In this satirical rendition of "The Night Before Christmas," Santa makes a surprise visit to the Allied troops in Normandy on Christmas Eve, 1944.

The SS Leopoldville was a 11,000-ton passenger line, converted into a troopship for World War II. On Christmas Eve, December 24, 1944, the ship was torpedoed and sunk by the German U-boat, U-486. Over 800 lives were lost, including 763 soldiers. The Leaopoldville sinking is the second greatest loss of life in a single incident after the loss of the American battleship USS Arizona (BB-39) at Pearl Harbor in 1941. At the time of her sinking the troop ship was just 5 miles off the coast of Cherbourg, France. Author Jacquin Sanders tells the shocking truth behind the most tragic and mysterious blunders of World War II. The facts about this sinking were not released until 1961. Here you will learn about the bravery and heroism of a few great men who tried to save their comrades.

Christmas 1941 came little more than two weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The shock -- in some cases overseas, elation -- was worldwide. While Americans attempted to go about celebrating as usual, the reality of the just-declared war was on everybody's mind. United States troops on Wake Island were battling a Japanese landing force and, in the Philippines, losing the fight to save Luzon. In Japan, the Pearl Harbor strike force returned to Hiroshima Bay and toasted its sweeping success. Across the Atlantic, much of Europe was frozen in grim Nazi occupation. Just three days before Christmas, Churchill surprised Roosevelt with an unprecedented trip to Washington, where they jointly lit the White House Christmas tree. As the two Allied leaders met to map out a winning wartime strategy, the most remarkable Christmas of the century played out across the globe. Pearl Harbor Christmas is a deeply moving and inspiring story about what it was like to live through a holiday season few would ever forget.

Published anonymously in 1823, "The Night Before Christmas" has traditionally been attributed to Clement Clarke Moore (1779-1863), who included it in his Poems (1844). But descendants of Henry Livingston (1748-1828) claim that he read it to his children as his own creation long before Moore is alleged to have composed it. This book evaluates the opposing arguments and for the first time uses the author-attribution techniques of modern computational stylistics to settle the long-standing dispute. Both writers left substantial bodies of verse, which have been computer analyzed for distinguishing characteristics. Employing a range of tests and introducing a new one--statistical analysis of phonemes--this study identifies the true author and makes a significant contribution to the growing field of attribution studies.

A poem about the visit that Santa Claus pays to the children of the world during the night before every Christmas.

"Perry's work is original, comprehensively researched, and a major contribution to understanding the central importance of the evolution of a consumer culture in modern Germany. The scholarship is sound, impressive, and provocative."ùRudy Koshar, University of Wisconsin-Madison --

From an acclaimed military historian comes the astonishing story of World War I's 1914 Christmas truce—a spontaneous celebration when enemies became friends. It was one of history's most powerful—yet forgotten—Christmas stories. It took place in the improbable setting of the mud, cold rain, and senseless killing of the trenches of World War I. It happened in spite of orders to the contrary by superiors. It happened in spite of language barriers. And it still stands as the only time in history that peace spontaneously arose from the lower ranks in a major conflict, bubbling up to the officers and temporarily turning sworn enemies into friends. Silent Night, by renowned military historian Stanley Weintraub, magically restores the 1914 Christmas Truce to history. It had been lost in the tide of horror that filled the battlefields of Europe for months and years afterward. Yet, in December 1914, the Great War was still young, and the men who suddenly threw down their arms and came together across the front lines—to sing carols, exchange gifts and letters, eat and drink and even play friendly games of soccer—naively hoped that the war would be short-lived, and that they were fraternizing with future friends. It began when German soldiers lit candles on small Christmas trees, and British, French, Belgian, and German troops serenaded each other on Christmas Eve. Soon they were gathering and burying the dead, in an age-old custom of truces. But as the power of Christmas grew among them, they broke bread, exchanged addresses and letters, and expressed deep admiration for one another. When angry superiors ordered them to recommence the shooting, many men aimed harmlessly high overhead. Sometimes the greatest beauty emerges from deep tragedy. Surely the forgotten Christmas Truce was one of history's most beautiful moments, made all the more beautiful in light of the carnage that followed it. Stanley Weintraub's moving re-creation demonstrates that peace can be more fragile than war, but also that ordinary men can bond with one another despite all efforts of politicians and generals to the contrary.