In A.D. 336, the first recorded celebration of Christmas on Dec. 25 took place in Rome.
In 1223, St. Francis of Assisi assembled one of the first, if not the first, nativity scenes, in Greccio, Italy.
In 1776, Gen. george Washington and his troops crossed the Delaware River for a sirprise attack against hessian forces camped at Trenton, N.J. (The crossing is depicted in the famous painting by Emanuel Leutze.)
In 1818, the Christmas carol "Silen Night," by Franz Joseph Gruber and Joseph Mohr, was sung for the first time, at the Church of St. Nikolaus in Oberndorff, Austria.
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Entertainment entrepnur Lord Grade (1906)
Bandleader Cab Calloway (1907)
Actor Mike Mazurki (1909)
Singer Tony Martin (1913)
Actor Gary Sandy (1945)
Former football player Lary Csonka (1946)
Singer Barbara Mandrell (1948)
Actress Sissy Spacek (1949)
Singer Annie Lennox (1954)
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"At Christmas play and make good cheer, for Christmas comes but once a year."
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Thomas Tusser, English writer and farmer (c.1524-1580)