Good morning, my friends. It seems fitting that Christmas and the first night of Hanukkah fall on the same day this year. After all we’ve been through politically, the spirit of these holidays — the triumph of light over darkness & renewal through the birth of Christ — hit a little harder.

This is the final newsletter of the week. I wish you all, the Wake Up Right fam, a very Merry Christmas and a Happy Hanukkah. ❤️ 

• 🎅 90% of Americans celebrate Christmas

• ✝️ 80% believe Jesus was a real person

• 🎄 73% of Americans plan to stay local for Christmas

• 🕎 Hannukah begins on Christmas night this year, a rare occurrence

^{Sources: Gallup, YouGov, YouGov, AJC}

Why ‘White Christmas’ is an American classic

“White Christmas” is a beloved holiday song. But did you know it has a patriotic backstory?

Origin of the song: It was written by Irving Berlin — in 1940. Although he was Jewish, his Catholic wife and his embrace of American culture made him fond of the holiday. During Christmas of 1937, he was working in California and wrote the song, longing to be with his family back in New York City.

Bing sings: The song was slated to be part of the 1942 film Holiday Inn. But it was first debuted to the American public by Bing Crosby on Christmas Day in 1941 after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor.

Why it resonated: The song debuted at a pivotal moment in history, as the United States entered World War II, and struck a chord with American soldiers and their families who were separated during the holidays.

Chart-topper: Crosby's recording of the song was a smash hit, topping the charts in 1942 for 11 consecutive weeks and selling over 50 million copies worldwide.

Singing for U.S. troops: The legendary singer once told his nephew how singing for American soldiers stationed in France in 1944 was the "most difficult thing" he'd ever done. He said:

• "I had to sing 'White Christmas.' And I had to get through the song with 15,000 guys in tears and not break up myself. And a lot of those boys died the next week in the Battle of the Bulge."

Life to film: Crosby channeled his experience singing to U.S. troops into a beautiful and emotional scene captured in the 1954 movie White Christmas, which I will link to below.

[Source]

The American Christmas Miracle

This is one of my favorite American Christmas stories. Longtime readers might recognize it. It’s sort of become a Wake Up Right family tradition.

Our story begins in the early days of the American Revolution. The war for independence did not start off smoothly for George Washington and the Continental Army, as the British basically kicked out butts from Long Island through Manhattan and straight across New Jersey into Pennsylvania. Things were bleak. Men were literally eating their shoe leather to survive.

Washington’s Hail Mary: Washington knew that morale was low. Months of defeat had weighed on his men. If he wanted to defeat the British, he would need to change their disposition. So he devised a plan: On Christmas night, they would cross the Deleware River into Trenton and take the British army by surprise.

Back up: Several weeks before Christmas, the great revolutionary pamphleteer Thomas Paine, wrote 'The American Crisis' - inspired by the challenging circumstances that Continental troops faced. It begins:

I get goosebumps every year I read it. And Washington must have as well because he instructed his officers to read the opening chapters to their men as they crossed the Deleware into battle on Christmas day.

The march: It was snowing as the Americans crossed the Deleware River by boat. But that only added to the element of surprise. The British [who were actually Hessian mercenaries] would not expect an attack on Christmas, let alone in a blizzard. It just wasn't normal practice for European battles. But this wasn't Europe. The Continental Army was made up of Americans who were used to hunting deer in the snow for food. Today, they were hunting for freedom.

The battle: By the time they arrived in Trenton, it was daybreak when the first shots were fired. The British were overwhelmed as the Americans shot at them from behind fences and from houses. The British general tried to rally his men, but the Americans were picking them off, and ultimately, they retreated into an apple orchard where over 800 of them surrendered.

This would be a turning point in the American Revolution. Word spread across the colonies, and men rushed to sign up to fight. The rest is history.

🤬 Joe Biden commuted the sentences of 37 men on death row who had committed brutal murders and rapes, including to children and families. Read more.

🚇️ The Guatemalan illegal alien who set a sleeping woman on fire in a New York City subway was deported under the previous Trump administration but returned under the Biden regime. Read more.

📝 President-elect Trump vowed to give America's tallest mountain its name back — Mt. McKinley — after Obama renamed it Denali for a local native American community. Read more.

🤡 Luigi Mangione pleaded “not guilty” in a Manhattan court, where he faces state murder and terrorism charges in the shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Read more.

🧠 Texas Republican Congresswoman Kay Granger, who has been absent from voting for the past six months, was recently found to be residing in a dementia care facility. Read more.

🏥 Former President Bill Clinton was admitted to a D.C. hospital, where he underwent testing and observation after developing a fever. Read more.

🎓️ The Biden regime withdrew two of its student loan forgiveness promises that would have touched 30 million Americans, citing "operational challenges." Read more. In other words, he did this, knowing it was illegal, to try and buy off voters.

😎 James Bond producer Barbara Broccoli has reportedly made it clear to Amazon executives that she will not support plans for a spinoff female 007 TV series. Read more.

🎥 Linus, from Charlie Brown, explains the true meaning of Christmas. Watch.

🎥 Bing Crosby sings 'White Christmas' for American troops in the movie of the same title. Watch.

🎥 Frank Sinatra sings 'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas' on Dean Martin's TV show. Watch.

🎥 A brief history of the real St. Nicholas. Watch.

🎥 AOC staffer assaults reporter on camera. Watch.

🎥 ESPN's Stephen A Smith tells Mark Levin he's open to supporting Trump. Watch.

🎥 'B*tch, new laws' — two California criminals learn the hard way that theft is now a felony in the state. Watch.

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