Darkest Christmas: December 1942 and a World at War

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Among the vast library of books on World War II Darkest Christmas stands out as uniquely poignant and original. James White) was absent at first, but when a slightly altered version appeared in ’82, he was there for six minutes — arriving at Beelzebub’s eggnog party even before Spinal Tap. Texas troubadour Keen warbled this dysfunctional drink-along on his Gringo Honeymoon album, and it’s become enough of a white-trash standard since that both right-leaning Montgomery Gentry and lefties Dixie Chicks have covered it. I resolve there and then to quit medicine or at least try something more humane, say, psychiatry, maybe.

Any movie with a plot synopsis that begins with, “A traumatized soldier and a woman on a break from serving her prison sentence” is not exactly keeping it light and breezy. The feeling of living in extraordinary times that required extraordinary sacrifices was heightened in the charged religious atmosphere.Another of the book’s strengths is Harmsen’s decision to add only minimal personal commentary within the book. It may not be particularly cheery reading, but it is pertinent with conflict again in Europe and perhaps make you more grateful for what you have and to the generation who fought for freedom.

Although, that’s not what we’re here to talk about and if you haven’t seen it, I don’t want to spoil it too much! Billy Bob Thornton’s turn as a drunken criminal who gets a mall Santa gig as part of a score became fairly entrenched in the yuletide canon.The tradition of Christmas tales, made popular in the 19th century by Charles Dickens, is based on the theme of redemption. May even give one an appreciation to be spending a time like this in relative peace when so many didn’t have that in 1942. By 1975 the glam kids over which Marc Bolan once ruled had wiped the glitter off their cheeks, making it hard to hear the funk-indebted misfires of mid-’70s T. Yes, at its core, Trading Places is a 1980s comedy built around Eddie Murphy, Dan Aykroyd, some of the most gratuitous nudity in cinema history, and weird racial stuff.