Wikipedia:Main Page history/2016 December 25

Hebron Church is a mid-19th century Lutheran church in Intermont, Hampshire County, in the U.S. state of West Virginia. It was founded in 1786 as Great Capon Church by German settlers in the Cacapon River Valley, making it the first Lutheran church west of the Shenandoah Valley. The congregation worshiped in a log church, which initially served both Lutheran and Reformed denominations. In 1821, records and sermons transitioned from German to English. The church's congregation built the present Greek Revival-style church building in 1849, when it was renamed Hebron on the Cacapon. The original log church was moved across the road and used as a sexton's house, Sunday school classroom, and public schoolhouse. To celebrate the congregation's 175th anniversary in 1961, Hebron Church constructed a building for community functions and religious education, designed to be architecturally compatible with the 1849 brick church. Hebron Church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014, cited as a Potomac Highlands church with vernacular Greek Revival architecture. (Full article...)

• ... that Adoration of the Kings (pictured) by Gerard David was variously attributed to Gossaert, Memling, "School of van Eyck", "van der Weyden the younger", and the "Flemish School"?
• ... that the mantou kiln, used for pottery in north China for some 2,000 years, is named after a type of steamed bread bun?
• ... that "The Babe in Bethlem's Manger" is thought to be a traditional Kentish folk carol but its tune is described as being "very much of the 18th century"?
• ... that Reverend Richard Aslatt Pearce was the first deaf person to be ordained as an Anglican clergyman?
• ... that in the carol "Vom Himmel hoch, o Engel, kommt", printed in 1622, the angels are requested to come from Heaven with musical instruments, to sing of Jesus and Mary, and for peace?
• ... that the "very remarkable" monumental brass of John Rudying in St Andrew's church in Biggleswade was rediscovered when the floor was lifted?
• ... that the Taschenphilharmonie, called the world's smallest orchestra, earned prizes for classical music embedded in narration for young children?
• ... that Jackie Evancho's 2016 album Someday at Christmas peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Classical Albums chart?

• The United Nations Security Council adopts a resolution condemning Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
• Syrian government forces retake control of the besieged areas of Aleppo.
• More than 30 people are killed by government security forces as protests break out across the Democratic Republic of the Congo following Joseph Kabila's refusal to step down after the completion of his scheduled term in office.
• An explosion at a fireworks market in Tultepec, Mexico, kills at least 32 people and injures more than 50 others.
• A terrorist attack kills 12 people and injures 56 others, as a stolen truck is rammed into a Christmas market (pictured) in Berlin, Germany.

December 25: Christmas (Gregorian calendar); Quaid-e-Azam Day (Pakistan)

• 1066 – Norman Conquest: William the Conqueror was crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey, although he still faced rebellions over the following years and was not secure on his throne until after 1072.
• 1809 – American physician Ephraim McDowell performed the world's first removal of an ovarian tumor.
• 1926 – Emperor Taishō died of a heart attack, and was succeeded by his son, Hirohito (pictured), who ruled until his death in 1989, becoming the longest-reigning Emperor of Japan.
• 1941 – Second World War: The Japanese occupation of Hong Kong began after Mark Aitchison Young, the Governor of Hong Kong, surrendered the territory to Japan after 18 days of fierce fighting.
• 1991 – In a nationally televised speech, Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as President of the Soviet Union.

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The Adoration of the Shepherds is a common subject in the Nativity of Jesus in art. The scene, based on the Biblical account in Luke 2, depicts shepherds as near witnesses to the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, arriving soon after the actual birth. It is often combined in art with the Adoration of the Magi, in which case it is typically just referred to by the latter title. The example here comes from 17th-century Ukraine and is currently held at the Ivan Honchar Museum.

Painting: Unknown