Tuesday, December 24, 2002

Christmas News
In Columbia, Tennessee they sang Christmas songs to beat traffic tickets while the National Geographic tells us more than we wish to know about whether Rudolph is female.
Two children's books written in the early 1800s are credited with introducing the reindeer aspect to the Santa legend.

The first, The Children's Friend, published in 1821, contains an illustration depicting an elfin-sized Santa dressed in red in a tiny sleigh pulled by one reindeer. The scene shows him delivering books and toys to good children, and a birch rod to those that have been naughty ...
Speaking of naughty, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has used a Christmas message to attack Washington. Spare the birch rod and spoil the child.