ISLAND OF ST THOMAS

 

St. Thomas Island is part of the group that makes up the Virgin Islands.

It was first sighted by Columbus on his second westward voyage in 1493 and although he did not land it was Columbus who named them Las Virgenes.

It wasn’t until 150 years later that the Danish flag was planted on St. Thomas and it eventually became part of Danish West Indies.

The island was populated with Slaves imported from Africa to work on the large number of sugar plantations and the islands wealth grew.

But the prosperity of the island dwindled After Denmark abolished slavery in 1848.

The Danish West Indies came under threat of German expansion during World War I so America purchased the islands which became the American Virgins in March 1917 and in 1927 the islands residents were granted United States citizenship.

Even though the islands have their own Governor and a locally elected legislature residents cannot vote in the Presidential election despite being United States taxpayers.

 

20 PEOPLE WHO ARRIVED IN THE WORLD ON DECEMBER 26TH

 

1194 Frederick II, Iesi Italy, German Emperor and King of Sicily
1618 abbess Elisabeth Paltsgravin of Rhine

1716 Thomas Gray, English poet

1792 Charles Babbage, English inventor of the calculating machine

1805 Joseph-Leon Gatayes, composer
1855 Arnold Ludwig Mendelssohn, composer

1891 Henry Miller, author 

1894 Antonio Molina, composer

1902 Elisha Cook Jr, San Francisco California, actor

1914 Richard Widmark, Sunrise Michigan, actor

1921 Steve Allen, New York City, comedian and TV host

1927 Denis Quilley, London English actor

1930 Donald Moffat, Plymouth English actor
1932 Walter Leblanc, Belgian painter

1939 Harvey Phil Spector, record producer

1944 Jane Lapotaire, actress 
1951 Richard Skinner, British Disc Jockey
1953 Matthew Harding, businessman and Chelsea football supporter and director
1972 Jared Leto, Bossier City Louisiana, actor

1985 Steven Hartman, Westlake California, actor

SYMBOLIC

 

The symbol of St Thomas is the builder's square, which comes from an ancient story that built a palace for King Guduphara in India.

DID YOU FALL FROM HEAVEN?

 

Did you fall from heaven?

With the winter snow

You must be an Angel

You have that special glow

 

You must have come from heaven

An Angel from above.

Sent to me this Christmas

Sent to bring me love

 

Come sit beside me

In the glowing candle light

I never knew my love

Could ever burn so bright

 

From this first moment

As we drink a glass of wine

Your sweet angelic nature

Tells me you are divine

 

Wrapped in an Angels form

As our Christmas starts

You give me the gift of love

And I give to you my heart

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – A SHOE ADDICT'S CHRISTMAS (2018)

Candace Cameron Bure is one of the Queens of the holiday movies, and her films never disappoint, and “A Shoe Addict's Christmas” is no exception.

Candace plays the part of Noelle, a woman who doesn’t enjoy the festive season, she works for human resources in a Department Store although her great love and talent is for Photography.

One snowy December night she is in the basement searching for a personal file and finds she has been accidentally locked in.

While she is waiting to be released, she finds a mysterious woman in the store called Charlie (Jean Smart) who identifies herself as her guardian angel, who gives her the chance to change her life through visions of the past, present and future evokes by Noelle wearing particular pairs of shoes.

The whole life changing process is further complicated by her proximity to Jake (Luke Macfarlane) who in addition to being her new neighbour, is also her liason with the fire department on the Christmas Gala she has to organise and is the fireman who rescues her from the store.

Along with Candace Cameron Bure

This Festive fantasy is well worth a watch, and not just because Candace Cameron Bure is in it and is as captivating as always, its just a great holiday feel good film and Jean Smart is a delight. 

REPRESENTING ST THOMAS

 

St Thomas is simply represented by either a spear or a T-square.

IT HAPPENED ON DECEMBER 26TH

 

  268 St Dionysius ends his reign as Catholic Pope

  418 St Zosimus ends his reign as Catholic Pope 

  795 St Leo III begins his reign as Catholic Pope

1198 French bishop Odo van Sully condemns Zottenfeest

1481 Battle at Westbroek Dutch army defeats Utrecht

1492 the 1st Spanish settlement in the New World is founded, by Columbus

1773 the Expulsion of tea ships from Philadelphia

1799 Colonel Lee says George Washington, is 1st in war, 1st in peace and 1st in the hearts of his countrymen

1805 France and Austria signs Peace of Pressburg 

1862 38 Santee Sioux Indians hanged in Mankato Minnesota
1862 Battle of Dumfries, Virginia

1872 18 inches is the 4th largest snowfall in New York City’s history

1899 Baden-Powell led a failed assault to relieve Mafeking, 24 killed

1916 Joseph Joffre becomes marshal of France

1925 Turkey adopts Gregorian calendar 

1926 Prince-regent Hirohito becomes emperor of Japan

1928 Johnny Weissmuller announces his retirement from amateur swimming 

1932 Earthquake kills 70,000 in Gansu China

1939 Earthquake in East Anatolia Turkey 

1941 Winston Churchill becomes the First British Prime Minister to address a joint meeting of Congress

1943 British sink German battle cruiser Scharnhorst

1944 Battle of Bastogne US General Patton breaks through the German lines  

1946 Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas opens

1947 Heavy snow blankets Northeast USA burying New York City under 25.8” of snow in just 16 hrs 

1955 RKO is 1st to announce sale of its film library to TV

1964 Moors Murderers claim last victim 

1965 Paul McCartney is interviewed on pirate radio station Radio Caroline

1966 Maulana Karenga establishes Kwanzaa the First fruits of harvest festival

1967 Dave Brubeck Quartet formally disbands

1968 Arab terrorists in Athens fire on El Al plane, killing 1 

1973 5 astronauts walk in space for a record 7 hours 

1973 Soyuz 13 returns to Earth 

1975 the first supersonic transport service begins in the USSR with the Tupolev-144

1978 India's former Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, is released from jail

1984 Belgian princess Astrid marries Archduke Lorenz of Austria-Este

1986 Terrorists Captured Iraqi Airways Boeing-737 in Saudi Arabia, about 60 killed

1991 Militant Sikhs kill 55 and wound 70 in India

1991 Jack Ruby's gun sells for $220,000 in an auction

1993 Antonov-26 crashes at Gyumri, Armenia, 36 killed 

1994 French commandos’ terminate Air France hijacking in Marseille