The Christmas season of 1944 along the German-Belgian border seems an unlikely setting for an uplifting Christmas story, but that year nothing short of a small miracle happened there. The Battle of the Bulge, Germany’s last effort offensive campaign was raging. It was to be the bloodiest battle for American forces during WWII with 19,000... Continue Reading →
Once more, I have decided to undertake the blogging challenge of The 12 Days of Blogmas. For the next 12 days, we will explore a wide variety of stories and topics about the holiday season with the goal to edify, educate, or maybe just entertain ourselves. No two individuals would define the holiday season and... Continue Reading →
Happy Father’s Day! As is true of many things when you try to trace their origins, there is some conflicting history about the roots of this holiday. The two prominent stories about the beginnings of Father’s Day in the United States happened around the same time on opposite sides of the nation. And both are... Continue Reading →
Two weeks ago at church, my 14 month old was getting a little extra rambunctious and I took her out to the lobby to keep from disrupting everyone around us. At the church we attend, there is a shelf set up with an assortment of pamphlets about various topics and as I paced back and... Continue Reading →
Merry Christmas!! And Happy Last Day of The 12 Days of Blogmas 2021! I have now written more blog posts in the month of December than I did for the entire rest of 2021...maybe I can keep a bit of this momentum going into the new year. I wrote both last year and also earlier... Continue Reading →
Santa Claus comes tonight! But before we let this stranger into our homes, maybe we should know who he even is first. People have some pretty strong opinions about what Santa looks like. News anchor Megyn Kelly once made the ridiculous proclamation on national airwaves that “By the way, for all you kids watching at... Continue Reading →
In the early 1970’s, Hallmark asked several celebrities to style displays for their flagship store in Manhattan. Fred Rogers, whose show Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood on PBS was becoming a success, was one of the celebrities who was asked to contribute a display. In true Mr. Rogers fashion, he took the opportunity to spread a positive... Continue Reading →
My husband and I recently re-watched the Game of Thrones finale, and I was struck by this line from Tyrion Lannister: “What unites people? Armies? Gold? Flags? Stories. There’s nothing in the world more powerful than a good story. Nothing can stop it. No enemy can defeat it.”Tyrion Lannister, Game of Thrones He said this... Continue Reading →
Happy Day 8 of the 12 Days of Blogmas! Today we are looking at the history behind another classic Christmas carol. In 1863, the American Civil War was raging and in Massachusetts, a young son named Charles defied his father’s wishes and left to join the Union Army. He sent his father a letter after... Continue Reading →
Happy 12 Days of Blogmas Day 7! Today’s holiday topic is not one filled with the cheer and merriment that most of us wish to focus on this time of year, but it’s none the less a part of the holidays. Dealing with grief during the holiday season. Grief, which can feel overwhelming any time... Continue Reading →
Rachel F. Jean 