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City, Daily Bread, Holiday

Boo! and Relax! — Scariest and Most Reassuring Things in Whitewater, 2025

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Here’s the nineteenth annual FREE WHITEWATER list of the scariest, combined this year for the first time with the most reassuring, things in Whitewater. (In 2024, the scariest and most reassuring things in the city appeared in separate posts.)  (The 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 editions…

Daily Bread, Holiday

Daily Bread for 12.25.24: Merry Christmas

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Good morning.

Christmas in Whitewater will be partly cloudy with a high of 36. Sunrise is 7:24 and sunset is 4:26, for 9 hours, 2 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 26.8 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1968,  Apollo 8 performs the first successful Trans-Earth injection (TEI) maneuver, sending the crew and spacecraft on a trajectory back to Earth from Lunar orbit.

By NASA/Bill Anders – www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/alsj/a410/AS8-14-2383HR.jpg Public Domain

Midnight Christmas Mass at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris:

Worshippers gathered on Tuesday evening for Christmas Midnight Mass at Cathedral Notre Dame, the first since it reopened after a devastating fire ravaged the medieval landmark in 2019.

Owl surprises Virginia family by perching atop Christmas tree:

When Sgt. Spencer Murray arrived at a home for an animal control call in Virginia, he saw one of the most majestic tree toppers he has ever seen: a Barred Owl that swooped in through the chimney. The bird perched atop a spruce covered in lights and ornaments.

Daily Bread, Faraway Places, Holiday

Daily Bread for 12.24.24: Dining in a Santa Claus Village in Finland

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Good morning.

Christmas Eve in Whitewater will be partly sunny with a high of 32. Sunrise is 7:23 and sunset is 4:25, for 9 hours, 2 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 34.1 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1814, representatives of the United Kingdom and the United States sign the Treaty of Ghent, ending the War of 1812.

Visitors to Santa Claus Village in Finland dine in minus 5 degrees Celsius (23 degrees Farhenheit):

Shuffling across icy ground, tourist groups pour into Santa Claus Village, a winter-themed amusement park perched on the edge of the Arctic Circle, just seven kilometers north of Rovaniemi.

NASA spacecraft attempts closest-ever approach to Sun:

A NASA spacecraft is attempting to make history with the closest-ever approach to the Sun. The Parker Solar Probe is plunging into our star’s outer atmosphere to try and help us better understand how the Sun works. It is out of communication for several days and scientists will be waiting for a signal, expected at 05:00 GMT on 28 December, to see if it has survived.

Daily Bread, Holiday

Daily Bread for 12.22.24: Christmas Displays Around the World

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Good morning.

Sunday in Whitewater will be partly sunny with a high of 30. Sunrise is 7:23 and sunset is 4:24, for 9 hours, 1 minute of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 52.7 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1864, Savannah, Georgia, falls to the Union’s Army of the Tennessee, and General Sherman tells President Lincoln: “I beg to present you as a Christmas gift the city of Savannah”

Christmas displays around the world:

From Paris to Lima, with Christmas Day fast approaching, cities around the world are getting into the festive spirit.

In the aftermath of war, a Christmas tree stands amid the rubble of a Lebanese church:

Daily Bread, Holiday

Daily Bread for 12.15.24: World’s Most Unusual Christmas Traditions

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Good morning.

Sunday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 43. Sunrise is 7:19 and sunset is 4:21, for 9 hours, 3 minutes of daytime. The moon is full with 99.7 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1864,  the Battle of Nashville begins at Nashville, Tennessee, and ends the following day with the destruction of the Confederate Army of Tennessee as a fighting force by the Union Army of the Cumberland.

World’s Most Unusual Christmas Traditions:

From Austria’s scariest Christmas tradition, the krampus parade, to the man who is legally called Santa Claus, and Catalonia’s figurine, the Caganer.

Kevin the Chihuahua manages the trash in his house:

Daily Bread, Holiday, Weird Tales

Daily Bread for 12.7.24: Austria’s Scariest Christmas Tradition

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Good morning.

Saturday in Whitewater will be windy with a high of 45. Sunrise is 7:12, and sunset is 4:20, for 9 hours, 8 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 39.7 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1941,  the Imperial Japanese Navy carries out a surprise attack on the United States Pacific Fleet and its defending Army and Marine air forces at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Is This Austria’s Scariest Christmas Tradition?:

Across Austria’s alpine villages, December 5th marks the arrival of Saint Nikolaus—a merry visitor who delivers gifts to well-behaved children. But Saint Nick doesn’t come to town alone. The dreaded Krampus is by his side. For centuries, groups of men across the region have dressed as Krampus during the Christmas season. The fearsome figure appears as a horned, half-goat, half-demon who punishes children who misbehave

I wish the people of Austria (and closer to home) only the best, but this tradition will always be strange to me.

Groucho never, ever disappoints:

City, Daily Bread, Holiday

Daily Bread for 12.6.24: Christmas at Cravath’s Parade of Lights

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Good morning.

Friday in Whitewater will be partly sunny with a high of 33. Sunrise is 7:11, and sunset is 4:20, for 9 hours, 9 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 28.9 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Christmas at Cravath events tonight include a parade at 6 PM. The parade will begin in our downtown and end at the Cravath Lakefront. There is also a holiday market tonight from 5 to 8 PM at the Cravath Lakefront Community Center.

On this day in 1884, the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., is completed.

Armadillo on the move: