Christmas

In Christmas Day Message, Pope Francis Shines Light On Migrant Suffering

1:34pm December 25, 2019

by Laurel Wamsley

"It is injustice that turns them away from places where they might have hope for a dignified life, but instead find themselves before walls of indifference," the pontiff said in his holiday address.

"It's the most nauseating idea in the world: a comedian in a gown leaning against a baby grand without making a joke," Ana Gasteyer says. There are plenty of jokes (and a lot of great singing) on her new holiday album.

Music & Culture

Ana Gasteyer's 'Sugar & Booze' Is Holiday Music With 'A Modern Wink'

6:33am December 25, 2019

Saturday Night Live alum Ana Gasteyer's new Christmas album, Sugar & Booze, is partly a send-up of the holiday and partly an earnest embrace of its warmth.

Queue Listen Now

Joey Clawson at one of his Christmas tree stands on the first day of harvest. He grows about 95,000 firs on his operation.

A Christmas Tree Thrives On Farms, Struggles In The Wild

7:24pm December 24, 2019

by Irina Zhorov

The Fraser fir is found in a lot of homes around Christmas. But its wild cousins have been in decline for almost a century because of a small invasive pest.

Queue Listen Now

A horn player (left) in this detail from a 1694 altar carving by Francesco Antonio d'Alberto in Piedmont, Italy, clearly has a swollen neck that signifies goiter, medical historians say. The thyroid condition was a sign of poverty in those days.

Why Certain Poor Shepherds In Nativity Scenes Have Huge, Misshapen Throats

4:56pm December 24, 2019

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

In some historical Nativity scenes, the shepherds have grossly enlarged thyroid glands — also known today as goiter. It's an apparent symbol of their poverty and iodine-deficient diet.

Amy Grant performs a Tiny Desk Concert on Nov. 7, 2018.

Music & Culture

'Tis The Tiny Season: Our 5 Favorite Holiday Tiny Desk Concerts

8:09am December 23, 2019

by Cyrena Touros

The Tiny Desk concert series is old enough to have some traditions of its own. Here are five of our favorite holiday performances from over the years.

The Choir of King's College Cambridge conduct a rehearsal of their Christmas Eve service of A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols in King's College Chapel on Dec. 11, 2010 in Cambridge, England.

Music & Culture

Commemorating A King's College Christmas Tradition

2:21pm December 22, 2019

A new album commemorates the Centenary Service of the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols at King's College, Cambridge.

Queue Listen Now

Dressed as Santa, Tim Zander gives pointers on how to be the perfect Santa to applicants at a workshop run by Weihnachtsmann2Go (Santa2Go).

World News

Ho Ho, Oh No! Germany Has A Santa Shortage

9:02am December 22, 2019

by Rob Schmitz

Across Europe and North America, throngs of Santa impersonators have been busy preparing children for Christmas. But in Germany, there's a lack of interest among people to play the jolly character.

More and more congregations are making a space for sad feelings during the holidays. First Congregational United Church of Christ in Portland, Ore., held its Blue Christmas service earlier this month.

Religion

'Blue Christmas' Services Offer Refuge From Holiday Cheer

7:53am December 21, 2019

by Deena Prichep

Loss and pain are especially hard amidst the joy and tinsel of the holidays. A growing number of churches are offering "Blue Christmas" services to hold a space for often unwelcome feelings.

Queue Listen Now

"It was important for me to stay away from [religious themes with] this special, because I think there's a lot of other things that a lot of different people could enjoy about the holidays," Musgraves says.

Music & Culture

'The Kacey Musgraves Christmas Show' Revives A Classic Holiday Tradition

7:53am December 21, 2019

The country star thought it "would be a fun way to bring my old Christmas album back in the form of those old Christmas specials that we love."

Queue Listen Now

Thousands of new holiday songs have been released since 1994, but none have become standards in the way pop songs about Christmas routinely did in the '60s, '70s and '80s. What's the challenge of cracking the tiny yuletide canon?

Music & Culture

Why Are There No New Christmas Songs?

5:34pm December 17, 2019

by Chris Klimek

Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You" is back at the top of the chart a quarter century after it was first released. So why haven't there been any lasting Christmas songs to take its place?