'Will those who have heard these words ...': Looking for an appropriate but quick way to blog about Christmas before heading out of town for a few days, I decided to head over to Google News and typed in the word: Jesus. It seems we have a new one. There's also an interesting debate among scholars over at Slate about Jesus and the Gospels. ...

Then I typed in: Massachusetts and Christmas. It turns out tonight is the 99th anniversary of Reginald Fessenden's historic first-ever speech broadcast over radio, complete with Christmas music and the simple request: “Will those who have heard these words and music please write to R. A. Fessenden at Brant Rock, Massachusetts?" Read to see if anyone responded. ...

Then I typed in: Boston and Christmas. It turns out the word 'holiday' is derived from the old English 'holy day.' So take that Jerry Falwell and secular humanists! But did he have to bring up Boston's banning of Christmas in the 1600s? We'll never live down the Puritans. ...

Enjoy the reads. They're all pretty good. Hub Blog's humble gifts to the local blogosphere. ... BTW: I've purchased the perfect gifts for my seven-year-old godson (here) and my thirteen-year-old goddaughter (here -- in gift certificate form). My long-standing reign as the Most Popular Uncle in the History of the Whole Wide World shall go unchallenged again this year! ...

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukah to everyone!  ¶ 10:09 AM