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Selected images from the web portraying the coming of Christmas:

A visitor takes a photo of the sculpture 'Christmas Angel' at the ' Ice World '
in the northern German town of Luebeck. (AP Photo/Fabian Bimmer)

Franciscan monks walk in the Church of the Nativity
in the West Bank town of Bethlehem. (AFP/Musa Al-Shaer)

A woman lights candles in the Grotto, the place where
according to Christian tradition Jesus was born, in the Church of the Nativity
in the holy West Bank city of Bethlehem. (AFP/Musa Al-Shaer)

Two-year-old Jordan Love from Wisconsin waits in line to see Santa Claus,
at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota. (Andy King)

Santa Claus, seen here on a snow mobile without a reindeer in sight, has declared war
on Rudolph and the other reindeer after they grazed on the rare orchids
and other flowers that grow on his property. (AFP/Sven Nackstrand)

A cat watches the snow fall from the shelter of a bird feeder in Anchorage, Alaska.
More than 10 inches of snow fell in the Anchorage area in a period of 12 hours. (AP Photo/Al Grillo)

Toy Terrier puppies sleep in protective clothes at an exhibition of rare breed in Moscow.
Over 2,000 dogs and about 300 cats are presented at Zoovetexpo exhibition. Alexander Natruskin

A camel with Santa Clause hat, placed on the animal's head by his owner to attract foreign tourists,
sits in front of the 4,500-year-old Pyramids at Giza, on the edge of the Egyptian capital Cairo.
Egypt is a mainly Muslim country but, with a thriving tourist industry,
many people join the seasonal festivities. Egypt has a large Christian minority,
who celebrate Christmas on January 7. (Aladin Abdel Naby)

A diver dressed as Santa Claus feeds fishes as part of the season's attraction at a local aquarium in Tokyo.
The annual attraction is expected to draw many visitors. (AP Photo/Katsumi Kasahara)

Chap, a five-month-old monkey, wears a Santa Claus outfit at an amusement park in Tokyo.
According to the Chinese astrological calendar, the upcoming year is the year of monkey. (Yuriko Nakao)

A group of men dressed as Father Frost, the Belarus equivalent of Santa Claus,
and women dressed as Snow Maidens dance around the Christmas tree
in Belovezhskaya Pushcha national reserve near the village of Kamenets during a show,
southwest of Minsk. (Vasily Fedosenko)

Workers set up a giant statue of Santa Claus around a radio tower in Manila.
Tourist arrivals in the Philippines rose 11.3 percent in October from the previous month
continuing a recovery from the regional effects of SARS. (AFP/Joel Nito)

Hef's little helpers Tanea Brooks and Lisa Ligon enjoy the winter wonderland created
at Hugh Hefner's Christmas party at Bliss in Los Angeles. (Meaghan Murphy)

A photo montage Christmas greeting made by members of the 1-22 Battalion
of the U.S. Fourth Infantry Division, featuring the face of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein
manipulated to look like the head of Santa Claus, is posted on the wall of army barracks in Tikrit, Iraq.
A heavily bearded Saddam was captured by U.S. forces near his home town of Tikrit on the previous Saturday. (Zohra Bensemra)

Sixty Santa Clauses from the United States and Canada travel onboard a Star ferry during
a cruise on Hong Kong Harbor. The Santa volunteers are on an annual goodwill world tour which
includes stops in Beijing, Singapore and Bangkok, offering Christmas gifts to children. (Garrige Ho)

* * *

From "Don't Grin or You'll Have To Bear It"
by Ogden Nash

It is better in the long run to possess an abcess or a tumor
Than to possess a sense of humor.
People who have senses of humor have a very good time
But they never accomplish anything of note, either despicable or sublime
Because how can anyone accomplish anything immortal
When they realize they look pretty funny doing it and have to stop to chortle.

Those Christmas images are great. I love the picture of the Toy Terrier puppies. They look so precious.

While in the mall today, I stopped at the pet store to look at the puppies. I wanted to bring all five home. I had to remind myself that I wasn't really in the mall to buy anything. I was there to meet someone and to buy more wrapping paper.

"how can anyone accomplish anything immortal when they realize they look pretty funny doing it and have to stop to chortle"

That is funny!! I talked to my sister tonight. We were discussing the earthquake. I told her that I thought it was a dizzy spell until I realized everyone in the room was also having dizzy spells. It's a good thing there was no emergency.