25 December - Christmas Day
Christmas is a Christian holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem, Judaea. Although most Christians celebrate December 25 as the birthday of Jesus Christ, few in the first two Christian centuries claimed any knowledge of the exact day or year in which he was born. The earliest source stating 25 December as the date of birth of Jesus is likely by Hippolytus of Rome, written very early in the 3rd century, based on the assumption that the conception of Jesus took place at the Spring equinox which he placed on 25 March, and then added nine months – festivals on that date were then. In modern times, however, the secular aspects of Christmas have tended to overshadow the religious significance of the day. (Recommended reading: Date of birth of Jesus / Wikipedia. Listening: Libera - O Holy Night. YouTube. Accessed December 25, 2013. Handel: Messiah | Barnaby Smith, AAM, VOCES8, Apollo5 and VOCES8 Foundation Choir. YouTube, uploaded by Academy of Ancient Music. Accessed December 7, 2021.)
HAPPY CHRISTMAS Everyone!
As we celebrate the birth of Christ, let us treasure -
the COMFORT of sharing,
the WARMTH of love,
the great JOY of peace on earth,
and keep CHRISTMAS in our hearts.
As we celebrate the birth of Christ, let us treasure -
Josh Groban sings - O Come All Ye Faithful (featuring the Mormon Tabernacle Choir) [Official HD Audio] YouTube, accessed December 25, 2021.
Birthdays
1642 - Sir Isaac Newton, PRS, English physician, mathematician, astronomer, theologian, and author (described in his day as a "natural philosopher"). (Originally, according to the "old" Julian calendar, he was born on Christmas Day in 1642, although today his birthday is celebrated as January 4, 1643.) Newton is widely recognised as one of the most influential scientists of all time and as a key figure in the scientific revolution. His book Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy), first published in 1687, laid the foundations of classical mechanics. Newton also made seminal contributions to optics, and shares credit with Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz for developing the infinitesimal calculus. A short biography of Isaac Newton, a key figure in the scientific revolution who is most famous for formulating laws of gravity. Accessed December 25, 2015.
1720 - Anna Maria Walburga Mozart (née Pertl), mother of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Maria Anna "Nannerl" Mozart
1745 - Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, French (colonyof Guadaloupe) champion fencer, classical composer, virtuoso violinist, and conductor of the leading symphony orchestra in Paris. He was educated in France, becoming a champion fencer. During the French Revolution, he served as a colonel of the Légion St.-Georges, the first all-black regiment in Europe. He fought on the side of the Republic. He is best remembered as the first known classical composer who was of African ancestry. He composed numerous string quartets and other instrumental music, and opera. (Buskaid - Symphonie Concertante in G major - Allegro - Chevalier de Saint-George. YouTube uploaded by Buskaid South Africa. Accessed December 25, 2019.)
1887 - Conrad Nicholson Hilton, Hotel Mogul, American businessman and politician who founded the Hilton Hotels chain. Hilton developed entrepreneurial skills working at his father's general store in Socorro County, New Mexico, which was partially converted into a 10-room hotel. This was followed by varied experiences, including a stint as a representative in New Mexico's first State Legislature. Hilton's autobiography, Be My Guest, was published in 1958 by Prentice Hall. In 1966, Hilton was succeeded as president by his son Barron and was elected chairman of the board.
1899 - Humphrey DeForest Bogart, American film and stage actor. His performances in Classical Hollywood cinema films made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film Institute selected Bogart as the greatest male star of classic American cinema. His breakthrough from supporting roles to stardom came with High Sierra and The Maltese Falcon. Bogart's private detectives, Sam Spade (in The Maltese Falcon) and Phillip Marlowe (in 1946's The Big Sleep), became the models for detectives in other noir films. His most significant romantic lead role was with Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca, which earned him his first nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor. Bogart and 19-year-old Lauren Bacall fell in love when they filmed To Have and Have Not; soon after the filming for The Big Sleep (1946, their second film together), he filed for divorce from his third wife and married Bacall. Bogart's performances in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre and In a Lonely Place are considered among his best. The Caine Mutiny earned him another Best Actor nomination. As a cantankerous river steam launch skipper with Katharine Hepburn's missionary in the WWI adventure The African Queen, Bogart received the Academy Award for Best Actor. In his later years, significant roles included The Barefoot Contessa and Sabrina.
1918 - Anwar Sadat, the 3rd president of Egypt, serving from 15 October 1970 until his assassination by fundamentalist army officers. Sadat was a senior member of the Free Officers who overthrew King Farouk in the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, and a close confidant of President Gamal Abdel Nasser, under whom he served as Vice President twice and whom he succeeded as President in 1970. As president, he changed Egypt's trajectory, departing from the political and economic tenets of Nasserism, re-instituting a multi-party system, and launching the Infitah economic policy. He led Egypt in the Yom Kippur War of 1973 to regain Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, which Israel had occupied since the Six-Day War of 1967, making him a hero in Egypt and the wider Arab World. Afterwards, he engaged in negotiations with Israel, culminating in the Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty, which won him and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin the Nobel Peace Prize, making Sadat the first Muslim Nobel laureate. The peace treaty was also one of the primary factors that led to his assassination.
1887 - Conrad Nicholson Hilton, Hotel Mogul, American businessman and politician who founded the Hilton Hotels chain. Hilton developed entrepreneurial skills working at his father's general store in Socorro County, New Mexico, which was partially converted into a 10-room hotel. This was followed by varied experiences, including a stint as a representative in New Mexico's first State Legislature. Hilton's autobiography, Be My Guest, was published in 1958 by Prentice Hall. In 1966, Hilton was succeeded as president by his son Barron and was elected chairman of the board.
1899 - Humphrey DeForest Bogart, American film and stage actor. His performances in Classical Hollywood cinema films made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film Institute selected Bogart as the greatest male star of classic American cinema. His breakthrough from supporting roles to stardom came with High Sierra and The Maltese Falcon. Bogart's private detectives, Sam Spade (in The Maltese Falcon) and Phillip Marlowe (in 1946's The Big Sleep), became the models for detectives in other noir films. His most significant romantic lead role was with Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca, which earned him his first nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor. Bogart and 19-year-old Lauren Bacall fell in love when they filmed To Have and Have Not; soon after the filming for The Big Sleep (1946, their second film together), he filed for divorce from his third wife and married Bacall. Bogart's performances in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre and In a Lonely Place are considered among his best. The Caine Mutiny earned him another Best Actor nomination. As a cantankerous river steam launch skipper with Katharine Hepburn's missionary in the WWI adventure The African Queen, Bogart received the Academy Award for Best Actor. In his later years, significant roles included The Barefoot Contessa and Sabrina.
1918 - Anwar Sadat, the 3rd president of Egypt, serving from 15 October 1970 until his assassination by fundamentalist army officers. Sadat was a senior member of the Free Officers who overthrew King Farouk in the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, and a close confidant of President Gamal Abdel Nasser, under whom he served as Vice President twice and whom he succeeded as President in 1970. As president, he changed Egypt's trajectory, departing from the political and economic tenets of Nasserism, re-instituting a multi-party system, and launching the Infitah economic policy. He led Egypt in the Yom Kippur War of 1973 to regain Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, which Israel had occupied since the Six-Day War of 1967, making him a hero in Egypt and the wider Arab World. Afterwards, he engaged in negotiations with Israel, culminating in the Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty, which won him and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin the Nobel Peace Prize, making Sadat the first Muslim Nobel laureate. The peace treaty was also one of the primary factors that led to his assassination.
1949 - Sissy Spacek (Mary Elizabeth Spacek), American actress and singer. She is the recipient of various accolades including an Academy Award, three Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and nominations for four British Academy Film Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Grammy Award. In 2011, Spacek was honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. On television, Spacek received Primetime Emmy Award nominations for the television films The Good Old Boys, Last Call, and for her guest role on the HBO drama series Big Love. As a singer, Spacek recorded the soundtrack album of Coal Miner's Daughter, which peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and garnered her a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance.
1954 - Annie Lennox, OBE, Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. She and fellow musician Dave Stewart achieved international success as Eurythmics. Appearing in the 1983 music video for "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" with orange cropped hair and wearing a man's business suit, the BBC states, "all eyes were on Annie Lennox, the singer whose powerful androgynous look defied the male gaze". Subsequent hits with Eurythmics include "There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)" and "Here Comes the Rain Again". Lennox's vocal range is contralto. She has been named "The Greatest White Soul Singer Alive" by VH1 and one of The 100 Greatest Singers of All Time by Rolling Stone. Lennox is political and social activist, notable for raising money and awareness for HIV/ AIDS as it affects women and children in Africa
Lefties:
None known
More birthdays and historical events, December 25 - On This Day
Historical Events
1066 - William the Conqueror is crowned king in Westminster Abbey. His claim to the throne is partly through conquest.
1734- Johann Sebastian Bach's Christmas Oratorio is first performed, in Leipzig.
1870 - Richard Wagner conducts his Siegfried Idyll in his Swiss villa on Christmas morning as a thirty-third birthday surprise for his wife Cosima. It is also a tribute to the birth of their small son, Siegfried.
1914 - During World War 1, an unofficial Christmas truce takes place between British and German troops on the Western Front.
1915 - World War I Red Cross worker Jean Cocteau describes the Christmas night truce in a section of trenches where German and French troops are only thirty feet apart: "The Germans are silent, our troops are silent ... I devour the emptiness and stillness ... "
1926 - Prince Hirohito becomes the 124th Emperor of Japan, reigning until his death in 1989, the longest serving Japanese Emperor in Japanese history.
1974 - Cyclone Tracy hits Darwin, Australia, killing some 63 people, injuring hundreds, and destroying about 90 percent of the city's buildings.
1989 - Former Romanian President Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife, Elena, are shot by a firing swquad after being found guilty of genocide and crime against the state.
1991 - Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as President of the Soviet Union, that signals the end of the USSR era.
2003 - Shortly before its scheduled landing on Mars, the British-built Beagle 2 space probe mysteriously vanishes, never to be heard of again.
Article of Interest:
"The true wonder of Christmas outshines all the tinsel and tat". Written by polymath Stephen Hough (most popular as a classical music pianist), December 19, 2019. Evening Standard. Accessed December 25, 2019.
Video Credit:
Carols from King's College Choir. YouTube, uploaded by Brilliant Classics. Accessed December 25, 2017.
Christmas Music (London Symphony Orchestra) [+Snow Falling]. Uploaded by Christmas Music. Accessed December 25, 2018.
Resources:
1. Asiado, Tel. The World's Movers and Shapers.
New Hampshire: Ore Mountain Publishing House (2005)
2. Britannica. www.britannica.com
3. Chambers Biographical Dictionary, 19th Ed.
London: Chambers Harrap, 2011
4. Dateline. Sydney: Millennium House, (2006)
5. Grun, Bernard. The Timetables of History, New
3rd Revised Ed. Simon & Schuster/Touchstone (1991)
6. Isaac Newton Biography. Bio.com. Accessed December 25, 2015.
7. Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org
(c) June 2007. Updated December 25, 2023. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.
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