On Christmas Eve in 1955, NORAD begins tracking Santa in what will become an annual Christmas Eve tradition.
According to NORAD’s official web page on the NORAD Tracks Santa program, the service began on December 24, 1955. A Sears department store placed an advertisement in a Colorado Springs newspaper. The advertisement told children that they could telephone Santa Claus and included a number for them to call. However, the telephone number printed was incorrect and calls instead came through to Colorado Spring’s Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) Center. Colonel Shoup, who was on duty that night, told his staff to give all children that called in a “current location” for Santa Claus. A tradition began which continued when the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) replaced CONAD in 1958.
On Christmas Eve, the NORAD Tracks Santa website videos page is generally updated each hour, when it is midnight in a different time zone. The “Santa Cam” videos show CGI images of Santa Claus flying over famous landmarks. Each video is accompanied by a voice-over, typically done by NORAD personnel, giving a few facts about the city or country depicted. Celebrity voice-overs have also been used over the years. For the London “Santa Cam” video, English television personality and celebrity Jonathan Ross did the voice-over for 2005 to 2007 and the former Beatles drummer Ringo Starr narrated the same video in 2003 and 2004. In 2002, Aaron Carter provided the voice-over for three videos.
The locations and landmarks depicted in some of the “Santa Cam” videos have changed over the years. In 2009, twenty-nine “Santa Cam” videos were posted on the website. In previous years, twenty-four to twenty-six videos had been posted.
NORAD relies on volunteers to make the program possible. Many volunteers are employees at Cheyenne Mountain and Peterson Air Force Base. Each volunteer handles about forty telephone calls per hour, and the team typically handles more than 12,000 e-mails and more than 70,000 telephone calls from more than two hundred countries and territories. Most of these contacts happen during the twenty-five hours from 2 a.m. on December 24 until 3 a.m. MST on December 25.Google Analytics has been in use since December 2007 to analyze traffic at the NORAD Tracks Santa website. As a result of this analysis information, the program can project and scale volunteer staffing, telephone equipment, and computer equipment needs for Christmas Eve.
By December 25, 2009, the NORAD Tracks Santa program had 27,440 twitter followers and the Facebook page had more than 410,700 fans.
Here’s something special for Christmas morning breakfast or brunch, Crème Brûlée French Toast, that can be prepared the night before and tossed in the oven with a pan of bacon at the same time.
Welcome to The Breakfast Club! We’re a disorganized group of rebel lefties who hang out and chat if and when we’re not too hungoverwe’ve been bailed outwe’re not too exhausted from last night’s (CENSORED) the caffeine kicks in. Join us every weekday morning at 9am (ET) and weekend morning at 10:00am (ET) (or whenever we get around to it) to talk about current news and our boring lives and to make fun of LaEscapee! If we are ever running late, it’s PhilJD’s fault.
This Day in History
Apollo Eight astronauts orbit the moon; Ku Klux Klan is founded; Human voice first transmitted via radio; Suez Canal opened.
Breakfast Tunes
Something to Think about over Coffee Prozac
Just because something doesn’t confirm your existing beliefs does not mean it’s a hoax.
Posted by ek hornbeck on 12/23/2019. Re-posted by TMC for ek hornbeck
Symbolically represented by the Festivus Pole, an aluminum tube between 3′ to 6′ high stuck in some drab and out of the way corner. It can be used as a weapon and frequently is. Traditionally it is stark and entirely unadorned and the stand crudely fashioned. Under no circumstances should any ‘presents’ be placed near it unless they’re of the sort a too long ignored pet would leave.
There are several rituals that accompany the celebration of Festivus.
I think I’ll spare you the feats of strength, though if you think I’m dead you can poke me with a stick and see.
Festivus Dinner
A Festivus Dinner menu is typical of any other holiday, Turkey, Ham, Roast Beef, Lamb, with the customary sides poorly cooked and resentfully served. It’s rarely if ever eaten and instead used as weapons which explains why it’s frequently over cooked to flacid sogginess except in fundamentalist circles where a Ham Bone or Lamb Shank becomes an instrument of murderous intent. It is often accompanied by copious consumption of alcohol (well, in fairness, the food is inedible).
The Airing of Grievances
The Airing of Grievances takes place immediately after the Festivus dinner has been served (but frequently before any of it is actually consumed). It consists of each person lashing out at others and the world about how they have been abused and disappointed in the past year, particularly by the other Festivus celebrants. It often ends in insults that lead to life long resentment and violence.
Feats of Strength
The most misunderstood of the Festivus rituals, there is only one Feat of Strength. The head of the household picks a challenger and engages in a wrestling match. They typically pick the weakest first. This continues until the head of the household is defeated.
That concludes the essential rituals of Festivus. Now you might think that defeat of the head of the household results in ceremonial bragging rights or change of some sort.
No.
It is essentially pointless as is the rest of the Festivus celebration which is, in fact, entirely the point.
No hugging. No learning.
It’s for the rest of us.
The airing of grievances is mandatory. ‘Tis the reason for the season. I’ve been quite cranky this year, as those close to me and faithful readers will attest.
Here’s hoping your Festivus is uninterrupted by visits from ‘Law’ Enforcement Officers or trips to the Emergency Room.
Welcome to The Breakfast Club! We’re a disorganized group of rebel lefties who hang out and chat if and when we’re not too hungoverwe’ve been bailed outwe’re not too exhausted from last night’s (CENSORED) the caffeine kicks in. Join us every weekday morning at 9am (ET) and weekend morning at 10:00am (ET) (or whenever we get around to it) to talk about current news and our boring lives and to make fun of LaEscapee! If we are ever running late, it’s PhilJD’s fault.
This Day in History
The Christmas poem ‘A Visit from St. Nicholas’ is first published; Former Japanese premier Hideki Tojo is executed; Mormon religion founder Joseph Smith, Jr. is born; North Korea releases the 82 U.S. Seamen.
Breakfast Tunes
Something to Think about over Coffee Prozac
The United States is a nation of laws: badly written and randomly enforced.
Welcome to The Breakfast Club! We’re a disorganized group of rebel lefties who hang out and chat if and when we’re not too hungoverwe’ve been bailed outwe’re not too exhausted from last night’s (CENSORED) the caffeine kicks in. Join us every weekday morning at 9am (ET) and weekend morning at 10:00am (ET) (or whenever we get around to it) to talk about current news and our boring lives and to make fun of LaEscapee! If we are ever running late, it’s PhilJD’s fault.
This Day in History
Uprising topples Romania’s Nicolae Ceausescu; Richard Reid tries to light explosives in his shoes on Miami flight; French army officer Alfred Dreyfus convicted of treason; Pop star Madonna marries Guy Ritchie.
Breakfast Tunes
Something to Think about over Coffee Prozac
Every gift which is given, even though it be small, is in reality great, if it is given with affection.
The first day of winter official crept in at 10:59 EST when the sun briefly touched the Tropic of Capricorn and immediately reverses her course. The winter solstice signals the inevitable return of the sun’s light as we climb out of the darkest stretch of the year. Here in New York City, the day is just 9 hours and 15 minutes long with the sun rise at 7:18 AM, its lowest point in the sky, and will set at 4:33 PM For the past six months, we’ve watched the sun gradually sink lower in the sky with each passing day, causing shadows to elongate and daylight hours to continually shrink. Starting Wednesday, the day will be a scant two seconds longer, according to TimeandDate.com. But come early January, daylight will increase by about a minute per day, with most of the additional light tacked on to the evening. Think of it this way: Although the winter solstice means the start of winter, it also means the return of more sunlight. It only gets brighter from here!
The solstice has been celebrated since ancient times by cultures around our planet. From the Roman feast of Saturnalia to the pre-Christian festival of Norse jól or Juul observed in Scandinavia, there are many ways our ancestors honored the first day of winter. One famous ancient marker is Stonehenge in England. Due to the alignment of the stones, experts acknowledge that the design appears to correspond with the solstices. One theory is that the area was used as a temple to worship the Sun and/or as a type of astronomical observatory.
Winter Solstice is often refereed to as Mid-Winter, since it is midway between the autumnal and vernal equinoxes. It is one of the eight holidays, or Sabbats, that are held sacred by Wiccans and Pagans around the world. In Celtic traditions it is the battle between the young Oak King and the Holly King:
the Oak King and the Holly King are seen as dual aspects of the Horned God. Each of these twin aspects rules for half the year, battles for the favor of the Goddess, and then retires to nurse his wounds for the next six months, until it is time for him to reign once more.
Often, these two entities are portrayed in familiar ways – the Holly King frequently appears as a woodsy version of Santa Claus. He dresses in red, wears a sprig of holly in his tangled hair, and is sometimes depicted driving a team of eight stags. The Oak King is portrayed as a fertility god, and occasionally appears as the Green Man or other lord of the forest.
The re-enactment of the battle is popular in some Wiccan rituals.
As we prepare for the longest night, we decorate our homes with red, green and white, holly, ivy, evergreen and pine cones. We honor the solar year with light. We place candles in the windows facing the North, South, East and West to ward off the darkness and celebrate the return of the sun/ With the setting sun, fires are lit in hearths and fire pits and kept burning to keep us warm until Sol returns at dawn.
There is food a plenty, roasts and stews and winter vegetables and sweets, chocolate and peppermint candy, apples and oranges and sweet breads. All these reminding us of the last harvest, the gifts of Gaia, Mother Earth and the hunts by Hern of the Wild Hunt. Of course there will be honeyed and spiced wine and hearty, dark beers, some made by friends who will join the festivities.
This year our celebration is once again limited due to the new variant of CoVid-19. It will be just small group of family and friends who have been full vaccinated, three shots.
What ever your beliefs, or none, may the traditions and celebrations bring you peace and joy. Blessed Be. The Wheel Turns.
