It's Beginning To Look A lot Like Christmas

Michael Bublé

Jingle Bells

Dashing through the snow,

In a one horse open sleigh

Over the fields we go

Laughing all the way.

Bells on bob tail ring

making spirits bright.

What fun it is to ride and sing

A sleighing song tonight.

Chorus

Oh jingle bells jingle bells, jingle all the way!

Oh what fun it is to ride

In a one horse open sleigh, Hey!

Jingle bells jingle bells, Jingle all the way!

Oh what fun it is to ride

In a one horse open sleigh

A day or two ago

I thought I'd took a ride

And soon Miss Fannie Bright

Seated by my side

The horse was lean and lank

Miss fortuned seemed his lot

He got into a drifted bank

And we all got upset

Chorus

Oh jingle bells jingle bells, jingle all the way!

Oh what fun it is to ride

In a one horse open sleigh, Hey!

Jingle bells jingle bells, Jingle all the way!

Oh what fun it is to ride

In a one horse open sleigh

A miracle: the Battle of Empel

The Battle of Empel was a battle fought on December 7 and December 8, 1585 near the place of Empel, in the Netherlands as part of the Eighty Years' War, in which a Spanish force miraculously escaped destruction and achieved victory. In Spain the battle is still remembered as it is believed that the army was saved due to intervention of Mary of the Inmaculate Conception.

After the campaign of 1585, the Duke of Parma decided to go into winter quarters on Northern Dutch territory. The troops occupied the area around Hertogenbosch. Some 3000-4000 men of the Spanish Tercio, including Juan del Águila, under Maestre de Campo Francisco de Bobadilla were stationed on Bommelerwaard, which was supposed to be rich enough to support these troops through the winter. But all farmers had left the island, taking their livestock with them.

To make the situation of the hungry Spanish troops even worse, Dutch commander arrived with a strong land force and 100 ships. The Dutch leader offered an honorable surrender to the Spaniards but the response was resolute: «Los infantes españoles prefieren la muerte a la deshonra. Ya hablaremos de capitulación después de muertos.» Philip of Hohenlohe-Neuenstein breached the dikes of Bommelwaard, forcing the Spanish back over the Rhine to Empel. There they were unable to reach 's-Hertogenbosch, because the terrain was flooded and guarded by the fleet of Hohenlohe. The island was attacked as well by artillery fire coming from a fort, at the other side of the river.

The situation for the Spanish looked desperate. A Spanish soldier who was digging a trench around the church commented "this is more likely to be my grave than a trench". As he dug, he found a painting representing Mary of the Immaculate Conception. Bobadilla interpreted the discovery as a sign from God, and had the painting put on the Spanish flag for worship.

The next day the wind turned, and the intense cold temperature made the water around the island freeze. The Dutch fleet, surrounding the island, feared getting stuck in the ice and had to withdraw to open water. Meanwhile, the exhausted Spanish troops were able to flee the island across the ice. Panic broke out among the Dutch land forces when they heard what happened. A few hours later the Dutch bastion was assaulted and taken by the Spanish Tercios. Althoght many Spaniards died as a result of the weather hardships, the majority of the troops escaped annihilation and in fact achieved a miraculous victory.

That same day, Mary of the Immaculate Conception was proclaimed patroness of the Spanish Tercios of Flanders and Italy.

Spanish Constitution of 1978

The Spanish Constitution of 1978 is the current supreme law of the Kingdom of Spain. It was enacted after the country's 1978 constitutional referendum and is a furtherance of the Spanish transition to democracy. The Spanish Constitution of 1978 was preceded by numerous other constitutions.

The Constitution was originally ratified after a referendum on 6 December 1978 and was signed by King Juan Carlos I on 27 December 1978. The signing of the Constitution marked the culmination of the Spanish transition to democracy after the death of the former Head of State, Francisco Franco, in 1975. This led to the country undergo a series of political and historical changes that transformed the Francoist regime into a democratic state. The Constitution states that the King of Spain is the Head of the State. However, the king's function is merely symbolic and does not have any executive power.

The separation of powers is implicitly stated throughout the Constitution, which says that all people have the right to decide the representatives who will occupy the Cortes Generales, constituting of the Congress of Deputies and the Senate; both share the legislative power. The Government, whose president is anointed by the Congress of Deputies, directs the executive power, and the judicial power relies on judges, and the Constitutional Court assures that all laws follow the Constitution.

The last month of the year

December is the twelfth and last month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars. It is one of seven months with the length of 31 days.

December is the first month of meteorological winter in the Northern Hemisphere and in the Southern Hemisphere is the first month of summer. December is the month with the shortest daylight hours of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and the longest daylight hours of the year in the Southern Hemisphere.

December is the last month of the year. 

Christmas Day is December 25th. 

December has thirty-one days. 

In December 1941, the United States was at war.

Don't you think it is rather warm for December?