I heard of the death last week of Adrienne Tytla. The lovely artist's model who became the life partner of master Disney animator Bill Tytla. She was 92 and this year had published her memoirs Disney's Giant and the Artist's Model. It is still available by special order. http://www.petertytla.com.
Our sympathies to her children Peter and Tamara.

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Birthdays: Antonio Cimmarosa, Arthur Fiedler, Bob Guccione, William Safire, Cal Ripken Sr.,Ford Maddox-Ford, Erskine Caldwell, Tommy Steele, Armen Muhler-Stahl is 76, Bill Pullman, Eugene Levy, Wes Studi, Milla Jovovich is 31, Sean Patrick Thomas, Bart Simpson- 1989

ROMAN FESTIVAL OF SATURNALIA-This festival of Saturn, the biggest holiday to the ancient Romans is one of the roots of Christmas. On this holiday Roman families got together, masters served their slaves and gave them the day off. People gave each other gifts in pretty colored wrappings. Most modern scholars agree that Jesus was probably born in July or August, but Christians began using the Saturnalia as the birth festival of Jesus as early as 335AD. It was made official by the Vatican in 885 AD. Why Dec 17th and not the 25th? Because in the Old Style calendar, today was December 25th. It's the 17th in the Gregorian reformed calendar. So at sunset shout "Io,Io, Saturnalia!" ancient Greek for Hail Saturn!
jingle bells,jingle bells, jingle all the wayyy..!

1843- Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story for Christmas" first published. In the 18th century and earlier the Christmas celebration was a more rowdy affair with public drinking, marching around in costumes “mummery” and mayhem more like today’s Mardi Gras. This is why the Pilgrims tried to ban it. The popularity of Dickens story of Scrooge, Marley and Tiny Tim did much to help Victorians change the nature of the Christmas celebration to a more intimate and pious observance among centered on the family. American business tycoon J.P. Morgan had a family custom every Christmas Eve of reading A Christmas Carol to his kids, from the original manuscript.

1865- Schubert's Unfinished Symphony (#8) received it's world premiere. In 1822 Schubert wrote the first two movements and 8 measures for the 3rd (Scherzo) then gave the manuscript to a friend who kept it in a closet for 43 years.

1892- Peter Ilyich Tschaikowsky’s ballet “The Nutcracker” premiered at the Imperial Ballet in Saint Petersburg. One child dancer playing a candy cane in that first performance was a Georgian boy named Gyorgi Balavadajze-later American choreographer George Balanchine.

1903- THE AIRPLANE- Orville and Wilbur Wright make the first flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. For one minute a powered heavier than aircraft flew. Orville finished the day with a telegram to their father minding the bicycle shop back in Dayton Ohio:Success. Four Flights Thursday Morning against twenty-one mile an hour wind.. Inform press home for Christmas. The news failed to get into most national newspapers.

1955- Carl Perkins awoke in the middle of a bad nights sleep and wrote Blue Suede Shoes, the first song to be a hit in Country, R&B and Rock n’ Roll charts simultaneously.”Well you can knock me down, step on ma face, etc.”

1962- The Beatles first hit "Love Me Do" enters the U.K. pop charts.

1969- The US Air Force terminated Operation Blue Book, the investigation of UFO phenomena.