A man that studieth revenge keeps his own wounds green, which otherwise would heal and do well.
A New Approach
Being the world’s foremost authority on the history of Christmas carries a heavy responsibility and I realize I have been shirking my duty by not using this space to spread the good news about the world’s favourite holiday. So farewell “Today In History”, and “Today in Church History”; (“Something Wise” will continue until the end of the month). For the foreseeable future it’s all Christmas, all the time.
And so let us begin.
What we have here is the earliest known artistic portrayal of Father Christmas, a woodcut illustrating a 1624 ballad lamenting the loss of hospitality during the holiday season. Some elements of his appearance will be constant over the centuries — a round hat, a long coat, a beard and an antiquarian aspect; he is always meant to represent a figure out of the past.
At this stage, Father Christmas, or Old Christmas, or Captain Christmas was simply meant to personify the festival. The name is not attached to a magical Gift-Bringer until the 19th century.
According to Albert Camus
Don’t wait for the last judgment; it takes place every day.
According to Georges Duhamel
It is always brave to say what everyone thinks.
According to Rudyard Kipling
“Being kissed by a man who didn’t wax his moustache was like eating an egg without salt.”
According to Thomas Dekker
“Were there no women, men might live like gods.”
According to André Breton
“The simplest act of surrealism is to walk out into the street, gun in hand, and shoot at random.”
According to Mark Twain
“The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them.”
According to Nietzsche
“In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations, and epochs it is the rule.”
According to Lou Reed
” Life is like Sanskrit read to a pony”