Christmas

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

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Farmers Already Working on Your '09 Bird

With Americans eating 17% of annual output today, planning ahead is crucial

(Newser) - Ever wonder how the grocery store bins fill up with so many turkeys come late November? Lots and lots of planning, explains Nina Shen Rastogi in Slate. Americans will eat about 46 million birds today—that accounts for 17% of all turkeys raised in the US in a given year....

Four Christmases a Big Turkey
 Four Christmases a Big Turkey 
MOVIE REVIEW
Nov 26, 2008 9:46 AM CST

Four Christmases a Big Turkey

Holiday comedy saps critics of their Christmas cheer

(Newser) - Holiday comedy Four Christmases had some critics chuckling but left most moaning ho-ho-no. Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon star as a couple forced by circumstance to visit the dysfunctional families of their divorced parents, but the "predictable and dyspeptic story" lacks the bite of misanthropic holiday classics like Bad ...

Even Santa's Getting the Old Heave-Ho-Ho-Ho

Gigs cut, pay slashed, big elf not so jolly

(Newser) - St. Nick is already doing some serious belt-tightening in New York City as cash-strapped stores and malls head into the not-so-jolly season, thanks to the economy. Far fewer jobs and slashed pay rates are leaving wanna-be Santas with little clause to celebrate.

Colbert's Christmas Parody Tacky But Fun

Stephen tries too hard in special, but fans will enjoy it

(Newser) - Stephen Colbert fans will find much to love in his parody of old-time Christmas specials, though critics carp that the gags are too long and chuckles too few. “Colbert is delightful,” writes Alessandra Stanley of the New York Times, but “the show is too long and more...

Atheists Offer 'Reason's Greetings' in Marketing Blitz

With fewer Americans claiming organized religion, nonbelievers step up campaign

(Newser) - It just isn’t the holiday season in America until nonbelievers and the devout begin sparring. This year, the godless are on the offensive, launching a marketing campaign to capitalize on the loosening grip of organized religion, telling neighbors, “We’re just like you,” the Wall Street Journal...

Economic Squeeze Means Merry Christmas for Wal-Mart

Retailer expects blockbuster season as cash-strapped shoppers seek bargains

(Newser) - Wal-Mart is readying for bumper sales while most US retailers brace themselves for a miserable holiday season, the New York Times reports. Squeezed consumers are flocking to the discount chain as the economic downturn begins to bite. The firm is expected to report a modest increase in sales for October,...

What Are You Doing Here, Fat Man?!

Strategies for coping with the too-early holiday season

(Newser) - Halloween is over, and you know what that means: It’s Christmas. The annoyingly early holiday cheer is already descending upon us. Jezebel provides some tips for surviving the X-mas blitzkrieg:
  • Be a Halloween extender: If your neighbors can keep Christmas lights up until February, why can’t you do
...

Caviar Out, Meatloaf In for Holiday Parties

Grinch strikes everyone from companies to 'sensitive' socialites

(Newser) - The bleak economic outlook is making for a lean holiday party season in New York, the New York Times reports. Big companies are cutting or drastically scaling back their normally lavish annual bashes. Socialites—especially those close to the finance industry—are throwing lower-key parties, forgoing cut flowers, and serving...

Colbert Wraps Early Xmas Special

Stewart, Costello, Nelson will join holiday sing-a-long

(Newser) - Christmas is ready early for fake-news fans, E! Online reports. Stephen Colbert's musical holiday special is already in the can and will air November 23. Jon Stewart, Toby Keith, Willie Nelson, and Elvis Costello will be among the stars joining Colbert in crooning holiday-themed favorites including Hanukkah and Little Dealer ...

When Good Santas Turn Bad
When Good
Santas
Turn Bad
Jul 10, 2008 4:04 AM CDT

When Good Santas Turn Bad

Father Christmas 'union' erupts in naughty bickering

(Newser) - It may be summertime but things are still pretty frosty within one of the country's biggest organizations of Santa Clauses, the Wall Street Journal reports. Members of the Amalgamated Order of Real-Bearded Santas are accusing each other of profiteering and other naughty behavior. St. Nicks have been departing by the...

Wonderful Life's Young George Dies

Bob Anderson, 75, played altruistic young soda jerk in famous role

(Newser) - Bob Anderson, who played the young George Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life, has died of cancer. He was 75. Growing up in Hollywood with Tinseltown relatives, he first appeared onscreen as a baby, the AP reports. At 7, he acted with Shirley Temple and in 1945 appeared in...

Easter Defies Madison Avenue
 Easter Defies Madison Avenue 
Mar 23, 2008 8:00 AM CDT

Easter Defies Madison Avenue

Religious holiday's originis too wild to tame into commercialism

(Newser) - Christmas’ religious meaning is lost in a sea of advertising, parties, and major retail dollars, but Easter has resisted becoming a “consumerist nightmare”—and that’s because its Christian origins demand serious thought, writes James Martin in Slate. While “the Christmas story is easily reduced to pablum,...

SF Zoo Boss Comes Under Fire
SF Zoo Boss
Comes
Under Fire
Dec 31, 2007 5:02 AM CST

SF Zoo Boss Comes Under Fire

Ignores staff expertise, animal welfare, say workers

(Newser) - The tiger escape that resulted in the death of a teenage boy at the San Francisco Zoo on Christmas Day has unleashed a rash of staff complaints about long-term mismanagement of the institution by director Manuel Mollinedo, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. Employees are leaving in droves, animals are dying,...

Daughter & Lover Confess to Killing 6 in Family: Cops

She 'felt unloved,' says relative

(Newser) - The daughter of a murdered couple and her boyfriend have confessed to killing the young woman's parents and four other relatives, according to police. Michele Anderson, 29, and her live-in lover gunned down Anderson's parents Christmas Eve at their home outside Seattle, police said. When Anderson's brother, his wife and...

'Christmas Punch-up' Rocks South Pole

Two Antarctic workers engage in Yuletide combat

(Newser) - The North Pole is usually abuzz with activity this time of year, but the South Pole was rocked by a "drunken Christmas punch-up," between two men in a remote research station at the bottom of the world. The Guardian reports both men—one with a broken jaw—were...

Joker Sends Holiday Cards From Afterlife

88-year-old pulls one last prank on family and friends

(Newser) - Chet Fitch got the last laugh on family and friends again, this time from beyond the grave. The 88-year-old, who died in the fall, arranged to have 34 Christmas cards sent this year, all marked with a return address of Heaven. "I asked Big Guy if I could sneak...

A Peaceful Xmas in Bethlehem
A Peaceful Xmas in Bethlehem
Dec 25, 2007 6:09 AM CST

A Peaceful Xmas in Bethlehem

West Bank town sees its first calm Christmas in years; tourism rebounds

(Newser) - This Christmas a huge number of tourists and pilgrims have made their way to Bethlehem, five miles south of Jerusalem in the West Bank. The mayor of the town of Jesus' birth predicted at least 65,000 visitors this Christmas, quadruple the figure just two years ago, CTV reports. The...

Pope Ushers in Christmas
Pope Ushers in Christmas
Dec 24, 2007 8:02 PM CST

Pope Ushers in Christmas

Pontiff uses midnight Mass to speak out against harm to environment

(Newser) - Pope Benedict XVI ushered in Christmas with a traditional midnight Mass at St. Peter's Basilica, using his homily to speak out against the degradation of the environment and man's selfishness, reports Agence France Presse. The leader of the world's 1 billion Catholics lamented our "polluted world whose future is...

E-Cards Spread Holiday Cheer, Viruses

Online greeting cards rising in popularity; paper still preferred

(Newser) - Online greeting cards are all the rage this holiday season. They're mostly free, and can feature funny, interactive subjects ranging from elf tossing to reindeer arm wrestling. E-cards are also delivered instantly, an advantage for the forgetful around Christmas. But traditional cards are still the preferred way to spread holiday...

'I Don't Have Cancer,' Giuliani Reiterates

Presidential hopeful says he's 'perfectly healthy'

(Newser) - Rudy Giuliani sought to allay renewed concerns about his health today following his brief hospitalization last week. "I'm perfectly healthy. I don't have cancer," he said during a stop in Harlem. Giuliani, who checked into a St. Louis hospital because of a severe headache and flu symptoms, said...

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