Christmas

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

Stories 341 - 360 | << Prev   Next >>

Xmas Cards Reflect Country's Somber Mood

Glitzy cards picturing holiday excess are out; simple and traditional is in

(Newser) - Greeting card companies have noticed a big shift in what Americans want from their season’s greetings this year, the Wall Street Journal reports. As economic worries mount, glitzy holiday cards have fallen out of favor fast. Designers have made this year's cards more traditional, deepening reds and greens and...

Pro-Impeachment Ornament Won't Grace Bush Tree

(Newser) - A Seattle artist who created a Christmas tree ornament advocating the impeachment of President Bush will not see it hanging on the White House after all, the Washington Post reports. The first lady ordered that it be yanked down. “Oh, dear,” said Deborah Lawrence. “This doesn’t...

Just in Time for Holidays: No Job
Just in Time for
Holidays: No Job
Nov 30, 2008 5:03 AM CST

Just in Time for Holidays: No Job

Families struggle to save traditions on Tiny Tim budgets

(Newser) - Few things ruin the holidays like losing a job. Yet that's what's happening to thousands of Americans just as they were planning to treat friends and families to gifts and holiday gatherings. The turnaround is excruciating as families struggle to save traditions on extremely tight budgets, reports the New York ...

Secrets of A Christmas Story
 Secrets of A Christmas Story 
Nov 29, 2008 5:13 AM CST

Secrets of A Christmas Story

(Newser) - A Christmas Story is beloved by all, as evidenced by the enduring Christmas Eve marathons on TBS. But there are probably some things you don’t know about the timeless flick. The Cleveland Plain-Dealer runs down 25 of them.
  • The Cleveland house used for exterior shots is now a museum
...

Zoo Makes Gifts from Reindeer Poo

(Newser) - Reindeer have found yet another way to give of themselves for our holiday benefit. An Illinois zoo is selling Christmas tree ornaments fashioned from the creatures' droppings, the Bloomington-Normal Pantagraph reports. The small droppings are dried, painted, and incorporated into whimsical designs. The $5 gifts have been dubbed “magical...

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...

Stories 341 - 360 | << Prev   Next >>
Most Read on Newser