On this, my first 25th of December here on ScienceBlogs, I'd like to wish you and all your family and loved ones a happy, merry, and joyful Christmas. In honor of the occasion, my favorite Christmas song:
O Holy Night
O holy night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of our dear Saviour's birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
'Til He appear'd and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! O, hear the angels' voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born;
O night divine, O night, O night Divine.
Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother;
And in His name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord! O praise His Name forever,
His power and glory evermore proclaim.
His power and glory evermore proclaim.
It is, I am told, possibly the first piece of music ever broadcast on the radio on Christmas Eve 1906. Should the sectarian nature of the piece not be to your taste, well, as it happens this part of the year is host to various winter celebrations of more or less every variety and so I trust you'll not mind too much. With a bit of luck, regular daily blogging will resume tomorrow, but depending on how travel goes it could be the 27th. See you then!
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I've removed this comment on the grounds that Christmas is not the time to be flinging flaming bags of crap. Neither is any other time, for that matter. I shouldn't even have to say it, but here I say it nonetheless. -Matt
Our present culture is dominated by desire for material things and so Uncle Al looks for God in the form of a better welfare state. It wasn't always like this. There was a time when our culture valued other things, like honor or wisdom, more than it valued material things like health or wealth.
Back on topic, an appropriate stanza from my favorite carol:
O come, O come, Emmanuel
O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,
And order all things, far and nigh;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And cause us in her ways to go.
It is easy to look down on the desire for "material things like health or wealth" when you are wealthy and healthy
Wealthy OR healthy would be nice.