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By the end of the 1960s, the production team of Arthur Rankin, Jr. and Jules Bass had a well-established niche in the annual holiday TV schedule.
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“‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” is a cherished poem and storybook that perfectly capture the magic of Christmas. Children are bedazzled by the colorful imagery of sugar plums, flying reindeer and the jolly, twinkling-eyed Santa who whooshes down our chimneys. For the last two centuries, this festive poem has become as much of a staple at Christmas time as turkey dinners, presents and decorated trees. Each and every December, parents around the world would recite it verbatim. Few, however, realise that there is a debate going on as to who wrote ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas in the first place.
Read moreThe holiday season is, notoriously, a costly time of year. Not only does it come hot on the heels of Thanksgiving, but this time, as well as a vast feast for the family, there are also gifts to pay for, transport to visit relatives who don’t live nearby, tickets to shows, entrance fees to see Santa, extravagant meals out… the list goes on. And no parent wants to be a Scrooge and deprive their kids of some festive magic, so the financial pressure it can put on families can be huge.
Read moreThe debut of “A Charlie Brown Christmas” would capture not only the Emmy and Peabody awards, but also roughly half the people watching television across America. And its place in the nation’s holiday hearth has remained fixed ever since.
Read moreChristmas as we know it today is a Victorian invention of the 1860s. Probably the most celebrated holiday in the world, our modern Christmas is a product of hundreds of years of both secular and religious traditions from around the globe. Discover the origins of Christmas traditions from around the world, like the Yule log, caroling and how Christmas is celebrated “Down Under.”
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READER’s DIGEST - I knew I was not supposed to be quite so excited. I was too old for that. At age eleven, the oldest and my mom’s “grown up” girl, I had to keep my cool. I was in middle school after all. But every chance I got, when I was alone, I checked each p resent under the tree. I read every tag and felt every package, guessing at the contents within. I had examined each gift so often that I could tell which present went to which person without even looking at the tags.
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TIME - Christmas Day may be Dec. 25, but it’s not the end of Christmas story. In many Western Christian traditions, there are 12 days of Christmas, culminating around Jan. 6, known as the feast of the Epiphany. That’s when many believe the “Magi” or “wise men” or “three kings” arrive to see the newborn baby Jesus.
Read moreFEE - War had already been waging in Europe for months when Pope Benedict issued a plea from Rome on Dec. 7, 1914 to leaders of Europe: declare a Christmas truce.
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