The Twelth of December

It's the twelth of December. 

Ring the bells. 

Blow the trumpets. Proclaim... What?





There are only 12 shopping days til Christmas. Is someone having another sale? Are you getting ready to have a blowout?

I woke up thinking of the Twelth of December and what, if any, significance today holds. At first I drew a big blank. After further consideration what came to mind was an old Donny Osmond song.

The Twelth of Never.

I know, I know. What does the Twelth of Never have to do with the Twelth of December? Nothing that I know. Maybe that's the day people say they can Never going Shopping again or they might go insane.

Surely something awesome had to have happened on the Twelth of December. The Twelth had to have more many than just a weirdly spelled day. So I went on a history hunt.

Did you know that on this day in History?

In 1474 -  Queen Isabella crowned herself Queen. Who knew it was so easy? Where's my crown?

In 1800 - Washington DC is established as US Capital. Prior to that where did congress meet? I'll give you a clue, they met in several different places. Philadelphia among them. Can you name others?

In 1878 - Joseph Pulitzer starts circulation of The St. Louis Dispatch.

In 1915 - The first all metal plane was test flown in Germany. They called it Junker J-1. Some name for a plane. Makes one want to climb right in a take a ride. I'll have to go see just how well that test flight went.

In 1946 - Tide detergent made its debut touting Oceans of Suds. Dreft laundry detergent came out in 1933, but Tide soap worked better in heavy duty washing machines. They said it gave you clean clothes and sparkling dishes.

We have so many choices for detergent and dish soap, it's hard to imagine clothes soap and dish soap all in one.









In 1962 - US goes nuclear with first test in Nevada. They do another one in 1968 on the same day. And Russia does one in 1970. (Perhaps there is more significance to the Twelth of Never than I first thought.)

In 1965 - Beatles hold their last concert in Great Britain. I was heart broken. Okay, maybe not. But what does a toddler know? Of course they go on their second tour in the US and Beatlemania goes into full force. 55,000 fans fill Shea Stadium and it grossed $304,000. The biggest in show business history to that time.  That little concert also proved that outdoor concerts were profitable.

In contrast... The top concerts since, have taken in more than 300 million. Some 700 million plus.

In 1982 - 9 million plus is stolen from a transport in New York City.

In 1997 - Japanese train hits a record for speed going 332 mph.

In 2000 - the Supreme Court gave its ruling on Gore versus Bush. Were those chads really hanging?

So a few other things happened on this day in history and there are other points to remember, but what does it all have to do with Christmas?

We are halfway there. In Twelve more days it will be Christmas Eve.

The night we curl up by the fire and remember why we celebrate Christmas in the first place. There are candlelight services to attend. We read the story of Christ's birth, sing Christmas Carols and just sit quietly watching the lights blink on the tree and the candles glow around us, and for a moment find a bit of peace in what can be a crazy season.

Naysayers may want to turn this day into the Twelth of Never by removing it from the Calendar bit by bit. By trying to say Christ has nothing to do with Christmas. But they can only stop words, not the heart or history.

If you're feeling somewhat tied up in knots this holiday season, it is my wish that you will take a moment and just sit down and kick off your shoes. Rest a moment and remember Christ is Christmas.

Merry Christmas