Christmas

• 
• SOURCE: TomDispatch
  12/19/2021
  

  I'm Taking an Eco-Holiday From It All (and So Are My Kids)

  by Frida Berrigan

  Is there still value in stepping back from the wasteful cycle of individual consumerism when major corporations and the US military are putting astronomical levels of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere? 

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• SOURCE: Smithsonian
  12/16/2021
  

  Learning Lessons from "It's a Wonderful Life"

  by Christopher Wilson

  "With a panel of experts including the Smithsonian’s Lintelman, historian Jason Higgins, film critic Nell Minow, Leo Landis, curator of the State Historical Society of Iowa (the home state of actor Donna Reed who played Mary Bailey), and Reed’s daughter, Mary Owen, we explored American history as presented in a holiday favorite."

• 
• SOURCE: The Conversation
  12/17/2021
  

  The Magnificent History of the Much-Maligned Fruitcake

  by Jeffrey Miller

  A quip attributed to former “Tonight Show” host Johnny Carson has it that “There is only one fruitcake in the entire world, and people keep sending it to each other.”

• 
• SOURCE: New York Times
  12/17/2021
  

  He Bombed the Nazis, Outwitted the Soviets and Modernized Christmas

  Si Spiegel's survival as a bomber pilot was a tough act to follow, but pioneering the artificial Christmas tree may have topped his martial exploits. 

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• 12/19/2021
  

  Reflect on Solomon Northup's "A Slave's Christmas"

  by Alan J. Singer

  Solomon Northup's famed description of being kidnapped from freedom in New York to slavery in Louisiana includes a description of Christmas revelry that shows how the enslaved preserved community and humanity, and a contrast to the yearly reality of fear and labor. 

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• SOURCE: Virginian-Pilot
  12/19/2020
  

  The Real Story of George Washington’s Boozy Eggnog Recipe — and Martha’s Christmas Cake

  Mount Vernon historian Mary Thompson says the legend of George Washington's super-potent recipe for eggnog is bunk, but the estate does preserve a hand-written holiday cake recipe from Martha Washington.

• 
• SOURCE: The Atlantic
  12/21/2020
  

  Christmas Dies Hard

  The urban bourgeoisie of the 19th century pushed Christmas away from a drunken celebration of leisure and toward a holiday merging piety and consumerism. 

• 
• SOURCE: NY Times
  12/25/19
  

  The Forgotten Story of Christmas 1918

  by Mary Elisabeth Cox

  We remember the 1914 Christmas Truce as a moment of humanity amid war. Four years later, a darker tale unfolded.

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• 12/22/19
  

  An Abolitionist and the Christmas Tree

  by John Buehrens

  Christmas, in 1835 Boston, was not yet widely celebrated. New England’s Puritan heritage considered it “popish.”

• 
• 12/22/19
  

  The Real Santa Who Fed the Hungry

  by William Lambers

  St. Nicholas was passionate about helping the poor and hungry. 

• 
• SOURCE: History.com
  12/18/19
  

  How 25 Christmas Traditions Got Their Start

  Learn why we decorate trees, swap cookies and hide pickles and elves, among other traditions.

• 
• SOURCE: Washington Post
  12/17/19
  

  Merry Christmas, you’re being impeached

  Trump isn’t the first president to face an impeachment vote just before the holidays. It happened two decades ago to Bill Clinton.

• 
• SOURCE: The Conversation
  12/19/19
  

  Confederate Christmas ornaments are smaller than statues – but they send the same racist message

  by Nicole Maurantonio

  Take a good look at those old Christmas ornaments before hanging them on the tree – you may find it's time to retire some family keepsakes.

• 
• 12/12/19
  

  How the Nutcracker Ballet Went from a Flop to a Christmas Classic

  by Bruce Chadwick

  Today, about 40% of annual ticket revenue for all Americana ballet companies comes from productions of The Nutcracker.

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• 12/16/19
  

  Turns out, The Rockettes’ Annual Christmas Spectacular Hasn’t Always Been So Spectacular

  by Isabella DelPino

  The hidden history of the Radio City Rockettes.

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• 11/25/19
  

  A Marvelous Christmas Carol

  by Bruce Chadwick

  This new A Christmas Carol, based on Charles Dickens’ novel, has a different look to it, a different musical score, a different Scrooge and different ghosts. But it is the same heart-warming story. 

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• 11/10/19
  

  Slavery and Your Upcoming Christmas Tour

  by Robert E. May

  Despite their public claims that slaves were content with their situations, white southerners knew better. So should those going to southern historic mansions and plantations for Christmas.

• 
• SOURCE: The Washington Post
  12-24-2018
  

  A child calling Santa reached NORAD instead. Christmas Eve was never the same.

  The military’s famous Santa Tracker began with a wrong number.

• 
• 12/11/18
  

  Christmas: What's Being Said About the Holiday Across the Internet

  And Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, too.

• 
• 12-10-2018
  

  Crusty Old Ebenezer Scrooge Rides Again

  by Bruce Chadwick

  A great big warm chestnut of a production that is guaranteed to make you weep deeply and laugh heartily about London life in 1843.