Wikipedia:Main Page history/2020 December 25

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From today's featured article

Kamal Haasan

Anbe Sivam (Love is God) is a 2003 Indian Tamil-language comedy-drama film directed by Sundar C. and produced by K. Muralitharan, V. Swaminathan and G. Venugopal of Lakshmi Movie Makers. The film was written by Kamal Haasan (pictured), with dialogues provided by Madhan. Featuring Haasan, Madhavan and Kiran Rathod in the lead roles, the film tells the story of an unexpected journey from Bhubaneswar to Chennai. The musical score was composed by Vidyasagar. Arthur A. Wilson and M. Prabhaharan undertook responsibility for the film's cinematography and art direction, respectively. Produced on a budget of ₹120 million, Anbe Sivam's themes include communism, atheism, altruism and humanism. The film garnered positive reviews from critics, but underperformed at the box office. It is now regarded as a classic and a cult film in Tamil cinema. At the 51st Filmfare Awards South, it received a Special Jury Award. Madhavan was awarded Best Actor at the 2003 Tamil Nadu State Film Awards. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Jesus examining Melchior's gift in Mostaert's Adoration

... that the Mostaert Amsterdam Adoration (detail pictured) includes three scenes from the Old Testament and one from Christian legend?
... that One Voice at Christmas involves Aled Jones duetting Christmas carols with his younger self and the late Terry Wogan?
... that Giovanni Garbini's studies helped scholars interpret the biblical narrative in the larger context of the history of the ancient Near East?
... that the classic children's Christmas story The Littlest Angel was written in just three days?
... that in 1975, Finland's Minister of Education Marjatta Väänänen sent a petition to the Archbishop of Turku with almost 1 million signatures, advocating for the introduction of female priests?
... that O magnum mysterium, a motet for double choir by Morten Lauridsen, is a setting of a medieval Latin text for Christmas to music described as "ethereal sounds in imperturbable calmness"?
... that when Donald Trump owned the Plaza Hotel, he requested a cameo in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York in exchange for allowing the film crew to shoot in the lobby?
... that sending the real animals and personnel in The Twelve Days of Christmas resulted in a letter from G. Creep, solicitor?

In the news

COVID-19 pandemic: Disease; Virus; By location; Impact; Vaccines; Portal

Chang'e 5

The closest great conjunction between Jupiter and Saturn since 1623 occurs.
The Chang'e 5 (illustration shown) sample-return mission returns lunar material to Earth.
Nana Akufo-Addo is re-elected for a second term as President of Ghana.

On this day

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

Coronation of Baldwin I of Jerusalem

AD 36 – After the death of Emperor Gongsun Shu of Chengjia, the empire was conquered by the Eastern Han dynasty.
1100 – Baldwin I was crowned the first king of Jerusalem (depicted) in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.
1950 – Four Scottish university students removed the Stone of Scone, used in the coronations of Scottish and British monarchs, from Westminster Abbey in London.
1990 – British computer programmer Tim Berners-Lee introduced WorldWideWeb, the world's first web browser and WYSIWYG HTML editor.
2000 – Russian president Vladimir Putin signed into law a bill officially adopting a new national anthem, with music by Alexander Vasilyevich Alexandrov originally composed for the anthem of the Soviet Union.

Peter the Venerable (d. 1156)
Nina E. Allender (b. 1873)
China Machado (b. 1929)

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From today's featured list

MercyMe

During the 2000s, 44 singles reached the number-one position on the Billboard Christian Songs chart. The Christian Songs chart is a record chart compiled by Billboard magazine. Launched on June 21, 2003, the chart is ranked by overall audience impressions (the approximate number of audience impressions made for each play, as determined by BDS data cross-referenced with Arbitron listener information). MercyMe (pictured) was the most successful group, with seven of their singles topping the chart during the 2000s. MercyMe's "Word of God Speak" was the longest-running number one single of the 2000s, having spent a total of 23 non-consecutive weeks atop the chart. Casting Crowns spent the longest time atop the chart during the decade, as their six number-one singles spent a combined total of 62 weeks at the summit. (Full list...)

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Today's featured picture

Pope Pius VI (25 December 1717 – 29 August 1799) was the head of the Roman Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 February 1775 until his death in 1799. He condemned the French Revolution and the resulting suppression of the Catholic Church in France. In 1796, French troops commanded by Napoleon Bonaparte defeated the papal troops and occupied the Papal States. Refusing to renounce his temporal power, Pius was taken prisoner and transported to France. He died in exile six weeks later in Valence, having reigned for longer than any previous pope. This 1775 oil-on-panel portrait of Pius VI by the Italian painter Pompeo Batoni is in the collection of the National Gallery of Ireland.

Painting credit: Pompeo Batoni

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