Free Republic

Artists have always tried to go one better than Bing Crosby’s White Christmas, the song that arguably defines the holiday season like no other.Year after year, artists and songwriters have been trying to go one better than Bing Crosby. His recording of “White Christmas” is ubiquitous and along the way has become the biggest-selling single of all time, racking up sales of 50 million in the process. Among the artists that have tried to emulate Bing’s success are Carpenters and their beautiful “Merry Christmas Darling,” The Beach Boys’ rousing, harmony-filled “Little Saint Nick,” Elton John’s “Step Into Christmas” and...

Discover the story behind Handel’s ‘Messiah’ which traces the life of Jesus Christ and is one of the greatest choral works of all time.Handel composed Messiah, an English language oratorio that traces the story of Jesus Christ, in 1741. Messiah was first performed in Dublin on 13 April 1742 and received its London premiere nearly a year later. After an initially modest public reception, the oratorio gained in popularity and eventually became one of the best-known and most frequently performed choral pieces in Western music. The ‘Hallelujah’ chorus is one of the most famous pieces of Baroque choral music...

Greece is steeped in fascinating holiday traditions, with its Christmas carols, or kalanda, being some of the most heartwarming seasonal customs. Every year, Greeks anxiously await Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve, and January 5, the day before the Epiphany, when children go house to house singing Greek carols, hoping to receive coins from the families they sing for. This sweet tradition is an iconic part of the Christmas season, as children bring wishes of happiness, health, and good luck to their neighbors while they sing the traditional carols and play the triangle. While the custom of children singing Christmas carols...

Written during a heatwave, ‘Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!’ became a holiday standard. Dean Martin’s version is impossible to beat.August 1959 was an exceptionally hot month for most of the United States. It greatly amused Dean Martin, as he walked into Capitol Records’ studio, at 1750 North Vine Street, Hollywood, on Thursday, August 6, to think that he was about to record his own version of the winter song “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” on such a hot day. Martin, whose singing imitated the smooth baritone vocals and phrasing of Bing...

Like many groups, there are special traditions that mark the holiday season, and Italian-Americans are no exception. Although some dispute how and where the "Feast of the Seven Fishes" actually began, it has become a Christmas Eve staple in many Italian households across the country. Clams, smelts, baccala, scungilli, mussels, lobster, and calamari consist of a typical Feast of the Seven Fishes menu - although others argue there are no hard and fast rules, except that you have seven different seafood dishes to share with friends, family, and those you love before Santa comes down the chimney. ABC15's Nick Ciletti...

Though synonymous with Yuletide, this much-acclaimed standard was inspired by one of the hottest summers on record.The song that for many people best encapsulates the spirit of the holiday season, Nat ‘King’ Cole’s “The Christmas Song” is pretty much synonymous with Yuletide. Yet, remarkably, this winter classic was written at the height of the summer – and inspired by a heatwave. “The Christmas Song” was penned by respected singer-songwriters Mel Torme and Bob Wells, with the latter responding directly to the exceptionally hot summer of 1945. Incredibly, the two musicians wrote it in little more than an hour. Torme went...

Stephen Colbert is a pathetic trainwreck, with no talent or anything else necessary for show business success. Now, after being terminated by CBS, but left out to dry, he has actually gotten worse, along with his nonexistent ratings. Stephen is running on hatred and fumes ~ A dead man walking! CBS should, “put him to sleep,” NOW, it is the humanitarian thing to do!

The Failing New York Times, and their lies and purposeful misrepresentations, is a serious threat to the National Security of our Nation. Their Radical Left, Unhinged Behavior, writing FAKE Articles and Opinions in a never ending way, must be dealt with and stopped. THEY ARE A TRUE ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE! Thank you for you attention to this matter. PRESIDENT DJT

Explanation: What are these little red dots (LRDs)? Nobody knows. Discovered only last year, hundreds of LRDs have now been found by the James Webb Space Telescope in the early universe. Although extremely faint, LRDs are now frequently identified in deep observations made for other purposes. A wide-ranging debate is raging about what LRDs may be and what importance they may have. Possible origin hypotheses include accreting supermassive black holes inside clouds of gas and dust, bursts of star formation in young dust-reddened galaxies, and dark matter powered gas clouds. The highlighted images show six nearly featureless LRDs listed under...

Skeptics will sometimes claim that the canonical Gospels are mythical accounts with little or no basis in historical fact. According to their logic, we shouldn’t trust what Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John said about the life of Jesus any more than we should trust what Homer said about the fall of Troy or what Virgil said about the founding of Rome. In this article we’ll explore the reasons why the skeptics are almost entirely wrong, as well as one way in which their theory actually highlights the beauty of Christianity.The Gospels Are Historical AccountsSomething that immediately sets the Gospels apart...

Libertarian National Committee Chair Steven Nekhaila has issued a statement applauding President Donald Trump’s move to reclassify marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III controlled substance, calling the previous classification “nonsense” that was overdue for a change. In a December 18 statement shared by the Libertarian Party, Nekhaila said the move is a positive step that could expand medical access and scientific research, but added that broader cannabis reforms are still needed. The statement came in response to an executive order signed by Trump that same day directing federal agencies to accelerate efforts to reclassify marijuana under the...

Even more surprising than the blockbuster 4.3% economic growth rate recorded in the third quarter of 2025 was the fact that some 90% of the nation’s professional economists got it all wrong. These economic whiz-kids’ faulty forecast comes on the heels of their predictions last week that inflation was going to be above 3%. Instead, the actual number was 2.7%. Welcome to the gang that can’t shoot straight. Maybe it’s time for this cadre of Keynesian economists to send their PhDs back to the Ivy League schools they got them from, and just admit they have no idea what they’re...

New reports allege up to $76.5 BILLION OR MORE in fraudulent spending in California This makes Minnesota look like CHILD'S PLAY...and more is going to come out Rep. Kiley is confirming Slithering Gavin Newsom's California is the "fraud capital of America" "This latest report was issued by the state auditor - and that's a nonpartisan position - that state auditor now puts 8 state agencies on the high-risk list of agencies to watch out for for things like fraud and mismanagement as well as waste." "Here's a look at that 92 page report newly added to the high-risk list as...

IntroductionThe announcement of the Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord from the Roman Martyrology draws upon Sacred Scripture to declare in a formal way the birth of Christ. It begins with creation and relates the birth of the Lord to the major events and personages of sacred and secular history. The particular events contained in the announcement help pastorally to situate the birth of Jesus in the context of salvation history.This text, The Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, may be chanted or recited, most appropriately on December 24, during the celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours. It...

GDP up 4.3%, murders down 20%, suicides and opiate deaths down too, life expectancy recovered and rising again, cancer survival up and disability down, bee populations coming back... It's been an incredible year. Merry Christmas everyone!

As radical Islamist threats continue to plague Australia, politicians are pivoting to policing speech and tightening gun laws on law-abiding citizens—now openly admitting curbs on free expression are needed to shield their multicultural agenda.Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has unveiled a sweeping plan to combat what she calls rising anti-Semitism, but the measures conveniently sidestep the core issue of unchecked radical Islamism behind recent attacks, focusing instead on doxxing anonymous social media users and reviewing gun laws. In a joint news conference, Allan announced legislation that would force social media platforms to reveal identities behind anonymous accounts accused of spreading ‘hate’....

The U.S. Department of Justice sued Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Attorney General Kwame Raoul over the state’s new law aimed at limiting immigration enforcement in courthouses. The law, signed by Pritzker this month, bars immigration enforcement from courthouses and opens the door for easier legal action against federal agents over alleged civil rights infractions. It follows the Trump administration’s sweeping deportation campaign that has targeted the state, specifically the Chicago area, for months. The lawsuit claims that the law is unconstitutional and states have no regulatory authority over federal actions, such as immigration enforcement.

Since two of the three NFL games the family regularly watches on Christmas Day are only on Netflix this year, I am wondering - do I have to watch them live or can I watch them a couple of hours later to skip the commercials and halftime shows?

Bit by bit, a Turkish front is forming, more dangerous than Israel’s seven arenas since Oct. 7. Erdogan’s ideology and ambition require Israel to refocus on a higher strategic risk.Since October 7, 2023, Israel’s political and military leadership has claimed that seven different arenas threaten it. It seems that, bit by bit but consistently, an eighth menacing front is forming, one that in many ways is more dangerous than the others.This is the Turkish front. Turkey, which until about 23 years ago was one of Israel’s greatest friends, has become a real enemy since Erdogan rose to power.The main factors...

As any sports fan can attest, rivalries are one of the absolute best part of sports. If your team is having a horrific year? It can still almost be salvaged by beating your rival, which is especially true in collegiate sports. So why in the world have the University of Southern California and the University of Notre Dame decided to toss their historic rivalry to the wayside? It’s a question that has legendary former USC wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson furious with his alma mater. And he took to social media to air his grievances: "Okay, we’ve got people in there...