Christmas

Read the most recent news stories about Christmas on Newser.com

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Pictures of Christmas Around the Globe

(Newser) - As Pope Francis delivers his inaugural "Urbi et Orbi" Christmas message and President Obama hails a merrier Christmas for US troops , planet Earth is getting into the holiday spirit. A look around the globe as it celebrates in midnight masses and Santa hats, as per the AP .

Francis Cheers Jesus&#39; Humble Start
 Francis Cheers 
 Jesus' Humble Start 
CHRISTMAS EVE MASS
Dec 24, 2013 5:22 PM CST

Francis Cheers Jesus' Humble Start

Pope celebrates first Christmas Eve mass at Vatican

(Newser) - The Vatican's popular new guy is celebrating his first Christmas Eve mass at St. Peter's Basilica, and Pope Francis took the occasion to continue to draw from his themes of humility and charity toward society's poor and vulnerable. Emphasizing Jesus Christ's quite humble beginnings, he said,...

10 Wacky, Cool Ways the World Celebrates Christmas

From a straw goat in Sweden to hiding brooms in Norway

(Newser) - Your Christmas may include fruitcake, gifts, and a tree strung with lights, but the holiday season is celebrated a little differently in other parts of the world. In an article picked up from AccuWeather.com, LiveScience rounds up 10 wacky Christmas traditions you may want to adopt—and some you...

Christmas Is for Jews, Too
 Christmas Is 
 for Jews, Too 
OPINION
Dec 24, 2013 1:38 PM CST

Christmas Is for Jews, Too

Two Jewish writers say they celebrate the holiday

(Newser) - People often try to tell Charlotte Alter that she shouldn't celebrate Christmas because she's Jewish. Her response? "First, mind your own business and leave my gingerbread house alone," she writes at Time . For many, this holiday is about Santa, not Jesus—and who's to say...

Merry Christmas: Can We Cut the Power Struggle Already?

Free-speech wars are about power and not very Christian: Michael Gerson

(Newser) - Christmas has become the most wonderful time of year ... for heated political debate, especially of the "War on Christmas" or First Amendment variety. It's "when all the ideologues get a little extra outrage or victimization in their stockings," writes Michael Gerson in the Washington Post . This...

Tree-Munching Bugs Wage War on Christmas

Adelgids deplete fir tree population

(Newser) - Talk about a war on Christmas: It's happening right now in southern Appalachia, and the aggressors are freckle-sized bugs with no natural predators. The balsam woolly adelgid, as the creature is known, is wreaking havoc on Canaan and Fraser firs, famed as Christmas trees. The onslaught is leaving trees...

Radio Station Grants Last Wish—2 Years After Death

Brenda Schmitz wanted best for remarried husband, kids

(Newser) - A month before she died of ovarian cancer in September 2011, Brenda Schmitz wrote down a few wishes for her family—her husband, her four boys, and the special woman she hoped they would find. They weren't to be read until after her husband had remarried. This year, a...

Holidays Bring &#39;Third Shift&#39; to Overworked Women
Holidays Bring 'Third Shift'
to Overworked Women
OPINION
Dec 21, 2013 11:58 AM CST

Holidays Bring 'Third Shift' to Overworked Women

Brigid Schulte: Too often, it's moms responsible for 'Christmas magic'

(Newser) - Generally speaking, it's the women in American families who feel the most stress about creating "Christmas magic" this time of year, writes Brigid Schulte in the Washington Post . She cites a psychological survey, personal experience, and all kinds of anecdotal evidence to make the case that it's...

Airline Gives Fliers the Gifts They Want for Christmas
Airline Gives Fliers the Gifts They Want for Christmas
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Dec 15, 2013 11:05 AM CST

Airline Gives Fliers the Gifts They Want for Christmas

WestJet passengers receive gifts—some pricey—after flight

(Newser) - These may have been the best plane flights of all time: Passengers on two WestJet flights last month got a chance to talk to Santa via video before boarding—and by the time they arrived, the gifts they had asked him for had been bought, wrapped, and were on their...

War on Christmas Was Very Real— in the 1600s

Boston Puritans banned the holiday

(Newser) - The War on Christmas existed long before Fox News. In the 17th century, it was an indisputable fact: Boston Puritans canceled Christmas for 22 years, and those caught celebrating were hit with a fine, Mental Floss explains. A court order in 1659 warned against "observing any such day as...

We Haven't Had a Real Christmas Hit in 19 Years

Chris Klimek blames nostalgia, iTunes

(Newser) - It has apparently become impossible to write a new Christmas classic. The holiday canon "isn’t just closed—it’s a location-undisclosed black site that’s locked down tighter than Santa’s workshop," observes Chris Klimek at Slate . The last song that really fits the bill is Mariah...

Grinchy County to Neighborhood: Take Down Your Xmas Lights

Strung across the street, they pose fire hazard: officials

(Newser) - A neighborhood in Orange County, Calif., is brightly decorated with Christmas lights strung across the street—and that hasn't exactly put county officials in the holiday spirit. The lights pose a fire hazard and could prevent emergency vehicles from getting through, officials say, calling the decorations an "unpermitted...

Lords, Ladies Jack Up Cost of '12 Days of Christmas'

All 364 presents will run you more than $114K

(Newser) - Well, you really should have bought all the gifts from the "12 Days of Christmas" song last year, because this year they'll set you back $114,651—a 6.9% increase from 2012's $107,300 . You can blame the price jump on the nine ladies dancing and...

Why Christmas Should Be on January 25
 Why Christmas 
 Should Be on 
 January 25 
OPINION
Nov 29, 2013 12:59 PM CST

Why Christmas Should Be on January 25

It gives us more time, less stress: Erin Gloria Ryan

(Newser) - Face it: Nobody likes the end of the year. You spend a ton of money on gifts and travel, plus you have to shove so many Christmas activities into the few weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas, you barely get to enjoy any of them. Which is why, on Jezebel , Erin...

Sick Boy Who Got Town-wide Early Christmas Dies

Port Clinton made sure dying Devin Kohlman got his own holiday

(Newser) - A boy whose last wish was to be home for Christmas has died, two weeks after his hometown welcomed him with a festive tree outside his window and a motorcycle-riding Santa Claus. Doctors had told the family of 13-year-old Devin Kohlman that he didn't have long to live so...

Hallmark: Sorry We Edited 'Gay' Xmas Lyrics

Tree ornament says 'Don we now our fun apparel'

(Newser) - Hallmark is apologizing after some altered Christmas carol lyrics landed the company in hot water. A sweater-shaped tree ornament bears the words, "Don we now our fun apparel"—rather than the traditional "gay apparel" celebrated in "Deck the Halls." The item prompted CNN anchor Carol...

Entire Town Throws Early Christmas for Dying Boy

Devin Kohlman can see 'winter wonderland' from his window

(Newser) - Port Clinton, Ohio, sounds like a pretty incredible town. Devin Kohlman, one of its own, is dying of brain cancer, and he may not live long enough to see Christmas this year. So the 13-year-old's hometown has come together to start the holiday season early for him. Toledo News...

You Can Now Say 'Merry Christmas' in Texas Schools

'Religious freedom does not mean freedom from religion' says Perry

(Newser) - Saying "Merry Christmas" (or "Happy Hanukkah" or even "Have a festive Festivus") is now legally protected in Texas schools, thanks to a new law signed by Rick Perry yesterday. The "Merry Christmas" bill also protects schools from decorating with seasonal religious symbols such as menorahs...

Palin Taking on 'Scrooges' in New Book

Title: 'A Happy Holiday IS a Merry Christmas'

(Newser) - Sarah Palin's message-broadening campaign is apparently up and running. Her next book, a defense of traditional Christmas values, is slated to hit shelves this November, reports the AP . A Happy Holiday IS a Merry Christmas, published by HarperCollins, will be a critical look at the "overcommercialism" and "...

Christmas Storms, Tornadoes Hit South

 6 Dead, Thousands 
 Stranded in Storm 
updated
Dec 26, 2012 3:37 PM CST

6 Dead, Thousands Stranded in Storm

More than 1,300 flights have been canceled

(Newser) - Nasty holiday weather that brought tornadoes to the South and blizzards across the nation's middle is now headed for the Northeast, reports AccuWeather.com . It's not going to be a pretty travel day, whether on the ground or in the air.
  • 6 deaths: Winds brought down a tree
...

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