Xmas

Lessons from the Christmas Truce of 1914

Dissident Voice - 2013-12-14 - Original post - Cached copy

“…the ones who call the shots (in war) won’t be among the dead and lame
And on each end of the rifle we’re the same”
— John McCutcheon
Ninety-nine years ago this month one of the most unusual aberrations in the bloody history of warfare – never allowed to be repeated again – occurred. Europe was in the fifth month of the 52 month-long World War (the one that was supposed “to end all wars”) that was to end with the armistice four years later on November 11, 1918.

A Story for All Seasons

Dissident Voice - 2013-12-13 - Original post - Cached copy

Has Christmas become too commercialized? In some towns the display of decorated trees is now controversial. Is it a ‘holiday’, or is it a ‘holyday’? Is it ‘Christmas’, or is it ‘Xmas’?
Confused about whether to say, “Merry Christmas” or, “Happy Holidays”. What about Kwanza, Hanukkah, and the Holy Days of Islam? Maybe a simple greeting of, “Peace to you brother”, would be appropriate. Ah, the stress of it all could drive a person to over-indulge in the spiked nog.

Black Power Challenges a White Christmas in the Netherlands

Dissident Voice - 2013-12-10 - Original post - Cached copy

Yesterday marked the closure of the annual celebration of Sinterklaas, the Dutch equivalent of Santa Claus. Traditionally, the children’s festivity is an occasion for family fun and pleasure that unites a nation, but this year it has become a highly charged political battleground that is exposing a society increasingly more conservative and hostile towards people of color, while unleashing an unprecedented anti-racism movement that is empowering minorities and posing fundamental challenges to the Dutch establishment.

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