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Let Ricochet’s Jewish Christmas Begin!
It’s that time of the year! The day when every mission-critical job–including Ricochet editor–is done by religious minorities. As many of you know, we have a longstanding tradition of celebrating Jewish Christmas on Ricochet.
Mollie tried, in 2012, bless her heart, but what does she know from Jewish Christmas?
Fortunately, Judith was here in 2013 to take over the solemn responsibilities …
And I came back again in 2015 …
So, as our long tradition demands, I shall be here all day, Ricochet, holding down the fort, ordering Chinese take-out, and complaining that there’s not much to do — oh, and wishing everyone a “Happy Holidays” like it’s still the Obama Administration.
In fact, there’s nothing to do. Christmas is stretching out ahead of me as a solid 24 hours of total boredom, folks. So if anyone else is celebrating Jewish Christmas with me, let’s have some fun. Shall we read some Lincoln together and argue about our favorite Civil War generals?
Published in General
Love the video, Claire! So glad you’ll keep the lights on for us…I may be back for some adult conversation after family time…Hope Hanukkah was wonderful!
Ditto.
My contribution. This is priceless.
Barnard Bee was the man!
It’s after midnight East Coast time. Off to bed. Have a great day, enjoy your Chinese takeout!
Is that because he was the first Confederate General to fall?
It’s because he gave Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson his nickname.
”Look! There is Jackson standing like a stone wall! Let us determine to die here today and we will conquer. Rally behind the Virginians!”
Needs more accordion.
(Tell Ray I said that!)
Not for any religious connotations, but just for the music –
Merry Christmas and a belated Happy Hanukkah, everybody! I’m visiting my wife’s family in Romania, and I’ve been awake since 6:00 (11 PM EST), and everyone else here was asleep, and now most of the US websites and Twitter friends are dozing, so I’ve been kinda bored for a few hours…and I’m still waiting for #1 daughter to wake up so we can start the celebration.
Just finished Chinese dinner with a huge group and hours of card games & vino… off to bed and dinner at Rainbow Christmas Day- a rock n roll bar … the only non Chinese place open Christmas! Pizza for Christmas is just as great of a tradition as Chinese the night before!
You’re evil!
This will be the first time in years we break our Christmas tradition of going to Lim’s Palace.
One of my Christmas traditions is to work on Christmas(and Easter if possible) so coworkers could enjoy the holidays at home. It was an Eleventh Commandment in our family when I was growing up.
It’s just a regular Monday here in Jerusalem.
Merry Christmas!
My sister-in-law made a pretty good chicken stir-fry for our meal yesterday. Does that count?
A highway rest area McDonald’s can be an alternative.
Interesting that you should mention Civil War generals. I am in the midst of Ron Chernow’s biography of Grant. It is superb, almost like reading a novel. I have always admired Grant, but never before felt like I really knew him. Chernow is correcting that.
Happy Holidays Claire and everyone else. We in the Seattle-Tacoma area got snow last night, and like all snow falls out here, it has created road conditions that can only be called nasty. There is a thin layer of glare ice below the two inches of snow that makes descending slopes in a car something of a sleigh ride or a bump ’em car junket. Better to stay home. My two Labradors have been in and out all night loving the snow, so it isn’t all that bad. I made a batch of Dal Bhat yesterday which will get me through the next few days. Merry Christmas.
Do you even have Chinese food in France?
I found this story so touching … I wasn’t at all prepared to get sentimental about a Christmas story today, but this one got me:
https://owlcation.com/humanities/About-World-War-2-A-Small-Christmas-Truce
Of course we do, @valiuth, do you think we live like savages here?
After the fact, but still good
And on a serious note:
Confound their politics, frustrate their knavish tricks
Mordechai Kedar on the aftermath of this TV appearance
Great and moving story. It reminds us that warfare is like a tidal force on men’s passions. It is apart from but reliant on the participation of the warriors. That malign passion is ever present, if quiescent. And once unleashed there is little reprieve. But the possibility of reprieve exists in us all.
Put down those chopsticks and back away slowly. I’m reporting you to the Diversity Police for cultural appropriation.
Kudos to Bill Jacobson at Legal Insurrection for bringing us these stories:
First, Montana rancher Keith Ginther
And here’s an eyewitness account from a Mexican American Battle of the Bulge POW whom the Germans thought was Jewish. He wound up in a Buchenwald satellite camp.
It is a lovely story, and all the lovelier for being true. My favorite little detail of the story, the name of the rooster:
One of the dancing girls looks like Claire! (No, not the one with the bagels.)
I did not know that story. Thanks, @ontheleftcoast.