Sen. Daniel Christmas Newsletter

DISTRICT 44

Burke DECEMBER 21, 2011

Caldwell DECEMBER ISSUE #2

Daniel Family at the Church of the Nativity

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Senator Warren T. Daniel Legislative Office Bldg., Room 411 300 N. Salisbury St. Raleigh, NC 27603-5925 Email: warren.daniel@ncleg.net Phone: 919-715-7823 Fax: 919-754-3265 District Office of Sen. Warren Daniel 348 Harper Avenue NW Lenoir, NC 28645 Email: senwarrendaniel@bellsouth.net Phone: 828-754-9335 Fax 828-754-9335 (Please call before faxing)

Wow! It’s Christmas again, and I am once again wondering how does the time pass so quickly? As my pastor says, when you get older, the time flies by so fast that you might as well leave your Christmas lights up year-round. One year ago, I was still your “Senator-elect”, having not been officially sworn in for the duties which you chose me to undertake. Now I have almost completed my first year as a member of the Senate “freshman class”, and I am honored and humbled to have had the privilege to represent you in Raleigh. It has been a challenging experience in which I have learned a great deal, and I have met some very fine people along the way. I look forward to 2012, and the opportunity to continue to represent the great people of Burke and Caldwell counties.

As you know, in 2010 I was elected to succeed Senator Jim Jacumin in the 44th District. Senator Jacumin was and is a man of great resolve and determination, and I knew as I began my duties in the Senate that I would have big shoes to fill. Thus, I determined at the beginning of my term not to be a “wall flower”, but to endeavor to get our state back on a sound financial footing, and to enact pro-life policies that are consistent with our constitutional guarantees to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. On both of these fronts, 2011 has been a year of remarkable achievement in the General Assembly. Facing a deficit in excess of two billion dollars, we balanced the state budget without raising taxes, while letting “temporary” taxes expire, and lowering taxes on our struggling businesses. For the first quarter of the 2011 budget year, our state is running a surplus of $145 million dollars, which is a testament to what happens when your government exercises spending discipline. In regard to pro-life issues, I was the primary sponsor of the Choose-Life License Plate bill, the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, and the Woman’s Right to Know Act. The latter two of these three bills I was able to present and defend on the Senate floor, and I am pleased to say that all three of them have passed in both the House and Senate and are now the law of our state.

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HOW TO SAY “MERRY CHRISTMAS” IN… -

French: Joyeux Noel - Greek: Kala Christouyenna Korean: Sung Tan Chuk Ha - Italian: Buone Feste Natalizie 1NCGA Tree Portuguese: Feliz Natal - Welsh: Nadolig Llaw Latin: Natale hilare et Annum Faustum -Jiberish: Mithag Crithagsigathmithags Arabic: Milad Majid - Dutch: Vrolijk Kerstfeest en een Gelukkig Nieuwjaar Polish: Boze Narodzenie - Vietnamese: Chuc Mung Giang Sinh Japanese: Shinnen omedeto. Kurisumasu Omedeto

Burke

Caldwell

DISTRICT 44

Page 2

DECEMBER 21, 2011

My staff has been asking me to reveal to them my “legislative Christmas list” for 2011, so here goes. Dear Santa, Once upon a time, and not so long ago, there were many leaders of character who were able to rise above the mantra and divisiveness of party politics and work together to defend our Constitution, our nation, and for the common good of the place we love called America. They were called “statesmen,” and had names like Reagan, Helms, Dole, Nunn, and Ervin. I believe that men and women of this character once constituted a large majority of those serving in the White House and the Congress, but today they seem to be few and far between. As a nation, we are traveling through dark times without competent leadership and patriots at the helm. So for Christmas this year, I ask for leaders of character who will rise up in every town and parish across this land and seek elected office from the courthouse to the White House. We need men and women who love our flag and will fight to defend it, who will keep our military strong, and will secure our borders as well as our liberties. More importantly, they should be men and women who seek constant wisdom and guidance from the One who is Omniscient and holds our future in His hands. I believe that a present like this one would change America, and would fulfill the final words of Ronald Reagan, when he said, “As I now begin the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life, I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead.”

In closing I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to my wife, Lydia, and to our three children for helping and supporting me through this past year as we have been apart on many occasions. I would also like to thank my legislative assistants, Andy Perrigo and Rob Williams in Raleigh, and Jo Murray in Lenoir. They have been a great help to me, and to many of you, in addressing the myriad of concerns that our citizens have raised with regard to state government.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a good night.

“Sinterklaas? Jeff Davis Lynched?”

Prior to the American Civil War (or War of Northern Aggression, Carleton), Christmas was not celebrated in a universal fashion because of the various immigrant traditions.

For example, Calvinists banned the celebration of Christmas while the Moravians honored the day with religious services. By the mid 1800’s, Christian groups gave up their differences over the meaning of Christmas and honored the day with gift-giving, lights, toys and evergreens.

Louisiana was the first state to make Christmas a state holiday (1837). By 1860, there were 15 states with a state holiday for Christmas.

Christmas became a federal holiday in 1870.

The Dutch gave us Sinterklaas and Thomas Nast gave us the fat, jolly Santa Claus.

Nast’s Santa first appeared in a Jan. 1863 print. It shows Santa in a sleigh showing off a string puppet of what appeared to be Jefferson Davis hanging by a noose.

In fact, several of Nast’s Christmas prints included Santa and celebrations of Union victories. This may be why Santa wasn’t particularly popular in the South. Following the War Between the States, America became more unified in many areas, including Christmas.

PURITANS AGAINST CHRISTMAS?

You would think the Puritans, who were known for their religious fervor, must have loved Christmas – but they didn’t. In fact, a law was passed in 1659 outlawing the celebration of Christmas. A five shilling fine was levied against anyone “found observing, by abstinence from labor, feasting or any other way, any such days as Christmas day.” The Puritans considered Christmas “an extreme forgetfulness of Christ, by giving liberty to carnal and sensual delights.”