What makes this map so apt, especially today, is because these are the countries that don’t celebrate Christmas (in brown). It’s a testament to how far the spirit of Christmas has spread.
Lighter brown countries (China, Turkey, Saudi Arabia) don’t have a public holiday but are described as “giving observance”.
It’s a day a lot of the world shares. Albeit “some jurisdictions of the Eastern Orthodox Church, including those of Russia, Georgia, Ukraine, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Jerusalem, mark feasts using the older Julian calendar”. Those nations celebrate on January 7th.
Wishing you warm smiles.
Map by Nanib , Skriplerio, Moyogo
Aloha! MELE KALIKIMAKA E HAU’OLI MAKAHIKI HOU 2022! To Jo and all the brilliant contributors here. All the best!
Christmas in Hawaii!!
210
Great song too.
20
Merry Xmas all, damn kids have stolen the sticky tape!!
Interesting times thank you Jo for some sanity all year
90
Merry Christmas Jo. Good year to you in 2022.
120
Hoping that you have a wonderful Christmas Jo and wishing all those who contribute to, or comment on this blog a very happy Christmas and a blessed new year.
60
Merry Christmas to all in Jo’s community
It’s good to have a community of like minded people in this increasingly mad world.
100
It is on this Christmas morning I find myself not dwelling on the troubles in our lives but of the resilience of human spirit that it often distracts us from, many who are blessed to have family gatherings today of Christmas celebration will not appreciate the opportunity or true meaning of the occasion.
From the start of this year and quite by accident I made friends, we found one another by doing what Jo’s blog epitomises which is to ask questions to find answers and through these connections we discovered not only people of like minds but of intentions in spirit.
This sentiment rang true though the year with countless offers and acts of help when needed between people that often had never met in person but deemed them friends by the simple fact they were willing to question and take a stand against tyranny like themselves.
Today on this special day our growing group has organized a few Christmas lunches comprising of people that their own families have shunned based on personal medical choices or vision of what freedom is, this sad situation was turned around by people making invitations of sharing to create another family that would not mock or judge them but respect and love on a day that enshrines these values in its very origin.
So I offer not wishes, greetings or merriment today but hope you, that like many of us through the year ask questions find answers and quite by accident make friends.
320
That’s good to hear Yonnie. I think true friendship includes a meeting of minds.
Happy Christmas to Jo and All. We have a beautiful day here in Nth Central Victoria, though the sulphur-crested thugs are keeping me on my toes, waking me up at 05:57am 3 days running, wrecking the apple crop. They’re back outside again…must go!
180
Annie, get your gun 🙂
130
🙂
50
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to All and Your Families
60
Merry Christmas Jo and family and all this tribe. Learnt more of substance about life generally this last 2 years than previous 60 + years. Blessings to all.
80
Happy Christmas everyone, the love and hope we have from God giving us the biggest and most costly gift of all – that of his firstborn, Jesus Christ, is beyond compare, and continues to provide light in a rapidly darkening world.
140
James Webb Space Telescope is due to launch tonight at 11.20 PM, Aust Eastern Daylight Time. Thank you to USA for doing this great service to us all, I hope this tool succeeds in all ways, and all areas from here.
A happy Xmas to all.
120
I can’t wait for the launch. It’s been decades in the making. I especially can’t wait for the first pictures.
The telescope will be located at the L2 Lagrange point and will be inaccessible for astronaut service, unlike Hubble was (since there is no space vehicle to service that now either).
There is a possibility of sending a robotic vehicle in ten years when it needs more fuel. (It holds 159 litres of hydrazine and 79.5 litres of dinitrogen tetroxide oxidiser.)
It will take 30 days to get to L2.
40
I still remember looking at the first rectified images from Hubble … wow …
90
If the Europeans can manage to get it there, just call Elon when it needs servicing. He can do his sports car at the same time…
50
Well, they’ve got it off the ground! Sad they have to show an animation of it, no cameras onboard. I guess we’ve been spoilt by Elon with cameras everywhere on his.
..and the final countdown was in French!
30
Yes, I think they should have had an aircraft flying above the clouds to film some of the launch plus a camera mounted on the rocket which is fairly standard now (but not for the French apparently).
There was a camera to video the telescope separation that was malfunctioning with some sort of exposure problem which caused the image to keep getting washed out.
Anyway, its fantastic its on its way, without problems. It will take six months to commission it due to all the tests, mirror alignments, calibrations etc..
This telescope is a MAJOR big deal for science and humanity. It’s too bad it has attracted so little interest. Sadly, that’s indicative of the general dumbing down of society.
40
So glad it got away without issues, can’t wait to see first public images.
40
Dr. Malone warn alll parents again on vaccine–video https://balance10.blogspot.com/2021/12/dr-malone-warn-alll-parents-again-on.html
50
ASTOUNDING PRESENTATION BY DR. MCCULLOUGH https://balance10.blogspot.com/2021/12/astounding-presentation-by-dr-mccullough.html
VERY VERY IMPORTANT
21
And the winner is….Austria…..
https://www.zerohedge.com/covid-19/judgment-day-sweden-vindicated
“And yet, in December 2021, Austria overtook Sweden in terms of total covid mortality (see chart above). This comes after Austria had reached, in late November, the highest seven-day covid infection rate in the world. The European average covid mortality had already overtaken Swedish covid mortality back in March 2021.
40
“Dave Barry’s Year in Review: Wait, wasn’t 2021 supposed to be better than 2020?
https://www.miamiherald.com/living/liv-columns-blogs/dave-barry/article256603076.html
Via http://www.smalldeadanimals.com/2021/12/24/the-year-that-was/
30
Meh. No vaxx tirades today.
Just enjoy the day.
My place – bbq lunch with gourmet butcher goodies.
Crumbed garlic butter chicken breast kievs, texan chilli beef snags, rosemary &mint lamb patties, free range eggs, proper French champas, xmas cake with brandy cream and some food coma recuperation basking in the sun.
Wonder what the poor people are doing? 😊
100
Can we talk about the weather?
Lovely day on the central tablelands, a blessed relief.
70
Stinkin’ hot (42.6) in Perth for Christmas Day – mind you, the heat took its sweet time getting here this year!
50
Merry Christmas Jo and all who help to keep this site going. It’s wonderful to get the truth about this weird world, unpalatable as it often is, but far better than being bombarded with the distortions of the MSM. May we all safely navigate our way through this to what I hope will be a kinder and more common sensical place This site has been a godsend especially in times of despair and am so grateful for it. Many thanks and a wonderful Christmas to all. ToM
170
Merry Christmas to All.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
110
Yes Lance, the real point of Christmas.
30
It is estimated that Christianity is the fastest growing religion in China.
70
Merry Christmas to all from northeastern Victoriastan.
70
I want to share an example of a game that can be played at Christmas. This competition is suitable for winter holidays. In addition, Fair Go has prepared several proposals for his players. For the competition, you need to prepare notes with winter phenomena or things. Examples of notes: blizzard, snowflake, snowman, wind, sledges, skis, ice, Snow Maiden, Santa Claus. The essence of the competition boils down to the fact that the participants of the competition must draw out a note and dance, with movements, to depict what is written on it. The most original dancer is given a gift, for example, a snowflake made using the quilling technique.
30
At 61, I still love Christmas. Even though it’s commercialised and all that, I love the celebratory spirit of it.
A few streets from me some home owners have gone nuts with illuminated front yard displays. At night I see parents taking their little kids for walks along those streets to gaze in awe.
We need this sort of stuff in a world where too often we’re set against each other.
100
Merry Christmas all!
70
The spirit of Christmas, Jo? Is that the spirit spoken of in the New Testament or the spirit of gluttony?
20
Merry Christmas from alberta canada
70
Merry Christmas from BC Canada. We woke up to a white one in spades.
70
May all your lives be brighter in 2022.
60
Nice to see Antarctica included in the “observance of Christmas” list – Santa will have a home once the Arctic melts away LOL.
70
And, in other uplifting, Seasonal news:
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2021/12/pakistan-bakery-refuses-to-write-merry-christmas-on-cake
Then, there’s this:
https://www.samizdata.net/2021/12/cracks-in-the-chinese-wall/#comments
10
Here’s “an old fashioned” rhymed and rhythmed Christmas poem from one of our great poets of our once and future culture:
Along by Merry Christmas Time
Henry Lawson, 1913
Along by merry Christmas time they buy the aged goose,
And boil the dread plum pudding, because of ancient use.
But to sneer at old time customs would be nothing but a crime,
For the memory of the Past is all bound up in Christmas time.
Then Jim comes home from shearing, and he puts a few away,
With Dad, perhaps, or Uncle, but they’re right on Christmas Day:
For be it on the Never, or ‘neath the church bells’ chime,
The family gets together, if they can, at Christmas time.
And, after tea at Christmas, they clear the things away
And play the dear old silly games our grand-folk used to play
And Dad gives a recitation that used to be the joy
Of all the Western countryside, when Father was a boy.
Along by merry Christmas time, and ere the week is o’er
We meet and fix up quarrels that each was sorry for.
Our hearts are filled with kindness and forgiveness sublime,
For no one knows where one may be next merry Christmas time.
100
Interesting that he wrote it in 1913 and the last line reads –
” For no one knows where one may be next merry Christmas time.”
20
Merry Christmas Jo and David, and to all who visit and comment here! And Happy New Year and may 2022 be a vast improvement on 2020 and 2021!
70
In Vicdanistan it seemed that in terms of most of the shops being closed, Christmas Day was indistinguishable from any other of the 262 days of lockdown Vicdanistanis have had to endure over the last two years.
60
David I see “Dannings” was open .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUDGbP_0jnY
40
That was excellent, Robert. Thanks for posting.
40
All the countries in white were settled by Christians or were visited by very dedicated Christian missionaries. Just think-without Christianity the map would be all dark brown.
Merry Christmas to all and let’s have a Happy 2022. It will be the year that replaces the unGodly socialists in the US and elsewhere. The Northern winter may even convince the brain dead that they have been sold a pup by their ignorant politicians and lazy journalists when the cold begins to bite just as the heaters and lights go out. We can only hope.
We can also be more active in writing to our representatives, talking sense top our friends about renewables and such. My cousin in Adelaide tells me that church groups there are joining the Liberal Party in droves with the result they can influence pre-selection of candidates. The incumbents are not happy and wanted to ban new members because they were Christian It did not work. Senator Antic is a frequent after service speaker.
Now if only we could get rid of Matt Kean in a pre-selection.
60
Merry Christmas!
60
Wet season kicks off big this week, the entire QLD coast is forecast to get solid rainfalls, Cardwell to about Sarina in particular.
Cumulative rainfall map for next 10 days:
https://i.ibb.co/QDxHwB0/1-2021-12-26.png
Projected max wind speed (gusts, not continuous winds):
https://i.ibb.co/RBS1kQs/2-2021-12-26.png
It then weakens and moves slowly NNE with symmetrical appearance, east of about Bowen on 3rd of Jan, as a Tropical Storm.
We’re not allowed to use the term “Tropical Storm”. We used to be allowed to use it, but it was deemed too accurate, descriptive, useful, and much too easy for the public to understand, so BOM decided it’s banned from the official meteorological vocabulary, deemed ‘persona-non-grata’, and last seen living in exile in Florida.
70
Xmas lunch a total success. Everything cooked to perfection. Gordon Ramsay eat your heart out. Perfect sunny quiet day too.
The mother-in-law asked “why is your dog staring at me?”
I replied “because you’ve got his plate”
(Xmas joke.)
40
Meanwhile, in the USA-
Joseph (JR) Hoell, a Christian homeschooling father of four and “conservative firebrand” who served four terms as a New Hampshire state legislator from 2010 through 2018, has spent the past several weeks fighting a harrowing legal battle after state officials threatened to take away his children when it became known he treated their COVID-19 symptoms with the safe antiparasitic drug ivermectin.
During a phone interview Thursday, Hoell, who also spent two years on the New Hampshire House Children and Family Law Committee from 2013 to 2014, told LifeSite that the court case is not closed.
..the homeschooling family of six was hit with COVID during the middle of last month and used ivermectin to treat the symptoms.
..in early December, long after the family had recovered from COVID and stopped taking ivermectin, the family’s 13-year-old son became “disoriented” and “loopy” after taking an over-the-counter acetaminophen “at a level that would be a concern.”
The hospital found no evidence [of] Acetaminophen in his son’s bloodstream and sent the family home, .. ER staff advised Hoell to follow up with a primary care physician.
The child’s PCP, a PA who has only seen him a few times, examined him… (They) disclosed that the 13yo had been given ivermectin to treat COVID. The PA did not say anything that would indicate that is a problem, (but) medical staff “immediately blamed the ivermectin for the son’s [Acetaminophen] story and called the Division of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF),” then “coordinated with police to have all of JR’s minor children removed from his home.”
..”DCYF saw fit to issue a protective order, deploy their agents, and issue a ‘be on the lookout’ notice to local police departments.”
“Fortunately, the parents quickly figured out what was going on; they were able to move the children to a safe location before DCYF could get to them,” Kofalt said.
30
Meanwhile, back in Australia …
“Cyclone warning cancelled, but heavy rainfall, flooding and fierce winds expected in Darwin”
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-12-26/nt-darwin-coolest-christmas-rainfall-top-end/100726062
A Tropical Low rates a cyclone warning … remains a tropical low … (refer to remark above about Tropical Storms…………………………………..).
“Cocaine is a helluva drug.” – Billy Idol
10
LOL … they changed the headline on me … this was it …
10
How to Brick an Entire Economy
https://doomberg.substack.com/p/how-to-brick-an-entire-economy
Merry Christmas everyone.
20