* 1826-On 26 October, Frenchman Dumont d ' Urville in the Astrolabe visited King George Sound before sailing along the south coast to Port Jackson.

and on Christmas Day, 1890, Hardy wrote: `` While thinking of resuming ' the viewless Wings Of Poesy before dawn this morning, new horizons seemed to open, and worrying pettinesses to disappear '' ( Early Life, p. 302 ).

Ealdred crowned King William on Christmas Day in 1066.

Cynesige, the archbishop of York, died on 22 December 1060, and Ealdred was elected Archbishop of York on Christmas Day, 1060.

Ealdred crowned William king on Christmas Day 1066.

One of Johnson's last significant acts as President was to grant unconditional amnesty to all Confederates on Christmas Day 1868, after the election of Ulysses S. Grant but before he took office in March 1869.

On Christmas Day 1950, the Stone of Destiny was stolen from Westminster Abbey.

Additionally, alcohol sales are prohibited on Christmas Day.

Retail alcohol sales remain barred on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and Memorial Day.

Sales also are prohibited on Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.

From then on retail trade is only restricted on public holidays ( New Years Day, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Easter Monday, Day of Prayer, Ascension Day, Whit Sunday, Whit Monday, Christmas Day and Boxing Day ) and on Constitution Day, Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve ( on New Year's Eve from 3 pm only ).

Although Acorn were able to shrink substantially the same functionality as the BBC into just one chip, manufacturing problems meant that very few machines were available for the Christmas period — to the extent that some shops reported eight presales for every delivered machine.

Jed tried to blackmail Tony, leading to a confrontation on Christmas Eve in Underworld when Tony strangled Jed in a fit of rage, just before the Christmas party.

When he returned to the factory on Christmas Day he discovered Jed had just been unconscious, and offered him a free flat in Wigan to buy his silence, which Jed accepted.

On Christmas Day 2009, Sally Webster told husband Kevin that she had breast cancer, just as he was about to leave her for lover Molly.

One of Thomas ' last poems, " Do not go gentle into that good night ", was a villanelle to his father, who died from pneumonia just before Christmas 1952.

The arrival of the yachts is celebrated as part of the Hobart Summer Festival, a food and wine festival beginning just after Christmas and ending in mid-January.

After Braddock's defeat in 1755, royal approval for a new regiment, as well as funds, were granted by Parliament just before Christmas 1755 – hence the regiment's traditional birthday of Christmas Day.

and its first three singles, two more singles were released in the second half of 2003 with up-tempo " Thank You Baby " (# 11 in the UK, Top 20 in Germany ) and just before Christmas the romantic, acoustic ballad " When You Kiss Me ", at least a minor hit in both territories.

He visits a department store Father Christmas, just like a child, although he asks for a CD from either Dire Straits or Phil Collins.

They also reached number one just before Christmas 1986 with a version of " Caravan of Love ", originally a hit the year before for Isley-Jasper-Isley.

Three years later, just before Christmas of 1974, Larry Fine suffered yet another stroke at the age of 72 and four weeks later, suffered a more massive one.

They spent Christmas at Sandringham House, before moving to Windsor Castle just outside London for much of the remainder of the war.

Jansson also produced illustrations during this period for the Christmas magazines Julen and Lucifer ( just as her mother had earlier ) as well as several smaller productions.

The Final Concert Tour: Johnny Young, The Young Talent Team and The New Generation performed a series of concerts just before Christmas 1988.

It screened on television just once, on Christmas Eve 1972.

He doesn't live on the North Pole, but perhaps in a forest nearby, or in Denmark he lives on Greenland, and in Finland he lives in Lapland ; he doesn ’ t come down the chimney at night, but through the front door, delivering the presents directly to the children, just like the Yule Goat did ; he is not overweight ; and even if he nowadays sometimes rides in a sleigh drawn by reindeer, instead of just walking around with his sack, his reindeer don ’ t fly-and in Sweden, Denmark and Norway some still put out a bowl of porridge for him on Christmas Eve.

After achieving second place in a 1928 cartoon contest, the 23-year-old Gottfredson moved to Southern California with his wife and family, just before Christmas.

Beatles ' 65 was released eleven days after Beatles for Sale ( and just ten days before the Christmas holiday ) and became the fastest-selling album of the year in the United States.

When Marian was 12, her father was accidentally struck on the head while at work at the Reading Terminal, just a few weeks before Christmas of 1909.

The royal family stayed at Osborne for lengthy periods each year: in the spring for Victoria's birthday in May ; in July and August when they celebrated Albert's birthday ; and just before Christmas.

Polly Parrish ( Ginger Rogers ) is a salesgirl at the department store John B. Merlin and Son in New York City who has just been told that since the Christmas season is ending she is going to be dismissed.

In January 1978, just after their record breaking 1977 Christmas show, the pair left the BBC for ITV signing a contract with the London station Thames Television, which made front page news.

More recent researchers, in particular Ronald Willis and Joy Munns have studied the tour in detail and concluded that the presentation was made after a private cricket match played over Christmas 1882 when the English team were guests of Sir William Clarke, at his property " Rupertswood ", in Sunbury, Victoria.

They withdrew to Mercia, but, in January 878, made a sudden attack on Chippenham, a royal stronghold in which Alfred had been staying over Christmas, " and most of the people they killed, except the King Alfred, and he with a little band made his way by wood and swamp, and after Easter he made a fort at Athelney in the marshes of Somerset, and from that fort kept fighting against the foe ".

After successful parachute deployment and less than fourteen minutes after reentry began, the Command Module splashed down in the Pacific Ocean southeast of Christmas Island 290 hours, 37 minutes, 6 seconds after liftoff from the Kennedy Space Center.

So the story goes, after a period of discord and conflict he invited the local leaders to a Christmas banquet under the pretext of resolving differences and building relations but his plan was to eliminate them.

The Atari 7800 languished on warehouse shelves until it was re-introduced in January 1986 after strong 2600 sales the previous Christmas.

Today, Boxing Day is better known as a bank or public holiday that occurs on 26 December, or the first or second weekday after Christmas Day, depending on national or regional laws.

In the UK, it was a custom for tradesmen to collect " Christmas boxes " of money or presents on the first weekday after Christmas as thanks for good service throughout the year.

Boxing Day is a secular holiday that is traditionally celebrated on 26 December, the day after Christmas Day, which is also St. Stephen's Day, a religious holiday.

The holiday for Proclamation Day is observed on the first weekday after Christmas Day or the Christmas Day holiday.

This was originally to avoid teams and their fans having to travel a long distance to an away game on the day after Christmas Day.

Caltech is on the quarter system: the fall term starts in late September and ends before Christmas, the second term starts after New Years Day and ends in mid-March, and the third term starts in late March or early April and ends in early June.

The observance of Christmas developed gradually over the centuries, beginning in ancient times ; combining old pagan customs with the religious ones introduced after the Christianization of Poland by the Catholic Church.

The custom of Christmas night liturgy was introduced in the Christian churches after the second half of the 5th century.

Christmas carols are not celebrated in Poland until after the Christmas Vigil Mass.

Die Gartenlaube ( 1871 ) showing " the German Christmas tree " ( Der deutsche Weihnachtsbaum ) in a field hospital in Versailles after the Franco-Prussian War.

* 1972 – Vietnam War: President Richard Nixon announces that the United States will engage North Vietnam in Operation Linebacker II, a series of Christmas bombings, after peace talks collapsed with North Vietnam on the 13th.

** Earliest day on which Feast of the Holy Family can fall, celebrated on Sunday after Christmas or 30 if Christmas falls on a Sunday.

One of Thomas ' most popular works was the short essay A Child's Christmas in Wales, which after being released as part of a recording, in which Thomas read his own work, became his most popular prose work in America.

Certainly, she left for her own city of Poitiers immediately after Christmas.