>> in her annual christmas message this year, britain's queen elizabeth acknowledged the work of the community and frontline health care workers during the covid-19 pandemic. the tradition of the royal christmas message dates back to 1932, with a radio address by george v. queen elizabeth made the first televised address in 1957. ♪

queen elizabeth: every year, we herald the coming of christmas by turning on the lights. and light does more than create a festive mood. light brings hope. for christians, jesus is the light of the world, but we cannot celebrate his best today celebrate his brith today in quite the usual way. people of all faiths have been unable to gather as they would wish for their festivals, such as passover, easter, eid, and others. but we need life to go on. last month, fireworks lit up the

sky around windsor as hindus, sikhs, and jains gathered to celebrate diwali. s.e festival of light remarkably, a year that has kept people apart has, in many ways, brought us closer. across the commonwealth, my family and i have been inspired by stories of people volunteering in their communities, helping those in need. in the united kingdom and around the world, people have risen magnificently to the challenges of the year, and i'm so proud and moved by this quiet indomitable spirit. to our young people in particular i say thank you to the part you have played. this year we celebrated international nurses day on the 200th anniversary of the birth of florence nightingale. as with other nursing pioneers

like mary ceco, florence nightingale shown a lamp of hope across the world. today, our frontline services still shine that lamp for us, supported by the amazing achievements of modern science. and we owe them a debt of gratitude. we continue to be inspired by the kindness of strangers and draw comfort that even on the darkest nights there is hope in the new dawn. jesus touched on this with a parable of the good samaritan, the man who is robbed and left at the roadside is saved by someone who did not share his religion or culture. this wonderful story of kindness is still as relevant today. good samaritans have emerged across society, showing care and respect for all, regardless of

gender, race, and background. reminding us that each one of us is special and equal in the eyes of god. the teachings of christ have served as my inner light, as has the sense of purpose we can find in coming together to worship. in november, we commemorated another hero. though nobody knows his name. the tomb of the unknown warrior is not a large memorial, but everyone entering westminster abbey has to walk around his resting place, honoring this unnamed commandant of the first world war. a symbol of selfless duty and ultimate sacrifice. the unknown warrior was not exceptional. that's not the point. he represents millions like him who, throughout our history, have put the lives of others above their own, and will be doing so today.

for me, this is a source of endearing hope in difficult and unpredictable times. of course, for many, this time of year will be tinged with sadness. some mourning the loss of those dear to them, and others missing friends and family members distanced for safety. when all they really want for christmas is a simple hug or a squeeze of the hand. if you are among them, you are not alone. and let me assure you of my thoughts and prayers. the bible tells how a star appeared in the sky, its light guiding the shepherds and wise men to the scene of jesus' birth. let the light of christmas, the spirit of selflesness, love, and

above all, hope, guide us in the times ahead. it is in that spirit that i wish you a very happy christmas. ♪ >> ♪ joy to the world, the lord is come let earth receive her king let every heart prepare him room, and heaven and nature sing, and heaven and nature sing, and heaven, and heaven, and nature sing joy to the world, the savior reigns let men their songs employ while fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains repeat the sounding joy,

repeat the sounding joy, repeat, repeat, the sounding joy he rules the world with truth and grace, and makes the nations prove the glories of his righteousness, and wonders of his love, and wonders of his love, and wonders, wonders, of his love ♪ [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2020] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] announcer: ant 8:00 p.m. tonight on c-span, an event on division in america with the heads of the

naacp, the anti-defamation league, and the league for united latin american citizens. 2, bookp.m. on c-span tv marks the 20th anniversary of with highlights from some of the office -- of the authors who have appeared on the program. on c-span 3 at 8:00 p.m., a look at new york city's lower east side tenement museum and how immigrant families in the 19th and 20th century scoped with poverty and crowded conditions. announcer: c-span's washington journal, every day. we are taking your calls live on the air about the news of the day, and discussing policy issues that impact the. this week is our annual authors week series. and coming up saturday morning, former trump organization executive vice president barbara rez with her book, "tower of lies.

what my 18 years of working with donald trump reveals about him." and james and tal talks about the republican party and the incoming biden administration. wash washington journal, lives at 7:00 eastern saturday morning, and be sure to join the discussion with your phone calls, facebook comments, text messages and tweets. announcer: sticking to look at the u.s. capitol on this christmas, a busy week in congress leading up to today. both the house and senate approved federal spending and covid relief measures. president trump has threatened to veto the spending bill because he wants larger stimulus checks. the current legislation calls for $600, while the president wants $2000. house democrats attempted to pass a bill increasing the size of the stimulus, only to believe -- only to be blocked by a republican. they will try again monday. in other news, president trump veto the defense programs and policy bills.

two issues he rejected to was failure to repeal a bill that protects social media companies, and the removal of confederate names from military bases. watch the house live on c-span, and see the senate live on c-span 2. announcer: you are watching c-span, your unfiltered view of government. c-span was created by america's cable television companies in 1979. byay, we're brought to you these television companies who provide c-span to viewers as a public service. announcer: senator lamar alexander is retiring after the current term. the tennessee republican has been elected to three terms on capitol hill, 18 years. senate republican leader mitch mcconnell gave an emotional