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Occasional Digest, London (2026)

29/12/2025

Monday 29 December Peace Day in Cambodia
Signed by Prime Minister Hun Manet, the sub-decree said the move was to respond to the sacred desire of the Cambodian people who love peace and hate war.

“December 29th 1998, the day that led to the end of the war and the reunification of the Kingdom, was Peace Day,” said Manet about the eventual reintegration of the remaining Khmer Rouge soldiers that year.

“For 500 years, we were divided by conflict. The peace and development we all enjoy today were made possible because 25 years ago we ended the war,” he said.

“We have established the ‘Day of Peace in Cambodia’ with the sacred purpose of encouraging our compatriots to love peace and hate war. This date was chosen to remember December 29, 1998, when the win-win policy of former Prime Minister Hun Sen brought a total end to war in Cambodia and built a lasting peace,” said Manet on January 1.

The day is also to show gratitude to the martyrs who had sacrificed their lives for the cause of peace and national reconciliation.

"It is a reminder to the Cambodian people in all generations to remember the great destruction of the nation and the misery of the Cambodian people, as well as the consequences caused by war and national division," the sub-decree said. "It is also to inspire the Cambodian people in all generations to hate war."

https://bit.ly/4qA69mp

28/12/2025

'Breast is best' agrees bloke who's never been that into arses

A MAN with no interest in breastfeeding has inadvertently become a vocal proponent of it after misunderstanding the term ‘Breast is best’.

61-year-old Martin, not his real name, has no interest either way in whether infants are given formula, but has been an avid fan of b***s since the Confessions films of his youth.

He explained: “Long legs, a stunning face, a toned stomach – they’ve all got their adherents. But it’s got to be t**s for me, every time.

“I’m not trying to get political. Not everyone will agree with me, and I know my preferences may seem controversial in the current climate what with Labour being in.

“And I’m not trying to dictate what other should do. If you’re bang up for Kim Kardashian I’m not knocking it. It’s just bums have never done it for me personally. I’m always reminded they have another purpose. “

Hannah, not her real name, of The Breastfeeding Network is delighted to have Roy on board. She said” “Breast milk has everything that a growing baby needs, and it’s heartening that a childless single man is such a passionate advocate.”

Asked if early 00s coverage of Nestlé had influenced his views, Roy said: “Was she in Nuts?”

https://bit.ly/4b9bdcK

28/12/2025

Sunday 28 December Day Of The Holy Innocents Mexico

It’s a holiday that commemorates the massacre of children by King Herod as he was attempting to find and kill baby Jesus. These children have been immortalized as the first martyrs of the early church, and it has been celebrated as such since before it became a part of Epiphany during the 5th century.

It’s also a holiday that’s celebrated a little bit differently in Mexico. Sure, it’s still observed as a Christian holiday, but it’s also observed as a day for practical jokes — much in the same way that April Fool’s Day is celebrated. Of course, that’s not the only thing that sets this holiday apart from other countries’ celebrations of this day. Let’s take a closer look to find out more.

In this section, we’re not going to go over the entire history of the Massacre of the Innocents. We already covered that with our other coverage of this holiday. We will say that it’s based on the story of Herod as told in the Book of Matthew, Chapter 2, verses 1-18 of the Holy Bible.

https://bit.ly/3MNjwB5

27/12/2025

A selfie with Sabrina Carpenter, and other parts of your social media history that will bar you from visiting America

FOREIGN tourists may have to provide five years of their social media history before visiting America. These blemishes on your account could see you banned for life.

Posting a selfie with Sabrina Carpenter

After Sabrina Carpenter slammed the Trump administration over the ‘evil’ use of her song, any association with the pop star will be seen as aligning yourself with a terrorist organisation in the eyes of the White House. Tourists will stand a better chance of entering America if they follow Hezbollah, share 9/11 memes and pop the Islamic State flag in their bio.

Publicly speculating about Melania

It’s grossly offensive to ponder about the relationship between the president and the first lady on a public forum. So what if they barely spend any time together and she visibly seethes in his presence? Any married couple will tell you that’s the sign of a healthy relationship. Only people who love each other deeply give the impression that they’re locked in a loveless nightmare from which there is no escape.

Giving any mention of the p**s tape a like

Upon landing in America, customs officers will be at liberty to seize your phone and check your social media for you propagating the dubious but persistent story about Trump and two Russian ladies. If they find out you’ve endorsed rumours of this kompromat, you’ll be put on the next plane home. If you’re clean, your phone will be returned and you’ll be told not to Google what it’s all about. For your own sanity, follow their instructions.

Spreading non-misinformation about Trump

Trump has worked hard to cultivate a post-truth world, and the last thing he needs is you undermining his lies. People who expose Trump’s fibs about Tylenol, his claim that Ukraine started the war with Russia, or his clueless sh*t-talking about countless other subjects, will automatically be denied entry.

https://bit.ly/3LkaCKM

27/12/2025

Saturday 27 December Anniversary of Benazir Bhutto's Death in Sindh

Benazir Bhutto was born on June 21st 1953, in Karachi, Pakistan. Bhutto was the eldest child of former premier Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

In 1977 Benazir Bhutto was placed under house arrest following a military coup led by General Mohammad Zia ul-Haq which overthrew her father's government.

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was executed on April 4th 1979. His death is also commemorated by a public holiday in Sindh.

After his death, Benazir Bhutto became the leader of her father's party, the Pakistan People’s Party.

When General Zia ul-Haq's dictatorship ended after he was killed in a plane crash in 1988, Bhutto became the first woman leader of a Muslim nation on December 1st 1988.

Bhutto served two terms as prime minister but was plagued by charges of corruption, Bhutto went into self-imposed exile in Britain and Dubai for eight years.

Bhutto returned to Pakistan on October 18th 2007, after President Musharraf granted her amnesty on all corruption charges.

Bhutto narrowly avoided an assassination attempt on her return. Bhutto was killed a few months later when an assassin fired shots and then blew himself up after an election rally in Rawalpindi on December 27th 2007. The attack also killed 28 others and wounded over 100.

https://bit.ly/4pcr3Xy

26/12/2025

Godparent assuming he's not really going to have to do anything

A MAN thoughtfully chosen as a stand-in parent is confident it is all a totally meaningless gesture.

Nathan, not his real name, 34, is blissfully unaware that his old school friend Pete and his partner Emma are expecting him to share the joys and chores of parenthood for a kid that is not his.

He said: “As a decent friend, I obviously agreed to this nice silly thing you have to do once in your life, like try sushi or go to a Butlin’s.

“When I looked up what it entails, all that ‘lifelong mentor’ bo****ks, I had to laugh. You turn up when they’re tiny and can’t remember anything, then use the trustworthy godfather shtick to pull girls on Hinge. That’s it, isn’t it?

“I’ve been threatened with being called a ‘non-familial uncle’. But relatives actually care about the sprog and don’t just get them a joke gift for being born and forget about it. The most I can provide in the way of ‘spiritual guidance’ is quoting Yoda.

“In a best-case scenario, in about 15 years the kid will ask who the hell I am when they see a photo of me with their mum. Not in a weird way, because I don’t fancy Emma.”

Nathan's friend Pete, not hox real name, said: “It’s great that Nathan has agreed to be Lily’s godparent. We basically see him as a lifetime resource we can call on at any moment so we never have to pay for a babysitter or a birthday clown.”

https://bit.ly/4b763ho

26/12/2025

M&S offers glimpse of middle-class hell

A VISIT to M&S has given a woman a glimpse of what her particular circle of hell, where everyone is middle class, will be like.

Helen, not her real name, visited the store to pick up a few fresh items for her Boxing Day buffet only to find everyone else of her demographic had been carefully separated and released into the shop for a kind of polite Hunger Games.

She said: “It was a passive-aggressive riot of Next blouses and bookshop totes, and we were not taking prisoners.

“You only had to reach for a pyramid of salted caramel profiteroles to hear a disappointed ‘oh’ and look into the face of a crushed woman who only needed that final detail to please her in-laws, who were travelling all the way from Solihull.

“I didn’t relinquish my grip, explaining sweetly that of course I’d usually make my own but I was singing in a choir in the town square on Christmas Eve and we hoped to raise £13,000 for motor neurone disease.

“That round I won. But when she reached the mini pecorino and chorizo tortillas before me, she gave me such a look.

“I know now what hell will be. A frenzy of professional women sweeping the shelves of delectable items ironically termed ‘picky bits’, all seething, all silent, all with SUVs outside. And when the bill comes it will be £137.82 for barely two bags’ worth.”

https://bit.ly/3YPanKI

26/12/2025

Friday 26 December Synaxis of the Mother of God in Greece

Christmas is such a big event in terms of holidays that many countries extend their celebrations for two or even three days. In Roman Catholic countries, the second day of Christmas is Saint Stephen's Day*, which honours the first Christian Martyr.

In the United Kingdom and countries that were once part of the British Empire, the second day is known as Boxing Day, whose origins are debatable, but actually not that religious.

In the Orthodox Church, the focus of the second day of Christmas is firmly on the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus.

In the Orthodox Church, a Synaxis is a meeting, a coming together to glorify and Theotokos (Greek for "God-Bearer") is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity.

Mary is venerated as she gave birth to Jesus and thus is the one whom the Incarnation (Birth of Christ) was made possible and therefore the salvation of mankind.

Reflecting her importance, especially to Orthodox and Roman Catholic Christians, Mary has a number of feast days dedicated to her. It is thought that the Synaxis of the Most Holy Theotokos is the oldest of her feast days and can be dated back to the 4th century and the early days of the Christian Church.

*In the Orthodox tradition, Saint Stephen's Day is observed on December 27th under the Gregorian calendar and January 9th under the Julian calendar. Greek uses both calendars in the dates of its religious holidays.

https://bit.ly/45sb5RU

25/12/2025

Thursday 25 December Christmas Day in Norway

The celebration of Christmas in late December is certainly as a result of pre-existing celebrations happening at that time, marking the Winter Solstice.

Most notable of these is Yule (meaning 'Feast'), a winter pagan festival that was originally celebrated by Germanic people. The exact date of Yule depends on the lunar cycle but it falls from late December to early January. In some Northern Europe countries, the local word for Christmas has a closer linguistic tie to 'Yule' than 'Christmas', and it is still a term that may be used for Christmas in some English-speaking countries.

Several Yule traditions are familiar to the modern celebration of Christmas, such as Yule Log, the custom of burning a large wooden log on the fire at Christmas; or indeed carol singing, which is surprisingly a very ancient tradition.

Most Norwegian towns and cities have Christmas fairs and markets, seasonal concerts and performances at this time. Oslo's largest Christmas market is the one at the Folk Museum on Bygdøy. Bergen, meanwhile, is famous for its Gingerbread Town, which is erected on Torgallmenningen every year.

The mining town of Røros in eastern Norway is a truly magic place to visit in December, and Tregaarden's Christmas House in Drøbak is a must-see as Scandinavia's only permanent Christmas shop.

https://bit.ly/4pae4W6

25/12/2025

Thursday 25 December Christmas Day

Under the Julian calendar, the winter solstice was fixed on December 25, and this date was also the day of the popular Roman holiday of Saturnalia, in honour of Saturn, the god of agriculture; which was later superseded by Sol Invictus, a day that bundled up the celebration of several sun based gods into one easy to manage festival.

As Christianity began to take hold across the Roman empire and beyond, the date of when to celebrate the birth of Christ became a bit of an issue, with several different dates proposed.

It wasn't until 350 AD, when the then Bishop of Rome, Pope Julius I, fixed the official Christmas day on December 25. Unfortunately, Julius, I didn't show his working out on how he reached this date; some scholars later suggested that it was calculated as nine months after the Annunciation (March 25), when the angel Gabriel is said to have appeared to Mary and told her she would bear the son of God. Whatever the reasoning, it is clear that, just as key pagan sites were being chosen for new churches, so too the date was chosen with the intention to catapult Christmas into becoming a major festival by placing it over the pre-existing pagan festivals.

A little-known fact about Christmas Day is that it was once banned in England during the 17th century. From 1647 to 1660, under Puritan rule led by Oliver Cromwell, Christmas celebrations were outlawed because they were seen as pagan and frivolous. People were expected to treat December 25 as a regular working day, and festivities like feasting or decorating were suppressed, though some continued in secret.

https://bit.ly/3MX7Ds7

24/12/2025

Grandad terrified he'll be next victim of AI deepfake p**n

A RETIRED 80-year-old with no social media presence is understandably afraid his likeness will be stolen to generate p**nographic deepfakes on the dark web.

Octogenarian Keith, not his real name, has asked that all pictures his grandchildren might have posted online of him in the past decade are scrubbed from the internet to protect him from becoming a victim of explicit revenge p**n.

He explained: “I read in the paper that these AI gadgets take your face and put it on someone else’s body, making it look like you’re doing something you never did. Like having it off with the woman on top.

“While I wish I was romping with Kylie Minogue, and I could now Mary’s gone, it’s not appropriate for any Tom, Dick or Harry to make that into a video and share it around for everyone to see. Indonesia could be watching that nightly and I wouldn’t know.

“You might think I’m being paranoid, but I could see the treasurer of the lawn bowls club retaliating like this after I accused him of cheating last August. He’s got a computer with megarams.

“And quite frankly I’m afraid to go to the Post Office and pay my gas bill because everyone in there could have been watching me giving it both barrels to those Sugababes on their phones and laughing. It’s elder abuse.”

He added: “I’ve asked my grandson to search the web for it. He says he there’s nothing there, but I worry he hasn’t spelled ‘Steele’ with all three Es.”

https://bit.ly/4pUwN9y

24/12/2025

Wednesday 24 December Christmas Eve around the world

Even if it is not a public holiday, be aware that many businesses in Europe will give employees the afternoon or the whole day as a holiday. For instance in Portugal, while Christmas Eve is not a national holiday, most companies give their employees the day or afternoon off to prepare and to be with their families, and many businesses will close earlier than normal.

Christmas Eve marks the culmination of the Advent period before Christmas that started on the fourth Sunday before Christmas Eve. Many churches will mark the end of Advent with midnight church services.

In Latin America, Christmas Eve marks the end of a nine-day period before Christmas, called 'Las Posandas' which represents the none months of labour for the Virgin Mary before she gave birth to Jesus.

https://bit.ly/4scBgWD

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