2012 December 25
Yosemite Winter Night
Image Credit & Copyright: Wally Pacholka (AstroPics.com, TWAN)
Image Credit & Copyright: Wally Pacholka (AstroPics.com, TWAN)
Explanation: In this evocative night skyscape a starry band of the Milky Way climbs over Yosemite Valley, Sierra Nevada Range, planet Earth. Jupiter is the brightest celestial beacon on the wintry scene, though. Standing nearly opposite the Sun in the constellation Taurus, the wandering planet joins yellowish Aldebaran and the Hyades star cluster. Below, Orion always comes up sideways over a fence of mountains. And from there the twin stars of Gemini rise just across the Milky Way. As this peaceful winter night began, they followed Auriga the charioteer, its alpha star Capella near the top of the frame.
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Night before Christmas Giggle Palooza Harley style.
Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the pad,
There was nada happenin', now thats pretty bad.
The woodstove was hung up in that stocking routine,
In hopes that the Fat Boy would soon make the scene.
With our stomachs packed with tacos and beer,
My girl and I crashed on the couch for some cheer.
When out in the yard there arose such a racket,
I ran for the door and pulled on my jacket.
I saw a large bro' on a '56 Pan
Wearin' black leathers, a cap, and boots (cool biker, man).
He hauled up the bars on that bikeful of sacks,
And that Pan hit the roof like it was running on tracks.
I couldn't help gawking, the old guy had class.
But I had to go in -- I was freezing my ass.
Down through the stovepipe he fell with a crash,
And out of the stove he came dragging his stash.
With a smile and some glee he passed out the loot,
A new jacket for her and some parts for my scoot.
He patted her fanny and shook my right hand,
Spun on his heel and up the stovepipe he ran.
From up on the roof came a great deal of thunder,
As that massive V-twin ripped the silence asunder.
With beard in the wind, he roared off in the night,
Shouting, "Have a cool Yule, and to all a good ride!"
— Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the pad,
There was nada happenin', now thats pretty bad.
The woodstove was hung up in that stocking routine,
In hopes that the Fat Boy would soon make the scene.
With our stomachs packed with tacos and beer,
My girl and I crashed on the couch for some cheer.
When out in the yard there arose such a racket,
I ran for the door and pulled on my jacket.
I saw a large bro' on a '56 Pan
Wearin' black leathers, a cap, and boots (cool biker, man).
He hauled up the bars on that bikeful of sacks,
And that Pan hit the roof like it was running on tracks.
I couldn't help gawking, the old guy had class.
But I had to go in -- I was freezing my ass.
Down through the stovepipe he fell with a crash,
And out of the stove he came dragging his stash.
With a smile and some glee he passed out the loot,
A new jacket for her and some parts for my scoot.
He patted her fanny and shook my right hand,
Spun on his heel and up the stovepipe he ran.
From up on the roof came a great deal of thunder,
As that massive V-twin ripped the silence asunder.
With beard in the wind, he roared off in the night,
Shouting, "Have a cool Yule, and to all a good ride!"
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The Little Drummer Boy - Celtic Woman
The Little Drummer Boy/We Played Our Best for Him
Josh Groban - Noel - Little Drummer Boy
Little Drummer Boy - Snare Drumline Encore Performance
Little Drummer Boy - for a new generation
The Little Drummer Boy-Gibson Highland Bagpipes
Hallelujah Handel's Messiah - Mormon Tabernacle Choir
ANDREA BOCELLI (HQ) AVE MARIA (SCHUBERT)
Carol of the Bells - Mormon Tabernacle Choir
Carol of the Bells - Celtic Woman
Carol of the Bells - Trans-Siberian Orchestra - Higher Quality
Trans-Siberian Orchestra - Christmas Canon [w/Lyrics]
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How do you know Santa’s a man?
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Do you know these Christmas songs?
.1. Colorless Yule
.2. Castanean-colored Seed Vesicated in a Conflagration
.3. Singular Yearning for the Twin Anterior Incisors
.4. Righteous Darkness
.5. Arrival Time: 2400 Hrs.. Weather: Cloudless
.6. Loyal Followers Advance
.7. Far Off in a Feeder
.8. Array the Corridors
.9. Bantam Male Percussionist
10. Monarchal Triad
11. Nocturnal Noiselessness
12. Jehovah Deactivate Blithe Chevaliers
13. Red Man En Route to Borough
14. Frozen Precipitation Commence
15. Proceed and Enlighten on the Pinnacle
16. The Quadruped with the Vermillon Proboscis
17. Query Regarding Identity of Descendant
18. Delight for this Planet
19. Give Attention to the Melodious Celestial Beings
20. The Dozen Festive 24 Hour Intervals
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Santa’s Naughty List
Sarah and her thirteen-year-old sister had been fighting a lot this year. This happens when you combine a headstrong two-year-old, who is sure she is always right, with a young adolescent.
Sarah’s parents, trying to take advantage of her newfound interest in Santa Claus, reminded the two-year-old that Santa was watching and doesn’t like it when children fight. This had little impact.
“I’ll just have to tell Santa about your misbehavior,” the mother said as she picked up the phone and dialed. Sarah’s eyes grew big as her mother asked “Mrs. Claus” (really Sarah’s aunt; Santa’s real line was busy) if she could put Santa on the line. Sarah’s mouth dropped open as Mom described to Santa (Sarah’s uncle) how the two-year-old was acting. But, when Mom said that Santa wanted to talk to her, she reluctantly took the phone.
Santa, in a deepened voice, explained to her how there would be no presents Christmas morning to children who fought with their sisters. He would be watching, and he expected things to be better from now on.
Sarah, now even more wide eyed, solemnly nodded to each of Santa’s remarks and silently hung the phone up when he was done. After a long moment, Mom (holding in her chuckles at being so clever) asked, “What did Santa say to you, dear?”
In almost a whisper, Sarah sadly but matter-of-factly stated, “Santa said he won’t be bringing toys to my sister this year.”
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Steve Behmerwohld's facebook page
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The Twelve Days of Christmas
The twelve days in the song are the twelve days starting Christmas Day, or in some traditions, the day after Christmas (December 26) (Boxing Day or St. Stephen's Day, as being the feast day of St. Stephen Protomartyr) to the day before Epiphany, or the Feast of the Epiphany (January 6, or the Twelfth Day). Twelfth Night is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as "the evening of the fifth of January, preceding Twelfth Day, the eve of the Epiphany, formerly the last day of the Christmas festivities and observed as a time of merrymaking."
Although the specific origins of the chant are not known, it possibly began as a Twelfth Night "memories-and-forfeits" game, in which a leader recited a verse, each of the players repeated the verse, the leader added another verse, and so on until one of the players made a mistake, with the player who erred having to pay a penalty, such as offering up a kiss or a sweet. This is how the game is offered up in its earliest known printed version, in the children's book Mirth without Mischief (c. 1780) published in England, which 100 years later Lady Gomme, a collector of folktales and rhymes, described playing every Twelfth Day night before eating mince pies and twelfth cake.
In the west of France the piece is known as a song, "La Foi de la loi," and is sung "avec solennité," the sequence being: a good stuffing without bones, two breasts of veal, three joints of beef, four pigs' trotters, five legs of mutton, six partridges with cabbage, seven spitted rabbits, eight plates of salad, nine dishes for a chapter of canons, ten full casks, eleven beautiful full-breasted maidens, and twelve musketeers with their swords.
In Scotland, early in the 19th century, the recitation began: "The king sent his lady on the first Yule day, | A popingo-aye [parrot]; | Wha learns my carol and carries it away?" The succeeding gifts were two partridges, three plovers, a goose that was grey, three starlings, three goldspinks, a bull that was brown, three ducks a-merry laying, three swans a-merry swimming, an Arabian baboon, three hinds a-merry hunting, three maids a-merry dancing, three stalks o' merry corn
A bit of modern folklore claims that the song's lyrics were written as a "catechism song" to help young Catholics learn their faith, at a time when practising Catholicism was criminalized in England (1558 until 1829). There is no primary evidence supporting this claim, and no evidence that the claim is historical, or "anything but a fanciful modern day speculation."[1] The theory is of relatively recent origin. It was first suggested by Canadian English teacher and hymnologist Hugh D. McKellar in a short article, "How to Decode the Twelve Days of Christmas," published in 1979. In a later article published in the music journal The Hymn, he reiterates that the associations are his. The idea was further popularized by a Catholic priest, Fr. Hal Stockert, in an article he wrote in 1982 and posted online in 1995.
From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism ...song for young Catholics. It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality which the children could remember.
-The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.
-Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments.
-Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love./ 4 kings bearing gifts
-The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.
-The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.
-The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.
-Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit--Prophesy, Serving, Teaching,
Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.
-The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.*
-Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit--Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control.
-The ten lords a-leaping were the ten commandments.
-The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.
-The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed.
So there is your history for today. This knowledge was shared with me and I found it interesting and enlightening and now I know how that strange song became a Christmas Carol..
-The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.
-Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments.
-Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love./ 4 kings bearing gifts
-The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.
-The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.
-The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.
-Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit--Prophesy, Serving, Teaching,
Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.
-The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.*
-Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit--Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control.
-The ten lords a-leaping were the ten commandments.
-The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.
-The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed.
So there is your history for today. This knowledge was shared with me and I found it interesting and enlightening and now I know how that strange song became a Christmas Carol..
Shrek Twelve Days of Christmas
"The Twelve Pains of Christmas" is a parody of the song performed by Seattle, Washington, radio personality Bob Rivers, in which the litany of each "thing of Christmas that's such a pain to me" includes "finding a Christmas tree," "sending Christmas cards," "facing my in-laws," "finding parking spaces," Children, and so forth. The song was released on the album, Twisted Christmas (Atlantic / WEA, 1987).
A parody of the song is featured on the album Ren & Stimpy's Crock O' Christmas. Titled The Twelve Days of Yaksmas, this parody has Ren and Stimpy list the strange gifts that Ren's cousin Svën has sent to them
A Terrorist Christmas is a parody of the song written and performed by James & Kling (R.J. James/Dave Kling). It begins with "a knife with a very sharp blade" replacing the traditional partidge-in-a-pear-tree, and appropriately ends with nuclear holocausts.
RFC 1882: The 12-Days of Technology Before Christmas by Bill Hancock was released.
Jeff Foxworthy released the parody, "Redneck 12 Days of Christmas," on his album, Crank It Up: The Music Album (Warner Bros. / WEA, 27 August 1996), available as both a CD and an audiocassette. "Redneck 12 Days of Christmas" charted several times as a single, where it peaked at No. 18 in 1996, No. 39 in 1997, and 1998, No. 37 in 1999, and No. 35 in 2000. In 2004, a CD single of this song was packaged with Jeff Foxworthy's book, There's No Place Like (a Mobile) Home for the Holidays
Elmo's 12 Days of Christmas by Sarah Albee, illustrated by Maggie Swanson (Little Golden Storybook / Children's Television Workshop, 1997) is another Sesame Street-themed reinterpretation of the "The Twelve Days of Christmas." "Three French friends, two yummy cookies..." In 1999, this book was released as a Sesame Street Jellybean Book
The How Ya Doin' Boys recorded "The Twelve Days of a Guido's Christmas" on their album "How Ya Doin' Yanks?"
In 12 Tiny Christmas Tales (TV 2001), a grandmother tells three children some Yuletide tales in a Christmas cartoon by Bill Plympton. The stories include a horror-story retelling of "The Twelve Days of Christmas," depicting only days 1–6, primarily featuring birds, who become such a nuisance that the singer decides, after six geese a-laying, to kill all the birds and later eat them for dinner, to the horror of two of the children and the hungry delight of the third.
LoadingReadyRun (LRR) released the video, 2004 Holiday Special, which featured "The Twelve Geeky Days of Christmas," as sung by the LRR crew, in which the gifts relate to computers and video games. This parody was written by Graham Stark and Paul Saunders.
Zone Horror's 12 Days of Christmas!
The Twelve Dirty Days Of Christmas
The 12 Drugs Of Christmas (12 Days Of Christmas Parody)
Funny Christmas Song!! - 12 Days of New Years
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(Video Link) There’s no way that Santa will miss their neighborhood at night! Last year, the people of Bainbridge Circle in Murrieta, California decorated thirteen houses with elaborate Christmas lights. Then they synchronized them to flash to a variation of “The Little Drummer Boy.” The project required 45,000 lights, 130 extension cords, 17 wireless controllers and a whole lot of programming. -via Borepatch | Previously: Animated Christmas Lights Play Slayer
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Ursa ~
ursarodinia@aol.com
ursarodinia@aol.com
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