today’s news and information gleanings from here and there!

Quote for today… “‘Christmas in colonial America did not resemble the brightly lit festivities we celebrate today. In fact, many colonial religions banned celebrations of the holiday, claiming that it was tied to pagan traditions. The New England Puritans passed a law in Massachusetts that punished anyone who observed the holiday with a five-shilling fine. The Quakers treated Christmas Day as any other day of the year. The Presbyterians did not have formal Christmas Day services until they noticed that their members were heading to the English church to observe the Christmas services. This sparked the Presbyterian Church to start services of their own.” – American Revolution Blog.

• “There’s no grinch in Columbia” – Lancaster Online

• Columbia girls’ hoops team wins – Lancaster Online

• Layaway fix-up: Sears/Kmart’s “working hard to make things right.” – Chicago Tribune

America’s warriors have been and continue to serve where their nation’s sent them; as a reminder for those family members who “won’t be home for Christmas”, here are some Internet-searched Christmas memories about them.

SOURCE: 173 Airborne.com

• Christmas memories from Afghanistan – Bartlesville (OK) Examiner-Enterprise

• Christmas memories from Vietnam – Mauch Chunk (PA) Times News

• Christmas memories from Korea – ByCommonConsent

• Christmas memories from 1944 – Lynchburg (VA) The News & Advance

• A Florida Lad’s Four Christmases (1861-1864) – Battleofoluste.org

And here’s a non-military perspective:

• “Another look at Christmas in the 18th Century” – history.org

 On the search, found this picture of the train station at this Blogspot.