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.

20 PEOPLE WHO ARRIVED IN THE WORLD ON DECEMBER 21ST

 

1117 Thomas Becket, archbishop of Canterbury

1537 Johan III, king of Sweden (1569-92)

1804 Benjamin Disraeli, British Tory Prime Minister (1868, 1874-80)

1879 Joseph Stalin, Russian dictator murdered 11,000,000 during his reign

1913 Raich Carter, English footballer

1918 Kurt Waldheim, Austrian President, Nazi, 4th United Nations Secretary General 

1928 Ed Nelson, New Orleans Louisiana actor

1937 Jane Fonda, New York City, actress 

1940 Frank Zappa, Baltimore, rock musician 

1940 Ray Hildebrand, (Paul), Texas, singer (Hey Paula)

1946 Carl Dean Wilson, Hawthorne California, rock vocalist 

1948 Samuel L Jackson, actor

1953 Betty Wright, American gospel singer

1954 Chris Evert, Fort Lauderdale Texas, tennis pro

1957 Lisa Gerritsen, Los Angeles California, actress 

1959 Florence Griffith Joyner, Los Angeles California, athlete 

1962 Christy Forester, Lookout Mountain Georgia, country singer

1968 Khrystyne Haje, Santa Clara, California, actress

1969 Julie Delpy, actress

1978 Michael Vitar, Los Angeles California, actor

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – A HEAVENLY CHRISTMAS (2016)

 

Upon her untimely death, Eve (Kristin Davis), a workaholic finds herself in training to be a Christmas Angel in Heaven, under the instruction of Pearl (Shirley MacLaine).

Despite being the worst recruit in the history of Christmas, she's assigned a hard luck case, Max (Eric McCormack) and his daughter Lauren (Jaeda Lily Miller).

And as she is forced to help solve their problems, she starts to discover the meaning of Christmas and despite being told not to, she falls in love along the way.

FAVOURITE CHRISTMAS CAROL # 30 SUSSEX MUMMERS CAROL

 

Sussex Mummers Carol

Traditional English Carol Writer unknown

 

God bless the master of this house
With happiness beside;
Where e'er his body rides or walks
His God be his guide.
His God be his guide.

God bless the mistress of this house
With gold chain round her breast;
Where e'er her body sleeps or wakes,
Lord, send her soul to rest.
Lord, send her soul to rest.

God bless your house, your children too,
Your cattle and your store;
The Lord increase you day by day,
And send you more and more.
And send you more and more.

A GAME OF GANNA

Ganna is the name for an Ethiopian Christmas but the name originated as a form of hockey with sticks and ball which the shepherds played while awaiting news of the savior’s birth.

The game of Ganna is still played today and forms a big part of the Christmas day festivities.

20 PEOPLE WHO LEFT THE WORLD ON DECEMBER 21ST

 

918 Conrad I, German King and Duke of Franconia

1375 Giovanni Boccaccio, Italian poet

1597 Petrus Canisius, Dutch Jesuit saint, aged 76

1674 Rutger van Haersolte, viceroy of Overijsselse, 66

1736 Alessandro Galilei, Italian architect, aged 45

1864 William Henry Fry, composer, 51

1890 Niels Wilhelm Gade, Danish composer, aged 73

1906 Adalbert von Goldschmidt, composer, 58

1928 Harry Butt, English cricketer, wicket-keeper

1940 F Scott Fitzgerald, author, died of a heart attack aged 44

1945 George S Patton, World War Two U.S. General killed in car crash aged 60
1955 Dorothy Bernard, actress, 65

1957 Eric Coates, composer, 71

1958 Harry Byron (HB) Warner, actor, aged 83

1963 Jack Hobbs, English cricketer

1967 Stuart Erwin, actor, dies of heart attack aged 64

1974 Richard Long, actor, 47

1980 Marc Connelly, playwright, aged 90

1983 Rod Cameron, actor 73

1992 Stella Adler, U.S. actress, 90

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – THE TWELVE WISHES OF CHRISTMAS (2011)

 

Willing to try anything to transform her life, Laura Lindsey (Elisa Donovan), follows her best friend's suggestion and sets up a session with a life coach, Noel (Chonda Pierce), who tells Laura to make 12 wishes to make a positive change in her life.

Laura is sceptical and thinks it’s a load of hippy nonsense but to her great surprise it worked, however before long, Laura realizes that her wishes were sparking unforeseen circumstances and she must act quickly to get her life back before Christmas and recover her dog as well.