Brussel Skelly 2023 Christmas Website
2023 Skelly Family Christmas
"Sing a Song for the Glorious Season!"
("Christmas Morning" by Edwin Waugh, 1861)

Christmas Day dawned dark and damp, but this being Florida, the high for the day would eventually top 70 degrees with bright sunshine and a blue sky. We woke in a pile, so to speak, at Sarah's, according to our recent custom—she has enough beds for everyone.)

We were a little groggy upon rising, having partied late into the Christmas Eve night , throwing care to the wind and watching the first Harry Potter movie ("The Philosopher's Stone") following a dinner of beef tenderloin, lobster mac and cheese, and roasted Brussel sprouts. Late, that is, if your idea of "late" is 12:15 am. At least we made it to midnight.

Little thought was given to church that morning, which is kind of sad, but which just makes us part of the general march of modern man. (Only 27% of Americans now qualify as regular churchgoers, according to the University of Chicago National Opinion Research Center's 2022 General Social Survey).

A 2022 Statista Global Consumer Survey reported that some 20% of adults in the US planned to go to church on Christmas Day to celebrate the birth of Christ while 6% said they'd be headed to a pub. (Some, no doubt, had every intention of hitting both.) In Germany, as well, the Christmas tug-a-war between church and pub was won, narrowly, by the holy side; only 11% there said they'd be attending church with 3% eyeing the pub alternative. In the UK, 11% said pub, with 8% opting for church.

Good stuff, but one wonders, what do the great majorities in these countries (and presumably others), who don't appear to gravitate toward either pub or pulpit, do with their time at Christmas ... other than watch Harry Potter?

2023 Christmas Spirit Index

Present-opening, stockings first, started at 9:00 am or so, still in our PJs. Breakfast on the fly with cinnamon buns, homemade bagels (both salt and everything), chocolate orange slices and other assorted Christmas candies. And then more Harry Potter. This time "The Chamber of Secrets," second in the series.
This year's Christmas Song Selection
"Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas,” Music by John Willams, Lyrics by Leslie Bricusse, performed here by the Heart of Texas Concert Band, is the hugely majestic orchestral and choir production that first punctuated the conclusion of 20th Century Fox's second Home Alone feature, released in 1992. It plays right between "fade to black" and "roll credits." This rendition is a lively, almost inspiring performance of a piece that is universally popular yet receives little direct fanfare because as walk-out music it plays second fiddle to one of the most popular Christmas movies of our modern culture. Just check your local TV listings around this time of year.

About 2:00 pm four of us cleaved off, leaving Sarah and Derrick, their three dogs and the rest of the day behind. We headed back the fifteen miles to the hinterlands of Milton, where there is only one cat to contend with, and a small one at that.

A little after 7:00 pm, roast turkey with Tracey and Dad, JJ and TEMS: a smallish 10 pound Tom bought frozen at Publix the day before. Next time you see me, ask how we managed to pull that off. Served with stuffing, cranberry, mashed potatoes and gravy, and our very traditional holiday sides of green bean casserole a la French's fried onion rings (something that would not have made my mother's table) and creamed onions (which would have and were, in point of fact, prepared with her recipe) in a cream sauce laced with Parmesan cheese, baked and then run under the broiler.

The evening ended with a traditional viewing of "A Charlie Brown Christmas," which was originally telecast in 1965, and dad traditionally snoozed off while watching. Merry Christmas, everybody.


2022 Index:
Dec. 10 - 3.18   Dec. 15 - 3.63   Dec. 20 - 3.64   Dec. 25 - 3.76

2023 Index:
Dec. 10 - 3.38   Dec. 15 - 3.69   Dec. 20 - 4.89   Dec. 25 - 4.12

Season Stats to Date ...

Current Christmas Spirit breakdown:
34%
12%
14%
12%
16%
3%
7%


12/10/23:
Fairly average sentiment level for the first 5 days of reporting, looking back over the last 10 years. Anything over 3.0 is halfway there. The score might be higher, but it was necessary to delete about two dozen votes that were out of range because voters are still clicking the vote button before they make a vote selection. Ah, well. Votes so far are bunching in the middle more than in other years. Respectable turnout though.

12/15/23:
Wow. For a while there, it looked like Biden wasn't the only thing people didn't like. They seemed uneasy about another Christmas too. But on Friday the Christmas Spirit Index looked like the New York Stock Exchange. The Bulls were in control. Almost 45% are still proceeding toward the holiday rather tentatively. The biggest vote-getter is still "3 - Do You Hear (barely) What I Hear?" We'll have to wait and see if Friday's rally has legs.

12/20/23:
Picking up steam. Third highest tally in the past 11 years. Still heavy in the middle though. And some curmudgeons have floated to the sufrace as the big day draws nigh. Shopping traumas?

12/25/23:
Highest index score since 2017 and surpassed only three times since tracking's inception in 2011. You guys were jacked at the end. Can't wait to see how the year pans out.
Go to websitesammy.com homepage