\

Tell HN: Merry Christmas

1958 points - 12/24/2025


Different cultures celebrate Christmas at different days and time zones are a thing. But it's Christmas here, so:

Merry Christmas to everyone. I hope you get some rest and can spend time with people who are dear to you and get to focus on what's important rather than getting lost in stressing about everything having to be perfect.

Also much love to everyone who cannot spend their Christmas with dear people.

To make sure this post meets the relevancy criteria, here is a Wikipedia article about some Christmas (more precisely advent) tradition which I personally really like: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_market

  • Grosvenor

    12/24/2025

             *             ,
                          _/^\_
                         <     >
        *                 /.-.\         *
                 *        `/&\`                   *
                         ,@.*;@,
                        /_o.I %_\    *
           *           (`'--:o(_@;
                      /`;--.,__ `')             *
                     ;@`o % O,*`'`&\
               *    (`'--)_@ ;o %'()\      *
                    /`;--._`''--._O'@;
                   /&*,()~o`;-.,_ `""`)
        *          /`,@ ;+& () o*`;-';\
                  (`""--.,_0 +% @' &()\
                  /-.,_    ``''--....-'`)  *
             *    /@%;o`:;'--,.__   __.'\
                 ;*,&(); @ % &^;~`"`o;@();         *
                 /(); o^~; & ().o@*&`;&%O\
           jgs   `"="==""==,,,.,="=="==="`
              __.----.(\-''#####---...___...-----._
            '`         \)_`"""""`
                    .--' ')
                  o(  )_-\
                    `"""` `

      • wildpeaks

        12/25/2025

        Merry Christmas !

        May your glühwein be hot and your cats purring :)

        • Grosvenor

          12/25/2025

          Since I might have peoples' attention for a moment (Can no longer edit my original post). Might I suggest the King William's college quiz this Christmas?

          https://kwc.im/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/GKP_2025_26.pdf

            • 12/25/2025

              • bornabox

                12/25/2025

                Thanks for posting. This was fun! Towards the end it gets really hard. Merry Christmas!

                  • OrangeMusic

                    12/25/2025

                    Towards the end?! I can't answer ANY of the questions!

                      • Spare_account

                        12/25/2025

                        You're not expected to know the answers without doing research. https://britbrief.co.uk/education/schools/king-williams-coll...

                        >The paper carries a telling Latin motto: "Scire ubi aliquid invenire possis ea demum maxima pars eruditionis est" – "To know where you can find something is, after all, the greatest part of learning."

                        In the modern era it is acknowledged that people will use online search engines to find the answers but hopefully we all learn something on the way

                        • tralarpa

                          12/25/2025

                          I know the answer to 1.5. And I know the story behind 1.6, but not the name of the town... That's it :)

                      • elestor

                        12/26/2025

                        How do you even know ANY of that??

                • dbacar

                  12/25/2025

                  These ascii art remind me the good old days of internet where we would celebrate holidays and special days sending these little marvels thru our mail client, pine under ibm aix unix terminals.

                  • kylecazar

                    12/25/2025

                    That jgs is killing me

                      • opello

                        12/25/2025

                        Just because old ASCII and ANSI art is often signed by the author, which is something fun I appreciate, see also:

                        https://oldcompcz.github.io/jgs/joan_stark/xmas.html#treewit...

                        And of course, the BBS Documentary: Artscene episode:

                        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQrBbm5ZMlo&list=PL7nj3G6Jpv...

                          • Grosvenor

                            12/25/2025

                            Woah. I didn't know about that. I found it from asciiart.eu. This stuff makes me wish HN supported ANSI. We could have so much fun. (Also PRE or preformatted text would be useful).

                            Merry Christmas and happy new years everyone!

                              • robobro

                                12/25/2025

                                > Text after a blank line that is indented by two or more spaces is reproduced verbatim. (This is intended for code.)

                                        .-"```"-.
                                       /_\ _ _ __\
                                      | /{` ` `  `}
                                      {} {_,_,_,_,}
                                         )/ a  a \(
                                        _(<o_()_o>)_          __
                                       { | /_)(_\ | }       _/  \
                                     /`{ \        / }`\   _| `  |
                                    /   { '.____.' }   \ {_`-._/
                                   /     {_,    ,_}     \/ `-._}
                                  |        `{--}`    \  /    /
                                  |    /    {  }     | `    /
                                  ;    |    {  }     |\    /
                                   \    \   {__}     | '..'
                                    \_.-'}==//\\====/
                                    {_.-'\==\\//====\
                                     |   ,)  ``     |
                                      \__|          |
                                       |     __     |
                                       | _   /\   _ |
                                       |     ||     |
                                       \ _ _ || _ _ /
                                       {` ` `}{` ` `}
                                       {_,_,_}{_,_,_}
                                        |    ||    |
                                        /-. _||_ .-\
                                   jgs /    /  \    \
                                      |___ /    \ ___|
                                      `"""`      `"""`

                                • opello

                                  12/25/2025

                                  Glad I could share it!

                                  https://news.ycombinator.com/formatdoc says:

                                  > Text after a blank line that is indented by two or more spaces is reproduced verbatim. (This is intended for code.)

                                  I assume that's how the top level comment posted the tree which is in a <pre><code> structure.

                                    • Grosvenor

                                      12/25/2025

                                      But we still miss out on the great ANSI colors.

                                      I kinda do want to go back to oldschool bbses, with cool text-mode lightbar interfaces.

                              • blinding-streak

                                12/25/2025

                                This guy was prolific! Wow

                              • kylecazar

                                12/25/2025

                                Ahhh of course it's a signature. Makes total sense now.

                                I thought it was just a straggler.

                        • OptionOfT

                          12/25/2025

                          I thought this was Advent of Code! Merry Christmas!

                          • dachris

                            12/25/2025

                            Very nice, the introduction to recursion in university (which was around that time of the year) was drawing a fractal Christmas tree

                            • gbraad

                              12/25/2025

                              Lots of great ASCII art by jgs

                              • e-dant

                                12/25/2025

                                Thought it was obfuscated C code, then I realized it’s a tree or something

                                  • onion2k

                                    12/25/2025

                                    Pretty sure it's a regex to match email address strings.

                                      • snarf21

                                        12/25/2025

                                        Thank you kind stranger for a wonderful laugh on Christmas!

                                    • devsda

                                      12/25/2025

                                      Challenge issued.

                                      I wouldn't be surprised if someone comes up with obfuscated C code that looks like a christmas tree and prints out wishes by the end of the day/season.

                                      Merry Christmas!

                                        • a022311

                                          12/25/2025

                                          I'll admit it does look a bit like an IOCCC [0] entry. Can someone please do it for us?

                                          [0]: https://www.ioccc.org/

                                          • 12/25/2025

                                            • 12/25/2025

                                              • 12/25/2025

                                                • epicureanideal

                                                  12/25/2025

                                                  Let's ask an LLM as a test!

                                                    • 12/25/2025

                                                      • 12/25/2025

                                                        • Wyverald

                                                          12/25/2025

                                                          Gemini 3 Pro gave some rather unimpressive answers: https://gemini.google.com/share/3cbcbe1fd64c

                                                            • jb1991

                                                              12/25/2025

                                                              ChatGPT did much better but I cannot paste it into this text box no matter how many times I try with different formatting to get the white space preserved. chatGPT also could not figure out how to format it for pasting here.

                                                                • natch

                                                                  12/25/2025

                                                                  Try four leading spaces?

                                                                      Test, is this monospaced?
                                                                      012345678901234567890123456789

                                                                    • 12/25/2025

                                                                      • 12/25/2025

                                                                    • inglor_cz

                                                                      12/25/2025

                                                                      A screenshot and a link to the resulting JPG?

                                                              • mckn1ght

                                                                12/25/2025

                                                                I did recently try to use an LLM to make a twinkling christmas tree quine in the style of qlobe. It didn’t get close, maybe next year!

                                                            • DrewADesign

                                                              12/25/2025

                                                              Perl time

                                                                • Jnr

                                                                  12/25/2025

                                                                  Exactly, looks like Perl code to me. :)

                                                                    • DrewADesign

                                                                      12/26/2025

                                                                      It’s tragic that having a language as flexible and unopinionated as Perl is admittedly terrible for novice programmers because Learning Perl is easily one of the greatest introductory programming books.

                                                          • marginalia_nu

                                                            12/25/2025

                                                            It's a red-green tree. Your task is to invert it in O(n) operations.

                                                            • cs02rm0

                                                              12/25/2025

                                                              I thought it was unobfuscated perl code. Merry Christmas ya filthy animals.

                                                      • NaOH

                                                        12/25/2025

                                                        I'm taking a moment to recognize once more the work that user @atdrummond (Alex Thomas Drummond) did for a couple years to help others here. I did not know him, don’t think I ever interacted with him, and I did not benefit from his generosity, but I admired his kindness. Just beautiful.

                                                        Ask HN: Who needs holiday help? (Follow up thread) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38706167 - Dec 2023 (9 comments)

                                                        Ask HN: Who needs help this holidays? - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38492378 - Dec 2023 (210 comments)

                                                        Tell HN: Thank You - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34140096 - Dec 2022 (42 comments)

                                                        Tell HN: Everyone should have a holiday dinner this year - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34122118 - Dec 2022 (58 comments)

                                                        Unfortunately, Alex died a few months after his last round of holiday giving, about 1½ years ago now.

                                                        Tell HN: In Memory of Alexander Thomas Drummond - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40508725 - May 2024 (5 comments)

                                                        If you read the comments in that last thread, know that @toomuchtodo followed through last year and kept the tradition alive. Amazing and magnificent.

                                                        Ask HN: Who needs help this holidays? - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42291246 - Dec 2024 (46 comments)

                                                          • tailspin2019

                                                            12/25/2025

                                                            I remember this awesome guy’s posts but didn’t know he’d passed.

                                                            Thank you for posting this.

                                                              • whoknowsidont

                                                                12/26/2025

                                                                He wasn't awesome he was a literal Nazi, through and through.

                                                                  • aidenn0

                                                                    12/26/2025

                                                                    I don't know what atdrummond's political views were, and after your comment, I still don't know.

                                                                    The label "literal Nazi" has become not particularly useful recently.

                                                                    At best, it seems to be used to mean that the person in question agrees with one or more of:

                                                                    "I think Hitler was awesome"

                                                                    "We need to stop letting poor people into our country"

                                                                    "Gee London was a lot better when it was whiter"

                                                                    "I think we should forcibly sterilize everybody with an IQ under 85"

                                                                    "I keep a copy of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion under my bed"

                                                                    "I will always use he/him when referring to trans women"

                                                                    --

                                                                    At worst the label is applied for much more prosaic reasons.

                                                                    One can be racist, or a Eugenicist, or a white supremacist, or an anti-Semite, or transphobic without being a Nazi, and those terms are all far more descriptive than "Nazi," so are more informative.

                                                                      • whoknowsidont

                                                                        12/26/2025

                                                                        >I don't know what atdrummond's political views were, and after your comment, I still don't know.

                                                                        You literally don't understand what the term Nazi implies or what Nazi's stood for? And you could not _literally_ take less time than it took to write this comment to research what he was apart of?

                                                                        I guess you refuse to.

                                                                        Because you're purposefully trying to muddy the waters :).

                                                                        >One can be racist, or a Eugenicist, or a white supremacist, or an anti-Semite, or transphobic without being a Nazi,

                                                                        He's all of the above. Literally, by his own words. Thanks for spelling it out!

                                                                          • aidenn0

                                                                            12/26/2025

                                                                            > You literally don't understand what the term Nazi implies or what Nazi's stood for?

                                                                            I'm not sure how you could read my comment and come away with that impression. I gave a partial list of the sorts of things Nazi's stood for.

                                                                            > And you could not _literally_ take less time than it took to write this comment to research what he was apart of?

                                                                            Honestly, I did not search for it before I wrote the comment. After you posted this, I used a few search engines to search up both "Alex Thomas Drummond" and "atdrummond."

                                                                            The former turned up a single white-pages listing, the latter various people named "Drummond" most notably a basketball player. There is also a twitter/x account which I can't see posts of without an account but has an Estonian flag in his profile, which matches HN comments I later found so is probably him.

                                                                            So now I'm going through his HN comments one by one, which does in fact take longer than writing the comment I wrote.

                                                                            I should note that on the first page (which indeed took less time to read than writing my comment), the only thing I saw that gave off any "Nazi vibes" was this sentence, in the context of dealing with homeless addicts:

                                                                            > The issue is there’s a cohort who thinks that the solutions that enable safe streets require too much sacrifice of one’s individual liberty - even if said individual abuses their freedom to harm themself and others.

                                                                            But that view is not even definitively a politically right view, I'm probably reading it that way primarily because I'm looking for Nazi evidence.

                                                                            On page 2 we get this thread[1] which turns into a discussion similar to what my comment was, but specifically defends two people that atdrummond claims to be respectively Jewish and philosemitic and accused of being Nazis.

                                                                            At this time, I do not know who these writers are, so I have to search them. Assuming Cremieux refers to Jordan Lasker[2], who (after this comment was made) was revealed to have a Reddit pseudonym where he self-identified as a Nazi, but at the time would have been primarily known for his arguments that white people are genetically superior to black people with regards to (at least) intelligence while also rubbing shoulders with avowed eugenicists. I'm not going to spend a lot more time searching him, but I should note that, as a convert to Judaism, I could not find any evidence that he would be defined as Jewish by Nazis, who were primarily concerned with race (as they defined it) rather than religion, which certainly muddies the waters here.

                                                                            Next up is Hanania[3], someone I also had not heard of before, who was definitely an avowed white supremacist and eugenicist, but claims to have changed; journalists close to him deny this, and quotes on the Wikipedia page seem to support that he is at least still fairly racist. In my (admittedly brief) searching I didn't find strong evidence for him being particularly anti- or philo-semitic, though the Wikipedia article did include a quote by him implying that America would be better run by Jewish people than black people (and maybe also hillbillies; he said "voters in Baltimore or Appalachia"). Presumably he considers at least Ashkenazim to be "sufficiently white" in his racial calculus.

                                                                            While it seems likely that these two people have not specifically called for the extermination of all ethnic Jews, given that there are far more milquetoast people who have been accused of being Nazis, atdrummond defending these two people specifically makes it seem likely that he has some far-right views, but I still haven't gotten to what those are specifically.

                                                                            As I was scrolling down, I almost missed this quote[4] in a collapsed reply, but saw his username:

                                                                            > I am frequently called a Nazi (despite being on, and identifying as left wing, my entire life) on X simply for having the temerity to challenge certain orthodoxies.

                                                                            X has made it very hard for me to view posts of users, so I don't know what he has said on X, but with what we've seen so far, I suspect he is some form of racist hereditarian. Let's keep going:

                                                                            Next item[5] is the first overtly racist post from him, so looks like I may be on to something. In the context of discussing how the former confederate states seem to be a different country with different health and educational outcomes from the rest of the US:

                                                                            > The outcomes are primarily due to race, not the contours of the Confederacy. Nearly all of these “red state demographic maps” are isomorphic to the percentage of African Americans within a given state/county/city.

                                                                            I was skimming so I may have missed something, but the next racially tinged comment is:

                                                                            > Look at the rates of homicides by firearm for White Americans and they’re within the same order of magnitude as European nations.

                                                                            > This is a conversation that is verboten in the US because people assume that it means you believe that crime must be intrinsic to race, even though this statistic is actually fully compatible with the liberal orthodoxy regarding the disparate impact of government policy on American Black people.

                                                                            With a later reply clarifying that he believes this difference to be not solely due to increased poverty in said demographics.

                                                                            At this point, it seems clear that he believes that black people are more criminal, and he's being coy about whether he thinks it is racially intrinsic, which is arguably a tacit admission of what he thinks. I'm also done reading through his HN comments.

                                                                            I strongly suspect there are much spicier comments on Twitter, but of the 3 posts that X let me see, the only relevant one was a reply saying "You don't believe correctly" to a post saying "If you believe (correctly) that immigration is a huge positive for society..."

                                                                            So it seems clear to me at this point that he likely believes black people are inherently more criminal than white people, and he is opposed to immigration. This is what I could find with several times as much time and effort that went into my first post.

                                                                            > Because you're purposefully trying to muddy the waters :).

                                                                            I seriously am not, I didn't know what you meant by "literal Nazi" originally; your reply made it clear that you meant "Racist, Eugenicist, White Supermacist, Anti-Semite Transphobe." Please understand that calling someone a "literal Nazi" on the internet does not reliably communicate that today.

                                                                            1: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38839386

                                                                            2: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordan_Lasker

                                                                            3: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Hanania

                                                                            4: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38839371

                                                                            5: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38515173

                                                            • toomuchtodo

                                                              01/05/2026

                                                              Thank you for the mention. I could not follow through this last year [2025] unfortunately, the need has been so great throughout this year from the less fortunate and I had exhausted my discretionary resources by the time the holidays approached. I hope to be able to sponsor again soon. My apologies.

                                                              • Razengan

                                                                12/25/2025

                                                                Damn.. :(

                                                                • replwoacause

                                                                  12/25/2025

                                                                  [dead]

                                                                  • whoknowsidont

                                                                    12/25/2025

                                                                    [flagged]

                                                                      • zamadatix

                                                                        12/26/2025

                                                                        Can you help share more of how we can know more about these claims? The only thing I could find related to this was https://x.com/jaredlholt/status/1757799398707188046 and the replies don't add any clarity to understanding what is real and what is not. I'm not saying that's all there is, just that I don't know how to find more and figure out one way or the other what is up where.

                                                                          • whoknowsidont

                                                                            12/26/2025

                                                                            I don't know how to find superchat history, but honestly you can just peruse his own twitter here: https://x.com/ATDrummond

                                                                            The guy has had a long running reputation on this site. Which is why he decided to add this to his profile:

                                                                            >here from hacker news? don’t be a creep

                                                                            And by creep, he of course means "don't call me out for advocating for genocide."

                                                                            His last post is even out right decrying ANY type of immigration, and his second post is being critical of Israel. And mind you, not because of any "normal" sociopolitical commentary, but simply because Israel = Jews and "Jews are bad."

                                                                              • zamadatix

                                                                                12/26/2025

                                                                                Thanks, I don't use Twitter/X so it would have taken me a while to figure out how to see the content of the posts (gee thanks X for requiring login to see most things properly!)

                                                                                Knowing this, I managed to find 2 additional things which help strengthen this connection as not just being some random twitter account with a matching name:

                                                                                - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38840473 where it doesn't actually link to the Twitter to see what the content is but he doesn't bother denying he'd have a Twitter account that could be taken that way.

                                                                                - https://archive.ph/pJqzD where someone acknowledges they interacted with the account knowing it was really him as part of sharing their discovery of the news.

                                                                                Much thanks, I would never have thought to look for such an unhinged Twitter account for a seemingly above average HN user being praised long after his death.

                                                                                  • whoknowsidont

                                                                                    12/26/2025

                                                                                    Yeah, I understand it's seemingly hard to reconcile. And without revealing other aspects of my identity I can say his posts on Twitter and here do not reveal the extent of his views.

                                                                                    He played this site well. I'll leave it at that.

                                                                        • dinkumthinkum

                                                                          12/26/2025

                                                                          [flagged]

                                                                            • whoknowsidont

                                                                              12/26/2025

                                                                              Nick Fuentes is a vocal proponent of genocide and actively mocks the holocaust.

                                                                              If think otherwise, I don't know what to tell you. It comes straight from the horse's mouth.

                                                                              Use your vitriol towards Nazi's, or yourself. Either is probably deserved at this point.

                                                                              • pepperball

                                                                                12/26/2025

                                                                                [flagged]

                                                                        • s5300

                                                                          12/25/2025

                                                                          [flagged]

                                                                            • OJFord

                                                                              12/25/2025

                                                                              I don't understand that tweet, I'm not sure if it is something dismissive for you to lose respect over or not? He says it's 'not a disease' but that people with it 'are sick'... I'm not sure if the point is simply that it's not a single well-understood thing with known causes, but more of a description of a state of affairs. (Sort of like 'cellulitis' is just 'a skin infection of some sort'.) But I think that would be correct.

                                                                                • s5300

                                                                                  12/25/2025

                                                                                  [dead]

                                                                              • silisili

                                                                                12/25/2025

                                                                                Nobody is perfect. I wish we'd stop trying to find reasons to hate everyone who is celebrated, or we'll never celebrate anyone.

                                                                                  • generic92034

                                                                                    12/25/2025

                                                                                    Maybe then do not celebrate a person, but celebrate the good actions of any person.

                                                                                      • silisili

                                                                                        12/26/2025

                                                                                        But that's basically what we do. We learn about Lincoln, Jefferson, Franklin, Washington, MLK, etc for what good they did.

                                                                                        Then someone eventually figures out they did or said some wrongthink by today's standards and tell us those people should be hated because they messed up.

                                                                                        But the kicker is we never once learned about nor celebrated said wrongthink. We celebrated the best in people... and I think that should continue.

                                                                                    • whoknowsidont

                                                                                      12/25/2025

                                                                                      "Nobody is perfect" is incredibly dishonest framing.

                                                                                  • anonu

                                                                                    12/25/2025

                                                                                    you never really die on the internet.

                                                                                      • onion2k

                                                                                        12/25/2025

                                                                                        There's a famous quote that says we all die twice, once when we physically die and a second time when we are truly forgotten by humanity. It's attributed to lots of different people. https://quoteinvestigator.com/2025/10/15/die-twice/

                                                                                          • inglor_cz

                                                                                            12/25/2025

                                                                                            Whenever I encounter this idea, I think of a certain Henry Symeonis who is, by this standard, still "alive", even though he died in 1264.

                                                                                            There was so much bad blood between him and the Oxford University that Oxford students had to take a pledge never to reconcile with Henry Symeonis upon ther Bc graduation. This tradition stuck for 550 years.

                                                                                            https://www.zmescience.com/feature-post/culture/bizarre-stor...

                                                                                            And we are still aware of him today. Neither an important king, nor a great artist, just a guy who triggered a petty revenge from some long-dead academicians who are, ironically, likely completely forgotten, name and all.

                                                                                        • fragmede

                                                                                          12/25/2025

                                                                                          And thanks to the magic of computers, we can give them everything you've ever written, and simulate you on the Internet. Forever.

                                                                                          • s5300

                                                                                            12/25/2025

                                                                                            [dead]

                                                                                        • drekipus

                                                                                          12/25/2025

                                                                                          Real respect isn't lost over one bad take.

                                                                                          Adding my opinion: Especially if he's done so much good and especially if he's calling out Israel.

                                                                                            • squigz

                                                                                              12/25/2025

                                                                                              Genuine respect absolutely can - and should be able to be - lost over a "bad take." Whether this instance is one of those is another question entirely.

                                                                                              I would even argue that respect that can endure through numerous shitty takes, just because there's one facet of that person that isn't shitty, is far less genuine than otherwise holding that person up to a standard for your respect.

                                                                                                • drekipus

                                                                                                  12/27/2025

                                                                                                  Separating "one take" from "many takes" -- one should be able to give grace that people are wrong occasionally, and especially that they are fallible and susceptible to being emotional or relying on anecdotes for a particular theme that their experience has affected them differently than your experience has affected you.

                                                                                  • andy_ppp

                                                                                    12/25/2025

                                                                                    Happy Christmas everyone, I’m at 29000 feet on a flight to Hong Kong after a mini version of planes, trains and automobiles and including cancelled planes and taxis to different airports. I’m struck by honestly what a miracle it is that we can travel thousands of miles at hundreds of MPH and have okay internet access and communicate. I don’t think people quite realise how delicate all of the technology is now and how easily it could fail if we don’t all look after each other. I hope you all have a brilliant Christmas and new year!

                                                                                      • Loughla

                                                                                        12/25/2025

                                                                                        Oh man, I love flying over the Pacific Ocean (during the day). There's just so much nothing but water. It's kind of astounding.

                                                                                          • hammock

                                                                                            12/25/2025

                                                                                            Try a cruise with at least one sea day

                                                                                              • mh-

                                                                                                12/25/2025

                                                                                                Seconding this. If you're into it, it's pretty awe-inspiring to see open water all the way to the horizon, 360°.

                                                                                                  • etrautmann

                                                                                                    12/25/2025

                                                                                                    This same experience on an ice sheet is equally surreal and fascinating.

                                                                                                    • onion2k

                                                                                                      12/25/2025

                                                                                                      For a six foot tall person the horizon at sea level is only 3 miles away. You could get that experience on a big lake if it's more than six miles square.

                                                                                                        • NetMageSCW

                                                                                                          12/25/2025

                                                                                                          If you think that’s the same experience I’m guessing you haven’t done it. Unfortunately my ocean voyage (from Okinawa to California) was when I was too young to remember much.

                                                                                                  • tsoukase

                                                                                                    12/25/2025

                                                                                                    A cruise on the Pacific is felt like being a bug on a huge cup of sea water. During the night the moon feels like an arm length away.

                                                                                            • BiraIgnacio

                                                                                              12/25/2025

                                                                                              All the best, take care!

                                                                                              • Arn_Thor

                                                                                                12/25/2025

                                                                                                Have a wonderful time! The city changes so fast; make the most of what it is right now

                                                                                                • 12/25/2025

                                                                                              • DetectDefect

                                                                                                12/24/2025

                                                                                                Shall we showcase our trees?

                                                                                                        *
                                                                                                        |
                                                                                                       /.\
                                                                                                      /o..\
                                                                                                      /..O\
                                                                                                     /.o..o\
                                                                                                     /...o.\
                                                                                                    /..O..o.\
                                                                                                    ^^^[_]^^^

                                                                                                  • cluckindan

                                                                                                    12/24/2025

                                                                                                          o
                                                                                                         / \
                                                                                                        o   o
                                                                                                           / \
                                                                                                          o   o
                                                                                                             / \
                                                                                                            o   o
                                                                                                           /   / \
                                                                                                          o   o   o
                                                                                                             /   / \
                                                                                                            o   o   o
                                                                                                    
                                                                                                    I knew I should have invested in that fancy self-balancing one, oh well.

                                                                                                      • basilikum

                                                                                                        12/24/2025

                                                                                                        Ah, don't worry. If you just append to one side always and do an anti-balancing one, you get a string of lights.

                                                                                                          o  
                                                                                                           \  
                                                                                                            o  
                                                                                                             \  
                                                                                                              o  
                                                                                                               \  
                                                                                                                o  
                                                                                                                 \  
                                                                                                                  o  
                                                                                                                   \  
                                                                                                                    o  
                                                                                                                     \  
                                                                                                                      o  
                                                                                                                       \  
                                                                                                                        o

                                                                                                        • contravariant

                                                                                                          12/25/2025

                                                                                                          Hey we have the same tree!

                                                                                                              (()(()((())((())(()())))))

                                                                                                            • thiht

                                                                                                              12/25/2025

                                                                                                              Mine looks weird but it's decorated:

                                                                                                                  @star
                                                                                                                  @lights
                                                                                                                  @balls
                                                                                                                  def christmas_tree():
                                                                                                                      n1 = Node()
                                                                                                                      n2 = Node()
                                                                                                                      n3 = Node()
                                                                                                                      n4 = Node()
                                                                                                                      n5 = Node()
                                                                                                                      n6 = Node()
                                                                                                                      n7 = Node()
                                                                                                                      n8  = Node(n1, None)
                                                                                                                      n9  = Node(n2, n3)
                                                                                                                      n10 = Node(n4, n5)
                                                                                                                      n11 = Node(n8, n9)
                                                                                                                      n12 = Node(n6, n7)
                                                                                                                      n13 = Node(None, n11)
                                                                                                                      n14 = Node(None, n12)
                                                                                                                      return Node(n13, n14)
                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                  christmas_tree()

                                                                                                              • culi

                                                                                                                12/25/2025

                                                                                                                Pinus newickii

                                                                                                        • encomiast

                                                                                                          12/25/2025

                                                                                                          May you have a perfectly balanced Christmas

                                                                                                                           h
                                                                                                                      _____|______
                                                                                                                    /             \
                                                                                                                   r               t
                                                                                                                 /   \           /   \
                                                                                                                e     .         i     a
                                                                                                               / \   / \       / \   / \
                                                                                                              M   r y   C     r   s m   s

                                                                                                            • frunkad

                                                                                                              12/25/2025

                                                                                                              hahaha, Merry Christmas to you too!

                                                                                                          • properbrew

                                                                                                            12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                            .-^-.
                                                                                                                                           /_/_\_\
                                                                                                                                          /_/_/_\_\
                                                                                                                                         /_/_/_/_\_\
                                                                                                                                        /_/_/_/_/_\_\
                                                                                                                                       /_/_/_o_/_/_\_\
                                                                                                                                      /_/_o_/_/_o_/_\_\
                                                                                                                                     /_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_\_\
                                                                                                                                    /_/_o_/_/_o_/_/_/_\_\
                                                                                                                                   /_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_\_\
                                                                                                                                  /_/_/_o_/_/_o_/_/_o_/_\_\
                                                                                                                                 /_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_\_\
                                                                                                                                /_/_o_/_/_o_/_/_o_/_/_o_/_\_\
                                                                                                                               /_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_\_\
                                                                                                                             /_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_\_\
                                                                                                                            /_/_o_/_/_o_/_/_o_/_/_o_/_/_o_/_/_\_\
                                                                                                                          /_/_/_/Merry Christmas HackerNews__/_/\_\
                                                                                                                         /_/_o_/_/_o_/_/_o_/_/_o_/_/_o_/_/_o_/_/_\_\
                                                                                                                        /_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_\_\
                                                                                                                                       |||||||||||||||
                                                                                                                                       |||||||||||||||
                                                                                                                                       |||||||||||||||
                                                                                                                                       |||||||||||||||
                                                                                                                                      _|||||||||||||||_

                                                                                                              • KellyCriterion

                                                                                                                12/25/2025

                                                                                                                This one is really cool!

                                                                                                            • qingcharles

                                                                                                              12/25/2025

                                                                                                                             DOOM BSP (XMAS) TREE :p
                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                   . * .
                                                                                                                                  (IDKFA)
                                                                                                                                ---\ | /---
                                                                                                                                    \|/
                                                                                                                                ( ROOT NODE )
                                                                                                                                ( Partition )
                                                                                                                               /`--...___...-`\
                                                                                                                              /                \
                                                                                                                             /                  \
                                                                                                                      o--( Node 1 )--o      o--( Node 2 )--o
                                                                                                                        /  Front   \          /   Back   \
                                                                                                                       /      |     \        /      |     \
                                                                                                                      /       o      \      /       o      \
                                                                                                                 [SUBSECTOR]    ( Node 3 )     [SUBSECTOR]
                                                                                                                 | (Leaf A)|    /        \     | (Leaf B)|
                                                                                                                 |_________|   /          \    |_________|
                                                                                                                   [SEGS]     /            \     [SEGS]
                                                                                                                  ( Gift ) [SUBSECTOR]  [SUBSECTOR] ( Gift )
                                                                                                                           | (Leaf C)|  | (Leaf D)|
                                                                                                                           |_________|  |_________|
                                                                                                                             [SEGS]       [SEGS]

                                                                                                                • necovek

                                                                                                                  12/25/2025

                                                                                                                  Just you mentioning Doom makes me wonder how fast will we get someone to run Doom on individually controlled Christmas LEDs on a Christmas tree.

                                                                                                                  • Flere-Imsaho

                                                                                                                    12/25/2025

                                                                                                                    Love the cheat code at the top

                                                                                                                      • dxdm

                                                                                                                        12/25/2025

                                                                                                                        idkfa iddqd idspispopd

                                                                                                                        This is etched into my mind.

                                                                                                                          • cluckindan

                                                                                                                            12/25/2025

                                                                                                                            IDKFA = id kicks f*king ass

                                                                                                                            IDDQD = id delta quit delta (apparently some kind of inside joke)

                                                                                                                            IDSPISPOPD = id smashing pumpkins into small piles of putrid debris

                                                                                                                              • rhubarbtree

                                                                                                                                12/26/2025

                                                                                                                                Not keys full ammo?

                                                                                                                • sallveburrpi

                                                                                                                  12/24/2025

                                                                                                                             @
                                                                                                                            ***
                                                                                                                           *****
                                                                                                                          *******
                                                                                                                         *********
                                                                                                                        ***********
                                                                                                                       *************
                                                                                                                      ***************
                                                                                                                             |
                                                                                                                             |
                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                  Best I can do ;/

                                                                                                                    • LeoPanthera

                                                                                                                      12/25/2025

                                                                                                                      I love your player character tree topper.

                                                                                                                      • properbrew

                                                                                                                        12/25/2025

                                                                                                                        It's the thought that counts

                                                                                                                        • xandrius

                                                                                                                          12/24/2025

                                                                                                                          ¥

                                                                                                                      • etothet

                                                                                                                        12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                   *       
                                                                                                                                  /^\ 
                                                                                                                                 /* *\
                                                                                                                                /+@o* \
                                                                                                                               /o*+*o+*\
                                                                                                                              /* @+*o@+*\
                                                                                                                             /+*o*+@*o*+*\
                                                                                                                            /@o+*o@+*o+@o*\
                                                                                                                           /*+@o*+@*o+*o@+*\
                                                                                                                          /o*+@o*+@o*+@o*+o*\
                                                                                                                         /@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@\
                                                                                                                                  |||
                                                                                                                                  |||

                                                                                                                          • user_7832

                                                                                                                            12/25/2025

                                                                                                                            That's the first tree that rendered properly on my mobile, Merey Christmas and good job! Also nice bottom layer of ampersands, looks really festive for some reason!

                                                                                                                        • keepamovin

                                                                                                                          12/25/2025

                                                                                                                            `        _\/_          .
                                                                                                                               -      /\
                                                                                                                                      /|\     `
                                                                                                                            .   /    /*|O\.        .
                                                                                                                                    /*/|\*\
                                                                                                                                   /X/O|*\X\
                                                                                                                                  /*/X/|\X\*\   .
                                                                                                                                 /O/*/X|*\O\X\
                                                                                                                                /*/O/X/|\X\O\*\
                                                                                                                                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                                                                                                                      |X|
                                                                                                                                      |X|
                                                                                                                               Merry Christmas!
                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                          merry Christmas to all you people out there :)

                                                                                                                            • user_7832

                                                                                                                              12/25/2025

                                                                                                                              Merry Christmas! Nice touch with the snow, makes for a cosy and homely atmosphere! (It's 25⁰C here. Please send help >.<)

                                                                                                                          • gerdesj

                                                                                                                            12/25/2025

                                                                                                                            Lovely idea but please spare a thought for people using a screen reader! Imagine having ASCII art spelt out to you character by character, line by line.

                                                                                                                            This really is a job for a LLM.

                                                                                                                            With apologies to screen reader users: "space tab space space asterisk new line space space tab space new line space space space tab pipe new line ... forward slash o full stop full stop backslash ..."

                                                                                                                            • phyalow

                                                                                                                              12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                  *
                                                                                                                                                 /|\
                                                                                                                                               [ROOT]
                                                                                                                                              n=25000
                                                                                                                                            /    |    \
                                                                                                                                         [N]    [I]    [C]
                                                                                                                                        .33    .51    .94  <-- UCB1 winner
                                                                                                                                         |      |    /   \
                                                                                                                                       [OH]   [MEH] [E]   [E]
                                                                                                                                       coal   socks NICE  NICE
                                                                                                                                         |             \    \
                                                                                                                                        :/              :)   :)
                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                     MCTS: Monte Carlo Tree Santa
                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                 "in the limit, all children converge 
                                                                                                                                      to the nice list" - S. Claus
                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                              Merry Xmas Nerds!

                                                                                                                              • Insanity

                                                                                                                                12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                Class ChristmasTree extends Tree{}

                                                                                                                              • russellbeattie

                                                                                                                                12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                Here's a really big one: TREE(3).

                                                                                                                                • 12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                  • 12/24/2025

                                                                                                                                    • gregfjohnson

                                                                                                                                      12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                      Build one yourself! Here's an interactive balanced binary tee builder: https://gregfjohnson.com/redblackbuilder.html

                                                                                                                                      • 12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                        • KellyCriterion

                                                                                                                                          12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                          ▲ ▲▲▲ ▲▲▲▲▲ ▲▲▲▲▲▲▲ ▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲ ▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲

                                                                                                                                          Hell - mine one is crashed! Claude didnt work properly :-D

                                                                                                                                          • 12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                            • Vicinity9635

                                                                                                                                              12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                              • racl101

                                                                                                                                                12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                renderTree(type='Christmas')

                                                                                                                                            • gavide

                                                                                                                                              12/24/2025

                                                                                                                                              ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⠀⠀⡰⡇⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠰⢾⠇⠨⡦⠀⠂⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡀⠀⢈⣹⠜⠻⢾⠃⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠁⢠⣿⡵⠾⣻⣶⠿⠦⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⠀⢀⣠⣮⣦⡶⠻⠛⢶⣄⡀⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⣽⠏⠁⣠⣂⣦⣈⣝⣦⣄⠀⠈⠁⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠁⣠⣾⣵⣾⣾⠟⡙⠟⠿⣍⡉⠀⠀⠆⠀⠀ ⠀⠰⠀⠀⠄⣠⣶⣾⣭⡶⠟⠻⣶⡰⣜⣳⣦⣄⠀⡀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⢀⣠⣴⣿⣋⡴⣪⠎⣄⡙⠻⠿⣯⣉⠉⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠂⠀⢀⣉⡭⢿⡛⣛⣵⠎⠀⠙⢾⣶⣦⣭⣷⣦⠐⠀ ⠀⠀⢈⣙⣿⡿⠿⠟⣋⢅⡄⡄⡐⣄⢤⣉⠷⢦⣄⣀⠠ ⠐⠾⠿⢽⣷⡶⠶⡿⣓⣭⣾⣿⢷⣬⣓⢿⠿⠿⣯⣉⣁ ⠀⠀⠀⠉⠉⠉⠛⠛⠉⢀⣿⢿⡀⠙⠋⠓⠿⠿⠏⠉⠉ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠠⠤⠶⠾⢿⡯⠷⠶⠤⠄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

                                                                                                                                              Merry Christmas, HN!

                                                                                                                                                • eth0up

                                                                                                                                                  12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                  I love all the trees but this is my favorite.

                                                                                                                                                  Thanks

                                                                                                                                                  Merry Christmas!

                                                                                                                                                  • jimbobthrowawy

                                                                                                                                                    12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                    Did you forget to double space between the lines, or put leading spaces?

                                                                                                                                                    Also, I had to turn off firefox's enhanced tracking protection for the font to load. Before that it was unicode tofu.

                                                                                                                                                    • brulard

                                                                                                                                                      12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                      not sure what i'm looking at here...

                                                                                                                                                        • kmoser

                                                                                                                                                          12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                          If you're viewing on a desktop, shrink the browser until each line stacks below the previous one, creating a tree.

                                                                                                                                                          • farmerbb

                                                                                                                                                            12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                            It shows up as a Christmas tree for me on my phone in portrait mode. In landscape mode the braille is messed up.

                                                                                                                                                            • MobiusHorizons

                                                                                                                                                              12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                              I’m assuming they fixed the formatting since you posted, but it’s a Christmas tree in text art using braille characters.

                                                                                                                                                              Side note: I assume you can’t call it ASCII art if it uses non-ASCII characters, but Unicode art doesn’t have the same ring.

                                                                                                                                                              • rationalist

                                                                                                                                                                12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                A Christmas tree through the snow?

                                                                                                                                                                • gerdesj

                                                                                                                                                                  12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                  Fucked up Braille?

                                                                                                                                                          • koito17

                                                                                                                                                            12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                            Merry Christmas, everybody!

                                                                                                                                                            Love seeing the custom HN theme every year. Sometimes after Christmas, I avoid refreshing an HN tab, so I get to see the theme just a little bit longer :)

                                                                                                                                                            This year is a bit special to me. I recently moved countries for a new job, but I moved a bit too soon. Now I am spending the holiday season alone for the first time in my life. Learned a lot of lessons the hard way over the past week.

                                                                                                                                                              • GaryBluto

                                                                                                                                                                12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                > Sometimes after Christmas, I avoid refreshing an HN tab, so I get to see the theme just a little bit longer :)

                                                                                                                                                                There's always browser extensions/scripts.

                                                                                                                                                              • coffeemug

                                                                                                                                                                12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                Where did you move from (and to)?

                                                                                                                                                                  • koito17

                                                                                                                                                                    12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                    United States to Japan.

                                                                                                                                                                    I was a bit eager to start work after three months of waiting for the HSP 1b visa. Tried to keep myself busy with side projects, and got quite far with embedded Rust. But the lack of a "regular schedule" from a job was making me eager to start "proper work" again.

                                                                                                                                                                    So far, it has been a mixed bag of trade-offs. Made it in time for various events, got to see a few friends for the first time in a while, etc. However, nothing beats the comfort and security of one's parents home, especially during the holiday season.

                                                                                                                                                                    Probably obvious to everybody, but seriously do not schedule a move in December. If it is feasible, spend the time to make memories with your family and loved ones.

                                                                                                                                                                      • coffeemug

                                                                                                                                                                        12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                        > nothing beats the comfort and security of one's parents home, especially during the holiday season.

                                                                                                                                                                        A bit morbid, but reminds me of this passage by John Quincy Adams:

                                                                                                                                                                        > Everything about the house is the same. I was not fully sensible of the change till I entered his bedchamber [...] That moment was inexpressibly painful, and struck me as if it had been an arrow to my heart. My father and mother have departed. The charm which has always made this house to me an abode of enchantment is dissolved; and yet my attachment to it, and to the whole region around, is stronger than I ever felt it before.

                                                                                                                                                                        Hope you get to spend the next Christmas with your family!

                                                                                                                                                                • ekianjo

                                                                                                                                                                  12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                  Welcome to Japan!

                                                                                                                                                              • tekacs

                                                                                                                                                                12/24/2025

                                                                                                                                                                Fun seeing HN restart to switch to the Christmas theme, in three steps:

                                                                                                                                                                https://share.cleanshot.com/vJZv6k03 (restarting the server)

                                                                                                                                                                https://share.cleanshot.com/qFyM347P (online but temporarily readonly)

                                                                                                                                                                https://share.cleanshot.com/kW8kY7mp (back online!)

                                                                                                                                                                  • dang

                                                                                                                                                                    12/24/2025

                                                                                                                                                                    You must have grabbed that first one awfully quickly!

                                                                                                                                                                      • throwup238

                                                                                                                                                                        12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                        You’d have more luck asking for world peace.

                                                                                                                                                                    • The_President

                                                                                                                                                                      12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                      Dear Santa, for Christmas can we get a prefers-color-scheme: dark mode for HN, thank you and Merry Christmas

                                                                                                                                                                      • andersa

                                                                                                                                                                        12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                        So what's the christmas theme? Unless I'm blind, it looks the same as always, except the header color seems to have changed... slightly?

                                                                                                                                                                          • ojbyrne

                                                                                                                                                                            12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                            Perhaps you've looked at the site so much that you're blind to the numbers at the start of each item.

                                                                                                                                                                              • BubbleRings

                                                                                                                                                                                12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                No numbers in Chrome on iPhone, fyi.

                                                                                                                                                                                  • ojbyrne

                                                                                                                                                                                    12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                    I can’t tell if you’re joking, because I’m looking at the site on chrome on iPhone and there’s numbers.

                                                                                                                                                                                • andersa

                                                                                                                                                                                  12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                  Oh, indeed

                                                                                                                                                                              • jaggederest

                                                                                                                                                                                12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                The numbers next to the submissions are red/green

                                                                                                                                                                                • Aspie96

                                                                                                                                                                                  12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                  Japan changed its flag for Christmas…

                                                                                                                                                                              • brcmthrowaway

                                                                                                                                                                                12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                What container is this running in?

                                                                                                                                                                                  • dang

                                                                                                                                                                                    12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                    FreeBSD

                                                                                                                                                                                      • president_zippy

                                                                                                                                                                                        12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                        Color me confused, but what do containers add to FreeBSD beyond jails? Jails have their own IP addresses and root filesystem, plus they use the host OS's version of libc and OpenSSL/LibreSSL and all the other core utils.

                                                                                                                                                                                        Is it the convenience utilities for building and running container images?

                                                                                                                                                                                          • dang

                                                                                                                                                                                            12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                            I was joking. There is no container. (We don't use jails either.)

                                                                                                                                                                                              • president_zippy

                                                                                                                                                                                                12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                But alas, FreeBSD does support OCI container images! It supports Podman and has an OCI-compliant runtime:

                                                                                                                                                                                                https://freebsdfoundation.org/blog/oci-containers-on-freebsd...

                                                                                                                                                                                                However, I still can't pinpoint what the value proposition is compared to using jails. Is there anybody around here able and willing to shed some light? I know I didn't use Cunningham's Law to start the conversation like a clever netizen but maybe, just this once, a good faith response to a good faith question is possible.

                                                                                                                                                                                        • ashton314

                                                                                                                                                                                          12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                          The power to serve

                                                                                                                                                                                  • jagged-chisel

                                                                                                                                                                                    12/24/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                    Restart?!

                                                                                                                                                                                    ouch

                                                                                                                                                                                      • basilikum

                                                                                                                                                                                        12/24/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                        HN is a pretty simple, efficient monolithic web application. Some updates might need a restart. It's OK for some web requests to fail during that time. HN isn't life critical with sixtuple nine uptime requirements.

                                                                                                                                                                                          • sallveburrpi

                                                                                                                                                                                            12/24/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                            Tbh like 99% of web apps aren’t critical - most of them are for buying something or providing infrastructure to make it easier to buy something anyway. It’s fine if your online shop is down for a few minutes (of course the business won’t see it like that but it’s true)

                                                                                                                                                                                              • brightbeige

                                                                                                                                                                                                12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                B&H is doing fine financially and brings their webstore down for each and every Sabbath, even if that happens to be a Black Friday.

                                                                                                                                                                                                https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12183263

                                                                                                                                                                                                • basilikum

                                                                                                                                                                                                  12/24/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                  A sales site being down might lose you a sale. But the simplicity might save you so muh more than that loses you. And often the complexion of high availability infrastructure results in more downtime than it prevents.

                                                                                                                                                                                                  For stuff like HN, I like the peek behind the scenes it provides. It's all just software written by some humans and way too often people take themselves and their shitty software way too serious.

                                                                                                                                                                                              • lomase

                                                                                                                                                                                                12/24/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                Steam, +130 million users, biggest gamming store, multi billion dolar company, is offline every week for a few minutes.

                                                                                                                                                                                                99.999999 is so overated.

                                                                                                                                                                                                • uyzstvqs

                                                                                                                                                                                                  12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                  It could probably be done with a simple if statement, but I'm guessing that dang enjoys the tradition of doing it manually every year.

                                                                                                                                                                                              • kelnos

                                                                                                                                                                                                12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                I feel like this obsession with zero downtime has gotten a bit silly. Sure, for some things it's damn near required (though I imagine that's fewer things than most people think), but it 100% does not matter even a little bit if HN is unavailable for 10 seconds or so.

                                                                                                                                                                                                  • jagged-chisel

                                                                                                                                                                                                    12/28/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                    Everyone went right for “downtime” - no, that’s not an issue. I would have expected a configuration change, which wouldn’t require a restart but might indeed result in downtime.

                                                                                                                                                                                                    Or even a configuration change that some control system notices and does restart the service.

                                                                                                                                                                                                    It’s the manual, hands-on connotation (maybe only in my mind) of telling someone a restart is involved. Automate this stuff - don’t want the code in the server all year? Fine, have a process rebuild and relaunch on a schedule that makes sense. Might have downtime, but definitely have less hands-on.

                                                                                                                                                                                                • dang

                                                                                                                                                                                                  12/24/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                  I'd rather restart once (ok, twice) a year than keep that code around in production.

                                                                                                                                                                                                  It only affects traffic for about 10 seconds.

                                                                                                                                                                                          • jackdecker

                                                                                                                                                                                            12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                            Merry Christmas HN!

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                                                                                                                                                                                              • doug_durham

                                                                                                                                                                                                12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                Your snowman has legs!

                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Kye

                                                                                                                                                                                                    12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                    That's so he can chase his dreams.

                                                                                                                                                                                                    • Minor49er

                                                                                                                                                                                                      12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                      Well yeah. This snowman kicks butt!

                                                                                                                                                                                              • ellis0n

                                                                                                                                                                                                12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                Three years ago I found myself in a difficult situation and at Christmas I asked HN for help. Several people sent me invitations and work appeared right away, so I went off to pay my bills. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34121905

                                                                                                                                                                                                My situation was very tough and the job was tough too, so I wasn’t able to reply to everyone by email right away, circumstances worked out that way.

                                                                                                                                                                                                Now things have improved and I want to say a big thank you to everyone who came to help, the HN community, Dang and the team for the support.

                                                                                                                                                                                                Merry Christmas and I wish humanity to survive in the age of AI!

                                                                                                                                                                                                PS: Your invaluable support made it possible to improve my startup https://acpul.org and I have created an open letter for those who would like to join in developing the best programming environment in the world: https://www.acpul.org/blog/Open-Letter

                                                                                                                                                                                                • PureSin

                                                                                                                                                                                                  12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                  Merry Christmas and happy new year. It's been a tough year with stress about work, immigration, family. This little corner of the internet always gives me joy, hope, and inspiration to work for a better, kinder world.

                                                                                                                                                                                                  Hope everyone enjoy the break and start 2026 with energy to keep improving yourself and the world.

                                                                                                                                                                                                    • keyboardJones

                                                                                                                                                                                                      12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                      Just wanted to say this resonated. Thanks for the kind words, and here’s to 2026!

                                                                                                                                                                                                  • dzink

                                                                                                                                                                                                    12/24/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                    May everyone here discover more and better ways to spread the joy of giving and doing good.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                  *
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                                                                                                                                                                                                      • JKCalhoun

                                                                                                                                                                                                        12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                        The ol' off-by-one error.

                                                                                                                                                                                                        Merry Christmat!

                                                                                                                                                                                                    • jakebasile

                                                                                                                                                                                                      12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                      Merry Christmas to you, too, and to all that read this.

                                                                                                                                                                                                      A relevant verse about a sometimes stressful day:

                                                                                                                                                                                                      Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil.

                                                                                                                                                                                                      - Matthew 6:34

                                                                                                                                                                                                      • BewareTheYiga

                                                                                                                                                                                                        12/25/2025

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                                                                                                                                                                                                        Merry Christmas, HN

                                                                                                                                                                                                        • jherdman

                                                                                                                                                                                                          12/24/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                          Merry Christmas, friends. And a special cheers to everyone that makes this community possible. It’s one of the last bastions of all that is good about this internet.

                                                                                                                                                                                                            • kevinmhickey

                                                                                                                                                                                                              12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                              Hear hear!!

                                                                                                                                                                                                          • merryxmas

                                                                                                                                                                                                            12/24/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Ⓜerry    
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                                                                                       ©hr®istmas ‼ ⁉
                                                                                                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                                                                                       ⭕
                                                                                                                                                                                                                      ↙▫⬇↘
                                                                                                                                                                                                                     ↙▫↙⬇↘↘
                                                                                                                                                                                                                    ↙↙▫↙⬇↘▫↘↘
                                                                                                                                                                                                                    ↙▫↙↙⬇↘↘▫↘↘
                                                                                                                                                                                                                  ↙↙↙▫↙↙⬇↘▫↘↘↘↘
                                                                                                                                                                                                                  ♟♨⬛#⃣#⃣♨♟
                                                                                                                                                                                                                      ◽◾◽
                                                                                                                                                                                                                      〰㊗〰
                                                                                                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                                                                            #⃣ #⃣ #⃣ ™ ℹ ↔ ↕ ↖ ↗ ↘ ↙ ↩ ↪ ⌚ ⌛ ▪ ▫ ▶ ◀ ◻ ◼ ◽ ◾ ♠ ♣ ♥ ♦ ♨ ⤴ ⤵ ⬅ ⬆ ⬇ ⬛ ⬜ ⭕ 〰 〽 ㊗ ㊙ ⏏ 🟰 ‼ ⁉ 〰 ⭕ 〽 © ® ™ *⃣ 0⃣ 1⃣ 2⃣ 3⃣ 4⃣ 5⃣ 6⃣ 7⃣ 8⃣ 9⃣ ℹ Ⓜ ㊗ ㊙ 󠁧󠁢󠁥 ♨ ♟ ⌨

                                                                                                                                                                                                              • dang

                                                                                                                                                                                                                12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                Not gonna filter your emojis on Christmas but I'm impressed how many of our restrictions you routed around :)

                                                                                                                                                                                                            • reb

                                                                                                                                                                                                              12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                              Merry Christmas, everyone! Continually grateful for this community: stumbling into it as a teenager changed my life and I never get tired of spinning out about new tech big and small with the folks here. Stay safe, everybody

                                                                                                                                                                                                              • GarnetFloride

                                                                                                                                                                                                                12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                Merry Christmas, This has been a wild one. On the way to my sister's house we got a call from her sister saying their dad needs to go into an assisted living place because his pneumonia is not getting better and needs 24/7 care. But this will cut off the income my wife was bring in for caring for him.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                As the call is on our car throws a red light: Transmission malfunction: Service now. We take the next exit and happen to find a Big O Tire place which is where we get most of our car work done. The transmission is seized, but it's Christmas Eve and no one is open to get an estimate on a replacement. But that's okay a couple of cousins are able to pick us up to get to the party.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                We get home and find big pile of presents on our doorstep but we find they are addressed to names we don't know. So we bring them in for safekeeping. Today I look around the apartment building and finding one with a dollhouse on the balcony give a knock but its the wrong door but they knew the family which was downstairs so the right family got the presents finally.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                Now cinnamon rolls are baking for breakfast and starting dinner prep soon.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                But somehow I have to figure out if I should replace the transmission on a 13 year old car which needs $4500 in suspension work too or replace the whole vehicle.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                And find a way to make more money since the part-time job I have right now to open up time for caregiving won't be enough for all this, and it looks like caregiving won't be necessary for much longer anyway.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • rconti

                                                                                                                                                                                                                    12/26/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Hope things improve for you, and you have a Merry Christmas in spite of it all.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                    For what it's worth, it strikes me as very unlikely that the transmission is going to be less than an additional $4500. But you never know, it could be a simple fault - no sense in trying to make mental decisions before you know the math involved.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • rhubarbtree

                                                                                                                                                                                                                      12/26/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Hang in there. This is a difficult period of life, went through something similar not long back. Be sure to take care of yourself and have some mental “time off” this week.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • blast

                                                                                                                                                                                                                        12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                        That's a bittersweet mix of troubles and sweetness. I hope the troubles sort out without too much heartache, and that 2026 brings many good things.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • _DeadFred_

                                                                                                                                                                                                                      12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                      My first Christmas with mom gone was really tough. Stuck alone during COVID in 2021 in a really bad place. I couldn't sleep. And I happened to turn on the radio in the middle of the night and there was an Amy Grant interview. I almost turned it off, oh no, christian stuff I thought. But she talked about her first Christmas without her mom. Then they played her song about it. If I had been 5 minutes more trying to sleep, or given up on sleep 5 minutes earlier, I would have missed that.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Anyways, in case anyone needs to stumble upon something similar, I couldn't find something so perfect but...

                                                                                                                                                                                                                      hearing it now it's not as amazing as it was that night I needed to not be alone in grief, but here it is:

                                                                                                                                                                                                                      https://www.npr.org/2016/12/25/506715971/amy-grant-on-faith-...

                                                                                                                                                                                                                      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LOqLV6Om4A

                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Merry Christmas to you!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • ProofHouse

                                                                                                                                                                                                                          12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                          God bless you. Wishing you joy.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • robofanatic

                                                                                                                                                                                                                        12/24/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  *
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                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • coffeemug

                                                                                                                                                                                                                          12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Hope everyone has a healthy, rewarding and prosperous year. Special thanks to @dang and team for keeping this community a great place everyone wants to come back to. I love coming back here every day.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Merry Christmas to all!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • jll29

                                                                                                                                                                                                                            12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Merry Christmas, everyone!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Spread the love, please - try to give everyone around you a metaphorical "▲" (upvote), in HN-speak, to make this world a better place.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                              The Birth of Jesus
                                                                                                                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                                                                                              [Luke 2] In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register [in tax ledgers].
                                                                                                                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                                                                                              -- https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%202&version=NIV

                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • pdevr

                                                                                                                                                                                                                              12/24/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Merry Christmas to everyone.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Being a non-Christian and it being Christmas time, I am sharing one verse from the New Testament that is, in my opinion, useful - or at the very least, insightful - to anyone, regardless of religion.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Luke 16:10: He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • jslpc

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  I'd consider myself more spiritual rather than religious, but do pray to a god of my understanding. Just wanted to say thanks for sharing this, I haven't actually read the whole Bible but, as the other reply states, I'm sure there are so many little nuggets like this in there that many ignore.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • ndsipa_pomu

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    That's like how you can evaluate someone's character by whether they return supermarket trolleys when they're done with them

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • rhubarbtree

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        12/26/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        See also: dropping unwashed spoons in a communal sink

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • NBJack

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Truth. You can evaluate a lot about someone from the details they give attention to, and what they ignore. It's not a hard and fast rule, but helpful in determining who you can trust with work, important things in your life (including your self), etc.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • 12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • appguy

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Wonderful verse, it’s so true, thanks for sharing

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • RickJWagner

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Thank you, and Merry Christmas

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • pmcginn

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Thank you for sharing this one! It's from a beautiful parable found only in Luke's gospel, from which only "no slave can serve two masters" seems to have entered the popular lexicon. Your quote, or the closing line "you cannot serve God and wealth", better speak to the spirit of the passage.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              For anyone interested in approaching the Bible this season, perhaps as part of a New Year's resolution, there are many wonderful free and paid resources to do so. It's easy to get bogged down in a comparison of translations and tools, or to ambitiously pick a Bible in a Year reading plan and get waylaid in the pentateuch. Instead, I'd recommend starting with the Berean Standard Bible (a modern, public domain translation with good footnotes) and Mark (Matthew is my favorite, but it starts with a genealogy and requires some Old Testament knowledge to fully enjoy.)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Here's a link: https://biblehub.com/bsb/mark/1.htm

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • imchillyb

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                [flagged]

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • swat535

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    There are 2 kinds of Christians: Those who actually follow the faith, and those who only show up for Christmas and Easter.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    There's a German term for that 'Uboot Christen' - submarine Christians. They only emerge twice a year.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • sva_

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Considering Christians took the Christmas celebration from what they call "Heathens" or "Pagans", I think it is fair. Eastern celebration probably the same.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • KellyCriterion

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Weeks ago a local newspaper had the headline:

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    "keep the big bang until later for your children, the bible is really a great set of fairy tales"

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Im not religious at all, actually "implicitly fighting against it", though I have to admit: This sentence made sense and Im thinking still until today about it, because actually I think its quite true - for smaller children, the storylines in the bible are much more "real" and understandable than the story of: "hey, there was a big bang, all molecules were created then and you are consisting today of these molecules"

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • a022311

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        The Bible and the Big Bang theory are not mutually exclusive. The Old Testament is a very symbolic book and gives no specific details on how exactly the world was created, other than the seven days of creation. We know that the 7 days weren't referring to our current concept of a day. There's also no water above the sky. It was written like that, because it would be easier for people to understand. Science wasn't a thing back then. If it were written in 2025, it would obviously be very different and probably much more detailed.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Modern Christians know that religion and science can go together. Science researches _how_ something works. Religion answers _who_ created it. The Big Bang theory is actually accepted by them today.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • krapp

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            >We know that the 7 days weren't referring to our current concept of a day.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            We don't know that. Some Christians believe that because they believe the Bible is univocal, which it isn't, and because they want to use other unrelated scripture like "a day for God is like a thousand years" to support a framework for Genesis which they believe is validated by current science.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            But I see no reason to believe that when the ancient Hebrews wrote about creation taking seven days, that they didn't mean seven actual days.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            >It was written like that, because it would be easier for people to understand.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            A supposition not backed up by evidence, and one that assumes the author of Genesis had a modern understanding of astrophysics, which they did not.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            > Science wasn't a thing back then. If it were written in 2025, it would obviously be very different and probably much more detailed.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            OK. So as I suspected you believe that the Genesis creation story (or at least one, as there are two conflicting creation narratives) represents literal truth, but that the account itself couches this literal truth in metaphor.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            I suppose that's better than the Biblical literalists who insist that Old Testament genealogies prove the world is only 10,000 years old and that therefore things like carbon dating are fake, but I do wish Christians would just accept that Genesis (along with the rest of the Bible) is entirely mythology and that they don't have to "make it fit" with modern science. It just didn't happen.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            >Science researches _how_ something works. Religion answers _who_ created it. Religion also makes just as many claims about how as who and why.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Religion doesn't answer anything of the sort, it claims to answer it, a priori, without evidence.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            And of course there are countless religions with countless such "answers." You believe only one answer is valid, again, without evidence.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            This is not an opportunity for you to proselytize to me.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • jll29

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              The Pontifical Academy of Sciences (PAS) is the leading authority of sciences for Roman Catholic Christians, not only do they accept big bang theory, they public scientific proceedings of astrophysics meetings: https://www.pas.va/en/publications/scripta-varia/sv155pas.ht... (free download)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • throw48k76e

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                If we are free to interpret the Bible that way, does that mean the resurrection of Christ is also a metaphor? Maybe they just meant that he is alive in our hearts.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                What part of the Bible are up for interpretation, and what parts are considered to be fact?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • hamdingers

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Every part of the Bible is up for interpretation. Which parts you interpret as fact will depend on what worldview you're trying to justify (or which church you're trying to be a member of).

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • lo_zamoyski

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Ah, this is a good question. And a big one. Here’s a start, anyway.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Contrary to the historically recent error of sola scriptura, the Bible does not interpret itself. And contrary to the modernists, it is not whatever you want it to mean.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      First, what is the general nature of Scripture? It is not meant to be a scientific text. It is meant to communicate, above all, revealed truths about God that are not available to unaided reason (obviously, it also contains things we can know through unaided reason, but the unique value proposition is in what we cannot know by our own wits).

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Historically, the tradition of knowledge, indeed the content of Scripture itself, preceded the biblical canon. You needed that tradition to make the determination of what is canonical and what is not. Similarly, you need that tradition to determine the nature of a given book: is a historical in structure, poetic, etc? This unbroken tradition, scholarship, literary analysis, etc. tell us the nature of a given text.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      In the case of something like the creation accounts in Genesis (and there are two accounts, which differ), it is clear under such an examination that these are not scientific descriptions. They are written using the language of a pre-scientific culture. They do not tell us in scientific terms how the physical universe was formed. They do tell us that creation is ex nihilo, or out of nothing. (This is not a question of a big bang btw. The big bang is not necessary. It is a question of casuality. God as the Logos - eternal Reason - is the per se - rather than per accidens - cause of the universe’s existence, sustaining it in existence at every moment. God is not some Paley-style watchmaker arranging parts into a watch out of some primordial chaos, and the universe is not the result of some clash of opposing forces.) Genesis also tells us that there was a first human couple and that original sin can be traced to the first freely chosen immoral act. There are no binding or definitive claims about how exactly this all occurred in a historical sense. We don’t know, and as interesting as that question is [0], for the relevant purposes of the text, it doesn’t matter.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      The Gospels of the New Testament, however, are very much historical in character. They are eye witness accounts of Christ’s ministry, and the canonical four were deemed to be the only reliable ones. They aren’t figurative, and the early Christians, the many witnesses of Christ’s ministry, and new evidence all align with the received and continuous tradition (indeed, one of the responsibilities of the Catholic Church is to safeguard tradition from “innovation”). Figurative interpretations of the Gospels also tend not to be compelling either, especially in light of tradition.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Obviously, biblical hermeneutics is a big topic that goes beyond an HN post. I’ve included links to a couple of texts that should introduce the material with greater depth and expertise than I can [1][2].

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      [0] http://edwardfeser.blogspot.com/2011/09/modern-biology-and-o...

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      [1] https://a.co/d/4xdAc9Y

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      [2] https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/apost_exhorta...

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • pmcginn

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    The big bang theory isn't just "accepted by them today," it has been since the beginning. The father of the big bang theory was a catholic priest.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • defrost

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        So you're saying that the Catholic Church also accepted the Copernican Sun centred model of the universe formulated by Nicolaus Copernicus "from the beginning" as Copernicus was also a Catholic cleric?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Perhaps it's possible that the beliefs and propositions of individual members of a greater body don't always align with the official stance of the greater body.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • lo_zamoyski

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            > it's possible that the beliefs and propositions of individual members of a greater body don't always align with the official stance

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            It is, and where they depart from or twist binding doctrine, it would be a matter of heresy.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            But FWIW, the Catholic Church didn’t and doesn’t have a stance on the question of heliocentrism. Why would it? It is not a question with any religious importance. Who cares which orb rotates around which? Copernicus wasn’t doing anything forbidden (nor had he vindicated heliocentrism) and had high ranking friends and acquaintances in the clergy (including cardinals like Cardinal Schõnberg and Pope Clement VII) who took an interest in his work. De Revolutionibus was itself dedicated to Pope Paul III. If anything, Copernicus was wary of other academics who held to the Ptolemaic view at the time. Plus ça change…

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            No doubt, you have in mind the oft-repeated Galileo affair which has become one of those stubborn black legends that seems to stay afloat despite the lack of facts supporting it because of its instrumental value for sticking it to the Church. The Galileo affair was not about heliocentrism. It was about a clash of egos and personalities (Galileo’s being of them, as he liked to pick pointless fights, including some nasty personal attacks on his friend and benefactor Urban VIII) that spanned decades. It isn’t as piquant as the story as typically told would have you believe.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • defrost

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                12/26/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                The story of Copernican heliocentrism as commonly told is enough to bounce many out of the rut of thinking as the comment above implied that a large bureaucracy aligns itself with anything an individual thinks.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                > The Galileo affair was not about heliocentrism. It was about a clash of egos and personalities

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                That's pretty much the way I heard it, outside of the Catholic Church, some 50 years ago. Make enough enemies, sooner or later they band together and strike if they can.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  > No doubt, you have in mind the oft-repeated Galileo affair
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  > It isn’t as piquant as the story as typically told would have you believe.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                It's like you're not reading my mind and yet somehow imagine you can.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                If you enjoy quoting J. Budziszewski you may or may not get a kick out of Graham Priest and Dialetheism.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • sapphicsnail

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      I'm sure there are some that think that but I was taught the earth is 10,000 years, the creation story in Genesis is the literal truth, and people spell Christmas "Xmas" because people are trying to take Christ out of Christmas. None of these are fringe positions in the US. There are so Christians that believe science is real but we're very much the minority.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • djeastm

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        >The Old Testament is a very symbolic book

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Can you tell the fundamentalists that? Thanks

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • lo_zamoyski

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      If you think the Bible is childish, then I can only assume you've never studied it in earnest. These aren't fairy tales. They are a collection of books written in numerous styles and languages belonging to various genres drawn from many cultural contexts spanning thousands of years and whose canon was determined by the Catholic Church in the 4th century (most famously, at the Council of Rome when the 73 books were listed). Theologians, philosophers, and biblical scholars are deepening their understanding of this text to this day.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Just look at something like John 1:1: «In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.» Most adults aren't in a position to comprehend that, never mind a child. It is one of the most profound sentences ever uttered (those with sufficient philosophical and theological background might find this recent book on this topic of interest [0]). Or consider Exodus 3:14: «God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”». If that doesn't knock you off your feet, then you have not understood it. This is an incredibly sophisticated metaphysical statement, the meaning of which was unknown to the ancient pagans. (A good, short introduction from a philosophical angle can be found here [1].)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      But more importantly, both you and the author of that article have committed a very basic category mistake. The Bible is not in the same business as the physical sciences. It doesn't answer the same questions. The Bible is not a scientific treatise, and the physical science are not a path to salvation from sin.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      The Bible is also not a text of mere parables and life lessons. Indeed, this is one of those distinguishing features of Christianity that many fail to appreciate. In other religious traditions, it doesn't really matter where the truth claims come from or who said them. You could accept the claims without knowing or caring about the author. But you cannot do that with the figure of Christ. You cannot say "Oh, I accept the lessons of the New Testament, I think Jesus was a wise teacher. I just don't accept his divinity or the resurrection or the miracles or all that other stuff my bourgeois sensibilities can't stomach." Those claims that are uniquely Christian are about Christ and rooted in the authority of Christ. It is Christ who saves - a person - not knowledge, not some method, not a technology, but a person. Christ calls himself the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end of all creation, eternal, the Almighty, and the source and completion of history and salvation.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      That's not just some "fun" or "cute" passage. The point is that - if Christianity is true - it is through Christ that Man's relationship to God is restored and elevated. It is through Christ that man is ennobled. Man is invited to participate in his divinity, and unlike other traditions that maintain Man can attain divinity through his own efforts alone, the Christian says "no", it is not in Man's power to do that, to pull himself up by his own bootstraps; only God can do that, and the way is by answering "yes" to his offer, by cooperating with him so he can accomplish that divinity in us. To do that, God humbled himself through the Incarnation to share in our humanity: «the Word became flesh and dwelt among us». He entered the pathology and disorder of the world to liberate it from it, to be the path out of it.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      That is what Christianity teaches. That is what Christmas is about. Either that is true, or Jesus was a liar or a madman. What he wasn't was merely another "wise teacher". Either Christmas celebrates this momentous historical event of the Incarnation, or it is ridiculous.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      [0] https://a.co/d/1QtQWCP

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      [1] https://a.co/d/bSqgkXq

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • KellyCriterion

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Did you copy this from catholic.ai or some similar domain? :-D

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • lo_zamoyski

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              No, this is all the product of old school methods. :)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • tisdadd

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Merry Christmas to all. On the note above, there is not a lot of Biblical Christianity seen today, as many do not read the Bible. It is very sad to me, and why I like to make a distinction. It is lovely to see such cheer in this thread overall though, and if you are a professing Christian I would urge you to be reading and studying your Bible.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • ynab6

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      [flagged]

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • dang

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          "Please respond to the strongest plausible interpretation of what someone says, not a weaker one that's easier to criticize. Assume good faith."

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          "Don't be snarky."

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • anthonypasq96

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            i was a recipient of dreadful christrian brainwashing for about 14 years of schooling, and i got a fairly mild case

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • stevenfoster

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  I became a parent of two this year and my oldest is now 3 years old. One of the greatest things in life has to be a newborn baby. And more than ever for me, it makes sense that the greatest thing would be if God came as a newborn baby.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  ¡Feliz Navidad!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • BLKNSLVR

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Enjoy the journey, make the most of as much of it as possible. The present can feel as if it moves very slowly, but the future arrives incredibly quickly. My two are 18 and 16 and it feels like only five minutes has passed (I'm sure this is how you feel about the last 3 years). I miss their unrestricted toddler personalities, but I'm also incredibly happy and proud of who they've both become as, essentially, adults now.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • cryptonector

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Time flies by way too fast. But if you did good you'll get upgraded to grandparent!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • fuzzfactor

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Meanwhile almost nobody noticed this page:

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    >single html file, no frameworks, images or webgl

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Happy Holidays https://xe.dev/xmas 2 points by jFriedensreich 15 hours ago

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46374804

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • fuzzfactor

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        12/26/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Too late to edit, but how about HTML Easter Eggs for Christmas?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • jimnotgym

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Merry Christmas everyone. If you are not Christian, then seasons greetings, hope you got the day off anyway!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • timenotwasted

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    *
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   /_\
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  /___\
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 /_____\
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                /_______\
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               /_________\
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              /___________\
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             /_____________\
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            /_______________\
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |||
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |||
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Merry Christmas!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • devgoth

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          merry christmas everyone! HN has been the first site i open up every morning with a cup of tea for the past 10 years or so. Cheers to a great community of builders & thinkers.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • HardwareLust

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Same! HN is my morning paper now.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • jeffrallen

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Due to illness, I've stayed home while my whole family goes to be with the grandparents. I will join them later today, with a mask.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            It is strange and sad to be alone this morning.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            If you are in the same situation, know that you are not alone: I'm thinking of you.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Merry Christmas.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • mazokum

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Merry Christmas!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              In case you didn’t know, you can check if Santa has reached out your location ;)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              https://www.flightradar24.com/R3DN053/3d9fb50a

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • _sxou

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Merry Christmas, everyone! Treasure these moments you get with those you care about it. Time is our most valuable asset.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • lastdong

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Merry Christmas! HN Christmas theme is always great to see

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             *
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            /_\
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           /***\
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          /*****\
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         /*******\
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        /*********\
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            |||
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            |||

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • 12/24/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • robofanatic

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  *
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  ^
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 ^^^
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                ^^^^^
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               ^^^^^^^
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                ^^^^^
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              ^^^^^^^^^
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               ^^^^^^^
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              ^^^^^^^^^
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               ^^^^^^^
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                ^^^^^
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 | |

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • marnett

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Merry Christmas hackernews community! What a great forum. Peace on Earth.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • 12/24/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • 12/24/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • KellyCriterion

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Merry Christmas, dear HN Community!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Being super-lonely this year, I hope all of you are much better off than me - this year contained some catastrophic external events in my life, which led to permanent change on some "layers" of my live (not only material, but also in psy etc.)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              I hope the next year will bring the luck to re-align some things and bring them backs on the track, otherwise next year I will write the same post and add that Im in huge (final) trouble...

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Enjoy the time with your family if they are near to you!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • dxdm

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Merry Christmas to you. You are not entirely alone, in the sense that other people have gone through loss and hardship and have come out of it eventually, better, happier, and stronger. Also, there are strangers like me who wish you well. I hope that things will work out for you soon. For now, here's a warm greeting and a smile for you. :)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • KellyCriterion

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      THANK you for your words! Its tough these days, really. Hope you have some days with your family and friends!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • rhubarbtree

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          12/26/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          This too shall pass. The seasons of life come and go, find the small joys during the hardest times.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • bradly

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                If anyone would like to add some Christmas lights to their site I made a little web component to add a little cheer to any site.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                https://github.com/bradly/christmas-lights.js

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                You can see it in action at https://bradlyfeeley.com and https://birdymusic.com

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • duckkg5

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Merry Christmas to one of the last great internet communities that I actually like to interact with

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • danousna

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Merry Christmas everyone, from France.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    This not so little corner of the internet keeps delivering year after year, thank you all for the quality of the submissions and discussions!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • n8ur

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Meryy Christmas

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      this is what I did for my friends

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      https://www.adoptimize.de/weihnachten/editor.php

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      in german and english available https://www.adoptimize.de/weihnachten/2025_pers_v2/?id=demo_...

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • rconti

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        12/26/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        A couple of years ago in early December, we took a trip to Berlin and Strasbourg, and spent our time visiting many Christmas markets. It was a really enjoyable trip.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Yes, it was very cold, which is not deal when you're spending 12 hours a day outside (hovering around freezing the entire trip, a small amount of snow a few days). Yes, it gets dark early and the days are short -- but that's true back at home in California too. We do share a hemisphere, after all. And yes, after awhile, the markets all do tend to look the same. But I find it nice to travel, and I love traveling in the off-season.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Yes, you can travel at the same time everyone else wants to travel, with long days, long lines, and large prices. But everywhere you go has traditions year round, and the weather and lifestyle changes with the seasons. Every place and every time of year has things worth seeing and experiencing.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Or you could travel to the opposite hemisphere when the days are short back home, that's fun too :)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • shortcord

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Luke 2:14

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              [14] “Glory to God in the highest,
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • Exoristos

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • squigz

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Reading some of the translations for the quoted verse, it's really interesting how so many different sentiments can be expressed with very little changes of words/phrasing.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will.”

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  https://biblehub.com/luke/2-14.htm

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • sapphicsnail

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      There are 2 competing textual varients in the Greek sources. The word for "good will" (eudokia) shows up in the nominative and the genitive. If it's genitive it modifies humankind if it's nominative it's parallel to the first half of the sentence meaning, in Heaven let there be glory to God, on Earth let there be good will to humankind.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      That was fun! I read that verse earlier today and I didn't know about the version with genitive case.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • shortcord

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    I think I do prefer the KJV here. Has the classic familiarity.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    The ESV is the translation I have used since it came out for personal reading and study, though.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • flowinghorse

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              12/25/2025

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                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • 12/24/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • tracker1

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  12/26/2025

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                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • 12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • Gricha

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Merry Christmas everyone! :)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      If you’d fancy a little holiday-themed adventure game - https://gricha.dev/happyholidays/terminal

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • 12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • lschueller

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          12/24/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Merry Christmas to the awesome hn community!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • 12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • peterspath

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Merry Christmas!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              - Luke 2:10-11

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • russellbeattie

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Linus van Pelt has entered the chat.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Fun tidbit: The Charlie Brown Christmas animators had Linus drop his security blanket when he said, "fear not".

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  (I'm an atheist, but as an official GenXer™, I could almost recite this speech from memory.)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • lukebechtel

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                https://youtu.be/z84QdJlPpHE?si=2GIUu8vM5OarmdVx

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Sharing the funniest Christmas themed video I know

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • ycombinatornews

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Thank you HN and HN community for sharing the most interesting places of internet, ideas, discussions and points of views. Learned a lot and hope to learn more.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • knaik94

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Merry christmas y'all and happy holidays. I can't put in to words how much I appreciate the culture on HN and the conversations I've been a part of. It's the only social media site where I enjoy reading my historical messages, I can see exactly how much I have grown and learned. I am thankful for the moderation and self-moderation.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    I will continuing trying to give back in a small way, what the HN community has given me. Happy holidays.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • unangst

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      I’m exceedingly thankful for this site. I turn here (as many of us do) for a quick escape, tech news catch-up, deep dive and inspiration. Proceed and be bold in 2026.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • gbraad

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        A bit Christmessy (Santa and a snow storm), but created a very simple preset for my VJ tool: https://music.gbraad.nl/revision/?program=threejs:christmas This is a reactive visualization, so it expects audio to play. Normally I feed a stream or MIDI, but a mic will also work

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • willmadden

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      *
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     ***
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      *
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    /***\
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   /*@***\
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  /*******\
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 /**@******\
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                /***********\
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               /**********@**\
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              /***************\
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             /*****@***********\
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            /*******************\
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           /***************@*****\
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |||
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |||
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |||
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           ===[ MERRY * CHRISTMAS ]===

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • hypertexthero

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Merry Xmas!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjMNtEKHURU

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • sklargh

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Merry Christmas HN. I offer this group my thanks for something I can learn from every day.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              This is the Trinity College Choir’s advent concert - really puts me in the mood for the season, a remarkable performance and service: https://www.youtube.com/live/MsUd-twzG2U?si=1HMiaD2-Le70-fch

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • anonym29

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Merry Christmas!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  ▲
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  ▲▲
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                did I do it right?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • russellbeattie

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  We Californians are still a few hours away from Christmas, but hope you people living in the future are having a merry holiday!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • koakuma-chan

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    12/24/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    I got scared when I refreshed and HN turned red

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • nrhrjrjrjtntbt

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Easy mistake. HN's AI apocolyose color is a slightly darker hue.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • gordon_freeman

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Folks who have some extra time this Christmas, do check out the tv show Pluribus on Apple TV. It’s not your typical action packed sci-fi show but is very slow burning, philosophical kind of show which I found very smart.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Turns out my best 2 tv shows of last couple of years are on Apple TV: Severance and Pluribus

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • heyyfurqan

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          thanks for the recommendation

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • rhubarbtree

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              12/26/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Jumping on to agree with Severance and make a few more.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Silicon Valley - for me the funniest (and painful to watch, sometimes) to show. Schitt’s Creek - heart warming, wonderfully written, very funny bite size episodes perfect for cosy Christmas times.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • nis0s

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Merry X-Mas, all

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Something to read if you’re bored, https://www.plough.com/en/topics/culture/holidays/christmas-...

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • arthurcolle

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Merry Christmas everyone. It was a pleasure interacting with you all this year and I hope for many more.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • mintflow

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Just noticed that color of the HN top bar is more red which I never noticed in previous years.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Merry Christmas to everyone.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • dang

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                (note the red and green story numbers as well)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                (this is an old pg tradition btw)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • mraza007

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Merry Christmas HN Sending Warm Greetings to Everyone: https://festivegreeting.vercel.app/?id=90564ef5-f137-43be-b6...

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • ncr100

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                BASIC Christmas tree generator: https://gist.github.com/nrichards/edb3b3b42154340cdb52af6a2d...

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                <3 happy holidays, folks.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • altuzar

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Merry Christmas! This great community has changed my life so many times. Let’s go for more!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • anthonyIPH

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    This is a good time to start your own tradition, or continue one that you find worthwhile.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • randycupertino

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      12/24/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Here's to a happy and healthy 2026!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Thanks HN for all the thoughtful comments and interesting articles.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • b8

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Merry Christmas y'all. Glad to spend time with the fam bam and to spend some time resting. Also I'm getting my back nerves burned finally after trying to get a pain remediation surgery for a long time. Better late than never.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • s5300

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            >> Also I'm getting my back nerves burned finally after trying to get a pain remediation surgery for a long time. Better late than never.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Best of luck with this. Back (and neck) pain really, truly sucks. Very under-treated in the U.S. as well. IME, completely stifles the ability to enter a “flow” state of cognitive function.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • DeathArrow

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          I hope you celebrate with your loved ones and have joy and warmth in your hearts. Last but not least, let's not forget those who are suffering, sick, or elderly, and let's do a good deed when we have the opportunity.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Merry Christmas to all!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • ProofHouse

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            I am alone. I haven't seen my family in many, many years for reasons that I don't want to get into. I am a founder. I check Hacker News every day and have learned an immense amount from all the commenters, articles, and discussions over the years. I thank you all for that. I am truly grateful.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            I wish you all a Merry Christmas full of joy, and I hope you can all appreciate, share, and express love for those around you, be it family, friends, or strangers on the internet. We are all very lucky to be part of the HN site and community. I have been here for about 15 years (at least that is what it feels like) with my other accounts that I don't want to dox.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Glory to God. For believers in Jesus, may the light of Christ guide you as it does me in difficult times. Wishing you all His peace and joy.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • AlmostCosmo79

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Merry Christmas, friend! I am sorry to hear about your family situation and that you are alone. If it is any comfort, know that I, and I'm sure others, are thinking of you. Thank you for your reminder to rest in the Light of the World.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • kaeland

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Merry Christmas to you as well!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • pfortuny

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Happy Christmas, may we all keep this forum peaceful (but nonetheless compelling)!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Thanks to @dang!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • jeanlucas

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Merry Christmas, Feliz Natal.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  That reminds me I have to update my HN theme to have the Christmas theme

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • 12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • suobset

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Merry Christmas everyone. I made a little something on AArch64 Assembly: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46385623

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • judah

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        12/24/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Merry Christmas!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        "An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”"

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        -Luke 2

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • sneak

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            12/24/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            [flagged]

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • elemdos

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                To some it is, to some it isn’t. Regardless, nonexlusivity has always been built into its core.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • yencabulator

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    01/06/2026

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Christians most definitely wanted to exclude the pre-Christian winter solstice traditions.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • Wasserpuncher

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          12/24/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Merry Christmas!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • deadbabe

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Christmas is always a very hard time of year for some people, if you are struggling, just know you are not forgotten and I hope you can still have yourself a Merry little Christmas time. <3

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • crims0n

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Merry Christmas friends! I have a C64 Ultimate under the tree this year so looking to have a bit of retro fun that would make the HN community proud (after assembling all the kids stuff, of course).

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • SirLJ

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Festivus for the rest of us!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                https://youtu.be/1njzgXSzA-A?si=KIQy9e39lofX0aYP

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                #FestivusSavesTrees

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • NanoWar

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  My fav tree today: https://www.dwitter.net/d/34638

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • kehvyn

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Merry Christmas everyone! My friends and family are on two different continents so it's very quiet this year.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    I hope everyone has a wonderful, relaxing, and joyous time.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • 12/24/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • readthenotes1

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Can't believe no one's regifted this present yet:

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        https://xkcd.com/835/

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • WhereIsTheTruth

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          You'd think techies would be immune to religion, but then you realize that most of the people here are web devs, so that makes sense

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • defrost

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            12/24/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            and a healthy dose of Australian Christmas Stereotypes to all: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amL8QRiDH2E

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            including not the original Rolf Harris version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQVEZLcBfS8

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • albertobarrago

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Buon Natale a tutti, che la coscienza ci pervada!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • bossyTeacher

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                12/24/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJtZXNzYWdlIjoiTWVycnkgQ2hyaXN0bWFzIiwidG8iOiJIYWNrZXIgTmV3cyJ9.Lg_fp5WWKGLpbxI_YbRY-CfQiXe-gLXzDFMiChkXzY0

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • pdevr

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Just in case anyone does not know, that is a Base64URL-encoded string. Used by JWT.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • ksec

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Merry Christmas, I am glad HN is celebrating it.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • tory

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    12/24/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Merry Christmas :)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • arjonagelhout

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Merry Christmas!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Here’s a quad tree:

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      11

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      11

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      0110

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      0110

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      1111

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      0110

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      00000000

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      00011000

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      00011000

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      00111100

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      01111110

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      11111111

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      00011000

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      00011000

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Insanity

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Merry Christmas HN! Whether you celebrate it or not, hope you get some time off to spend with friends and/or family!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • chrisfusillo

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Merry Christmas from a long time HN lurker!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • 12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • qntmfred

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              and on earth peace, good will toward men

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • block_dagger

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Happy Ruby 4.0 day! Thanks Matz et al.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • pmdr

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    The main reason I look forward to opening HN on Christmas!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • decibe1

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Merry Christmas and a happy new year!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • glitchc

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Merry Christmas to all! Hope your holidays are filled with cheer and the warmth of your loved ones.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • sombragris

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Thanks! Merry Christmas for OP and all of you, too. Have a holiday season full of blessings!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • medbar

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Merry Christmas HN! Hope you're all enjoying quality time with loved ones (and good food!)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • michaelsbradley

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          12/24/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Merry Christmas

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Christus natus est

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          O Χριστός γεννιέται

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Христос раждается

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          המשיח נולד

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          ابن الله يولد اليوم

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • whynotmaybe

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Joyeux Noël

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Vrolijk Kerstmis

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • ashtonshears

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Thanks all for your contributions to positive chats on this site — have a joy filled holiday

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • albertobarrago

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Buon Natale a tutti! Che la coscienza pervada tutti i presenti in questo ottante ♥

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • bix6

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Merry Christmas everyone!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Favorite Christmas movie?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • kQq9oHeAz6wLLS

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    There are so many. Muppet Christmas Carol, of course. Emmett Otter's Jugband Christmas is a classic. White Christmas, a bit cliché but I love it. Bishop's Wife (with Carey Grant) is also a classic. Home Alone for the funny.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    And probably a hundred others.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • JodieBenitez

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      gremlins

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • keyboardJones

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Merry Christmas, HN! Thanks for being one of the bright spots in my/the internet.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • doug_durham

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Merry Christmas fellow HN'ers. I hope that 2026 is more sane with less drama.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • 0xbadcafebee

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Happy Belated Festivus. May you win a feat of strength, and air many grievances.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • busymom0

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Merry Christmas Hacker News!!!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • n8ur

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            this is what i did for you for christmas :)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            https://www.adoptimize.de/weihnachten/editor.php

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • nullable_bool

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              12/24/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Merry x-mas. We all deserve love and happiness. Be kind to your neighboor.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • homeonthemtn

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Just got a bucket list item out of that article, so thank you for that

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Merry Christmas!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • vjay15

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Merry Christmas everybody may this day bring you joy and happiness :)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • renjieliu

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    圣诞快乐

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • black_knight

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      12/24/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Meri Yule!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • spankibalt

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        12/24/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Merry Christmas, bambini.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • tehlike

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          12/24/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Merry Christmas! I hope everyone has wonderful time with family.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • LargoLasskhyfv

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Sti-hilläh Na-hacht, hei-li-gäh Na-hacht.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Wir Frässähn bis die Schwarte kracht!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • sandworm101

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              And a special hello to those of us at work this morning!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • theophrastus

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Merry Christmas!! you gentle nerds you! Peace to us all.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • xandrius

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  12/24/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  "A Spaceman Came Travelling" - Chris de Burgh

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • throwpoaster

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Merry Christmas, HN. Thanks for a lovely daily read!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • pazimzadeh

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Happy Winter Solstice (resurrection of the sun)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Happy Yalda (Yuletide)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yalda_Night

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • robch

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Merry Christmas to all or whatever you celebrate!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • qD29Lno-oKXPLEv

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Merry Christmas to everyone and a Happy New Year

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • agentifysh

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            12/24/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Merry Christmas y'all keep promptin'

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • BhavdeepSethi

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Merry Christmas to you and your family!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • hackerbrother

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Hey, Merry Christmas. Thanks for posting.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • nervysnail

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  12/24/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  I was surprised to see HN change colour.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • w111

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • calebm

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Happy Christmas, and Merry New Year!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • 12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • mrwaffle

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          I hope you all have a nice day!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • ascold

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Merry Christmas from Montreal!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • hireclay

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Merry Christmas everyone! <3

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • cniebla

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Merry Christmas! Feliz Navidad!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • stoneman24

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  12/24/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  A Merry Christmas to everyone !

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • mjh2539

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Tidings and good cheer to all.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • imchillyb

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Twas brillig, and Santas toes were freezing in the sleigh.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      All icey were the Reindeer hooves, moody and unlikely they were to play.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Then Christmas Eve did come about and, Santa, mounted slay he did.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Present bag taken firm in hand, one for each and every kid.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Down-down-down chimney stacks around each and every town.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Milk and cookies, warmth and hearth.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Every present for every home. Boys and girls light and dark.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Good or bad, used to matter. But Santa had a change of heart.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      We all mess up sometimes. And, sometimes, we need a brand new start.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Enjoy the gifts! Santa yelled, as the reindeer took off once again.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Be kind to one another all, and try to make new friends.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Merry Christmas!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • sebnun

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Merry Christmas to everyone.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • sangeeth96

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Merry x'mas everyone!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • bhavikjadav

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Merry Christmas, everybody!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • armeet

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • dannieeric

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Merry Christmas, everybody!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • HaZeust

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Merry Christmas, everyone!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • omnee

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Merry Christmas everyone!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • givemeethekeys

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Merry Christmas, everyone!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • robertwt7

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        12/24/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Merry Christmas everyone!!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • drfuzzy89

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          12/24/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Merry Christmas, everyone!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • rishabhd

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Merry Christmas everyone!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • stack_framer

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Merry Christmas, hackers!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • didip

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Merry Christmas everyone!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • ta_le

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  I'm a chronic lurker for most of the year but this is a good time to say this. I'm so thankful for this community that provides so much without succumbing to enshitification as some other parts of the Internet. Whether I'm passing time on a train or escaping an annoying group discussion, this is by far my favorite algorithmic feed to do so. Merry Christmas everyone!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • schwede

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Merry Christmas hackers!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • jadbox

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Merry Christmas friends!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • kevinmhickey

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Merry Christmas to all!!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • stackedinserter

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Happy birthday, Jesus!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • accrual

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Happy holidays HNers!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • 2OEH8eoCRo0

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Merry Christmas to all!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • guestbest

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Merry Christmas to All

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • revorad

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Merry Christmas, HN!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • fergbrain

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Blessed Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • ekianjo

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Merry Xmas Everyone!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • paraselene_

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Merry Christmas HN!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • nmhancoc

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Merry Christmas HN!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • booleandilemma

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Merry Christmas HN!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • adventured

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Merry Christmas HN

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • morshu9001

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Merry Christmas!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • kreelman

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Merry Christmas !

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • pkb

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Merry Christmas!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • Sparkyte

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Merry Christmas!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • amac

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Merry Christmas!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • fauria

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          ¡Feliz Navidad!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • nhhvhy

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Merry Christmas!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • wdr1

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Merry Christmas!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • fellowniusmonk

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Merry Christmas!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • reckez

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Merry Christmas!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • nish__

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Cheers, friends!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • zanetaylor

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Merry Christmas!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • sprybear

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Merry Christmas!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • Ocha

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Merry Christmas

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • sdobbie

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Merry Christmas!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • 12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • hhao99

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Merry Christmas

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • alexpadula

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Merry Christmas!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • elemdos

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Merry Christmas!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • GreyZephyr

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      12/24/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Merry Christmas!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • vargr616

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Happy Yuletide!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • thepaulthomson

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Merry Christmas

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • thepaulthomson

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              What will you have accomplished by Christmas, 2026?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • weakfish

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  It took me a moment to realize you replied to yourself and thought you were randomly attacking a commenter =)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • curtisblaine

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            12/24/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Merry Christmas!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • jackblack369

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              enjoy your life

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • andrepd

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Happy holidays!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • GloriousKoji

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Happy Holidays!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • tuggi

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    12/24/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Merry Xmas HN!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • delduca

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Feliz Natal!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • 12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • tommica

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Merry Xmas!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • reactordev

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            12/24/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            What a year!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • songodongo

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Merry Christmas! Christ is King.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • aclark

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                12/24/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Merry XMAS!!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • lnxg33k1

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Porcoddio

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • sallveburrpi

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    12/24/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Feliz natal

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • 12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • jimbobthrowawy

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Crimmas!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • srexrg

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          merry christmas anon.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • hubraumhugo

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Merry Christmas HN! You're one of the few constants among the many variables in my life, please never change :)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • gbbloke

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Merry Christmas from Spain. Here's to another year of great times spent on a great site!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • kaeland

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Merry Christmas everyone! ———

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                “At the very moment that Augustus is making decrees as the ruler of the known world, and Herod is seething in his palace, God enters stage right. Not on the clouds, asserting his power and dominance, not with all the strength and might he rightly has. But in humility. Doing so with a profound statement that he is turning all our preconceived notions completely upside down.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                One of the most beautiful, yet often overlooked, components to this story is Mary’s reaction to the news of her Son. In church tradition we call her carol The Magnificat:

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                “My soul exalts the Lord, and my spirit has begun to rejoice in God my Savior, because he has looked upon the humble state of his servant.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                For from now on all generations will call me blessed, because he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name; from generation to generation he is merciful to those who fear him.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                He has demonstrated power with his arm; he has scattered those whose pride wells up from the sheer arrogance of their hearts.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                He has brought down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up those of lowly position; he has filled the hungry with good things, and has sent the rich away empty.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                He has helped his servant Israel, remembering his mercy, as he promised to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.” (Luke 1:46-55)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Amidst all the interpretations of Christmas that we hear at this time of year from clergy, advertisers, politicians, and journalists, we might benefit from listening to the mother who sits at the centre of it all. According to Mary, Christmas is about God scattering the proud, bringing down unjust rulers, lifting up the humble. It’s about God turning things upside down— which ironically is the right way up to begin with.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                And God accomplishes all of this not “from on high,” like the decree of Augustus, or the brutality of Herod; instead, God achieves his purposes from below in the lowliness of a manger. With shepherds, livestock, and foreign magi as the first witnesses.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Christmas is about God turning things upside down—which ironically is the right way up to begin with.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Every detail about the Christmas story (and the subsequent life of Jesus as well), states that God will reverse the mess and do so by first getting his own hands dirty. God conquers by humbling himself, he will heal by being wounded, he will save us by sacrificing himself. The manger is a throne, and works as a beacon of how God intends to turn everything upside down.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Grace triumphs over dominance, mercy over force, and Mary’s song will be the world’s song.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Joy will pierce through the sorrow and sadness, fully and forever.”

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                - Wes Huff

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • wraptile

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Happy winter solstice! I used to like Christmas but current version of geopolitics and christo fascists really nerfed the joy of Christmas. Maybe they'll release a patch fix by next year

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • tombert

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      I feel like Christmas is so secularized and commercialized that it doesn't have a lot to do with Christianity anymore.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      I'm not saying this as a bad thing; I'm not and have never been religious but I still love Christmas.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • tom1031

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    hello

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • dizhn

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Different times yes. It's also a political thing with people not wanting to call it or claim people don't want to call it Christmas (but holidays) and Ukraine changing their date a few years ago due to them not being Russia.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Merry Christmas everyone.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • bschmid12345idk

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        12/31/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        The United States is completely ran by pedophiles. Merry Christmas

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • cindyllm

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          [dead]

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • stefantalpalaru

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            [dead]

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • cindyllm

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              [dead]

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • ardan

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                [dead]

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • maxwelljoslyn

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  I'm on call this Christmas :')

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • hamonrye

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    [dead]

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • phodo

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Prompt: create a christmas tree in ascii but that is a merkle tree

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Answer: Here’s an ASCII Christmas tree that is also a Merkle tree (Each parent node is the hash of its two children; leaves are the “data blocks”.)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         MERKLE TREE  
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             H(ROOT)
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            /       \
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       H(0-1)       H(2-3)
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       /   \         /   \
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    H(0)  H(1)    H(2)  H(3)
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    / \    / \     / \    / \
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  D0  D0 D1 D1   D2 D2  D3 D3
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      But that's a little too tidy to be a proper Christmas tree — so here’s a more “tree-like” version with ornaments, while still preserving the Merkle structure:

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              H(ROOT) 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              /       \
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      H(0-1)         H(2-3) 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        /   \           /   \
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  H(0)   H(1)     H(2)   H(3) 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    / \     / \        / \     / \
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  D0  D0  D1  D1     D2  D2  D3  D3
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 (leaf)(leaf)(leaf) (leaf)(leaf)(leaf)
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Notes (so it’s actually Merkle-y)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      D0–D3 = data blocks (your “presents” )

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      H(0) = hash(D0 || D0) (duplicated leaf for balance, common in Merkle trees)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      H(0-1) = hash(H(0) || H(1))

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      H(ROOT) = hash(H(0-1) || H(2-3))

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      If you want, I can:

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      generate a bigger tree (8, 16, 32 leaves),

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      make the hashes look like real hash strings,

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      or format it like a perfect triangular Christmas tree silhouette while keeping the Merkle parent/child layout.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      -- Prompt: format it like a perfect triangular Christmas tree silhouette while keeping the Merkle parent/child layout.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Answer: You got it — here’s a perfect triangular Christmas tree silhouette that still preserves the Merkle parent/child layout (parents directly above their two children, leaves at the base).

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      H(ROOT) 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    /           \
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          ┌────────H(0-3)────────┐
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         /                       \
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  ┌────H(0-1)────┐         ┌────H(2-3)────┐
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 /               \         /               \
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             ┌─H(0)─┐         ┌─H(1)─┐ ┌─H(2)─┐         ┌─H(3)─┐
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             /     \         /     \   /     \         /     \
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           D0       D1     D2       D3 D4     D5     D6       D7
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      If you want it even more like a Christmas tree (full silhouette + ornaments)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Here’s a slightly more “filled” version while keeping the structure valid:

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          H(ROOT) 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        /           \
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               ──────H(0-3)──────
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     /               \
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           ─────H(0-1)─────   ─────H(2-3)─────
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 /         \           /         \
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         ───H(0)───   ───H(1)───   ───H(2)───   ───H(3)───
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              / \           / \           / \           / \
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            D0  D1        D2  D3        D4  D5        D6  D7
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Edit: Note the emoji ornaments did not come through.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Yash16

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        [dead]

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • helloweb123

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          [dead]

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • flipped

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            [flagged]

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • sapphirebreeze

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              12/24/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              [dead]

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • tamimio

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Technically it’s merry Yule and Saturnalia, christ has nothing to do with it.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Insanity

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Saturnalia isn’t related to it other than coincidence of dates, no?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Either way, merry Saturnalia to you! (Off-by-one day :D)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • oguz-ismail2

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      found the grinch

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • morshu9001

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          could just be very adamant about the Jan 6 date

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • cassiepaper

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            found a glitch

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • Minor49er

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          12/25/2025

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          A reader of Ernest L. Martin?