A Holiday Message from AH Weekly Update

Merry Christmas...

Happy Hanukkah...

Joyous Kwanzaa...

Happy Holidays...

Happy Festivus...

Cthulhu fhtagn...

Winter is coming...

Etc., etc., etc...

Well guys with the holiday season upon us I want to announce that I am going to be taking a break over the next week.  What does that mean?  Well Weekly Update #34 will be published on 12/27/11 and Weekly Update #35 will be published on 1/3/12.  I do not plan to write anything else from now until 1/3/12, except for any Breaking News stories that may arise.  My contributors are more then welcome to post anything if they wish, but they are under no pressure.  Enjoy the holidays you guys, you deserve it.

In the meantime, why not show your appreciation to Alternate History Weekly Update by giving the gift of social media recognition!  Follow us on Facebook, Twitter (@ahwupate) or Google.  We also would appreciate anyone who would go and check out our new Amazon page.  Not only can you now read AH Weekly Update from your Kindle or Kindle app, you can also like the page or write a review!

So I will see you all again next year in 2012!

Christmas without Santa

I am going out on a limb here, and producing a 'bonus' column for Christmas. Here in the United States it has become fashionable in public places to downplay the very word "Christmas" for it's obvious religious meaning. On the other hand, some of the very people that bemoan the criticism of Christmas contribute to the cheapening of the holiday by the almost religious devotion to the fictional character known as "Santa Claus" to much of the world.

Oddly enough, if the religious founders of the American colonies would have had their way, the celebrations we know in this country, including Santa Claus, would never had been attached to the remembrance of Christmas day. On Christmas Day, 1776, George Washington crossed the Delaware River to surprise German mercenaries celebrating on the holiday. Such celebrations - with joyous frivolity and 'good will,' were not a part of the majority of American colonists in those days. The Dutch "Sinterklass" was lampooned in the newspapers of the day. The British had their "Father Christmas" but he had little in common with the legend that was by then at least four hundred years old.

And so, what if the popularization of Santa Claus had not made the character part and parcel of the holiday we know today? Consider the possibilities of a holy day that comes once a year, observed briefly by the pious faithful, but not trumpeted to the world as a time to buy presents for child and adult alike. No 'black Friday' when the retail stores seek to make a profit by practically giving away loss leaders. No "cyber Monday" upon which geeks jam the bandwidths looking for just the right gifts to be shipped in time for the big day less than four weeks away!

Without Santa Claus the mention of the holiday might not be seen for a full eight out of fifty-two weeks of the year! That is, until merchants began taking "Christ" out of Christmas, the name of Christ was at least acknowledged almost one sixth of the year! But when people think Christmas, they say "krismus" and it does not even sound like the reason for the season. Of course the original model for the myth - Saint Nicolas - is hardly noticeable in the name used today either. Certainly "Santa" is Spanish for "Saint" and "Claus" is a clipped form of Nicolas, and most people know "old St. Nick" to be the same "person," but "Santa" could be any saint! To the uneducated, the mention of "Krismus" and "Santa" brings no knowledge of Jesus the Messiah nor the saints who are his followers.

Without Santa, the solemness of the holy day would cause the world to pause and think something like: "Why are you celebrating the birth of a baby that lived so long ago?" The unbeliever might wonder why such a scene as a baby in a feeding trough means so much to so many. The lights might not be gaudy but might shine on the manger like the stars that did so that night at the turning point of human history -- the point where the calendars divide from minus to plus.

If gifts were given, perhaps they would not be as 'rewards' but as 'gifts.' They might even be given back to the one whose birthday is being celebrated - consecrated to his service. Dear Saint Nicolas, dead some sixteen hundred years, might be remembered as a diligent servant of God who defended the faith in the face of rising opposition. A man who helped the Church define what it means to believe in God as seen in Jesus, the Word made flesh.

The world without the modern legend of Santa Claus might be a little less colorful, but I doubt if it would be the least bit less joyful. May all who read this have a blessed Christmas as we remember the one for whom the holy day was named.

DD Date 1983.12.21

December 21, 1983

Wow, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Really. I would have thought with all the doom and gloom about the end of the world as we know it we would be "canceling Christmas" this year. I guess being a preacher-in-training I should have known that the meaning of the season isn't wrapped up in fancy paper under an artificial tree in the living room. Anyway, with Debbie and I both working full time - and that in health care (I can't think of a more secure field right now!) - our employers have been able to pay us well in credits good at K-Mart, Bi-Lo, and even Wal-Mart. I read about Wal-Mart a few years back when the first stores came to Greenville. Some guy in Arkansas of all places started out in the dime store business thirty years ago. He took the first part of his name - "Walton" - to come up with a competitor to K-Mart. The article said he likes to deal in American goods when he can. Well, I guess that will be the "new way" around here, huh? A guy named "Walton" from the Ozarks, kind of like "John-boy" and the rest on family on Walton's mountain.

Funny, but that show began at Christmas time back when I was in high school! And then lasted up through last year's three TV movies. Sort of like us today, but with a mountain, I guess. They were in the Great Depression, a time when a lot of people didn't have running water and electricity -- but they made it through some how! Sad, in a way, also, because that was all about a family all living close together -- not separated by hundreds of miles like we are now. And there's not going to be a family reunion like there has always been in the past either. Yeah, Chuck will be coming over from BJ for the weekend -- Christmas on Sunday -- happens about every five or six years, but still seems a bit strange.

Well, I'm wrapping some simple stuff tonight after the children are in bed. I set up the car headlight in the kitchen so we could use the table after dark -- going to be a long night tonight, this being the first day of winter. Strangely, though, it's not too cold. We don't open the doors to the front of the house very often, and that includes the kitchen. Keeps the heat in the bedrooms. However, we're thinking of getting a wood-burning stove to put on the back porch (where it would be safer). I don't think the rental agency would like us putting it in the kitchen -- we'd have put in special tile and figure a way to get a chimney (maybe out the window?). It would be nice to have some kind of oven -- the only bread we have is made in a frying pan!

Speaking of cooking -- the rations this week included hot cocoa mix! No milk needed. I'm betting that stuff is rare enough these days! We even have the kind with tiny dried marshmallows in it. No eggnog, though. But hot apple cider, with a little cinnamon while it lasts, will be available (the local apples had a good season this year). If things are as bad as they say they are this may be the last Christmas that has these luxuries. I'm going to enjoy the memories of Christmases past and not worry too much about Christmas to come. And I am going make this a Christmas to remember - in spite of everything!

Previous entry: DD Date 1983.12.14
Next entry: DD Date 1983.12.30

DD Date 1983.12.14

December 14, 1983

We were greatly surprised today when the mid-week edition of the Greenville News carried reports from outside of Greenville County. It seems that the News has been sending volunteers as far as Athens and Asheville to find out what is going on. Asheville seems to have fared okay, but the story from Athens is like one from the twilight zone! The reporters apparently did not get into town, but the reports from those they met along I-85 was horrible. With what the eye-witnesses said, the University of Georgia had become the center of a new government of sorts, but things went bad fast. Apparently riots had begun over food and supplies and no one was safe. The reporters also heard that refugees were heading up to the mountain town of Taccoa, but they returned to Greenville knowing that they probably would not be chancing any more fact-finding trips.

Meanwhile, at home things seem peaceful. The police and highway patrol maintain a vigilant presence along the roads, preventing most vandalism and keeping unrest to a minimum. Occasionally we hear rumors of police overstepping their boundaries, but the mayor's office assures us that things are professionally managed. As for me and my family, we haven't experienced or seen any violence ourselves. I hope things stay that way, because I remember Athens as a nice town overall, though that was a decade ago. If my fellow Georgians turn on each other that way, I'm pretty sure South Carolinians could as well.

I can't imagine what things might be like in Albany - well known for racial strife! I hope dad and mom are okay. I mean, they go to church in Albany - dad works there - working with blacks every day in fact. Could they be like what they say Athens is like less than three months after Atlanta is bombed? Wow -- not a pretty thought as we head into Christmas season.

Debbie did some Christmas shopping at the K-Mart near the hospital. The hospital has worked out a credit system with both K-Mart and Bi-Lo allowing employees to write personal checks against their Hospital account. It's like the old "company store" -- hopefully we won't 'owe our soul to the comp'ny store' as Tennessee Ernie Ford used to sing! She has also begun picking up the rations at that store (though it took a lot of paperwork and several weeks to approve it).

We had put the tree up -- an artificial Debbie inherited from a college roommate before we were married -- on Monday, my Dad's birthday. We'll probably take it down on my birthday in January like we usually do. The one difference this year is that there is no way we'll be with the rest of the family this year -- neither there no here. That makes us all sad. All we can do is pray that everyone is okay.

We made it to Second Pres this week! Prayer meeting went well and there was a great "Christmas feast" prepared for the community. The cooks had called in some favors around town and had "all the fixings" for dinner for over 200 folks (over half visitors from the community). They did say that the supply of natural gas was about to run out and they may have to start using charcoal grills if they can find any. Otherwise, I suppose they'll have to quit serving food. That will be a shame.

This is getting depressing. Perhaps that is because I waited to do this by the headlight lamp -- the car battery is holding out! I suppose I'd better get to bed.

Previous entry: DD Date 1983.12.07
Next entry: DD Date 1983.12.21

Weekly Update #31

Editor's Note

We broke our monthly page view record last month.  The most page views in a single month is now at 4404.  That is the second time in the row this blog has broken the record and I assure you we are going for three in the row this month.  Got some good stuff coming to you this week in an effort to reach that goal, including a new showcase by Korsgaard.  War Blogger also might have some posts next week once he finishes writing the first chapter to the sequel of Wolf Hunt.

If you have not seen it already, take a look at the new poll in the right side column.  I am planning on putting ads up on this blog, but I wanted to get the readers' opinion on this.  So please, answer the poll and help me make an important decision about the future of this blog.

Meanwhile we got our first reader from Thailand, Saudi Arabia and Blangadesh.  Welcome!

And now the news...

What Can President Gingrich Do For Alternate History?

I and others have mentioned before that alternate history is an obscure genre.  It helps, however, when a well known mainstream author, like Stephen King, writes an alternate history novel.  The spotlight shines on everyone who works in the genre, but only for a little while.

So...what if an alternate history author becomes President of the United States of America?

For those not paying attention to the upcoming United States presidential election of 2012, one of the current front runners for the Republican nomination is former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich.  Not only is Gingrich a history professor, but he is also an author of alternate history.  He has co-authored several alternate history novels with William R. Forstchen and Albert S. Hanser, usually set in either the American Civil War and World War II.

Now that Gingrich has become the new front runner in the Republican race, the news agencies have been buzzing about his alternate history credentials.  Mark Whittington at Yahoo! Voices discussed several of Gingrich's works and said they symbolized Newt's "fascination about how history can be shaped by individual decisions by people who happen to be in the right place at the right time." William Bradley at The Huffington Post described Gingrich's alternate histories as being "filled with colorful mavericks, technophilia, loathing for bureaucratic norms, and an evident zest for conflict."  Otis L. Sanford at The Commercial Appeal, however, has a different view of Gingrich's fondness for alternate history when he quotes Andrew Ferguson by saying "a counterfactual account of history appeals especially to people who are disappointed in the real thing. Settled fact is unsatisfying; history as it occurs seems somehow a cheat...It is true that history hasn't worked the way Newt Gingrich envisioned it."

This blogger cannot help but speculate what would happen if Gingrich not only won his party's nomination, but also defeated President Obama in 2012.  What would a President Gingrich do for the genre?  Would his novels act as gateways to a larger library of fiction as people read them to see what the new President did before he was elected?  As I have stated before, Alternate History Weekly Update has a "No Cross, No Crown" policy, but such a future does not seem that bad to this blogger.

Coming Soon: Boneshaker the film

Perhaps the film industry is experiencing a love affair for alternate history films.  Just last week I learned that Hammer Films has acquired the rights to make a film based on Cherie Priest's Boneshaker.  According to Uchronia, Boneshaker is a steampunk adventure set in a world in which the American Civil War has dragged on for 20 years...and there are zombies!  While the idea of steampunk zombies hunters in a war-torn America excites me to no end, we should not get our hopes up.  Many successful novels are optioned all the time and are never made into films, it is just part of the business.  Still I congratulate Priest on her success and if Hammer films notices that there is  a strong interest in this film being made we might just see Boneshaker on the big screen.

You can learn more about this story here and here.

Baen Books Christmas Carol Contest

Baen Books is holding a contest to see who can make the best alternate history Christmas Carol.  Submissions should include at least a verse and chorus. You also have to name the OTL traditional carol on which your lyrics are based.  Alternate history author Robert Conroy and the Baen editorial staff will pick the winning submission.  Lyrics will also be published in the January newsletter. The winner will receive an advanced reading copy and hardcover of Robert Conroy’s Himmler’s War, both signed by the author.

If you plan to enter the contest, please inform Alternate History Weekly Update.

Links to the Multiverse

Articles

Alternate History: A Lesser Known Genre Of Literature Which I Love by Dan Levy at Levy News Network.

Some Thoughts on Writing Steampunk Fiction by Frank Chadwick at Space 1889 Blog.

In an alternate reality, this pyramid is the Lincoln Memorial by Cyriaque Lamar at iO9. 

When novels change history by Stuart Kelly at The Guardian.

Online Alternate History

A counterfactual history of Tim Tebow as a Jacksonville Jaguar by Jeremy Stahl at Slate.

What if ... the FIFA World Cup had been played in a different year by Adam Bate at SI.com

Books

Lois Tilton reviews Short Fiction, late November (two alternate history short stories are present in the review)

Review of 11/22/63 by Stephen King, reviewed by Ron Capshaw at Big Hollywood.

Review of The Guns of the South by Harry Turtledove, reviewed by Rosboch Book Reviews.

Review of The Iron Thorn by Caitlin Kittredge, reviewed by San Jose Public Library.

Well Lit: Alternate histories by Umapagan Ampikaipakan at New Straits Times.

Video Games

Preview: BioShock Infinite by Duncan Geere at Wired.co.uk.

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Mitro is founder, editor and contributor of Alternate History Weekly Update. When he is not busy writing about his passion for alternate history, he spends his time working as a licensed attorney in the state of Illinois and dreams of being a published author himself one day.