Eastern Bloc abolished provisions guaranteeing the ruling Communist party its leading role. President Gustáv Husák appointed the first largely non-Communist government in Czechoslovakia since 1948, and resigned, in what was called the Velvet Revolution. Romania had rejected de-Stalinization. Following growing public protests, dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu ordered a mass rally in his support outside Communist Party headquarters in Bucharest. But mass protests against Ceauşescu proceeded. The Romanian military sided with protesters and turned on Ceauşescu. They executed him after a brief trial three days later. Even before the Bloc's last years, all of the countries in the Warsaw Pact did not always act
Alone on Christmas Day Alone on Christmas Day "Alone on Christmas Day" is a song written by Mike Love and Ron Altbach for American rock band the Beach Boys. Intended for a potential Christmas album, their 1977 recording was left unreleased. In November 2015, Love rerecorded the song as "(You'll Never Be) Alone on Christmas Day" and released it as a single. The next month, a version by French rock band Phoenix featuring Bill Murray was released. The song was written by the Beach Boys' co-founder Mike Love in collaboration with classical pianist Ron Altbach for a potential Christmas album. In 1977, a rough