Glædelig Jul

13th of December.

I think it was 28 degrees today so nothing really changes around here. The last couple of days I have been working as a freelance theater technician at Rennaiseance College for there Christmas productions. It was good and made me get to know the School and their resources better. But I am not here to tell about work. I am looking for the Christmas mood and maybe I have really met Father Christmas. I am not sure myself so please take a look and send me a comment if you agree or not. I think it is him, and I guess he is in Hong Kong for further education so he can get a job in the openings ceremony of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, and later as a guide at the Olympics here in Hong Kong where all the events that includes horses will take place.

So it is the 13th of December. In some countries, including Denmark, they celebrate St. Lucia night. I looked it up by Wikipedia and here is part of what it says about that. If you want to know more: www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Lucy

"Saint Lucy of Syracuse, also known as Saint Lucia, Santa Lucia, or Saint Lukia, (traditional dates 283-304) was a rich young Christian martyr who is venerated as a Saint by Catholic and Orthodox Christians. Her feast day in the West is December 13, by the unreformed Julian calendar the longest night of the year; she is the patron saint of blindness. Lucy is one of the very few saints celebrated by the Lutheran Swedes, Finland-Swedes, Danes, and Norwegians, in celebrations that retain many indigenous Germanic pagan pre-Christian midwinter light festivals.^[1]. She is one of seven women, excluding the Blessed Virgin Mary, commemorated by name in the Canon of the Mass."

Throughout history, lots of things seems to have happned on the 13th of December:

1636 - The Massachusetts Bay Colony organizes three militia regiments to defend the colony against the Pequot Indians. This organization is recognized today as the founding of the United States National Guard.

1642 - Abel Janszoon Tasman reaches New Zealand.

1643 - English Civil War: The Battle of Alton takes place in Hampshire.

1862 - American Civil War: At the Battle of Fredericksburg, Confederate General Robert E. Lee defeats the Union Major General Ambrose E. Burnside.

1884 - first performance of any of Richard Strauss's compositions in the United States (Symphony in f, New York Philharmonic.

1895 - Premiere of Gustav Mahler's Resurrection Symphony in Berlin.

1937 - Nanjing Massacre. Japanese troops begin carrying out several weeks of raping and killing of civilians and suspected Chinese resistance after the fall of Nanjing.

1941 - World War II: Hungary and Romania declare war on the United States.

1974 - Malta becomes a republic. To pay respect for that I will show you a picture of the only Maltese I know: Mr. Joseph Bonnichi. 2002 - Enlargement of the European Union: The European Union announces that Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia will become members from May 1, 2004.

2003 - Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is captured near his home town of Tikrit (see Operation Red Dawn).

2006 - The Baiji, or Chinese River Dolphin, announced as extinct.

2007 - Catriona Morrison Mortensen gets told by the doctor at Tsueng Kwan O hospital, that she do not really need her crutches anymore, but should wait another two months before she starts training for the next marathon.

The 13th of December should also be the shortest day and the longest night in the year, so that could also help somebody desperately waiting for their Christmas presents.
I have decided to put a Traktor on this blog everyday until Christmas eve, at least then you would have something to look forward to, when you log your computer on to the internet. This one I have got from my friend Stefan Grossmann, and it is his son, Johan, trying to get it to move. If somebody know the type of Traktor and year of manufacture, please let me know. Møge die Pferdestarken mit euch sein.