Stocking Stuffers # 3

CHRISTMAS IS THE HARDEST TIME

Christmas is the hardest time
When in the bosom of kith and kin
Amidst the exited chatter
And rustle of discarded paper
Punctuated by the joyous laughter of children
And over exited grown ups
I made all the right noises
As I wore my painful smile
I opened my presents when prompted
“Oh isn’t that lovely” I cooed
“That’s just what I wanted” I lied
But what I actually wanted
Was to be somewhere else
Where there was no need of false delight
Or insincere thankful exclamations
Anywhere else but there
They are well meaning souls
Who thought to help me,
By including my in their joyous celebrations
But they don’t understand my grief
Or the empty ache of a shattered heart
Each innocent Christmas ritual cut me like a knife
The familiar songs, once loved, now hurt
And each merry Christmas was a fresh cut
Losing you, my partner in life
Was like having a conjoined twin cut away
And among that happy crowd
My loneliness was most keenly felt
When all the excitement died away
I sat in silent contemplation
When sweet memories of happier days
Flooded into my mind to torture me
I hide it from the crowd
Keeping the pain and sorrow within
But so intertwined were our lives
I am left incomplete
I am in torment every day for the want of you
But Christmas is the hardest time

POLITICAL FIGURES BORN ON CHRISTMAS DAY

Muhammed Ali Jinnah, first Governor-General of Pakistan 1876
Anwar Sadat, Egyptian president 1918
Atal Behari Vajpayee, Prime Minister of India 1924
Ingrid Betancourt, Colombian senator 1961

ITS CHRISTMAS WHEN

Its Christmas when
Outside its cold and snowing
But away from the cold
Malls are full to overflowing
And all the children’s faces
Are happy and glowing

Its Christmas when
Noddy Holder screams
Its Christmas when
Its time to fulfil dreams
When life just may be
As wonderful as it seems

Its Christmas when
All the gifts are picked
The cards are written
The stamps are licked
And all the Christmas lists
Have all been neatly ticked

Its Christmas when
All are safely home within
Everything has been prepared
The kiddies are all tucked in
Then mums and dads sit back
And festivities can begin

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – MATCHMAKER SANTA

Matchmaker Santa is a delightful Christmas Romantic comedy in which
Santa Claus in the form of Chris (Donavon Scott) sets out to fulfil a long term Christmas wish, made when Melanie was a little girl, to find her, her own Prince Charming.
The grown up Melanie (Lacey Chabert) however is getting serious with Justin (Thad Luckinbill) until Chris intervenes to steer her in the direction of Dean (Adam Mayfield).
Apart from the main characters Florence Henderson is a delight as the wonderfully scatty hotel clerk and John Ratzenberger cameos as the laid back inept auto mechanic.

ON CHRISTMAS DAY 1947

The Constitution of the Republic of China went into effect.

CHRISTMAS IN LALIBELA

On Christmas Eve the city of Lalibela In Ethiopia is packed with pilgrims from the four corners of the country.
They spend the whole night outside praying and chanting and then on Christmas morning they form into a colorful procession which is led by Three young men, lashing whips left and right as it makes its way to a nearby hilltop where a special service takes place.
The congregation is fed with bread and wine blessed by priests then when the service is over the remainder of the day is spent feasting, dancing and playing or watching sport.

CHRISTMAS FOLLY

Merriment abounds
And music fills the air
And in the cosy room
I’d hoped to see you there

Friends and loved ones
Surround me, old and new
I wished that one of them
Might have been you

Outside its cold
On this Christmas Eve
When the party's over
I won’t want to leave

But I will head home
Trudging through the snow
And in my loneliness
I’ll wonder how I let you go

AN ARDENNES CHRISTMAS

The next time you’re whining on about what a crap Christmas you had because your mother in law over did it on the sherry and told everyone what she really thinks about you or when your wife’s uncle Stan spent Christmas afternoon asleep on the sofa breaking wind with monotonous regularity.
Or your brothers new girlfriend who kept hitting on your wife or your Gran who said “just a small dinner for me I don’t have much of an appetite” then spent the afternoon eating all the chocolate Brazils.
If this strikes a chord think again and Spare a thought for the half a million or so men of the allied forces and six hundred thousand Germans who spent Christmas 1944 outside in the snow in the Ardennes forest during the battle of the bulge.
Men like My father sheltering in foxholes scratched out of the frozen earth with no hot food or drink.
Unable to light fires for fear of giving their position away and regularly coming under enemy fire or being shelled
Then once you’ve hewn out a decent sized foxhole and settled down into it out of the icy wind an order comes down the line to move out and you move a hundred yards or less and dig another hole.
Go and tell your petty gripe's to them and see if you get any sympathy.

HE SLEEPS A KINGLY SLEEP

Oh prince of peace
Humbly lain on hay
Born to the world
On this special day

Shepherds, beasts
And kings of earth
Pay homage
At the saviours birth

While the Christ child
With angelic face
Sleeps a kingly sleep
In this humble place

ON CHRISTMAS DAY 1950

The Coronation Stone, taken from Scone in Scotland by Edward I in 1296, was stolen from Westminster Abbey and smuggled back to Scotland.


FAVOURITE CHRISTMAS CAROL # 11

THE COVENTRY CAROL
Music and lyrics traditional

Lully, lullay, Thou little tiny Child,
Bye, bye, lully, lullay.
Lullay, thou little tiny Child,
Bye, bye, lully, lullay.

O sisters too, how may we do,
For to preserve this day
This poor youngling for whom we do sing
Bye, bye, 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 mourn and sigh,
For thy parting neither say nor sing,
Bye, bye, lully, lullay.

I COULD BE YOUR CHRISTMAS TREE

I could be your Christmas tree,
Strung with tinsel and lit, brightly
You can trim me with ribbons and bows
Baubles and bells anything goes
I shall be greeted with gasps and wows
And you can hide gifts beneath my boughs
You wont regret it if you buy me
So let me be your Christmas tree

INSCRIBED

In the cemetery of St. John in Syracuse, Sicily an early inscription to Lucia has recently been discovered.

ON CHRISTMAS DAY 1953

An Avalanche of lava killed 150 people after the volcano Ruapehu erupted in New Zealand.

FAVOURITE CHRISTMAS SONG # 14

Despite the general awfulness of the Christmas song there are however always exceptions to the rule and I have a short list of personal favourites.
Without exception all my choices not only include the song but the best performer of that song and so in no particular order here is my fourteenth selection.

"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" written by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane Performed by Katie Melua

Have yourself a merry little Christmas,
Let your heart be light
From now on,
our troubles will be out of sight

Have yourself a merry little Christmas,
Make the Yule-tide gay,
From now on,
our troubles will be miles away.

Here we are as in olden days,
Happy golden days of yore.
Faithful friends who are dear to us
Gather near to us once more.

Through the years
We all will be together,
If the Fates allow
Hang a shining star upon the highest bough.
And have yourself A merry little Christmas now

CHRISTMAS HILL

Christmas Hill is situated in the Silverton Hills of Oregon where you will find the Christmas Hill tree farm which perhaps naturally specializes in the production of conifers grown commercially for the Christmas tree market.

SEASONAL GREETINGS FROM ASIA

Afghanistan (Pushto)
Christmas Aao Ne-way Kaal Mo Mobarak Sha
Bahasa Malaysia
Selamat Hari Natal
China (Cantonese)
Gun Tso Sun Tan'Gung Haw Sun
China (Mandarin)
Kung His Hsin Nien bing Chu Shen Tan
Indonesia
Selamat Hari Natal
Japan
Shinnen omedeto. Kurisumasu Omedeto
Korea
Sung Tan Chuk Ha
Rapa-Nui (Easter Island)
Mata-Ki-Te-Rangi. Te-Pito-O-Te-Henua
Sri Lanka (Singhalese)
Subha nath thalak Vewa. Subha Aluth Awrudhak Vewa
Thailand
Sawadee Pee Mai
Vietnam
Chung Mung Giang Sinh

ON CHRISTMAS DAY 1868 a

Despite bitter opposition United States President Andrew Johnson granted unconditional pardons to all persons involved in the Southern rebellion.

TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS # 2

Twas the night before Christmas and all thru the flat,
Not a creature was stirring not even the cat
The mince pies had been eaten every one and all
And the dog had thrown up on the carpet in the hall

CHRISTMAS ACROSS THE SEA

I am of occidental origin
And I should make it clear
That I have lived all my life
In the northern hemisphere

And every year, except this one
I’ve spent Christmas in blighty
This year, I was invited to my daughters
I tried to decline, politely

She doesn’t live in Britain
But in the land of the kangaroo
Christmas day in high summer
Oh what an awful to-do

The hot sun was like the Grinch
Not a cloud in the sky since dawn
It ruined the day for me
And it made the eggnog warm

Flies buzzed round the turkey
My hat was stuck to my head
No queen’s speech on the telly
I wish I’d stayed home instead