On December 21, the December solstice, Jupiter and Saturn will align so closely in the night sky that they’ll almost appear to collide from our vantage point here on Earth, creating a radiant point of light often referred to as the “Star of Bethlehem” or the “Christmas Star.”
Not since the 1200s has something like this occurred..
One of our yearly traditions since we began this website back in 1999 was the imagery and pageantry of Black Friday madness! Brawls and fights.. people going out to shop but landing in a coma, all while old terrible quality cell phone videos caught the rampage..
None of that this year.
NOTHING.
It was quite quaint and orderly. We did not even get sent one fight, one punch… one scream.. The masks kept those who actually shopped quite quiet!
The AP captured the event for history like this, with Alexandra Olson writing,
The raging coronavirus pandemic kept crowds thin at malls and stores across the country on Black Friday, but a surge in online shopping offered a beacon of hope for struggling retailers after months of slumping sales and businesses toppling into bankruptcy.
Talk about depressing!
But is it all the virus?
For years, we have seen spending habits changing.
Big box chains have been slowly bleedings for years, and “local Saturday” shops have been closing.. Cyber Monday has immersed from the shuffle with the grand prize!
A graphical representation:
This year, Black Friday is a story of the haves vs the everyone else!
People in line for a Playstation 5 may have been equipped with the hundreds to spend to get it, but were shocked to hear their local game stop only had 2 per store for the most part!
Meanwhile, the rest of the country is seeing a spike in hunger and food lines..
While you may not see in on the American media cable channel of your choice, the world is watching a nation spiral out of control..
In what is traditionally a season of celebration, less than half of US households with children feel “very confident” about having enough money to afford the food needed over the next month, according to the US Census Bureau’s latest pandemic survey. A staggering 5.6m households struggled to put enough food on the table in the past week.
Families of color are suffering disproportionately with 27% of black and 23% of Latino respondents with children reported not having enough to eat sometimes or often over the past week – compared with 12% of white people.
Overall food insecurity has doubled since last year due to record unemployment and underemployment rates. For families with children, hunger is three times higher than in 2019, according to analysis by Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach, director of the non-partisan Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern University.
Another British publication, the UK DAILY MAIL, is showcasing a starving nation during pandemic
A staggering 5.6 million people struggled to put enough food on the table in the past week according to US Census survey data, while an estimated two million people are expected to go hungry in New York this holiday season.
From New York to California, people waited for hours on end to claim their parcels for the holidays and celebrities including Snoop Dogg, Tyler Perry and Tracy Morgan have lent a hand.
So yes..
This year we miss images like this:
Because now all we see are images like this:
Perhaps no videos this year of people having a knockout drag out affair to get the newest piece of cheaply made plastic..
Instead various reports from around the nation are showcasing empty stores. Quiet lines.
Media blaming COVID, but black Friday has been waning in popularity for years.
In one instance, a Philadelphia news site saw a longer line for people to be paid for donating plasma than the Game Stop next door selling only 2 PlayStation 5’s..
Other reports from around the country report mainly quiet retail, with mostly gaming being the top contender for potential crowds (until they find out how severely limited stocks of the PlayStation 5 console are)…
During a time when all other traditions are being killed or dying natural deaths, is this retail hell another one that will be gone?
Developing
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9p1JYvV178E]
The HORROR REPORT has always loved Krampus. But not enough to wish to see him instead of Santa..
In this quick holiday story, written by Anthony Bourdain before his untimely death earlier this year, North America is given a brief, dark, humorous peek into the mythos surrounding Krampus, a goat-demon who comes during the Christmas holidays to punish children who misbehaved over the last year. A good pal of Santa Claus, Krampus, and the dread he has instilled in rotten kids for generations, most likely pre-dates Christianity.
The lights that adorned this page have been taken down. Christmas, a white one this year with a fluffy inch or so on the grassy surfaces, is ending..
The annual buildup and energy to the biggest holiday of the year is finished.
365 more days to go until the next budget busting seasonal fanfare.
The whirlwind amount of unwrapping makes the hours worth of work seem futile.
But this year, my son still believes. His honest and true 6-year-old heart is beautiful. The joy he brings his family is incredible. The youth and vigor in which he faces like is inspiring.
I hope you have inspiration as these 535,600 minutes of 2017 come to an end..
And in ’18?
I hope we all experience a season of love.
And believe…..
Hope.
Hope springs eternal.
I really liked this GIF enough to reblog it.. I want to believe, as well.. And somewhat do.
Let me explain.
We are filled with mystery and mayhem, this universe.. Christmas night is the ULTIMATE and most paranormal night of the year–even if you believe in Santa or the religious view, it is beyond belief. Santa can fly all over the world. Deliver gifts. Not be noticed. At the same time we worship a ‘savior’ who was born in a manger … wise men followed a star to give him gifts. He was born of a virgin. And then eventually would go on to die and rise from the dead.
How more paranormal can you get.
My son recently asked me if I believe in Santa. He is in the 1st grade and some kids have begun to talk about the reality of the situation.
I told him I do believe in Santa. AND I DO!!
I believe..
I believe because we are in a multiverse.. filled with endless potential. Endless realities. And why not .. and why would not Santa, in some realm, be real? And in some realm, why would he not be a time traveler? Someone who can defy space itself to get here.. deliver gifts.. bring hope to children facing hunger and disease, sadness and strife, all across this cold land? Why not..?
I don’t just want to believe.
I do believe.
(via unexplainedthings)
All Christmas activities, including dancing, seasonal plays, games, singing carols, cheerful celebration and especially drinking were banned by the Puritan-dominated Parliament of England in 1644, with the Puritans of New England following suit.
Christmas was outlawed in Boston, and the Plymouth colony made celebrating Christmas a criminal offense, according to “Once Upon a Gospel”The Puritans of New England then passed a series of laws making any observance of Christmas illegal, thus banning Christmascelebrations for part of the 17th century. A Massachusetts law of 1659 punished offenders with a hefty five shilling fine.
In England, the ban on the holiday was lifted in 1660, when Charles II took over the throne. However, the Puritan presence remained in New England and Christmas did not become a legal holiday there until 1856. Even then, some schools continued to hold classes on December 25 until 1870.
The upper classes in ancient Rome celebrated Dec. 25 as the birthday of the sun god Mithra. The date fell right in the middle of Saturnalia, a monthlong holiday dedicated to food, drink, and revelry, and Pope Julius I is said to have chosen that day to celebrate Christ’s birth as a way of co-opting the pagan rituals. Beyond that, the Puritans considered it historically inaccurate to place the Messiah’s arrival on Dec. 25. They thought Jesus had been born sometime in September…
After the Civil War, America needed a lift.
Christmas Day was formally declared a federal holiday by President Ulysses S. Grant in 1870.
….the rest? Was…history.
Commercialism took its course.. Krampus came back en vogue.. and Santa Claus’ time traveling ways would not get him locked up in a slammer anymore.
All is right with the world.
So yes. INDEED. There WAS a war on Christmas. And Starbucks cups weren’t involved.
It’s amazing to consider just how paranormal and creepy a time Christmas actually is! Even a song features the words ‘scary ghost stories and tales of the glory of Chrsitmases long long ago’!
Let me first begin this way. On Christmas, ever since childhood, I felt magic. I felt like a thing veil between here and somewhere else was lifted. As I matured into adulthood, that same feeling persisted each December 24. Something strange and magical seemingly is felt in the air that night..
Chrsitmases of long long ago aren’t the same as they are now. The peaceful imagery of Santa Claus is relatively new. The older image of Krampus has had some staying power over the centuries.. banned for some time, a resurgence has just occcured for the devilish beast.
Some even say, long ago, that Santa traveled with Krampus. Kids who were good got gifts.. those bad? The wrath of Krampus..
It wasn’t just Krampus, either, that hit on Christmas..
What is even more terrifying is that Krampus is hardly alone in his duties to punish the wicked come Christmas time. There is the legend of Frau Perchta, another Germanic wild spirit that appears during the holidays to punish bad boys and girls during the Twelve Days of Christmas by tearing out their insides and replacing them with garbage. Then comes the Icelandic Jólakötturinn, the Yule Cat. This cat is supposed to come and get naughty boys and girls who did not finish all their chores by the coming of Yule. Those who finish their chores are gifted with new clothes while those that do not, are given nothing and the Yule Cat will come in the night, scratching at the door and coming up from under the icy floors to eat those who received nothing for being lazy. From France comes Hans Trapp, a man who was said to actually exist at one point in history. Trapp was a horrid human being, a crazy Satan worshipper who butchered and killed children until he was struck by lightning and is now forced forever to visit children on Christmas, dressed as a scarecrow to remind them to be good…or else (Mental Floss, 2015)
…and did you know? Caroling in Romania has was used to perform sex prevention? >Some feared in those times that conceiving on Christmas would lead you to having a beast baby. So ….singers would interrupt the Romanian houses for rocking without even knocking..
These are the amazing truths of Christmas..
I shared this story before, but I will agai for good measure. When I was younger in Catholic grade school, some funny Russian nuns who were in charge of the place had a yearly ritual. Along with religious singing and ceremony, the kids also aligned the shoes in hallways .. we were ushered back into our classrooms and we heard a bell ring. Of course it was just Tarzan the janitor, but what we didn’t know didn’t hurt us. The bell signified that Santa stopped by .. if our shoes had candy? It was good. If not? ….Krampus time. He was not named. But the tradition goes back to one from Eastern Europe where, if you got something other than candy, your soul was about to be sucked out by the demonic Christmas figure. Good luck.
There are dark times at Christmas.. our modern life has turned it into a celebration of light.. but the light only comes after the darkness. I think Halloween begins the darkness.. and it is a continuation of bleak and bland until December 25, or so around that date, when the sun’s angle begins to change and the ‘light of the world’ takes on a new meaning.
Just about everything we do has pagan roots in some respect..
# # #
This year, when I read the news accounts recently of the boy. who died in Santa’s arms, I grew very emotional. It was immensely sad to hear the man who played Santa his entire adult life describe having a child, filled with joy and love, pass away in his arms.
To that boy, Santa was real.. Santa came to him before death and gave him a reason to have lived.. and a purpose in dying. The story still makes me very emotional..
But it also confirms something I have long believed personally. Santa Claus IS REAL.
There are tons of reasons I would argue for the reality of Santa.. (And Krampus while I am at it) .. but one of the best reasons to think and consider the reality of the two historical figures: Alternative universes. If a multi-verse that endlessly exists, that just about any reality may be possible. The timeline we are on gives us a Trump presidency and war torn world. But another may fully be inhabited by Santa and elves, Krampus and devils.. Yes indeed.. in a certain sense, just about every possibility could exist. So Santa equally could be very real. And if timelines can bleed into ours, then why isn’t it at least possible to think that Santa’s sleigh could ride over our houses …
So … when my son, now 5, stops believing in Santa, I will be the only one in the household who STILL believes. I do so to keep the magic of Christmas alive.. and because, as explained above, I think there is a very good chance that the fabric of time and space gets thin around this time of year, from Hallow’s Eve to the Yule Log tidings, so …why not. Why not believe ?
The comfort that the birth of Christ brought the world saved it from darkness. The light from that historical event — if it occurred — is believed to have happened around the world.
There is magic in this season. Those who could scoff at my Santa belief don’t look at their own with any critical zeal. Only others..
So … why not all of them!
# # #
To the boy who died in Sata’s arms, there is no doubt .. Santa Claus was real for that entire boy’s life…until his untimely and sad death.
Bring the magic into the season again.. in honor of the nameless and faceless children across this planet who need that miracle.. who need that love.. who need that magic. Do good deeds that go unnoticed. And do them because this is the season to do them. Make someone’s wishes come true.. bring light into someone’s darkness. Use your words for love instead of hate. And look up to the moon on Christmas Eve and watch for Sata’s weigh…. if you hear the clanging f bells, prepare for your visit with Krampus. It could get messy.
I believe.
If you wonder why Christmas doesn’t feel the same as it did when you were younger, it is because you got lost in reality. You lost the magic.. and you lost your life to the mundane nature of things. You can change it.
And should, before it’s too late.
I challenge you to watch this video and somehow not find yourself in a puddle of tears after..
Eric Schmitt-Matzen spreads Christmas cheer year-round. Recently he answered the call to grant what would end up being an East Tennessee child’s final Christmas wish…
And the boy died in his arms after feeling joy of seeing Santa and getting a gift..
I can’t comprehend the emotion …
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8rAy6wjR6E]
Yes.. this man is Santa.
Santa is real, and never doubt it.
I was annoyed for several days watching my Facebook page .. only 291 likes.. for weeks actually.
I put out a plea on Twitter: Like me! Get me to 300!
You answered the call, as nearly not mighty as that call was. 301 likes as of today.
Thanks to the friends and fans on Facebook who have been around for some time.. Much appreciation and Christmas love to you all.
x x x
I have given a little less time to working on the HORROR REPORT over the past month or two.. Life sort of sweeps in and takes your connection away from things now and then. Promises are being made here–in writing, black white and red all over–that you’re going to get more from me ..
x x x
Christmas is just about here, out of no where, somehow. Someway.. Time itself has gone again.
I recall writing the 2015 year in review.. I remember writing about ’16 that we should ‘hold on to 16 as long as we can’ because changes come around real soon and make us women and men. And with that, those changes have come. This nation is different than it was a year ago. This world is too.. so is the box office .. so is retail .. so is tech.. so is the weather. Just about everything that was will not be and the entire world upheaval has come and gone. All in 12 months. All somehow so fast..
The 2016 year in review? It’s coming. So worries..
x x x
Once again to all.. Thank you! May the sounds, songs, and love of the season be with you and your families throughout this amazing month.
-Bryan
