Christmas Memory of a Soldier's Return and a Doll
A mother recalls a wartime Christmas in 1946 when her husband John returned from overseas and, after a long battle with trauma, begins to heal. The emotional turning point comes as their daughter Janey receives a handmade doll from John, prompting a first smile and a sense that “everything is going to be all right.” The piece ends with a mother’s grateful reflection on wisdom learned from children.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Janey
Daddy
John
Silent Night Story: 1818 Oberndorf Hymn Creation
The 1818 Christmas hymn Silent Night arose when Father Mohr handed Franz Gruber a poem for a midnight mass. With an broken organ Gruber wrote music for guitar and voices, performing at St. Nicholas in Oberndorf Austria. The hymn spread through Europe and beyond.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Oberndorf
Salzburg
Austria
Joseph Mohr
Vikar
St. Nicholas
Franz Gruber
Zillerthat
Arnsdorf
Franz
Goldhead
Bethlehem
Father Mohr
Herr Vikar
Church of St. Nicholas
Zillerthal
Strasser
the Salzach
Europe
F. A. Brunner
Divinations at Christmas in Czarist Russia
In a Russian Christmas ritual the family laid five grain piles named Hope Ring Money Thread and Charcoal. A drowsy hen walked to a pile to reveal a fortune. Money meant wealth Ring a wedding within a year Hope a wish or long journey Thread hard toil Charcoal death.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Russia
Hope
Ring
Christmas Night Reverie With the Angel at the Tree
A baby wanders to the Christmas tree as starry lights and gifts enchant. An ethereal bell tone recites a verse about this holy night, snow, and St Nick, linking a child’s birth to enduring world strife and shared humanity. The poem notes the origin of the word Yule from geol meaning December.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
St. Nick’s
The Greatest Gift Christmas Message From The Newspaper
A Christmas message extols giving and kindness. It emphasizes Christlike qualities such as unselfishness loyalty and devotion and ends with a warm wish for readers and subscribers to have a Merry Christmas.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Jesus
The King to Broadcast Christmas Message From Bed
London palace sources say the King, bedridden with a serious arterial ailment of the legs, plans his regular Christmas broadcast to the Commonwealth at 3 p.m. on Christmas Day.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
London
Commonwealth
Palace
How Many Wise Men From the East Came to Bethlehem
The text debates the number of wise men visiting Christ. It notes only three gifts were given, which led to the belief in three wise men, but St. Matthew does not specify a number.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Christ
D.J.M
Christmas Day in the Stable
The speaker rises before dawn on Christmas Day and finds snow, wind, and the oxen in the barn. He kneels to Christ among the beasts, grieving for worldly clutter and sensing holy presence among shepherds, saints, and angels in a humble stable. Audrey Alexandra Brown.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Audrey Alexandra Brown
Hunting the Wren in Old Ireland
A traditional Christmas tale describes the wren hunted on Christmas morning with holly and ribbons as wren boys sing for gifts. It notes a Danish Irish war anecdote where a wren's pecking alarmed Danes, blamed on the wren, and remarks modern Ireland disavows the ritual, favoring other birds.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Ireland
Wren
Sprig of Holly and Christmas Traditions
A short overview traces the sprig of holly as a Christmas symbol from the fifteenth century. It notes holly in church decorations symbolizing Jesus purity blood crown of thorns and the bitter bark representing the Saviour’s gall.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Jesus
Also Mentioned on This Page
Helen Ann Krupka
Lizabeth Michaels
Elizabeth
Wheeler Newspaper Syndicate
Ken Woodman
Old
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