of children. Many of the qualities that Santa Claus is known for came from Clement C. Moore's poem (disputed authorship) "A Visit From St. Nicholas. “

    DICTIONNAIRE TICRANIEN: râlant: rongeur qui prend son temps.
    TINYBRAINER ENCIRCLOPEDIA: Pullet Surprise: prominent literary award made yearly at a chicken dinner. The winners first learn of their distinction when they find a commemorative gold medal hidden in their portion. The first and foremost dramatic Pullet Surprise was awarded in 1918 for the play Why! Mary! (which first opened on 25 December 1917 in a store theater in New York City) to Jesse Williams, of Tennessee , a distant relative of Jesse James, through William James. The opponents of Jesse Williams were so angered that they attempted to lynch him. Although they failed, he became known as Jesse “Lynch” Williams. Disliking the connotations of his new nickname, he wrote new plays under the name of Tennessee Williams. These plays were even more successful, especially The Class Men: a Jury (1944), which was later made into a movie. Williams won two more Pullet Surprises: in 1948, for A Street Corner Named Desire, and in 1955 for Cat a'Huntin' on the Roof. Williams wrote many other successful plays, including The Summer Went Up In Smoke, A Rosette at Two, Cam He Know For Real, Morpheus Condescending, Knight of the East Guyana.
    Thoughts for the day: “The weed of crime bears bitter fruit.”
    “The fruits of the vine of crime are sour grapes.”
    ”Bitter fruit are borne by the weed of crime, which grows when you sow your wild oats.”
    “It is a crime to let weeds bear bitter fruit.”
    “Crime bears have to eat weeds and bitter fruit.”
    “Bears weed out crime with bitter fruit.”
    “Fruitful bears are bitter about crime.”
    “Bitter bears commit fruitless crimes.”
    “It's a crime to get bears bitter by feeding them weeds instead of fruit.”
    “It's a crime to get dogs bitter by feeding them weeds or even fruit instead of meat.”
    — Whiny~the~POOdle [Note on Whiny's scratch~pad: “Try it on cats if you must.”]
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