Christmas Eve Day tends to be pretty quiet. I can sleep in, pray the Office leisurely, make a Castle Dracula Shirt hour around ten and the church will be silent. The ladies (and a few of their husbands) come into decorate the church around ten, usually signalling my retreat back to the rectory. Definitely have some Christmas music on, either TSO or a capella carols. Might take a break from the music and watch a movie. After a late lunch, the madness begins. I head over to the Church early and help the ushers set up overflow seating, making sure that they all know where anything that might have gotten moved is (I have memorable experiences of the hunt for the gifts at an overflow Mass). As the first people arrive, go to greet them. About half an hour before Mass, shift to making sure we have bodies for the various roles, particularly servers. After the insanity of the (~4:00) “children’s” Mass, the church empties out. If there is another Mass (typically ~7:00) it is much more sedate. Then a quick dinner and a nap, before the “Midnight” Mass (typically moved up to ~10:00).
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The Mongols had already wrecked Eastern Europe prior to Kublai becoming the Great Khan, and most of the Robert Suarez Bobby Fastballs San Diego Padres Shirt north and east of the Black Sea were under the control of the Golden Horde. The Mongols had proven that they could not only take the castles of Europe, but also beat its armies soundly. That’s where the technically yes part comes in. Based on what we saw, the Mongols were entirely capable of defeating the western European powers and invade Europe. But the key thing is that as I mentioned, the lands to the north and east of the Black Sea were ruled by the Golden Horde. By the time Kublai became Great Khan, the Mongol Empire was functionally four different realms. There was obviously Mongolia and China, which were Kublai’s domains, but there was also the Chagatai Khanate in Central Asia, the aforementioned Golden Horde in eastern Russia, and the Ilkhanate in Persia. The three latter khanates nominally owed loyalty to Kublai, and indeed the Ilkhanate was originally founded and ruled by his brother Hulaagu, but the fact was that they were independent and did what they wanted. For the most part. This is where the logically no part comes in. Kublai came to power after a civil war with his younger brother Ariq Boke, and the war essentially solidified the independent nature of the other three Khanates. To sum up a long answer, yes the Mongols could have done it if they wanted to, but they didn’t because of their own political situation and the fact that Kublai was a sinophile who ended up adopting the Chinese culture and system because it suited his needs and ambition.
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