Christmas
Justices Turn Away Fight Over Religious Ads on DC Buses
The Supreme Court on Monday said no thanks to taking up a debate over the right of the Catholic church to post religious advertisements on the side of Washington buses, but Justice Neil Gorsuch warned the local transit agency to tread carefully on the First Amendment.
Read moreDevilish Foil of St. Nick
A federal court in Delaware dismissed copyright infringement claims brought by the author of a book titled “The Krampus Night Before Christmas” against the producers of the “Krampus” movie, finding the respective representations of the Krampus character – a “devilish foil of Saint Nikolaus” – were not sufficiently similar.
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Pope Francis Preaches Hope Amid Darkness in Annual Message
Pope Francis offered a Christmas message of hope Wednesday against darkness that cloaks conflicts and relationships in large parts of the world, from the Middle East to the Americas to Africa.
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Queen Admits ‘Bumpy’ Year in Christmas Message
Queen Elizabeth II called 2019 “quite bumpy” in a Christmas message at the end of a chaotic year which saw Britain feud over its split from the European Union and her scandal-plagued son Prince Andrew withdraw from public life.
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Christmas Card Message Alleges Forced Labor in China
The U.K.-based grocery chain Tesco said it halted production at a factory in China on Sunday after a British newspaper reported the factory used forced labor to produce charity Christmas cards for the supermarket.
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Whoo’s There? Georgia Family Discovers Owl in Christmas Tree
A Georgia family got a real hoot from its Christmas tree: More than a week after they bought it, they discovered a live owl nestled among its branches.
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Newly Impeached Trump Holds Christmas-Themed Rally in Michigan
President Donald Trump held his “Merry Christmas” rally Wednesday in Michigan, where he was gifted applause and cheers from Santa hat-wearing supporters as a vote in Washington made him the fourth president in U.S. history to be impeached.
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Audubon’s Annual Christmas Bird Count Stronger Than Ever
It’s been 120 years since New York ornithologist Frank Chapman launched his Christmas Bird Count as a bold new alternative to what had been a longtime Christmas tradition of hunting birds. Today, the annual count continues, stronger and more important than ever.
Read moreSanta Claus Back at Work in Germany Answering Christmas Mail
Santa Claus is at it again, answering thousands of Christmas letters from children around the world at a special post office in the northern German town of Himmelpfort.
Read moreZoo Elephants Eat Berlin’s Leftover Christmas Trees
Berlin’s unwanted Christmas trees have ended their days as a festive snack for zoo elephants and stocking fillers for some of their fellow residents.
Read moreArmed Standoff Ends After SWAT Member Sings Christmas Carol
Authorities say an armed man who held off SWAT members for 10 hours surrendered after one of them sang him a Christmas carol.
Read moreTrump Tells Boy That Believing in Santa at 7 Is ‘Marginal’
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump on Christmas Eve took calls from children anxious to find out where Santa was on his gift-giving journey.
Read moreChristmas Festivities Begin in West Bank Town of Bethlehem
Palestinians are preparing to host pilgrims from around the world in celebrating Christmas in the West Bank city of Bethlehem.
Read moreNativity Scene
The American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of an Indiana man claiming Fulton County put up a Christian nativity scene outside of its courthouse in violation of the First Amendment’s ban on the endorsement of a particular religion.
Read moreThe Gift of Giving
When I was a child, the most thrilling day of my year was the day the Sears and J.C. Penney holiday catalogs arrived in the mail. Always the size of a coffee-table edition of Tolstoy’s “War and Peace,” the catalogs held the secrets of how to make a child’s Christmas merry and bright – in high-color glossy detail.
Read moreArchdiocese Seeks En Banc Review of Christmas Ad Ruling
The Archdiocese of Washington is seeking an en banc review of a D.C. Circuit ruling that said a metropolitan transit authority was within its rights when it imposed a 2015 ban on religious ads.
Read moreSeventh Circuit Approves High School’s Christmas Concert
The Seventh Circuit found an Indiana high school’s Christmas Spectacular concert constitutional after the school added Hanukkah and Kwanzaa songs and replaced its live nativity with mannequins.
Read moreHigh-Price Public Christmas Tree Causes Uproar in Belgrade
Authorities in Serbia’s capital are facing outrage over the purchase of a plastic Christmas tree that reportedly cost the equivalent of $98,000 and has sparked corruption allegations. An anti-corruption website has described the 59-feet tree as the most expensive in the world — four times the price of the one outside Rockefeller Center in New York.
Read moreDC Circuit Order Means No Christmas Ads on Buses This Year
The D.C. Circuit on Wednesday denied the Archdiocese of Washington’s request for an injunction while it appeals a federal judge’s ruling that the Capitol’s regional transit authority does not have to display the church’s Christmas advertisements on buses.
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