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▲ Tell HN: Merry Christmas
906 points by basilikum 8 hours ago | 238 comments

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 7 hours ago | parent | next [-]

         *             ,
                      _/^\_
                     <     >
    *                 /.-.\         *
             *        `/&\`                   *
                     ,@.*;@,
                    /_o.I %_\    *
       *           (`'--:o(_@;
                  /`;--.,__ `')             *
                 ;@`o % O,*`'`&\
           *    (`'--)_@ ;o %'()\      *
                /`;--._`''--._O'@;
               /&*,()~o`;-.,_ `""`)
    *          /`,@ ;+& () o*`;-';\
              (`""--.,_0 +% @' &()\
              /-.,_    ``''--....-'`)  *
         *    /@%;o`:;'--,.__   __.'\
             ;*,&(); @ % &^;~`"`o;@();         *
             /(); o^~; & ().o@*&`;&%O\
       jgs   `"="==""==,,,.,="=="==="`
          __.----.(\-''#####---...___...-----._
        '`         \)_`"""""`
                .--' ')
              o(  )_-\
                `"""` `
▲e-dant 3 hours ago | parent | next [-]

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

▲devsda 2 hours ago | parent [-]

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!

▲Grosvenor 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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

▲kylecazar 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

That jgs is killing me

▲opello 3 hours ago | parent [-]

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 2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

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!

▲opello 2 minutes ago | parent [-]

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.

▲blinding-streak an hour ago | parent | prev [-]

This guy was prolific! Wow

▲OptionOfT 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I thought this was Advent of Code! Merry Christmas!

▲gbraad 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Lots of great ASCII art by jgs

▲NaOH 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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 an hour ago | parent | next [-]

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

Thank you for posting this.

▲Razengan 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Damn.. :(

▲s5300 an hour ago | parent | prev [-]

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

Ahh. I was not aware of his passing, but I do recall his threads & being appreciative of them at the time.

Thanks for informing us.

___

Edit:

In trying to find an obituary, & after seeing a lot of very strange “groyper” related posts on his colitis fundraiser page, I came across this via google results:

“ Fans of white nationalist Nick Fuentes have been mourning the death of "AT Drummond", who they identify as Alexander Thomas Drummond. He has donated to Fuentes to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars, even bankrolling a fundraising event for Fuentes last year for $50k”

https://x.com/jaredlholt/status/1757799398707188046

Certainly threw me for a bit of a loop… people, uh – contain multitudes I guess. I will choose to try not to let this impact my memories of his goodwill here.

https://x.com/ATDrummond

This would appear to be his account – and for whatever it’s worth, he perhaps seems to hold some of my views on wondering why we’re sending so much money to Israel so they can genocide who ever they deem as lesser/non-humans.

__

Final edit:

Ahh, alright – I’ve lost my respect.

https://x.com/ATDrummond/status/1754657354082029669

Lauren was a dear friend of mine who was suffering greatly. Drummond apparently died of leukemia + crohns, so I don’t know why he’d make such a statement. Such is life

▲andy_ppp 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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 4 hours ago | parent | next [-]

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 2 hours ago | parent [-]

Try a cruise with at least one sea day

▲mh- 31 minutes ago | parent [-]

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

▲BiraIgnacio 6 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

All the best, take care!

▲DetectDefect 7 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Shall we showcase our trees?

        *
        |
       /.\
      /o..\
      /..O\
     /.o..o\
     /...o.\
    /..O..o.\
    ^^^[_]^^^
▲cluckindan 7 hours ago | parent | next [-]

      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 7 hours ago | parent | next [-]

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 6 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Hey we have the same tree!

    (()(()((())((())(()())))))
▲culi 5 hours ago | parent [-]

Pinus newickii

▲encomiast 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

May you have a perfectly balanced Christmas

                 h
            _____|______
          /             \
         r               t
       /   \           /   \
      e     .         i     a
     / \   / \       / \   / \
    M   r y   C     r   s m   s
▲blazingbanana 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

                                .-^-.
                               /_/_\_\
                              /_/_/_\_\
                             /_/_/_/_\_\
                            /_/_/_/_/_\_\
                           /_/_/_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_/_/_\_\
            /_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_\_\
                           |||||||||||||||
                           |||||||||||||||
                           |||||||||||||||
                           |||||||||||||||
                          _|||||||||||||||_
▲qingcharles an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-]

               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]
▲sallveburrpi 7 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

           @
          ***
         *****
        *******
       *********
      ***********
     *************
    ***************
           |
           |
Best I can do ;/
▲LeoPanthera 5 hours ago | parent | next [-]

I love your player character tree topper.

▲blazingbanana 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

It's the thought that counts

▲xandrius 7 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

¥

▲etothet 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

           *       
          /^\ 
         /* *\
        /+@o* \
       /o*+*o+*\
      /* @+*o@+*\
     /+*o*+@*o*+*\
    /@o+*o@+*o+@o*\
   /*+@o*+@*o+*o@+*\
  /o*+@o*+@o*+@o*+o*\
 /@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@\
          |||
          |||
▲keepamovin an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-]

  `        _\/_          .
     -      /\
            /|\     `
  .   /    /*|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 :)
▲gerdesj 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

                    *
                   /|\
                 [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 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Class ChristmasTree extends Tree{}

▲randallsquared 5 hours ago | parent [-]

Not always! Sometimes `extends Plastic{}`

▲Timwi 4 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Or `extends Aluminum{}`!

[0] https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AluminumChristma...

▲Hobadee 4 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

So Tree is an interface then, not a class?

▲russellbeattie an hour ago | parent | prev [-]

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

▲pdevr 7 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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.

▲NBJack 13 minutes ago | parent | next [-]

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.

▲jslpc 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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.

▲pmcginn 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

The Bible is full of fun stuff like that verse. Much of which modern day Christians perfectly ignore.

Thank you for sharing. Merry Christmas to you.

▲swat535 3 hours ago | parent [-]

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_ 3 hours ago | parent [-]

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

▲conception an hour ago | parent [-]

Eh not really - https://historyforatheists.com/2024/12/pagan-christmas-again...

Easter also not pagan. But pophistory thinks that as well. Scholarship doesn’t line up.

▲Yash16 8 minutes ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Merry Christmas Obsessed with this AI image prompt: “Awkward 90s Christmas Studio Portrait” https://picxstudio.com/templates/298-awkward-90s-christmas-s...

▲koito17 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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 6 hours ago | parent | next [-]

> 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.

▲freedomben 6 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Indeed, I needed it longer than one day so wrote myself an extension. HN didn't seem to care but I still love it :-)

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46266496

https://github.com/FreedomBen/hacker-news-christmas-colors-b...

▲dang 5 hours ago | parent [-]

Wow, perhaps my "too early" assessment was wrong?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46379541

▲freedomben an hour ago | parent [-]

Indeed, I didn't notice on desktop (due to my browser extension) but when I saw it on mobile at around 2 or 3 PM Mountain Time I was thrilled!

Thanks for continuing such an awesome tradition :-D

▲koito17 6 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Yeah, I'm aware of extensions like Stylus and use it on a few sites. But my brain is irrational and doesn't treat it the same as having a snapshot of HN during Christmas.

▲coffeemug 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Where did you move from (and to)?

▲koito17 6 hours ago | parent [-]

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 6 hours ago | parent [-]

> 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 4 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Welcome to Japan!

▲gavide 7 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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

Merry Christmas, HN!

▲jimbobthrowawy 3 hours ago | parent | next [-]

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.

▲eth0up 31 minutes ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I love all the trees but this is my favorite.

Thanks

Merry Christmas!

▲brulard 6 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

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

▲farmerbb 4 hours ago | parent | next [-]

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

▲kmoser 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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

▲MobiusHorizons 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

A Christmas tree through the snow?

▲gerdesj 6 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Fucked up Braille?

▲tekacs 7 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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 7 hours ago | parent | next [-]

You must have grabbed that first one awfully quickly!

▲The_President 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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

▲andersa 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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 6 hours ago | parent | next [-]

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

▲BubbleRings 5 hours ago | parent | next [-]

No numbers in Chrome on iPhone, fyi.

▲ojbyrne 4 hours ago | parent [-]

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

▲andersa 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Oh, indeed

▲Aspie96 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Japan changed its flag for Christmas…

▲jaggederest 6 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

The numbers next to the submissions are red/green

▲brcmthrowaway 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

What container is this running in?

▲dang 6 hours ago | parent [-]

FreeBSD

▲president_zippy 6 hours ago | parent | next [-]

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 6 hours ago | parent [-]

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

▲president_zippy 17 minutes ago | parent [-]

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 4 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

The power to serve

▲jagged-chisel 7 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Restart?!

ouch

▲basilikum 7 hours ago | parent | next [-]

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 7 hours ago | parent | next [-]

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)

▲basilikum 7 hours ago | parent [-]

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 7 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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 6 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

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 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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.

▲dang 7 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

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

It only affects traffic for about 10 seconds.

▲PureSin 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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 3 hours ago | parent [-]

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

▲jackdecker 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Merry Christmas HN!

        _===_
       /     \
      | () () |
      |   >   |
      |  ___  |
       \_____/
         |||
        _|||_
       /     \
      |       |
      |       |
       \_____/
         |||
        _|||_
       /     \
      /       \
     |         |
     |         |
      \_______/
      ||     ||
      ||     ||
     _||_   _||_
    |    | |    |
▲dzink 7 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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

              *
             /_\
            / o \
           /  *  \
          / o   o \
         /  . * .  \
        / o  * *  o \
       /  . * o * .  \
      / o  * * * *  o \
     /  . * o * o * .  \
    / o  * * * * * *  o \
   /______________________\
            |||||| 
            |||||| 
            ||||||
▲JKCalhoun 5 hours ago | parent [-]

The ol' off-by-one error.

Merry Christmat!

▲shredprez 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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

▲jherdman 7 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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 6 hours ago | parent [-]

Hear hear!!

▲0xbadcafebee 38 minutes ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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

▲BewareTheYiga 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

             *
            /*\
           /***\
          /*****\
         /*******\
        /*********\
       /***  *  ***\
      /*************\
     /***  *  *  ****\
    /*****************\
   /***  *  *  *  *****\
  /*********************\
 /********** *** ********\
            |||
            |||
            |||
Merry Christmas, HN
▲shortcord 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Luke 2:14

    [14] “Glory to God in the highest,
        and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
▲decibe1 15 minutes ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Merry Christmas and a happy new year!

▲timenotwasted 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

            *
           /_\
          /___\
         /_____\
        /_______\
       /_________\
      /___________\
     /_____________\
    /_______________\
           |||
           |||
Merry Christmas!
▲robofanatic 7 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

          *
         /|\
        //|\\
       ///|\\\
      ////|\\\\    
          |
▲merryxmas 7 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

             Ⓜerry    
                           
           ©hr®istmas ‼ ⁉

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

Some interesting and topical links:

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

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Nicholas_Church,_Demre

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

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%A4vle_goat

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

▲devgoth 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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 3 hours ago | parent [-]

Same! HN is my morning paper now.

▲robofanatic 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

            *
            ^
           ^^^
          ^^^^^
         ^^^^^^^
          ^^^^^
        ^^^^^^^^^
         ^^^^^^^
        ^^^^^^^^^
         ^^^^^^^
          ^^^^^
           | |
▲snowless 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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

▲b8 an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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 an hour ago | parent [-]

>> 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.

▲gbraad 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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

▲coffeemug 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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!

▲jimnotgym 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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

▲wraptile 32 minutes ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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 29 minutes ago | parent [-]

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.

▲unangst 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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.

▲robch 40 minutes ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Merry Christmas to all or whatever you celebrate!

▲mjh2539 31 minutes ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Tidings and good cheer to all.

▲bradly 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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

▲judah 7 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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

▲marnett 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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

▲bhavikjadav 36 minutes ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Merry Christmas, everybody!

▲flowinghorse 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

              *
             / \
            /   \
           /  o  \
          /   .   \
         /  +   o  \
        /   .    .  \
       /  o    @     \
      /_______________\
            |   |
            |___|
▲Gricha 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Merry Christmas everyone! :)

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

▲arthurcolle 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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

▲schwede 40 minutes ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Merry Christmas hackers!

▲peterspath 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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 an hour ago | parent [-]

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.)

▲pazimzadeh 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Happy Winter Solstice (resurrection of the sun)

Happy Yalda (Yuletide)

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

▲lschueller 7 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Merry Christmas to the awesome hn community!

▲rishabhd an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Merry Christmas everyone!

▲sklargh 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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

▲glitchc 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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

▲jeanlucas 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Merry Christmas, Feliz Natal.

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

▲anthonyIPH 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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

▲theophrastus 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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

▲mintflow 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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

Merry Christmas to everyone.

▲dang 5 hours ago | parent [-]

(note the red and green story numbers as well)

(this is an old pg tradition btw)

▲duckkg5 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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

▲keyboardJones 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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

▲koakuma-chan 7 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I got scared when I refreshed and HN turned red

▲nrhrjrjrjtntbt 5 hours ago | parent [-]

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

▲altuzar 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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

▲crims0n 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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).

▲medbar 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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

▲randycupertino 7 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Here's to a happy and healthy 2026!

Thanks HN for all the thoughtful comments and interesting articles.

▲lastdong 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Merry Christmas! HN Christmas theme is always great to see

           *
          /_\
         /***\
        /*****\
       /*******\
      /*********\
          |||
          |||
▲kehvyn 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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.

▲nhhvhy an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Merry Christmas!

▲Wasserpuncher 7 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Merry Christmas!

▲chrisfusillo 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Merry Christmas from a long time HN lurker!

▲ProofHouse 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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 an hour ago | parent [-]

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.

▲ilaksh 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

https://codepen.io/LimeWub/full/yQWbNW

▲Insanity 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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

▲stack_framer 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Merry Christmas, hackers!

▲wdr1 an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Merry Christmas!

▲defrost 7 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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

▲ashtonshears 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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

▲russellbeattie an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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

▲reckez 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Merry Christmas!

▲bix6 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Merry Christmas everyone!

Favorite Christmas movie?

▲kQq9oHeAz6wLLS an hour ago | parent [-]

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.

▲HaZeust an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Merry Christmas, everyone!

▲calebm 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Happy Christmas, and Merry New Year!

▲arjonagelhout 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Merry Christmas!

Here’s a quad tree:

11

11

—

0110

0110

1111

0110

—

00000000

00011000

00011000

00111100

01111110

11111111

00011000

00011000

▲busymom0 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Merry Christmas Hacker News!!!

▲hackerbrother 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Hey, Merry Christmas. Thanks for posting.

▲nullable_bool 7 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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

▲black_knight 7 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Meri Yule!

▲fellowniusmonk 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Merry Christmas!

▲qD29Lno-oKXPLEv 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Merry Christmas to everyone and a Happy New Year

▲nish__ 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Cheers, friends!

▲tehlike 7 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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

▲spankibalt 7 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Merry Christmas, bambini.

▲armeet 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

♥

▲didip 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Merry Christmas everyone!

▲xandrius 7 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

"A Spaceman Came Travelling" - Chris de Burgh

▲zanetaylor 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Merry Christmas!

▲throwpoaster 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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

▲tory 7 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Merry Christmas :)

▲cniebla 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Merry Christmas! Feliz Navidad!

▲jimbobthrowawy 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Crimmas!

▲agentifysh 8 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Merry Christmas y'all keep promptin'

▲nervysnail 7 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I was surprised to see HN change colour.

▲dannieeric 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Merry Christmas, everybody!

▲guestbest 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Merry Christmas to All

▲renjieliu 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

圣诞快乐

▲jadbox 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Merry Christmas friends!

▲_DeadFred_ 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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 5 hours ago | parent [-]

God bless you. Wishing you joy.

▲sprybear 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Merry Christmas!

▲anonym29 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Merry Christmas!

  ▲
  ▲▲
did I do it right?
▲stoneman24 7 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

A Merry Christmas to everyone !

▲nmhancoc 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Merry Christmas HN!

▲givemeethekeys 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Merry Christmas, everyone!

▲michaelsbradley 7 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Merry Christmas

Christus natus est

O Χριστός γεννιέται

Христос раждается

המשיח נולד

ابن الله يولد اليوم

▲whynotmaybe 6 hours ago | parent [-]

Joyeux Noël

Vrolijk Kerstmis

▲fuzzfactor 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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

▲kevinmhickey 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Merry Christmas to all!!

▲robertwt7 7 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Merry Christmas everyone!!

▲drfuzzy89 7 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Merry Christmas, everyone!

▲kreelman 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Merry Christmas !

▲ekianjo 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Merry Xmas Everyone!

▲fergbrain 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Blessed Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ

▲LargoLasskhyfv 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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

Wir Frässähn bis die Schwarte kracht!

▲qntmfred 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

and on earth peace, good will toward men

▲alexpadula 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Merry Christmas!

▲GloriousKoji 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Happy Holidays!

▲elemdos 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Merry Christmas!

▲GreyZephyr 7 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Merry Christmas!

▲booleandilemma 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Merry Christmas HN!

▲phodo 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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.
▲andrepd 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Happy holidays!

▲tuggi 7 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Merry Xmas HN!

▲jackblack369 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

enjoy your life

▲2OEH8eoCRo0 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Merry Christmas to all!

▲adventured 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Merry Christmas HN

▲reactordev 7 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

What a year!

▲aclark 7 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Merry XMAS!!

▲tamimio 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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

▲Insanity 6 hours ago | parent | next [-]

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 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

found the grinch

▲sallveburrpi 7 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Feliz natal

▲tom1031 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

hello

▲bossyTeacher 7 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJtZXNzYWdlIjoiTWVycnkgQ2hyaXN0bWFzIiwidG8iOiJIYWNrZXIgTmV3cyJ9.Lg_fp5WWKGLpbxI_YbRY-CfQiXe-gLXzDFMiChkXzY0

▲pdevr 6 hours ago | parent [-]

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

▲curtisblaine 7 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Merry Christmas!

▲sdobbie 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Merry Christmas!

▲songodongo 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Merry Christmas! Christ is King.

▲imchillyb 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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!

▲readthenotes1 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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

https://xkcd.com/835/

▲maxwelljoslyn 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

I'm on call this Christmas :')