Christmas

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

Stories 281 - 300 | << Prev   Next >>

Tea Baggers Demand Mandatory Xmas Carols

Initiative seeks to force Calif. schools to offer festive music

(Newser) - Members of the Tea Party movement are fighting to force California schoolchildren to sing Christmas carols. Substitute teacher Merry Hyatt has partnered with churches to gain signatures for the ballot initiative, which would require children to either sing or perform Christmas songs at school. Penalties would be imposed on schools...

How 'White Christmas' Stole Our Hearts—and Ears

Classic tune recalls America's loss of innocence on entering WWII

(Newser) - The best-selling record of all time is a deceptively simple 15-line song about longing for home, writes Roy J. Harris for the Wall Street Journal , in a look at how the Bing Crosby-crooned, Irving Berlin-penned "White Christmas" has managed to sell an estimated 100 million copies over the last...

21 Kinky (and Gross) Christmas Gifts

From Santa dildos to boobie ornaments, these gifts are truly disturbing

(Newser) - Ah, the holidays: A time for family, a time for eggnog and roasting chestnuts, a time for…reindeer thongs? Simcha Whitehill selects the 21 most disturbing "sexy" gifts on The Frisky —check out a few, above, or click here for the complete list.

It's High Time We Get a New Classic Christmas Movie
It's High Time We Get a New Classic Christmas Movie
no more 'elf,' please
Dec 6, 2009 7:10 AM CST

It's High Time We Get a New Classic Christmas Movie

A critic says 'bah humbug' to another year's worth of mediocre movies

(Newser) - When it comes to films, the Christmas canon is made up of old favorites like It's a Wonderful Life, A Christmas Story, and Miracle on 34th Street that are, well, old—and it's high time that changed. The 21st century is the "dark ages" of holiday movie going, writes...

Gingerbread White House Boasts Candy Bo
 Gingerbread 
 White House 
 Boasts 
 Candy Bo 
white house holidays
Dec 3, 2009 3:32 PM CST

Gingerbread White House Boasts Candy Bo

Eco-friendly lights, 27 trees liven up the full-size executive mansion

(Newser) - Everyone got into the act of readying the White House for the holidays—staffers and volunteers who helped with decorating, community groups whose members created ornaments, and even the White House bees, whose honey went into the gingerbread that became a 390-pound replica of the executive mansion. At the bottom...

Holiday Shopping Tip: Money Can Buy You Love
Holiday Shopping Tip: Money Can Buy You Love
george will
Nov 26, 2009 9:49 AM CST

Holiday Shopping Tip: Money Can Buy You Love

Yuletide economics dissected

(Newser) - Christmas is coming, and the "voluntary December calamity" of destruction of billions of dollars in value is under way, writes George Will. People will splurge on gifts their relatives and friends don't want or need, and the discrepancy between the cost of the present and its value to the...

Oprah to Interview Obamas for Christmas Show

Primetime program will air next month on ABC

(Newser) - Oprah Winfrey will interview the First Couple for a primetime holiday special. Oprah’s Christmas show for ABC will feature an interview with the Obamas and a tour of the White House. Christmas at the White House airs 10pm Sunday, Dec. 13, notes the Hollywood Reporter .

What She Always Wanted: Reindeer Dung Necklace
What She Always Wanted: Reindeer Dung Necklace
who needs pearls?
Nov 24, 2009 9:07 AM CST

What She Always Wanted: Reindeer Dung Necklace

Zoo aims to plug budget holes with droppings

(Newser) - For that special someone: An Illinois zoo is selling sterilized reindeer droppings in the form of "Magical Reindeer Gem" pendant necklaces available at its gift shop and through mail order. The $20 glitter-encrusted necklaces are a bit silly, a zoo spokeswoman admits to the AP , but they're selling fast...

Beware 12 Scams of Christmas
 Beware 12 Scams of Christmas 
Nov 21, 2009 3:12 PM CST

Beware 12 Scams of Christmas

Online schemes take advantage of the holiday spirit

(Newser) - The holiday season brings out the best in online scammers. CNET runs down common schemes to beware of, courtesy of McAfee:
  • Fake delivery invoices: They look like legit emails from UPS, Federal Express, and the like, asking for address confirmation and credit card info to ensure delivery.
  • Holiday e-cards: Make
...

Christian Group Boycotts Gap Over Holiday Ads
 Christian Group 
 Boycotts Gap 
 Over Holiday Ads 
war on christmas
Nov 13, 2009 2:15 PM CST

Christian Group Boycotts Gap Over Holiday Ads

Not enough Christ in Gap's Christmas: AFA

(Newser) - A Christian group has launched a boycott of the Gap over its religion-neutral holiday ads. The American Family Association, already ticked off by last year’s campaign, which wished consumers a “Merry Gap-mas,” hit the roof over this year's “Go Christmas, Go Hanukkah, Go Kwanzaa, Go Solstice....

Inside the Scientology Holiday Catalog
 Inside the 
 Scientology 
 Holiday Catalog 
FOR THE XENU WHO HAS EVERYTHING
Nov 4, 2009 10:37 AM CST

Inside the Scientology Holiday Catalog

And yes, that is a picture of Santa at a Scientology Christmas bash

(Newser) - Not sure what to buy Tom Cruise for Christmas? Just take a gander at the Scientology Holiday Catalog, which Jezebel's Dodai got her hands on by way of a reader. Noteworthy items include a collection of 18 Nigerian goatskin-bound books of The Basics for a cool $2,000, a $4,...

Bob Dylan's Xmas Album 'Sort of Insane'
 Bob Dylan's 
 Xmas Album 
 'Sort of Insane' 
MUSIC REVIEW
Oct 26, 2009 11:13 AM CDT

Bob Dylan's Xmas Album 'Sort of Insane'

Even so, the 'beloved iconoclast' puts together an interesting collection

(Newser) - With the announcement of Bob Dylan’s Christmas in the Heart, “smirkers got smirkier”—you try picturing Dylan singing the lyric, “How’d ya like to hang a stocking on a great big coconut tree?” without smirking—but in the end, the collection is interesting, if a...

Neiman 'Fantasy Gift' Pricetags Plummet to Mere $250K

Slowdown scales down costs as even super-rich turn 'frugal'

(Newser) - The slowdown in luxury spending has spurred Neiman Marcus to make its "fantasy items" in this year's Christmas catalog a lot less fantastic than in years past. For the first time in a decade there's no $1 million-plus items on offer, like the $20 million submarine offered in 2000...

Ho-Ho-Hold on a Minute, Xmas in July?

Stores launch summer promotions to snag holiday dollars early

(Newser) - It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in malls across the country as stores angle for some extremely early holiday dollars, the Wall Street Journal reports. Retailers like Toys'R'US, Sears and Kmart have dragged Santa away from his summer break and launched July Christmas promotions, hoping to boost sales...

Pope Plans Christmas Album
 Pope Plans Christmas Album 
Jul 31, 2009 1:45 AM CDT

Pope Plans Christmas Album

(Newser) - Pope Benedict XVI has joined Guns n' Roses and Snoop Dogg on Geffen  records' roster of artists and plans to have an album out in time for Christmas, the Guardian reports. The pontiff won't be crooning holiday standards, however. The album will feature Benedict singing a prayer and reciting litanies...

Desperate in July, Sears Looks to Santa for Bailout

(Newser) - Sears is taking the “Christmas in July” trope to a whole new level. With June retail sales tumbling, the company is looking for a boost by selling actual Christmas products, Time reports. Soon, 372 Sears stores will roll out displays hawking tree ornaments, stocking stuffers, and other decidedly off-season...

'Santa Shooter' Had Coke in His System

(Newser) - The California man who murdered his ex-wife and eight members of her family on Christmas Eve while dressed as Santa Claus had cocaine in his system, the Los Angeles Times reports. The coroner’s office said the cocaine was present in trace amounts and was only a contributing factor to...

Brit's Beau Meets Folks— or Is This a Hoax?

Sources place Sandip in US, but reports say it's all phony

(Newser) - It seems like only yesterday Britney was shaving her head and dating bad boys—now she’s (supposedly) cooking dinner and introducing her new boyfriend to her parents, the Daily Mirror reports. A source claims Bollywood choreographer Sandip Soparrkar flew to the US to spend New Year’s Eve with...

Christmas Intruder Lived in Family's Attic

Hidden house guest helped himself to food, clothing, gifts

(Newser) - Call him the Attic Ghost of Christmas Present. An intruder lived undetected in a Pennsylvania family's attic for several days, including Christmas, stealing food and clothing when the occupants were out, reports the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader. The family finally called police when they discovered several expensive Christmas gifts missing. The...

From Now 'Til New Year's: Baby-Making on the Rise

Increased leisure time and resolutions the cause

(Newser) - The gifts have been opened, but a special package may be arriving 9 months from now. The days between Christmas and the start of the New Year see more sex than usual, reports McClatchy Newspapers, which cite Trojan condom's pre-New Year's sales as proof.  The hanky panky results in...

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