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24 December 2020

The night before Christmas

LIKE ANY other social activity this year, Christmas meant new ways of connecting and celebrating. Our Zoom gathering last night was gripping for a big reason: this was the first time we all gathered together on Christmas since the mid-1990s. It might also have been the least expensive gathering ever! My nephews and nieces showed up to surprise us; two of them even sang and played the guitar. We exchanged our usual jokes that never got stale. It was a day (or night in my case) that was incredibly merry and bright.

Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

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17 December 2020

Happy birthday, Mr. Beethoven!

LUWIG VAN Beethoven was born on or around this day 250 years ago in Bonn. As we end the year, we remember the Ode to Joy—a paean to the humanity's triumph against war and desperation—from his Ninth Symphony as a fitting deliverance from this ravaging year.