Christmas

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

Stories 161 - 180 | << Prev   Next >>

Tinsel Was Once Dangerous to Kids

FDA took action over lead in the decoration

(Newser) - A harmless symbol of Christmas cheer was once deemed so risky that the FDA had to regulate it. Tinsel once contained lead, which, as scientists realized in the 1960s, made it dangerous to kids. That prompted a deal between the FDA and tinsel makers to alter manufacturing methods, the American...

Your Holiday Decorations Likely Came From This Town in China

Welcome to Yiwu, or 'Christmas village'

(Newser) - Quick, picture Santa's workshop. Industrious elves at work as a gentle snow falls outside? That's not quite the image at a place the Guardian calls "the real Santa's workshop," the city of Yiwu, China. Think 600 factories filled with migrant laborers armed with glue guns...

Let&#39;s Shift Christmas to Feb. 7
 Let's Shift Christmas to Feb. 7 
OPINION

Let's Shift Christmas to Feb. 7

Slate writer LV Anderson makes her case

(Newser) - There are only six shopping days left til Christmas, but if Slate writer LV Anderson had her way, there'd be more than 40. Anderson makes the case that Christmas should be pushed from Dec. 25 to Feb. 7. She's got all kinds of arguments—it's too close...

Restaurant: No Couples Allowed on Christmas Eve

PiaPia in Tokyo deems it too painful for single people

(Newser) - Couples seeking a romantic Christmas dinner in Tokyo better avoid PiaPia restaurant, if a sign in the window is for real. "We will be refusing entry to all couples on December 24, with no exceptions!" the handwritten message reads, the Telegraph reports. The note—which includes images of...

Ugly Christmas Sweaters Are Making People Rich

Demand for festive garb shows no sign of slowing

(Newser) - It's time to raid your grandma's closet for all those bauble-covered holiday jumpers, because ugly Christmas sweaters are the coolest thing in festive fashion—and a booming business. Not only do many retailers carry the hideous getups—sometimes with a hefty price tag—the sweaters have their own...

Suck It, Barbie: You're Not Most Popular Anymore

More parents want merchandise from 'Frozen'

(Newser) - Bad news, Barbie: Parents these days kinda prefer Queen Elsa and her animated co-stars from the movie Frozen, CNBC reports. A holiday toys survey finds that one in five parents plan to purchase merchandise from the Disney flick for their girls, while Barbie ranks second (for the first time in...

City Freaks Out Over 'Ugly' Christmas Tree

Was topped with lighted pretzel

(Newser) - A Christmas tree that might make Charlie Brown think twice is getting kicked to the curb a little early after residents of a Pennsylvania town complained it was too ugly. Reading's spindly 50-foot spruce drew the ire of residents who said it was ruining their holiday spirit. Now a...

US Pigs Are Too Fat for Thanksgiving Table

Farmers bulked up hogs after virus, but now too big for popular spiral-cut hams

(Newser) - We use almost every part of the pig imaginable—even the blood, glands, and bones, the Atlantic reports—but when it comes to holiday dinners, Americans are very specific about what they want to serve: Spiral-cut ham , averaging about 7 pounds, is the most popular choice, Bloomberg reports. But there'...

On Offer in Neiman Christmas Book: $475K Perfume

Plus: $300K model racetrack, $100K amphibious vehicles

(Newser) - Looking for the perfect gift this holiday season? Look no further: For just $475,000, Neiman Marcus is offering the chance to design a perfume with an expert in Paris. Your fragrance will come in 14-karat gold bottles, the Dallas Morning News reports. If that doesn't strike your fancy,...

What Went Wrong at UPS This Christmas

Last-minute online sales were bigger than expected

(Newser) - Just how did UPS manage to leave many would-be gift recipients empty-handed on Christmas? The company says it's too soon to know for sure. The Wall Street Journal , however, notes that there was a lot more last-minute online shopping this year than last. Online sales the weekend before Christmas...

Cops: Teen Who Didn't Get iPhone Pulls Knife on Dad

Massachusetts youth faces assault charges

(Newser) - Siri, what's the penalty for assault and battery with a dangerous weapon? An 18-year-old in Brockton, Massachusetts, might find out after police say he pulled a knife on his father when the iPhone he wanted didn't show up under the Christmas tree, reports the Enterprise . Cops charged Alexander...

Attacks on Baghdad Christians Kill 37

And US embassy in Kabul hit by indirect fire, but no one injured

(Newser) - Militants in Iraq targeted Christians in two separate bomb attacks in Baghdad today, killing at least 37 people. In one attack, a car bomb went off near a church during Christmas Mass in the capital's southern Dora neighborhood, killing at least 26 people and wounding 38, a police officer...

DC Santa Shot in Back by Pellet Gun

And barely misses a beat as helpers step up

(Newser) - Grandma may have escaped that perennially reckless reindeer this year, but somebody with a pellet gun got the better of a guy playing Santa in southeast DC, reports the Washington Post . "Man, this is awesome," Xavier Hawkins was crowing just before he was shot in the back yesterday...

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

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

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...

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