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December 23, 1823 –The famous poem A Visit From St. Nicholas was first published on this date. It begins, Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house / Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse …. Fourteen years after its first publication, an editor attributed the poem to a wealthy professorContinue reading “Geez, they even lied to us about Christmas”

December 23, 1989 – Phil Collins single Another Day In Paradise started a four week run at No. 1 on the US singles, on this date. Taken from his No. 1 album …But Seriously, the song was written to bring attention to the problem of homelessness. Collins told The New York Times how the songContinue reading “Another Day In Paradise topped the charts”

Festivus for the rest of us As not to embarrass yourself tonight at your Festivus family gathering, here are the four tenets of the holiday: The Festivus Pole: During Festivus, an unadorned aluminum pole is displayed. The pole was chosen apparently in opposition to the commercialization of highly decorated Christmas trees, because it is “veryContinue reading “Now with less of the annoying tinsel”

December 23, 1954 –Walt Disney’s live-action film, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, premiered on this date. In 1969, Captain Nemo’s pipe organ, which had been on display in Disneyland, was redressed and now resides in the ballroom of Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion. A duplicate was constructed for the ballroom of Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom HauntedContinue reading “What’s not to like – a giant squid and Peter Lorre too!”

December 23, 1964 –The Beach Boys made their first appearance on ABC-TV’s musical variety series Shindig!, on this date, (the performance was tape on December 14th.) Besides Dance, Dance, Dance, the band went on to perform Little Saint Nick, Monster Mash, Papa Oom Mow Mow, Johnny B. Goode,and We Three Kings of Orient Are. (OnlyContinue reading “The Beach Boys on Shindig”

December 22, 1977 –Thomas Helms, a 27-year-old artist from Hawaii, climbed to the edge of the observation deck on the eighty-sixth floor of the Empire State Building, and jumped, intending to kill himself on the streets 1000s of feet below. But the winds blew him onto a narrow ledge on the 85th floor. Helms sufferedContinue reading “File this under: Yes Virginia, there are Christmas miracles.”

December 22 1958 –The song by Dave Seville and The Chipmunks, The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late), hit No. 1 on the Billboard charts, on this date, and stayed there for four weeks.  (Sorry about the ear worm.) The song, written and performed by Ross Bagdasarian Sr. (a.k.a. David Seville) who varied the tapeContinue reading “Those damn Chipmunks topped the charts”

December 22, 1975 –Archie Bunker’s “little girl” Gloria gave birth to a son, Joseph Michael Stivic, on CBS’s All in the Family, on this date. The birth occurred in the second part of a two-part episode, The Baby, which begins with Edith and Archie (Jean Stapleton and Carroll O’Connor) beating Mike and Gloria (Rob ReinerContinue reading “The birth of Baby Joey”

December 22, 1965 – David Lean’s Russian epic, Dr Zhivago, starring Omar Sharif, Julie Christie, Geraldine Chaplin, Tom Courtenay, Rod Steiger, Alec Guinness, Ralph Richardson, Siobhán McKenna, and Rita Tushingham, opened in the US, on this date. This movie was shot in Spain during the regime of General Francisco Franco. One day, while filming theContinue reading “Dr Zhivago premiered”

The Winter Solstice in Northern Hemisphere will be at 10:27 PM (EST), the shortest amount of daylight of the year and the longest night. It’s officially the first day of Winter and one of the oldest known holidays in human history. Anthropologists believe that solstice celebrations go back at least 30,000 years, before humans evenContinue reading “Fear not the darkness”