Suggested Cures for the Seasonal Bah-Humbugs

Few of my favorites

You ain't kiddin'.

NICK: "Aren't you hot in that?"

NORA: "I'm stifling, but it's so pretty."

And Holiday Inn's gotcha covered all year long...and even has three New Year's Eves. The way it zips along, it's hard to realize the plot covers a two-year saga.

Berlin really piled 'em on for this one; no fewer than 15 songs. Pound for pound, it delivers more than any musical Astaire or Crosby ever made, and the script's pretty snappy too. If I had one complaint, it would be that I'd have liked to see more of the feisty and fickle Lila; I really enjoy Virginia Dale. She had some of the same combative spark that made Ginger such a great partner for Fred. 

And not only that, Berlin was just as surprised by its popularity as anyone. He expected the score's big hit would be "Be Careful, It's My Heart." 

During all of my childhood annual viewings of it on L.A. b'cast TV, the "Abraham" number was missing (for probably pretty obvious reasons); I never saw the entire Lincoln's B'day sequence until the film was released on videocassette. But aside from the title song, that's the only piece of the Holiday Inn score that found its way into White Christmas (and to which Vera-Ellen and John Brascia did a sizzling tap routine ...without the lyrics).   

Not a great film, but is a great song:

Before writer Tom Fontana dealt with grittier subjects, like "Homicide: Life on the Streets" and .Copper," he adapted the Henry van Dyke tale, "The Other Wiseman" into "The Fourth Wiseman" in 1985. I will warn you to have a box of Kleenex handy, but I think you will find it heartwarming. Stars Martin Sheen, Alan Arkin, Ralph Bellamy, Eileen Brennan and offspring of the two leads if you have a sharp eye.

BATouttaheck
...and everyone else offcourse.

Those kind of foldable beds where rather usual in the Nordic countries, usually made by some local carpenter, at least up until the mid 1960s, when IKEA invaded our homes. I've never seen one in use, only in folk craft museums. I've seen such beds pop up a few times on the Swedish Antiques Roadshow, and they are usually priced rather highly. Before The Pill and condoms many kids were born (some sadly unwanted) so such beds were very usefull for many kids as they grew up. When parents grew to old to have kids they were used as firewood, so not many are left.

If you whistle or hum the Julebal song to a Dane over a certain age, they immediately know the song.

"Nisse" is the name we use in the Scandinavian countries for what in English would be Santa's Elfs. So a loose translation would be Christmas Ball in Elfsland.

The Nordic Santa (Jultomten/Julemanden) never says Ho-Ho-Ho or comes through the chimney, or comes Christmas Day, or is given milk and cookies.
Our Santa comes on Christmas Eve, comes through the door, says "are there any nice kids here?", and is given porridge or ricepudding and a glass of something warm with alcohol in it. There are tales (and I guess some are true) that families who hires a Santa and is late on their round stinks alcohol is is very drunk.