Welcome to the Kitschmas Advent Calendar 2020 !!! T - 24 Days ... and Counting !!!

Christmas Joy (1905), by Ivar Arosenius

      Welcome to our 2020 edition of the K.A.C.! With everything going on in the world this year, I felt very hard pressed to do any entries, but have decided on a compromise: since this is our TWELFTH year of running these shenanigans, I will be going back through the years and highlighting the best of our entries from the last dozen years, AND adding new ridiculous stories of interest as they appear, as we count the days down together. 

      First up - it's that time of year! Thanksgiving is done and the turkey leftovers are all gobbled up ... time to settle down with some hot chocolate and binge watch this years' Hallmark cookie-cutter Christmas movies! However, given where we are in the world, there's been a TEENSY little difference, plot-wise. Click on the image at right and create your OWN Pandemic Hallmark Movie! Thanks to Travis for the link! 

      With COVID still rampant around the world, it got me wondering what Christmas was like when the world went through this before, so I started researching the 1918 Spanish Flu. According to the National Archives: "The influenza epidemic that swept the world in 1918 killed an estimated 50 million people. One fifth of the world's population was attacked by this deadly virus. Within months, it had killed more people than any other illness in recorded history."

     So if THAT didn't stop Christmas in its tracks, I don't think this will! Still, it's fascinating to see the parallels between the two times. From the indoor flu masks such as this lady is wearing while comfortably (?) settling in with a good book to the protests people took to the streets over and complained in the newspapers about (theaters and sports games being shut down), history is repeating itself once again.

     It's far too deep a rabbit hole for me to go down in length here, but if you'd like to read more about it, click on the following links:

     https://www.archives.nyc/blog/2018/3/1/the-flu-epidemic-of-1918

      https://blog.history.in.gov/category/medical-historiy/

      https://recipes.hypotheses.org/10306  

     https://www.tvo.org/article/when-the-spanish-flu-came-to-ontario

     https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/closures-during-spanish-flu/

     https://www.thedailyworld.com/life/peace-christmas-1918/ 

     

     I was heartened by the fact that even with a massive flu epidemic killing off people left and right, love still found a way ... such as the 'kissing screen' seen at right. Who knows, this beauty may make a comeback yet? :)

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      Over the years, we've featured many holiday-themed videos of one sort or another, usually the odder the better. One of the very first Christmas-themed films was made in 1898. Entitled Santa Claus and the Children, it runs less than two minutes and shows the expectations and rewards of Christmas Eve. 

     As I wrote on November 17th, 2009 (my first year of running the K.A.C., when it ran almost two months long (!!! - I have since learned better)), "Continuing our Cinematic Christmas Chronicle, as promised, here is the Exclusive Captured Footage of how the Jolly Fat Man knows ALL! NOTHING can stop him! Is this proof that Santa is a MUTANT??? He and Kitty Pryde can both pass through walls! Don't believe me? Then take a look at the following ..."

     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sp6pjLQzSK0

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     We'll end the day with a cautionary tale, one we've told before in these pages ... specifically a tale of RESTRAINT when one has too much money and not enough willpower to know when to stop indulging their passions - in this case, appropriately enough and tailor-made for us, Christmas!

     All houses have secrets and this unassuming mansion is no different. Looks sedate and lovely on the outside, doesn't it? Click on the article link below and find the Zillow listing, then take your time (don't skip ahead!) with the pictures, say to yourself, "This is gorgeous! I wish I had the money to ...", and then you get to # 10 and the horror starts to build as you click more and more. Don't take my word for it - see for yourself!

     https://news.avclub.com/this-is-what-interior-decorating-looks-like-when-you-ha-1845719037

     Back with more tomorrow!