Tidbits of History, December 24

December 24 is:

Christmas Eve

National Chocolate Day

National Egg Nog Day
From Foodimentary.com

For a serving of eggnog (one cup), you will be consuming approximately 342 calories. Of those calories, 167 are from fat.
The word eggnog comes from a Middle English term meaning a small, wooden, carved mug used to serve alcohol.
Gelatin can be found in some eggnog, though it is typically cream, milk, sugar, eggs, cinnamon and nutmeg.
Eggnog became big in America around the 18th century when it made its way across the Atlantic Ocean, though there is debate exactly when and where it originated.
It is difficult to find eggnog year round. It typically becomes available around Thanksgiving. Sales for eggnog drop tremendously after the New Year’s holiday.

1814 – The Treaty of Ghent was signed in the city of Ghent, United Netherlands (now Belgium), ending the War of 1812. The treaty was approved by the British Parliament and signed into law by the Prince Regent (the future King George IV) on December 30, 1814. It took a month for news of the peace treaty to reach the United States during which American forces under Andrew Jackson won the Battle of New Orleans on January 8, 1815, and the British won the Second Battle of Fort Bowyer on February 12, 1815.
The treaty was not fully in effect until the United States Senate advised and consented to ratification, which occurred unanimously on February 16, 1815.
President James Madison ratified the treaty, and ratifications were exchanged, on February 17, 1815.

Fire devastated the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., destroying about 35,000 volumes in 1851, including most of Thomas Jefferson’s personal library, sold to the institution in 1815. It is believed that the fire began due to a faulty chimney flue. Also destroyed were three paintings of the country’s first three presidents by the artist considered to be the greatest American portraitist, Gilbert Stuart. Congress responded quickly and generously to the disaster, authorizing money to replace what had been lost but not new materials. Within a few years a majority of the lost books were replaced.
The Daily Beast gives an account of the blaze and the delay in controlling it. It has also been reported that President Millard Fillmore was among those who fought the fire.

NORAD’s Santa tracking service began in 1955. The event is now a Christmas tradition where the North American Aerospace Defense Command tracks Santa Claus as he travels around the world delivering presents to children. The event began after a printing error in a Sears catalog asking children to call Santa Claus. The number that was printed was the number of Colorado Springs’ Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) Center in Colorado.

In 1963, New York’s Idlewild Airport was renamed JFK Airport in honor of the murdered President Kennedy.

In 1968, Apollo Program: The American crew of Apollo 8 entered into orbit around the Moon, becoming the first humans to do so. They performed 10 lunar orbits and broadcast live TV pictures that became the famous Christmas Eve Broadcast, one of the most watched programs in history.

District of Columbia Home Rule Act was passed, allowing residents of Washington, D.C. to elect their own local government in 1973.

Americans remembered Iran hostages by shining lights for 417 seconds on December 24, 1980.

In 1990, Saddam Hussein said Israel will be Iraq’s first target.

The first performance of “Silent Night” took place in the church of St. Nikolaus in Oberndorf, Austria in 1818.

Silent Night was written on Christmas Eve in 1818 in Oberndorf, Austria. One common story of this carol was that the organ at St. Nicholas Church was broken. Others claim that there is no evidence for this and that Joseph Mohr, the assistant pastor of the church, requested the instrumentation simply because he loved guitar music. In any event, Mohr had written a poem “Stille Nacht” in 1816. On December 24, 1818 he gave the poem to his friend, the church organist, Franz Gruber. Gruber immediately composed the melody and arranged it for two voices, choir, and guitar. It was finished in time to be performed that night at the Midnight Mass. By 1955, Silent Night had become the most recorded song of all time. (See below)