Merry Christmas To My Family, Friends And Readers

 

Merry Christmas To All

 

My Pilot: Merry Christmas To All Navy Veterans And Active-Duty Sailors

A Look Back At The Beaton Marionette's 'The Nativity' And 'Twas The Night Berfore Christmas'

I had a conversation the other day with my granddaughter about old Christmas traditions and I told her that her grandparents and millions of others used to watch the Beaton Marionettes on TV every year as they performed The Nativety and Twas the Night Before Christmas. 

Marionettes pouncing from strings must seem very low-tech to a preteen and teenager today, but when we were children in the 1950's and 1960's we loved these shows.

The two programs were narrated by the late, great actor Alexander Scourby. Scourby also portrayed C. Clement Moore, the author of Twas the Night Before Christmas.

The TV programs brings back fond memories of Christmas as a child. My parents did not have a lot of money, but they always provided a grand Christmas holiday for our family.

You can watch the two short programs via the below links:

Twas the Night Before Christmas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzNJxLvbRrM

Part One of The Nativity

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXCNTW2glEw&playnext=1&list=PLEE47A548FC0AC749&index=15

Part Two of The Nativity

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xD1sCa5pBLo&feature=related 

Twas The Night Before Christmas: The Christmas Poem That Made A Scholar Immortal

The New York Post Editorial Board offers a piece on Clement Moore, the author of the world-famous poem, Twas the Night Before Christmas.

Born in New York City in 1779, Clement Clarke Moore became a noted lecturer and writer. Yet his life would merit little more than a footnote in New York’s history, except for the one poem for which he is remembered. Written for his children in 1822, it was first published (anonymously) in the Troy Sentinel the next year. The poem, of course, was “A Visit From St. Nicholas” (“The Night Before Christmas”).

You can read the rest of the piece and the famous poem via the below link:

https://nypost.com/2017/12/23/the-christmas-poem-that-made-a-scholar-immortal/

I have always associated the poem with the Mabel Beaton Marionettes, whose performance I saw as a young child on TV. Alexander Scourby portrayed Moore and read the poem. 

I’ve shown the old broadcast to my children and later to my grandchildren.

You can watch the Twas The Night Before Christmas performance, as well as The Nativity, via the below link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OB0Lf5CKDM

Note: The above photo is of Clement Moore. 

Tis The Season: My Short Story 'A Christmas Crime Story'

You can read my short story A Christmas Crime Story via the below link:

http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2011/12/christmas-crime-story.html

Merry Christmas.

Christmas Card From The U.S. Navy

Mark Twain's Charming Letter From Santa To His Young Daughter

The web site Letter of Note offers a letter Mark Twain wrote to his daughter as Santa Claus.

You can read the letter via the below link:

http://www.lettersofnote.com/2012/12/your-loving-santa-claus.html