30 Comments
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Celeste Barber's avatar

Yes! The sensation I experience, Delight. Among the delights for me in the days leading up to Christmas, dusting off my dvd copy of "Love Actually," settling down alone to enjoy the movie, and a brandied eggnog with bite sized pieces of sherried fruitcake. Enchantment! This year, "Love Actually" was playing in a local theatre over 2 nights the weekend before Christmas. Hallelujah! The Big Screen with a small audience of Afficionadoes. I took a close friend (who stunningly had never seen the movie), as much to witness her delight as to enjoy her companionship. Yep, not happy but an experience far more. Joy in the moment! And grounding it all, the humble birth of a child that changed -- everything.

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Wally Hofmann's avatar

After opening presents and stuffing ourselves with a delicious Christmas dinner it wasn’t until my wife and I were walking back to our room from a game of ping pong we just spent 30 uproariously silly minutes with our two adult children chasing a little white ball that was whacked into oblivion.

As she squeezed my hand tighter she leaned into my arm, “Honey,” she whispered with joyful tears in her eyes, “I haven’t laughed that hard in years!”

This was the moment I felt the joy of Christmas!

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Earl Brown's avatar

A beautiful wife who loves you _and_ 2 great children - I hope you know how lucky you are! :)

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Wally Hofmann's avatar

I do, every day. God bless 😊

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Brian MacIsaac's avatar

Oh, by golly, we had a holly Jolly Christmas this year! Mr. Ives sang it true. It really is the best time of the year! I love your perspective and will continue my outrageous jolliness.

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Gene's avatar

Happy and joyful are so much better than angry.

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Monica Bond's avatar

A nice, uplifting article. I am all too aware that there is a lot of hatred in the world, especially in the land where He walked but at this time of the year my family will try to be concentrating on the

goodness there is.

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J. Livingston's avatar

Christ must be back in Christmas, because everywhere we went on our own traditional holiday sojourn we were immediately greeted with Merry Christmas; not Happy Holidays. Progressive NewThink failed to take root.

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Santa Barbara Current's avatar

The guidance includes “t’s about being politically correct”

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Dolores's avatar

I say Merry Christmas first and Happy Holidays second when I exchange this greeting with someone. After all Christmas Day is a National holiday so even an atheist can wish me Merry Christmas!

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Thomas John's avatar

Just like that it changed everywhere you went?!? Christmas miracle for sure.

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Jean Von Wittenburg's avatar

Excellent article...and a continuing Merry Christmas to all!

Love the comments, too!

Jean vW

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Scott Wenz's avatar

Hope everyone had a Holly Jolly Christmas.

Have a safe New Year.

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Dec 26Edited
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L. Angel's avatar

I'll tell you who will not care. Celeste Barber. She wrote an unconscionable article on here on Christmas Eve not only supporting genocide, but also attacking those who oppose it. On the eve of Christ's birth! How did it get published, especially on Christmas Eve? Please submit a counter article for publishing.

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Bill Russell's avatar

You need to have joy in your life S. 2 and L. Angel. I spent Christmas night completing the repair of a battery operated, DeWalt DCCS620 chainsaw. This has been a long project of solving different problems with the chainsaw with a history of problems. What did I gain from all of this? I made something broken to actually work properly. A product that has built-in problems to assure eventual replacement. I did manage to learn all the ins and outs of a chainsaw. If the chainsaw wasn't broken, then I would probably never learn anything about how a chainsaw operates in any level of depth. I also realized a broken-anything is a great tool for educating future engineers in our country. It's sad we have to use Chinese designed and built products to use as an educational tool, but the Chinese garbage built does offer a means of educating the minds of young people. If you have something broken, give it to a kid to play with. You might remove the chain portion for safety reasons.

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L. Angel's avatar

What does this strange rebuttal have to do with genocide done with our money?

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Bill Russell's avatar

I take the word "strange" meaning "weird," thank you for the observation. Now you are engaged in "genocide" and "money." I think it's time for me to find something else to take apart. I love "things" because they operate in an orderly fashion unless they are broke. When people are broke, they ramble on forever, sort of like a broken record if you get my gist.

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Bill Russell's avatar

My favorite Christmas gift this year is a small desk size Steam Punk Turtle. It has the typical gears and wheels mounted on the shell and a wing nut on its head. The interesting thing about steam punk is the complete uselessness of parts and its total non-functional nature. Because it's made up of a random bunch of parts, then it must be called an item of art ... there can be no question about it. There are some exceptions, maybe, someone could say they are spare parts for fixing something. There once was a large bookstore in Santa Monica, and I would always head for the steam punk books. The pictures of steam punk clothing were always amusing, a form of funny creative art. When the bookstore closed, it was sad. But I can make my own steam punk stuff for the fun of it. It's fun once in a while not to have to build something functional but rather for a chuckle for self-amusement.

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J. Livingston's avatar

L.Angel. It was not a strange response. Stand back a bit. Keep spreading your anger around, but in equal doses. Agree, what is being done in our names, when you broaden your list.

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Bill Russell's avatar

With such little information you can't conclude the bombing you mention. From what I could research, at best, it looks like propaganda. Damage to something shown, but what is it actually?

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Dec 26
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Bill Russell's avatar

Ya, I've seen those pictures. It shows pictures of something bombed. It doesn't show who did it or what is bombed. You can't presume what you see is accurate. Once again, it doesn't show "who did it." Lebanese could have bombed something for all you know.

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Dec 27
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Steve's avatar

What are you running from!

?

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Bill Russell's avatar

How and why can you say that? Of course, Santa Claus came down my chimney ... but please don't tell anyone.

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L. Angel's avatar

You're comparing 'Santa coming down a chimney' to genocide and destruction of Christianity? What is wrong with you?

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Dec 27
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Steve's avatar

My friend

Holy sites don’t matter.

Holy saviors are the only thing that matters.

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J. Livingston's avatar

100 years ago - honoring the World War I "Christmas Truce". A Christmas story we can all believe in, even if just for a moment. Learn how it was celebrated today on its Centennial. Perhaps that is the strangest humanity gift of all as one moves through time, intractable enemies become later mutual vacation destinations. Still makes my own head spin, over my own four score years. But it happens.

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