Big Balls of Holly

Tivo Alert!... TCM - Christmas Double Features

Today my wife sent meet the program schedule for TCM, Turner Classic Movies, in December. TCM is running Christmas double features each Sunday. TCM is featuring movies that you may not consider Christmas movies. Here's the schedule with the descriptions off the TCM site, (better than mine would be.)

December 2: The Shop Around the Corner / In the Good Old Summertime

Ernst Lubitsch, Hollywood's master of sophisticated comedy in the continental manner, surprised movie audiences with The Shop Around the Corner (1940), a sentimental, homespun story of combative coworkers in a Budapest leather-goods store who do not realize that each is the other's secret pen-pal sweetheart. Responding to the famed "Lubitsch touch," James Stewart as Alfred and Margaret Sullavan as Klara play the star-crossed pair with great warmth and sensitivity. The romantic complications are ironed out touchingly on Christmas Eve, with a heavy snow falling as the couple sits alone together in the darkened store and Alfred at last tells Klara that he is her "Dear Friend." read on

The original title of MGM's musical remake of The Shop Around the Corner (1940) was The Girl From Chicago, with June Allyson and Frank Sinatra announced as its stars. By the time it went into production as In the Good Old Summertime, however, Allyson had become pregnant and was replaced by Judy Garland, with Van Johnson stepping in as leading man. Reset from a leather-goods shop in Budapest to a music store in turn-of-the-century Chicago, the story once again tells of pen pals who fall in love without realizing they are coworkers with a disagreeable on-the-job relationship. As in the original, the climax comes during the Yuletide season, providing Garland with the opportunity to sing a lovely song called "Merry Christmas." read on

December 9: A Christmas Carol (1938) / Meet John Doe

Ebenezer Scrooge is an embittered old soul who gains rest and renewal after just one night's sleep - the eve of Christmas. Given the opportunity to reflect on his past, present and future collectively, the mean old miser undergoes a radical change of heart and is "awakened" on Christmas morning a changed man.

Although there have been many screen adaptations of the novel by Charles Dickens, this was the first American film version and probably the most memorable. read on

Eventually, their first venture under the Warner Bros. umbrella would be Meet John Doe (1941). The film was meant as a warning against homegrown fascism, the cousin of the kind that was spreading across Europe in the form of Hitler's Third Reich. Even in America, Bund leaders were appearing, and pseudo-intellectual talk about "the wave of the future" had its fashionable proponents. With just such a hard-hitting story, Capra wanted to prove his considerable weight as a director of serious, message-laden films. read on

December 16: Meet Me in St.Louis / Love Finds Andy Hardy

Although only the climactic scenes of its year-long story span focuses on the winter holiday, Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) regularly shows up on lists of "Favorite Christmas Movies." That's probably because no one can forget Judy Garland's delivery of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" to her screen sister, Margaret O'Brien, who is distraught at the prospect of leaving her beloved hometown. Also likely to remain in the memory is the scene that follows, as little O'Brien, with shocking intensity, destroys a group of "snow people" she has created to represent her once-happy family. read on

Who will be Andy's date at the Christmas Eve country club dance in good old Carvel, U.S.A? That's the crux of the plot in Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938), with irrepressible Mickey Rooney in his fourth of 16 outings as the quintessential small-town American teenager. The Hardy pictures were a regular showcase for up-and-coming young actresses at MGM, and in this case there was Lana Turner as a teenage temptress invited to the dance by Andy. Trouble is, he also has invited his girlfriend, Polly Benedict, played throughout the series by Ann Rutherford. read on

December 23: Christmas in Connecticut (1945) / Holiday Affair

Barbara Stanwyck and Dennis Morgan star in Christmas in Connecticut (1945), a romantic comedy set during the holidays at wartime. Stanwyck plays Elizabeth Lane, a columnist for "Smart Housekeeping," THE magazine for aspiring homemakers. Every month she details her domestic triumphs from the idyllic setting of her farm in Connecticut. Touted as the "greatest cook in the country," she seems to have it all - a beautiful home, a happy husband, an adorable baby and of course, plenty of livestock. Elizabeth Lane is a role model to millions of readers who turn to her every month for guidance and inspiration. read on

Like It's a Wonderful Life (1946), another Christmas favorite released through RKO Studios, Holiday Affair (1949) was a box-office failure that went on to become a hit through repeated television airings. Though Holiday Affair has hardly achieved the cult status of the other film, it continues to charm audiences with its tale of a war widow (Janet Leigh) torn between her button-down fiance (Wendell Corey) and a free spirit (Robert Mitchum). read on

A couple of quick thoughts. Judy Garland singing Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas is one of the highlights of my Christmas season. (See previous post). The 1938 is my favorite Christmas Carol because Reginald Owen is my favorite Scrooge and it gives the best look at 19th century life as Ebenezer misers about his freezing cold business and home begrudgingly stoking his inadequate fires.

Merrily,

Danatello   

Tivo Alert!... Charlie Brown Christmas

A Charlie Brown Christmas is on ABC tonight at 7pm here in Central time. Another example of a movie that reminds us of what's important at Christmas time in the face of growing commercialism. I know what's important, Christmas tunes! The big song that everyone knows is Linus and Lucy, it's like the theme for the show, an instantly recognizable hit. My favorite is Skating.

Linus And Lucy

Skating

The Hunt For The Elusive Christmas Whale!

This book tells the story of what happened one Christmas Eve when Blitzen et al came down with a cold and poor Santa was left in the lurch! Santa talked to a friendly whale who agreed to be piloted by the jolly elf so that children would receive their gifts. The Christmas Whale is a cute little children's story written in 1945... or is it? Believe it or not, the story is true, I have seen documentation of the events that lead up to this epic occasion, as well as the movements hence of the now famous creature. I am part of an amateur group that has been investigating the whereabouts of this friendly cetacean. After decades of reasearch we are convinced he resides in Lake Michigan trapped by man's makeover of his ancient realm. For most of the year he is way up north by Canada and lumbers about Lake Superior, but in the dead of winter, when the northern waters freeze, he comes down to the warmer waters of Chicago. Long before I knew my wife I used to go out looking for him in December aboard the Red Witch. When you're in Chicago you can go whale watching on Friday nights aboard the Red Witch, I just probably wouldn't mention that you're looking for the Christmas Whale. Some day, I'll meet the creature, mammal a mammal, and look into his giant eye, look into his giant heart, to thank him and wish him Merry Christmas!

Featured Blog... Ernie (Not Bert)

This time of year we are all listening to great Christmas music. My favorite resource is sharity. That means that bloggers take a lot of time and effort to bring us great old album music converted, as if by magic, into the mp3 files that we play through the computer, the iPod etc. The albums that are shared this way have never been available on cd. The undisputed king of sharity is Ernie (Not Bert). Over the past two years Ernie has shared 120 albums. This year is no different. He has 57 new shares and many of his favorites from the old bunches. This year Ernie is going to share one that I am really, really looking forward to, A Ding Dong Dandy Christmas!. Never heard of it? Trust me, you need to have these songs in your collection. So, keep an eye on Ernie (Not Bert) for some unbelievable Christmas downloads.

Tivo Alert!... A Christmas Story

Considered a "classic" Christmas movie by many, A Christmas Story was released in 1983. That's only 24 years ago! Who says that don't make good films anymore? If this doesn't ring a bell, it's the movie where the kid, Ralphie, is waiting to see if he gets a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas. Ralphie's mother famously cautions, "You'll shoot your eye out!" My favorite scene is when the family is in the kitchen and Ralphie's father is in the basement wrestling with the water heater, a barrage of curse words spilling up the stairs.

Set your Tivo for the broadcast tonight on TNT. Here in the Midwest on Comcast it's on at 7pm.

Tivo Alert!... Elf, White Christmas

There are two great films on tonight, Elf and White Christmas. Here in the Midwest they are both on Comcast at 7pm. Elf is on USA and White Christmas is on the Family channel. These films are each notable for great Christmas music. The new film, Elf, includes an old song, Baby, It's Cold Outside. The soundtrack version was recorded by Leon Redbone and Zooey Deschanel. I am going to blog about the song in December, and this is a real cool version that is in keeping with some of the great versions of past decades. In the movie Will Farrell sings part of the song with Deschanel in a really cool and funny scene.

The movie White Christmas, of course, gives us the instant and immortal Bing Crosby classic, White Christmas. This is only my second favorite Christmas song in the movie. My favorite is Snow!

Baby, It's Cold Outside

White Christmas

Snow

Tivo Alert!... Miracle On 34th Street

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and I don't want to get all Christmasy, but you should know that tomorrow night Miracle On 34th Street will air on the Encore Drama cable/satellite channel. I will blog more about the movie in December. This is the 60 year anniversary of a film that urges us to remember the true spirit of Christmas amidst the onslaught of commercialism.

Yes, dear readers, that means that the idea of Christmas as "too commercial" is not new, it is at least 60 years old! When you want to turn back the clock to the good old days, remember that people back then wanted to turn back the clock to the good old days.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

We are heading into the Christmas movie season and I am looking forward to seeing a lot of classic films including Meet Me in St. Louis. Not always considered a Christmas film, it ranks among the most important for having given us the song, Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas. The song was written for the film by a studio song writer named Hugh Martin. If you have never seen the song performed by Judy Garland in it's proper setting you need to do so this year.

I have a couple of notes about the song. First, in the movie Garland sings, some day soon, we all will be together if the fates allow, until then we'll have to muddle through somehow. A decade later Frank Sinatra asked Martin for permission to record the song but wanted him to lighten it up and make it "more jolly". Martin changed the last line above to, "hang a shining star upon the highest bough." You may think that's quite a change, but that's nothing compared to the change made for Judy Garland in the film. When you watch Garland's character sing the song to 7 year old O'Brien this year, try on the original lyrics as written by Hugh Martin.

Have yourself a merry little Christmas, it may be your last, next year we may all be living in the past

Have Yourelf A Merry Little Christmas, Judy Garland

On Christmas Day... 1946

Singer and songwriter, Jimmy Buffet, was born on Christmas Day, 1946. My father in law, Tom, is a huge Buffet fan. Jimmy Buffet has had a major impact on a significant segment of the population, the Baby Boomers. It is not uncommon to see Parrot Heads, as fans are known, bring their kids, and even grandkids to shows. Parrot Heads are know as people who love life and like to have a good time, much of it down on the beach. The first track here is the Christmas song that best represents the Buffet and Parrot Head spirit, Christmas Island.

Christmas Island

Jingle Bells

Run Rudolph Run

Mooseheart Children's Choir

One of the albums that I will make available for sharity this Christmas Season is from the Mooseheart Children's Choir. I don't yet have the equipment for sharity, but the album is pictured here and I want to give a little background.

The Child City of Mooseheart is an incredible place. It's an orphanage and much more. Mooseheart sits on more than 1000 acres out west of Chicago. It was started in 1913 as a place for orphaned children of men of the Loyal Order of Moose. Kids are raised from infancy through graduation from High School on campus. They are raised in single family style houses rather than in dormitories. Like it says on the jacket, Mooseheart boys and girls receive the finest medical care, ample recreational facilities and an opportunity to develop their individual talents. The Mooseheart Choir appeared on nationwide radio through the Mutual Broadcasting System on Christmas Day, 1957. The program received such acclaim that it continued to run in subsequent years and eventually resulted in this incredible record. 

Yule Log iPod Screensaver

Now available for your video iPod is a screensaver version of the WPIX Yule Log. The Yule Log program ran on WPIX in New York on Christmas Eve and Christmas day every year from 1966 to 1989. It has started up again since 2001. The WPIX Yule Log is a 4 hour long program with nothing on the television screen except a loop of the fireplace at Gracie Mansion, the mayor's official residence. Along with the fire is a track of traditional Christmas music by some of my favorites like The Ray Conniff Singers, Arthur Fiedler/Boston Pops, Percy Faith and Nat King Cole. The idea is that New Yorkers who don't have a fire can enjoy the look of one on television. That is one of the coolest things any big city mayor has ever done. A screensaver version is now available for your iPod. Here is a link to the download page. (The download link has gone away again, I'll contact someone about it this season, 2008; here is a link to the Yule Log on youtube.) 

Here are 2 interesting facts about the Yule Log program. The original movie had to be reshot in 1969, but because a fine rug had been ruined during the '66 recording, the mayor would not allow the reshoot at Gracie Mansion. The fireplace we have seen since was shot at a home with similar andirons that was found in California after a nation wide search. The Yule Log is featured in the movie Metropolitan. This movie tells the story of the decline of the debutante lifestyle in NY in the eighties. If you like movies set at Christmas time, this one is really well written and one of my favorites to watch. I Tivoed it last night and I am going to watch it tomorrow.

ebay Alert!... Mercury Glass Indented Scene Ornament

Some of my favorite objects to collect are vintage Christmas ornaments. Below I will link to 3 really hot auctions, all by the same eBayer. My personal view is that all 3 lots should be sold together. I know a lot of novices think they will get more money when they list things separately. Not in this case. A serious collector would want the intact collection and a letter from the owner stating that they came from one estate. Oh, we are talking about vintage mercury glass ornaments that are indented. The indented area includes a small Christmas themed diorama.

Here are Donatello's tips for collecting glass ornaments. Fist, like anything, collect what you like. My wife likes Swedish ornaments, I like mercury glass ornaments that are stenciled or flocked. In December I will look for my favorites with you live. The vintage ornaments are hand blown glass and can be distinguished from the new ones in 2 main ways. First look for a seam. If the ornament has a seam it's not hand blown but was made with a mold. Second, look at the crown on top. The crown on a vintage ornament is silver or steel but never gold. The old ones may look grimy or verdigrised, the new ones look thin and "clean". During the second world war there were no gold or silver colored ornaments because all of the precious metal went to the war effort. War time ornaments are often stamped on the crown with "made in U.S.A." Many of the war year and post war ornaments are painted solid color with metal paint containing mercury, so don't ever lick them! Many 50's specimens are either painted on or flocked with white "snow". Flocking is old, but glitter is usually newer. The largest and best known company was Shiny Brite. Keep in mind that Radko now owns the name and uses it on his brand new creations. Here are the auction links:

Auction 1: 5 ornaments Current Bid $26, $27

Auction 2: 7 ornaments Current Bid $26, $29

Auction 3: 10 ornaments Current Bid $21, $41, $102

Old Time Pottery

This evening, my wife took me to a store called Old Time Pottery. This place was gigantic like an Ikea and they have endless rows of home decor. They claim to be the largest Christmas store, and I don't know if that's true, but they certainly have a lot of Christmas stuff. Everything is at unbeatable prices. If you have one of these within 50 miles you should check it out. The same artificial alpine tree that's $30 in other stores is marked $8.88. Everything is priced like that. You might not find the quality that you need in some things, but these prices are crazy. They had an aisle of gift boxes and bags with the biggest selection I have seen, and again, for maybe half the price. Also, because they have all kinds of home decor, you might also find some good gifts just by exploring. Here's a Christmas song to get you in the mood for the Christmas Rush.

Christmas Rush

Holiday Jingles Christmas Cookies

I grew up in Chicago. Of course, I have found memories of Christmas. As an adult I have been looking to enjoy the things that made Christmas special. A short list of things that I enjoyed at Christmastime includes; Firestone Christmas records, oranges in my stocking, homemade stockings, cut rock candy from Peerless in Chgo, a live Christmas tree, turkey, ham, stuffing, pretzels in a giant tin container, a variety cheese wedges in a green plastic tray, venison sausage, hanging c-9 Christmas lights outside, golden Christmas lights on the artificial tree, life size Empire light up Santa Claus blowmold, copious amounts of black tea, a wood burning fireplace, small fabric elves, homemade ornaments including Styrofoam balls pierced with glittering costume jewels and a little drummer boy made from a wooden clothes pin, pumpkin pie, and Salerno Holiday Jingles.

Today my wife bought me a box of Santa's Favorites cookies, which was quite sweet of her. Are you asking, "Where are the Holiday Jingles" Here's the short version. Salerno, a regional company, made Holiday Jingles for as long as I can remember. These were anise flavored cookies with red and green sprinkles in a green cardboard box. Those cookies no longer exist. When Keebler bought Salerno they stopped Salerno from using the Jingles name. Keebler has since put out it's own inferior version pictured above. Today Salerno makes the cookie using the same recipe and calls them Santa's Favorites. (I have met Santa and I can tell yo that hey are, in deed, his favorite!) The problem with Santa's Favs is that they don't have the same shapes and textures as the oldies. You know what? They taste the same. So, if you are nostalgic for the old Holiday Jingles try the new version and let me know what you think.

What are the things that made your Christmas special?   

The Coventry Carol

The Coventry Carol dates to 1534. It chronicles the masacre of the innocents by King Herod. This is another traditional carol that is heard more in England than in the U.S. The Coventry Carol is best performed by a large choir.

The Coventry Carol

Lully, lullay, Thou little tiny Child,
By, by, lully, lullay.
Lullay, Thou little tiny Child,
By, by, lully, lullay.

O sisters too, how may we do,
For to preserve this day
This poor youngling for whom we sing
By, by, lully, lullay.

Herod the king, in his raging,
Charged he hath this day
His men of might, in his own sight,
All children young to slay.

That woe is me, poor Child for Thee!
And ever morn and day,
For thy parting neither say nor sing,
By, by, lully, lullay

Jones Soda Christmas 2007

For Christmas this year Jones Soda Company has some cool new flavors. Jones Soda is famous for putting out unusual and limited sodas. For Halloween this year they put out a Candy Corn soda. The first time that I ever heard of a wacky Jones flavor was their Turkey and Gravy Soda back in 2003. "Wow," I thought, "that's really cool." The following year they put out what they called a full meal. The flavors included the Turkey and Gravy, Cranberry, Mashed Potato, Green Bean Casserole and Fruitcake. At this point I said, "Hey, that's straight out of Willy Wonka!" Big change this Christmas, no Turkey! The new flavors for Christmas are; Christmas Ham, Christmas Tree, Egg Nog and Sugar Plum. What no Glögg?  But seriously, I am going to order right now. Here is the link. They also have a Chanukah pack with Latke, Apple Sauce, Chocolate Coin and Jelly Donut.    

Christmas Literary Exerpts... The Ledge

On Christmas morning before Sunup the fisherman embraced his warm wife and left his close bed. She did not want him to go. It was Christmas morning. He was a big, raw man, with too much strength, whose delight in winter was to hunt the sea ducks that flew in to feed by the outer ledges, bare at low tide.

As his bare feet touched the cold floor and the frosty air struck his nude flesh, he might have changed his mind in the dark of this special day. It was a home day, which made it seem natural to think of the outer ledges merely as some place he had shot ducks in the past. But he had promised his son, thirteen, and his nephew, fifteen, who came from inland. That was why he had given them his present of an automatic shotgun each the night before, on Christmas Eve. Rough man though he was known to be, and no spoiler of boys, he kept his promises when he understood what they meant. And to the boys, as to him, home meant where you came for rest after you had had your Christmas fill of action and excitement. Read The Ledge.

Christmas in Prison?

Today I am posting 3 great songs about being in The Big House for Christmas. In 2004 Fairytale of New York was rated the most popular Christmas song in England. The song takes it's name from the book A Fairy Tale of New York. The song is a working class love story about irish immigrants that find themselves down on thier luck. The famous opening is "It was Christmas Eve, Babe, in the drunk tank. An old man said to me, won't see another one." Next is John Prine's Christmas in Prison. This song gives us the beautiful image; "The search light in the big yard swings round with the gun, and spotlights the snowflakes like the dust in the sun." The last selection is a true blues song, Christmas in Jail (Ain't That a Pain) by Leroy Carr. "The blues come fallin', they fall like drops of rain."

Fairytale of New York, The Pogues

Christmas in Prison, John Prine

Christmas in Jail (Ain't That a Pain), Leroy Carr

eBay Alert! NOMA Bubble Lights

NOMA was the largest marketer of Christmas lights in each year from 1927 to 1965. The first year for bubble lights was 1946. Bubble lights are really neat to look at and give your tree a real post war era feel.

The light set that is up for auction is in good working order. Of course, they are not pre 1945. They are not from 1946 because that are not in the famous "Book Style" container. The lights do look like vintage NOMA based on the style of the biscuit just below the glass tube. I'm not the expert, but I know who is.

To learn more about NOMA or NOMA Bubble Lights visit the Antique Christmas Lights Museum website. You can even compare the auction lights to the examples on the bubble light identification page to see if you agree with me that these are 1949-1962 NOMA biscuits. This is probably my favorite website of all time, and I will be bringing you an amazing collector story from this site in December.

Here is a link to the current auction. Current Bid: $31, $41

UPDATE! Wow, there is actually a real 1946 set up for bid also! Here's the link and you can see the original "Book Style" box. The seller does not know it's the first year. Let's see if the buyers are out there, darn I wish I could afford this one! Current Bid: $17.50, $20,

German Advent Calendar Features Serial Killer

There are a lot of stories circulating about the children's advent calendar in Hanover Germany. The local tourist authority created the advent calendar last year and it features the image of serial killer, Fritz Haarmann. The town argues that Fritz Haarmann, known as the Hanover Vampire and the Butcher of Hanover, is part of the town's history and so, is displayed on the calendar along with other famous townsfolk.

If you travel to Hanover, Germany, you may go on a guided tour of the town and hear about the famous murders. There is little doubt that tourists visit for that very reason, but come on, an advent calendar! Open the door and collect your chocolate, don't worry, it's not the chocolate the Vampire used to lure 24 young boys to there death, please. This is absurd!

One commenter on a blog asked, where's Hitler's advent calendar? I don't know if Hitler ever had an advent calendar, but in 1938 he was Time Magazine's Man of the Year. You can read more about Fritz Haarmann in Wikipedia.

Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)

The song (Christmas) Baby Please Come Home was recorded by Darlene Love in 1963. If you watch David Letterman you know that Darlene Love performs this song on the last show before Christmas every year.

In 1987 the first cover version was recorded by U2 during a sound check in Glasgow Scotland. Darlene Love supplied background vocals for the track which ended up on the album, A Very Special Christmas. Read the lyrics here. Read more about the original here.

Darlene Love

U2

12 Days Of Christmas

The song 12 Days Of Christmas is a favorite of children around the world. It's not just a song but a game. Children try to repeat each new verse with the previous verses in tow. The child who errs is subjected to the screeching laughter of her peers, which she then joins. I want to point out two common mistakes in the lyrics. The first is the mondegren, four calling birds. The lyric is four colley birds. Colley means black, so they are four blackbirds.

The second mistake is with the first and last line, A Partridge in a Pear Tree. The French word for partridge is perdrix, which is pronounced "pear dree". It is easy to see where a Frenchman said perdrix, and an Englishman wrote down pear tree. So, now, knowing this, many would have you believe the original lyric should have been "A Partridge, Une Perdrix". Huh? And, would not the Englishman ask, "What the heck does a Pear Tree have to do with Christmas?" That's a good question, and here is a good answer. Maybe we got the line backwards. Aller de pair direz "Une perdrix". That means, "together we say one partridge". So this is the Frenchman giving the line and the direction that we sing the last line together each verse.

Whatcha think? Am I on to something, here?   

12 Days Of Christmas

Homemade Christmas... Felt Ornaments

A few years ago my wife and I made felt ornaments for Christmas. These are easy and fun to make. Basically, you and your kids just cut Christmas shapes out of colored felt. The felt is available at any craft store. Cut every shape in pairs. Sew the two together and leave part open so that you can stuff the ornament to give it more dimension. That's it. The fun really starts when you ad on the extras and come up with ways to make your felt ornament unique. For example, when you make a Christmas tree shape, sew on buttons to represent ornaments. The image at the top of this post is of some new felt ornaments that you can buy in a store. I say it would be fun to make the new style at home. There are templates available on-line or in holiday magazines for the basic shapes. Many sites also recommend using cookie cutters to trace around. One neat idea is to use Elmers glue to make a design and then cover it with silver or gold glitter. Here are some images to get you thinking.

 

On Christmas Day... 1914

Have you heard of the Christmas Truce? On Christmas Day in 1914, in several places along the battle front, German and British soldiers in World War I, stopped fighting and met their enemies in the no man's land between trenches. There are many accounts of the day's festivities. Below is one such story, and I am providing a link to several more.

The German View of Events - including the Football Match
Leutnant Johannes Niemann, 133rd Royal Saxon Regiment

 "We came up to take over the trenches on the front between Frelinghien and Houplines, where our Regiment and the Scottish Seaforth Highlanders were face to face.  It was a cold, starry night and the Scots were a hundred or so metres in front of us in their trenches where, as we discovered, like us they were up to their knees in mud. My Company Commander and I, savouring the unaccustomed calm, sat with our orderlies round a Christmas tree we had put up in our dugout.

Suddenly, for no apparent reason, our enemies began to fire on our lines.  Our soldiers had hung little Christmas trees covered with candles above the trenches and our enemies, seeing the lights, thought we were about to launch a surprise attack.  But, by midnight it was calm once more.

Next morning the mist was slow to clear and suddenly my orderly threw himself into my dugout to say that both the German and Scottish soldiers had come out of their trenches and were fraternising along the front. I grabbed my binoculars and looking cautiously over the parapet saw the incredible sight of our soldiers exchanging cigarettes, schnapps and chocolate with the enemy.  Later a Scottish soldier appeared with a football which seemed to come from nowhere and a few minutes later a real football match got underway.  The Scots marked their goal mouth with their strange caps and we did the same with ours.  It was far from easy to play on the frozen ground, but we continued, keeping rigorously to the rules, despite the fact that it only lasted an hour and that we had no referee.  A great many of the passes went wide, but all the amateur footballers, although they must have been very tired, played with huge enthusiasm. 

Us Germans really roared when a gust of wind revealed that the Scots wore no drawers under their kilts - and hooted and whistled every time they caught an impudent glimpse of one posterior belonging to  one of "yesterday's enemies." But after an hour's play, when our Commanding Officer heard about it, he sent an order that we must put a stop to it. A little later we drifted back to our trenches and the fraternisation ended.

Christmas Music Time... Radio and Cable

Today, maybe yesterday, Comcast starting broadcasting it's holiday music channels. In my area we are getting 2 channels, 701 and 724. 701 is Sounds of The Season and 724 is Traditional Holiday music. If you live close enough to Chicago you can turn the dial to 93.9, WLIT. They have also switched over to their Christmas music programming. I think this is earlier than in years past. On the Comcast Traditional channel I heard Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and Lou Rawls. Sounds good so far.

The Sussex Carol

The traditional carols are heard more in Britain than here in the U.S. They really bring a certain old world feel to the Holidays. This version of the Sussex Carol is The Cambridge Singers with the London Sinfonia.

Sussex Carol

On Christmas night all Christians sing

To hear the news the angels bring.

On Christmas night all Christians sing

To hear the news the angels bring.

News of great joy, news of great mirth,

News of our merciful King's birth.

Then why should men on earth be so sad,

Since our Redeemer made us glad?

Then why should men on earth be so sad,

Since our Redeemer made us glad,

When from our sin he set us free,

All for to gain our liberty?

When sin departs before His grace,

Then life and health come in its place.

When sin departs before His grace,

Then life and health come in its place.

Angels and men with joy may sing

All for to see the new-born King.

All out of darkness we have light,

Which made the angels sing this night.

All out of darkness we have light,

Which made the angels sing this night:

"Glory to God and peace to men,

Now and for evermore, Amen!"