War is Hell, as General Sherman famously put it. Even in Hell, then, there are moments to celebrate Christmas. There's something important about it. So here, we show how ordinary soldiers at the front celebrate Christmas during Wartime.
Christmas in the Battle of the Bulge, 1944
Praying at a roadside shrine, France, Christmas 1944
Christmas in Italy, 1944
Christmas in the Barracks, World War II
Christmas in the medical ward, University of Pennsylvania, World War II
Christmas in a civilian garden bunker, England, World War II
Christmas service for bomber crews in England, 1944
Christmas at the front, North Africa, 1942
The Christmas truce, December 1914. The fellows in the middle are wearing German helmets, the rest are English
The Generals on both sides didn't like the Christmas truce of 1914. They knew it undermined the willingness of the men to be treated as mere pawns in the great European war.
American GI sharing his Christmas package goodies with Italian children
Christmas on Guadalcanal
This is a series of pictures of Christmas on Guadalcanal, 1942. The Japanese were still on the island and far from defeated. However, the men found a way to celebrate anyway because, well, it was Christmas.
The Right Way to Celebrate July 4th, with Katy Perry
Celebrate July 4th with Katy Perry!
Katy Perry has done some very patriotic 4th of July shows. Naturally, Katy Perry being Katy Perry, they've involved a lot of fireworks. Katy Seems to have a thing for fireworks. Anyway, lots of images of Katy Perry on the 4th of July here.
It wouldn't be Christmas without beautiful singer Katy Perry celebrating it in style! Katy always finds a way to celebrate the big day in style, so here are a few glimpses at what Katy Perry does to mark the biggest day of the year.
You may not know who William Conrad is, but he was a big radio and television star. In 1974, when this was recorded, William Conrad was enjoying huge fame as the title character of the private investigator show "Cannon." He later starred in "Jake and the Fat Man" (Conrad was the latter), which was an even bigger hit. Not bad for an old-time radio guy.
William Conrad himself originally rose to fame in radio due to his truly impressive voice, which he uses to great advantage in this parody version of "Twelve Days of Christmas."
If you are in the proper anti-Holiday mood, this is a riot, especially if you are only familiar with Conrad from his G-rated television shows. It's just so unexpected to hear Conrad let loose with some choice words.
There is some raw language involved, so adults only, please!
Yes, it's a Wings Christmas-time! Paul McCartney and Wings doing Wonderful Christmas Time are in fine form. This is from 1979, the final incarnation of Wings.
This is the time of "Wonderful Christmas Time," which isn't really a Wings song (it's actually a Paul McCartney solo tune), though they did the video for it. Basically, Paul McCartney went off, did "Wonderful Christmas Time" on his own, then hired his band to make a video for his song.
Linda McCartney hard at work
Here is the video, which is quite good, especially for pre-MTV.
Is "Wonderful Christmas Time" a "Wings" song? Only sort of. Paul wrote it and performed it alone while doing the same with "McCartney II." However, "Wonderful Christmas Time" was not on "McCartney II."
Paul McCartney and Wings filmed "Wonderful Christmas Time" at an inn somewhere in West Sussex, England.
Keeping the rights completely to himself was a shrewd business move, as "Wonderful Christmas Time" became seasonal that still gets airplay to this day during the holiday season.
"Wonderful Christmas Time" has earned Paul a ton of money, supposedly around $15 million (and growing). "Wonderful Christmas Time" did not appear on any Wings albums until the 1993 reissue of "Back to the Egg."
Putting "Wonderful Christmas Time" on "Back to the Egg" was a weird choice since by rights it should go on "McCartney II." However, because of the Wings band members in the video and the fact that this was released well before "McCartney II," people naturally associate "Wonderful Christmas Time" with Wings instead of Paul's solo material.
In that sense, "Wonderful Christmas Time" is in the same boat as early hits like "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey," which had absolutely nothing to do with Wings, but which many people always consider a Wings tune.
Either you enjoy "Wonderful Christmas Time" or you don't. Many prominent artists have covered it, including Amy Grant, Demi Lovato, Kelly Rowland, and Chicago, so it can't be that bad. It is just a fun song, nothing profound. "Wonderful Christmas Time" makes the holiday charts in Billboard every year, usually in the low teens. It's a perennial and continues to sell. The general public enjoys it, so it continues to be played every year, starting at Thanksgiving and ending on Christmas.
