Happy Fourth Day of Christmas!
Following up on our "First Day of Christmas" post (from Christmas Day), we have some good news for you. No, it's got nothing to do with stocks and bonds or any other market. Markets this week are lightly traded and, frankly, indicate nothing, not matter whether prices go up or down. Money managers who bother to trade during these days surrounding Christmas simply engage in "window dressing" their portfolios. Their buys and sells generally have little to do with fundamentals, supply and demand, or any of the other indicators to which one might refer to interpret or forecast market movements.
Even the news lightens up is you haven't noticed. Very few stories that have any impact on our lives bubble up during the week between Christmas and New Year's. Yes, the Russian plane crash is sad news. And for pop culture enthusiasts, of certain ages, the deaths of George Michael and Carrie Fisher might bring a tear to your eyes. Then there's the usual "year-end" re-caps that can engage us at times, whether for better or worse. But besides all that, not much happens out there during this holiday interlude.
#1 bit of good news is simply this: Relax. Enjoy the holidays. Ignore the noise of the news and the markets. As for the second bit of good news, it's got to do with what you might consider paying attention to during this joyful Christmas Season.
#2 bit of good news: While driving to visit family these last couple of days we stumbled across a radio station that continues playing Christmas music - even though Christmas Day has passed. Hallelujah! For years, the idea that Christmas music stops dead at the stroke of midnight Christmas night struck me as absurd. Christmas begins on Christmas Day. It doesn't end. This is the Christmas Season, starting on December 25th, not culminating after weeks of build-up starting before Thanksgiving. This station (originating in Providence, RI) gets it. They apparently just started this practice of continuing to broadcast Christmas selections after Christmas Day this year. With any luck, they will prove to be pioneers who return some sense of sanity to the broadcasting of Christmas music. After all, we were traveling to celebrate Christmas with family, and suspect many others on the road (and there were lots of them) were too.
So there we have little servings to good news to add to the joy of the Christmas Season, brought to you on this Fourth Day of Christmas. Remember there are Twelve Days in all, so we're just getting started. Not that you should ignore New Year's, of course. Just don't forget that Christmas has by no means left us. Keep the spirit going!
Oh, and speaking of Christmas music, while I do somewhat enjoy the fare typically served up on broadcast radio, there are just so much other and better selections you can find from that treasure chest of music written and sung over the centuries by those who were inspired by the birth of Christ. Here's one particular favorite, sung by the incomparable King's College choir of Cambridge University, in the natural setting of their chapel. Hope it brings you another shot of that joyful Christmas spirit.
Even the news lightens up is you haven't noticed. Very few stories that have any impact on our lives bubble up during the week between Christmas and New Year's. Yes, the Russian plane crash is sad news. And for pop culture enthusiasts, of certain ages, the deaths of George Michael and Carrie Fisher might bring a tear to your eyes. Then there's the usual "year-end" re-caps that can engage us at times, whether for better or worse. But besides all that, not much happens out there during this holiday interlude.
#1 bit of good news is simply this: Relax. Enjoy the holidays. Ignore the noise of the news and the markets. As for the second bit of good news, it's got to do with what you might consider paying attention to during this joyful Christmas Season.
#2 bit of good news: While driving to visit family these last couple of days we stumbled across a radio station that continues playing Christmas music - even though Christmas Day has passed. Hallelujah! For years, the idea that Christmas music stops dead at the stroke of midnight Christmas night struck me as absurd. Christmas begins on Christmas Day. It doesn't end. This is the Christmas Season, starting on December 25th, not culminating after weeks of build-up starting before Thanksgiving. This station (originating in Providence, RI) gets it. They apparently just started this practice of continuing to broadcast Christmas selections after Christmas Day this year. With any luck, they will prove to be pioneers who return some sense of sanity to the broadcasting of Christmas music. After all, we were traveling to celebrate Christmas with family, and suspect many others on the road (and there were lots of them) were too.
So there we have little servings to good news to add to the joy of the Christmas Season, brought to you on this Fourth Day of Christmas. Remember there are Twelve Days in all, so we're just getting started. Not that you should ignore New Year's, of course. Just don't forget that Christmas has by no means left us. Keep the spirit going!
Oh, and speaking of Christmas music, while I do somewhat enjoy the fare typically served up on broadcast radio, there are just so much other and better selections you can find from that treasure chest of music written and sung over the centuries by those who were inspired by the birth of Christ. Here's one particular favorite, sung by the incomparable King's College choir of Cambridge University, in the natural setting of their chapel. Hope it brings you another shot of that joyful Christmas spirit.
Merry Christmas!
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