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Archive: December 2014 (13 Posts)

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Sensationalism! Yellow Journalism! More, More, More!

Posted by: Jennifer Gavin

It’s the day after Christmas, ho-ho-ho-hum. The presents are already open, your elbows are getting rubbed a little raw with all these relatives around, and you’re sick of holiday cookies and candy and fruitcake. It’s all too tempting to jump on the old cellphone and see what snarky things are being said on social media, …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Pic of the Week: A Tree Grows … in the Great Hall

Posted by: Erin Allen

Every year, the Library of Congress decorates the Great Hall with a tall tree for the holidays, replete with lights and ornaments for the enjoyment of visitors. Zelma Cook of Tryon, N.C., recalls her first Christmas tree and holidays spent with her family and the mill workers of the village in this excerpt from American Life Histories: …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Highlighting the Holidays: A Visit From St. Nick

Posted by: Erin Allen

“The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there…” reads the familiar poem most of us know as “The Night Before Christmas.” However, that title isn’t really correct. Clement Moore first penned the poem in 1822, under the title “A Visit From St. Nicholas.” Moore is thought …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Highlighting the Holidays: The Poinsettia

Posted by: Erin Allen

(The following is a guest post from Francisco Macias of the Law Library of Congress.) Each winter we see poinsettias adorning houses, shopping centers and offices throughout the country. But a little known fact is that the poinsettia is an endemic flora of Mexico. In Spanish it is often called “flor de nochebuena” or simply …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Highlighting the Holidays: Happy Hanukkah

Posted by: Erin Allen

In 2014, December 16 marked the first day of Hanukkah, the Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem after its desecration by the forces of Antiochus IV. Also referred to as the Festival of Lights, Hanukkah recalls the event. According to the Talmud, a central text of Rabbinic Judaism, at the re-dedication …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

The Big Lebowski Abides

Posted by: Jennifer Gavin

My condition is in fantastic condition today – I’m pleased that “The Big Lebowski” made this year’s list of 25 films selected for placement on the Library of Congress National Film Registry. These movies are judged to have special cultural, historic or aesthetic value and to be worthy of preservation for posterity. Other noteworthy films …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Highlighting the Holidays: Window Dressing

Posted by: Erin Allen

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I spent several days in New York City. The holiday season was in full swing, with several holiday markets around town, lights and decorations adorning street posts and buildings and Rockefeller Center nearly completely decked out – the Christmas tree was up but not yet decorated. One of the things I …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Inquiring Minds: World War II, Through Patton’s Lens

Posted by: Erin Allen

Imagine, military historian Kevin Hymel writes, if George Washington or Ulysses S. Grant had carried a camera and photographed war as he experienced it. How important would those images be as documents of history? Gen. George S. Patton, the brilliant but often-troublesome U.S. Army commander of World War II, did just that during his campaigns …