Today in History

Xmas is a time of merrymaking and feasting. North American customs are a combination of those of the various European countries from which the original settlers came. On Xmas Eve children hang stockings for Santa Claus to fill with gifts. The Xmas tree, usually an evergreen, was first used in Germany. Topped with a star or spire and decorated with colored lights and shiny ornaments, the tree plays an important part in the celebration. Mistletoe was sacred to the Druids, priests of ancient Britain and Gaul. The Norse used holly and the Yule log to keep away evil spirits. Gifts were exchanged during the Roman celebration of the Saturnalia, a feast to the god Saturn. Gift-giving came to symbolize the gifts Odin left in exchange for the oats left for Odin's horse as he rode the sky on mid-winter's night. The most popular Xmas legend however, is that of Santa Claus, who is modeled after Odin.
376		In Milan, Ambrose, the Bishop of Milan, forces the emperor Theodosius to perform public penance for his massacre.
800		The pope crowns Charlemagne emperor in Rome.
1066		William I is crowned king of England.
1621		The governor of New Plymouth prevents newcomers from playing cards.
1651		The General Court of Boston levies a five shilling fine on anyone caught "observing any such day as Xmas."
1776		Patriot General George Washington crosses the Delaware River with 5,400 troops during the American Revolution. Washington hoped to surprise a Hessian force celebrating Xmas at their winter quarters in Trenton, New Jersey.
1861		Stonewall Jackson spends Xmas with his wife; their last together.
1862		John Hunt Morgan and his raiders clash with Union forces near Bear Wallow, Kentucky.
1862		President and Mrs. Lincoln visit hospitals in the Washington D.C. area on this Xmas Day.
1912		Italy lands troops in Albania to protect its interests during a revolt there.
1914		German and British troops on the Western Front declare an unofficial truce to celebrate Xmas during World War I.
1918		A revolt erupts in Berlin.
1925		U.S. troops in Nicaragua disarm insurgents in support of the Diaz regime.
1927		The Mexican congress opens land to foreign investors, reversing the 1917 ban enacted to preserve the domestic economy.
1939		Finnish troops enter Soviet territory.
1941		Free French troops occupy the French Islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon off the Canadian coast.
1944		Prime Minister Winston Churchill goes to Athens to seek an end to the Greek civil war.
1946		Chiang Kai-shek offers a new Chinese constitution in Nanking pledging universal suffrage.
1950		Scottish nationalists steal the Stone of Scone from the British coronation throne in Westminster Abbey. The 485 pound stone was recovered in April 1951.
1962		The Bay of Pigs captives, upon their return to the United States, vow to return to Cuba and topple Fidel Castro.
1965		Entertainer Chris Noel gives her first performance for the USO at two hospitals in California, she will eventually entertain in Vietnam.
1973		U.S. astronauts on-board the Skylab space station take a seven-hour walk in space and photograph the comet Kohoutek.
1976		Over 100 Muslims, returning from a pilgrimage to Mecca, die when their boat sinks.
1979		Egypt begins major restoration of the Sphinx.
1991		Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet Union's first and last executive president, resigns. The Soviet Union no longer exists.
2006		James Brown, the "Godfather of Soul", dies at age 73.