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Famous Birthdays:

Christina Rosetti (1830-1894)
George Armstrong Custer (1839-1876)
Rose Wilder Lane (1996-1968)
Walt Disney (1901-1966)

St. Nicholas and the Golden Bars is one version of the story of Saint Nicholas' legendary generosity. This story can be found on pages 763-765 of the Book of Virtues edited by William Bennett.

Santa Claus Paper Dolls in Full Color by Tom Tierney
This set of paper dolls is beautifully done and neat, not just for playing, but seeing the progression of traditions regarding Saint Nicholas with beautiful illustrations of what people thought he looked like from different eras and cultures. Unfortunately some of these traditions have moved farther and farther away from the original. The descriptions for each "doll" include information about each "version" of St. Nicholas. Available from Dover Publications.

The "O Night Divine" Blog has reviews of numerous books on St. Nicholas here

Websites relating to Saint Nicholas:
St. Nicholas Center
Catholic Encyclopedia

In History: First edition of the Encyclopedia Brittanica is published (1768)

Famous Birthdays: Joyce Kilmer (1886) read his poem "Trees"

In History:

U.S. declares war on Austria-Hungary (1917) link
Anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor (1941) link
The government of the Republic of China begins move from Nanking to Taipei during Chinese Civil War

Famous Birthdays: Willa Cather (1873-1947) link

In History:

Pope Pius IX proclaims the dogma of the Immaculate Conception (1854)

Famous Birthdays:

Horace (65BC-8BC) Roman poet
Mary Queen of Scots (1542-1587)
Eli Whitney (1765-1825) inventor link
Padraic Colum (b. 1881), writer link
James Thurber (1894-1961), writer link

In History: Lech Walesa elected president of Poland

Famous Birthdays:

John Milton (1608-1674) English author
Claude Louise Berthollet (1748-1822) chemist link

Statehood for Mississippi (1817)
Wyoming becomes first state to allow women to vote (1869)
Treaty signed ending Spanish-American War (1898)

Famous Birthdays:

George MacDonald (1824-1905), writer link
Emily Dickinson (1830-1886), poet see: Into Deep Eternity link
Rumer Godden (1907-1998), writer link

Statehood for Indiana (1816)
Germany and Italy declare war on the U.S. (1941)

Famous Birthdays:

Hector Berlioz (1803), composer
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1918), writer

The Lady of Guadalupe by Tomie de Paola Click here for Book Review

Domestic Church's page on Our Lady of Guadalupe
Website on Our Lady of Guadalupe
Catholic Encyclopedia Entry on the Shrine of Guadalupe
EWTN Article on Our Lady of Guadalupe and the status of her feast as a Solemnity in the Americas
"A Tea in Honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe"
Ideas for Celebration from O Night Divine

In History:

Marconi transmits first radio transmission across the Atlantic (1901)
Fr. Flanagan founds Boystown in Nebraska (1917)
2000 U.S. Presidential election (Bush vs. Gore) is decided in Supreme Court

In History: Council of Trent begins (1545)

In History:

Statehood for Alabama (1819)
First telegraph cable laid across Pacific Ocean (1902) link, link map
Roald Amundsen reaches South Pole (1911) bio
Iraq gains independence from U.K. (1932) article

Famous Birthdays: Tycho Brahe (1546-1601), astronomer bio

Gustave Eiffel (1832-1923), architect

Boston Tea Party (1773) article eyewitness account
Battle of the Bulge begins (1944)

Famous Birthdays:

Catherine of Aragon (1485-1536), first wife of King Henry VIII, daughter of Isabella and Ferdinand of Spain
Jane Austen (1775-1817), writer

"A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens is first published (1843) read online
The Wright Brothers first flight (1903) link
Malmedy Massacre, World War II (1944) (film: Saints and Soldiers)

Famous Birthdays:

Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770-1827), composer link

13th Amendment passed, slavery abolished in the U.S. (1865) link

Washington's troops go into winter quarters at Valley Forge, Pensylvania (1777)
related stories: Silver for General Washington by Enid Lamonte Meadowcroft and Winter of the Red Snow by Kristiana Gregory

Louisiana Purchase completed (1803)

The Christmas Book by Francis X. Weiser, S.J.
1952, Neumann Press, 188 pages, hardcover, Catholic
A very nice, Catholic presentation of the celebration of Advent and Christmas - the origin, customs hymns, stories and much more. The book also includes suggestions for bringing the Christian significance back to some of the customs that have lost their original meaning over time.
Related websites: The Catholic Encyclopedia Entry on Christmas

In History:

Coronation of Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor (800)
St. Francis of Assisi assembles the first Nativity Scene (1223)
George Washington and Army cross the Delaware in Trenton, New Jersey (1776)
World War I Christmas Truce (1914)
Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as president of the Soviet Union (1991)

Other Famous Birthdays:

Orlando Gibbons (1583-1625), composer
Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727), physicist and mathematician
Clara Barton (1821-1912), founder of the American Red Cross

The Catholic Encyclopedia Entry on Saint Stephen
Biography of Saint Stephen from the Patron Saints Index