December 26th, 2007 weds December 26th, 2007 |
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Today’s Quiz: What is wassell, or a wassell bowl?
Yesterday’s question answered below: In Britain, why do they call the day after Christmas, Boxing Day?
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History for 12/26/2007
Birthdays: Emperor Frederick II "Stuporous Mundi" Hohenstaufen, Charles Babbage, Al Gore Sr., Admiral Dewey, Mao Tse Tung, Richard Widmark is 92, Steve Allen, Henry Miller, Carlton Fisk, Chris Chambliss, Alan King, Phil Spector is 66, Fred Schepisi.
First Day of the Kwanza Festival. Kwanza is from the Swahili words “Matunda ya kwanzaa” meaning “first fruits” of the harvest. See below-1966.
In the Middle Ages this was the Feast Day of the Pagan god Jul, when good Guildsmen would gather in their Guild Halls to eat themselves sick and drink themselves silly. Then in a total stupor they would swear oaths on their patron saints to stick by and protect each other in the new year. Churchmen bristled at the licentious nature of the festival and tried to ban it, but there was no stopping a good rowdy party. Nobody really knew who the pagan god Jul was, just that it was fun to see the priests get so pissed off.
527AD-HAGIA SOPHIA- The Byzantine Emperor Justinian dedicated the newly completed basilica the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople in a grand ceremony. Sometimes called St. Sophia, the real name was not for this saint but Hagia Sophia is Greek for The Holy Wisdom or Creative Logos, in other words, God himself. It was then the biggest Church in the world, surmounted by a great dome. Emperor Justinian walked alone to the altar and raised his arms up to heaven:” Glory be to God who has thought me worthy to accomplish so great a work. Solomon, I have vanquished thee!” He was referring to Solomon’s great temple in Jerusalem. Centuries later when Byzantine Empire was conquered by the Turks and Constantinople’s name was changed to Istambul, the Hagia Sophia was converted into a mosque and four complimentary minarets were added to it’s design.
795 AD- Leo III became Pope.
1492- Columbus founded the first European settlement in the New World on the beach on San Salvador. He called it La Natividad because it was founded on Christmas.
1776- THE BATTLE OF TRENTON- George Washington was desperate for a victory against a huge British Army that had chased him from New York. He crossed the Delaware and at dawn surprise attacked a Hessian regiment while they were still waking up from their Christmas hangovers. As the dazed Hessians ran out of their barracks and tried to form a battle line, Washington positioned his troops so they would be have to face into a snow storm. The Americans captured 1,000 Hessians to just 4 casualties, and killed their commander Colonel Johann Rall. Just before the fatal musket ball entered his chest, Colonel Rall said to his aide: “Fu*k , a bunch of country clowns cannot beat us!” This was translated in Victorian times as “Fudge!” but we know better, don’t we boys and girls? Because part of his army got lost in the dark Washington couldn’t hold Trenton and had to retreat. But the news of the rebel attack made other British units fell back to the Jersey Coast and abandoned the Delaware line. This was the first true offensive action of the American Army in the Revolutionary War. British commander Lord Howe, when hearing the news, exclaimed:” It seems inconceivable that three venerable old regiments made up of men who make war their profession, should lay down their arms to a rabble of ragged, undisciplined militia!”
1799- In the still unfinished Washington D.C. this day saw the huge memorial in honor of the recently deceased George Washington. All of the US government was there except President John Adams. Adams was still angry at him.
1865- James Nason of Massachusetts invented the coffee percolator.
1908- Jack Johnson knocked out Canadian Tommy Burns in the 15th round to become the first African American heavyweight boxing champ. Few of the 20,000 white people in the Australian arena cheered. Johnson’s flaunting of racist attitudes and segregation laws drove mainstream America nuts. Johnson drove race cars, flashed gold teeth and made love to many white women. Muhammad Ali said:” He did this all in the time of Jim Crow and Lynching. I was outspoken but Jack Johnson was Crazy!” Jack Johnson held the heavyweight title until 1915.
1919- THE CURSE OF THE BAMBINO- Boston Red Sox baseball owner Harry Frazier announced the trade of Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees for $126,000. The Yankees become champions and Boston believed Ruth cursed their team so they would never win another World Series, BoSox fans became obsessed with the curse story. They scoured a lake where Ruth supposedly pushed a family piano. A young man named Chris believed he helped break the curse. He lived in Ruth’s Boston home and during a 2004 game he was hit in the face with a pop fly ball, losing two teeth. He called it a Blood Sacrifice. The Boston Red Sox went on to win their first World Series in 86 years .
1924- Baby Frances Gumm first appeared on a stage at 2 1/2 years old. Grown up she would change her name to Judy Garland.
1926- Young artist Al Hirschfeld does his first caricature. A drawing of actor Sasha Guitry. A friend takes it to a newspaper and sells it, soon he's under contract to the New York Times. He will keep doing caricatures of Broadway greats into the millennium and has become a legend himself. In the American Theater a Hirschfeld caricature of you meant you had arrived and were a real star. At age 94 he remarried and drew the cast of Ally McBeal for TV Guide. In 2001 he died at age 100, drawing to the end.
1938- Young playwright Thomas Williams moved from Saint Louis to New Orleans and changed his name to Tennessee Williams.
1939- Walt Disney Animation moves from Hyperion to the new Burbank Studio lot. The buildings are designed like hospital wards, so in case he hits economic trouble, Disney could sell them to the planned St. Joseph's Hospital across the street. Animator Ward Kimball said it was the first time he worked in a studio where all the furniture matched. The old Hyperion Studio was bulldozed in 1966, the year of Walt Disney’s death.
1944- Tennessee Williams play the Glass Menagerie premiered in Chicago.
1946- The Gala Opening day of the Flamingo Casino in Las Vegas. Mobster Bugsy Siegel's $ 4 million dollar gamble in the desert. Despite booking top talent like Jimmy Durante and Xavier Cugat the promised Hollywood society types failed to materialize. The hotel part of the casino wasn't ready for guests yet so the high rollers couldn't see making the long trip. A violent rainstorm kept still more people away. Also the casinos formal dresscode discouraged the local yokels who liked to gamble in ten gallon hats and bluejeans. The Flamingo casino made a profit eventually but not before the angry Mafia riddled Siegel with bullets and cut the throat of his manager, Moe Greenberg.
1963- The death of Gorgeous George Wagner, the first wrestler to adopt a flamboyant character.
1966- The first Kwanzaa Festival was organized by African studies professor Dr Marulanga Karenga at Cal State Long Beach to celebrate African-American culture.
1973- Murakami-Wolf's t.v. special "The Point" with Dustin Hoffman narrating and Harry Nilsson's music. Hoffman's track was later rerecorded by Ringo Starr for some reason. “Me and my Ar-row…”
1973- The horror film The Exorcist starring Linda Blair premiered. Merry Christmas! Have some pea soup!
1979- The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. The Moslem fundamentalist tribesmen called Mujahadin, who hadn’t submitted to any foreign conqueror since Alexander the Great, began a ten year long guerrilla war that became the Russian Vietnam. The Russians quit Afghanistan in 1989 and the veterans of that war, called the “Afghansi” suffer the same post traumatic depression and societal ostracism American Vietnam vets suffered.
Soon after the Soviets began their invasion all President Jimmy Carter could think of doing was to boycott the Olympics, western European countries worried that the US would not respond with nuclear force if the Russians launched a conventional military invasion of them. -i.e. they wouldn’t risk Kansas City for Bonn. So they asked for Pershing-2 nuclear cruise missiles, and the Russians responded with moving Soviet nuclear submarines closer to US coastal cities. Congressman Charlie Wilson helped organize the CIA weapons pipeline and the 80’s became one last chapter of the Cold War delighting spy novelists like Tom Clancy and John Le Carre’. After the Russians left the Mujahadin changed their terrorist focus to the US.
2003- As part of a promotion for a NJ Islanders-NY Rangers Hockey Game the Nassau Coliseum invited all the fans dressed as Santa Claus to parade on the ice. As the hundreds of Santas marched on to the rink several opened their coats to reveal they were actually Rangers supporters. The Islander Santas objected, some shoving ensued and pretty soon the Nassau Coliseum was packed with fistfighting Santas.
2004-TSUNAMI- One of the stronger earthquakes 9.1, recorded in the last 100 years hit the Indian Ocean. The earthquake sent giant tidal waves covering the coastlines of Sumatra, Thailand, the Maldives and Sri Lanka, killing over 215,000. Whole beach communities were wiped out without warning. Among the killed were villagers, itinerant fisherman to rich tourists from cold Europe enjoying the warm beaches. Sports Illustrated supermodel Petra Nemcova suffered two broken ribs and her boyfriend drowned and Jackie Chan narrowly escaped. More Norwegians were killed in this natural tragedy than ever before.
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Question: In Britain, why do they call the day after Christmas, Boxing Day.
Answer: It is from the Victorian custom of boxing up the leftovers of your Christmas feast and giving it to the poor.
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