Old Weather Forum

The theory...

Print after a sketch by T. Dart Walker, entitled Christmas Eve in the United States Navy.
Giving the famous Highland toast and song for sweethearts and wives. Wherever Uncle Sam's
fighting ships are stationed throughout the world, it is the custom of the officers to rise, as here
depicted, at the conclusion of the Christmas Eve festivities in honor of the absent home folks.
This sketch was made by the noted marine artist, T. Dart Walker, while crossing the Arabian Sea
on board the battleship 'Kansas'.
https://indianaillustrators.blogspot.co ... -1914.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Kansas_(BB-21)



The practice...

USS ST. LOUIS officers in the wardroom Christmas dinner 1918

Merry Christmas!

My animated Christmas card is available again.
A steampunk Jingle Bells , sort of anyway.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/4C3FGVUxgaA

Merry Christmas and best wishes for 2022.

Merry Christmas! Hope you are all safe and well

Merry Christmas!


Great card, Maikel!

For nearly every Christmas Eve in the past thirty-eight years, CBC broadcasts this story. The reader, the late Alan Maitland, was one of the hosts of As It Happens, which has been on CBC between 6:30 and 8:00 P. M. for about 50 years.

If you have 31 minutes, I think you might enjoy this story as much as we have over all these many years.

Wonderful find!!!!!

Merry Christmas all! Here is an interesting item on 'Christmas Ships' from the U.S. Naval Institute in my morning email:

The “Christmas Ship,” a tradition in the U.S. Navy, began in 1915 so that ships’ crews could entertain local children in foreign ports,” Robert E. Davis relates in his Naval Institute Press biography Baldwin of the Times on the life of Hanson W. Baldwin – Naval Academy graduate, officer, and 40-year, New York Times military correspondent/editor. In December 1926, Ensign Baldwin was serving on the USS Breck (DD-283) making a port call in Marseilles, France.
“
On Christmas Eve, the crews of the Breck and the USS Toucey (DD-282) entertained fifty boys and girls from a local Catholic orphanage. The ships were decorated with signal flags, branches of fir trees were lashed to the masts, and all the ships’ lights were turned on, including the search lights. Santa Claus (Père Noël) made an appearance to hand out gifts to the children: pocketknives for the boys and dolls and handkerchiefs for the girls. Carols were sung, and all the children had an enjoyable time.”

On the MV Centaur which I sailed on in 1970-2, when we were not carting cattle and passengers from Freemantle, up to K.L. Malaysia, Singapore and Broome we would detour to Christmas Island at Christmas time without the cattle.
The kids on board use to love Santa coming over on a boat from the island with gifts and leaving with gifts from the ship (usually duty free grog).

Thanks, Kevin!
Here are a few publicly available items along those lines:

The Christmas Ship, by Admiral Hugh Rodman, U.S. Navy (Retired)

Santa Claus distributing packages to children on the USS Antares Christmas Day, 1931




Christmas party for disadvantaged children, held on board the USS California by her crew, at San Pedro, California, December 1921.




Children's Christmas Party On Board the USS Oklahoma, San Pedro Harbor, California, December 25, 1937

Randi wrote: ↑Sat Dec 25, 2021 3:16 pm Merry Christmas!

Great card, Maikel!

Thanks Randi.

Maikel wrote: ↑Sat Dec 25, 2021 7:58 am My animated Christmas card is available again.
A steampunk Jingle Bells , sort of anyway.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/4C3FGVUxgaA

Merry Christmas and best wishes for 2022.

Love your steampunk Christmas wishes Maikel!