The best time of year is upon us, cheer is all around exploding with bright red and green colors. Lights twinkle throughout neighborhoods, and department stores are filled with gift sets and festive holiday decor. Wall-to-wall shelves and displays offer us what our hearts desire. However, Christmas also encourages overconsumption,...
Clovis Children’s Electric Christmas Parade Kicks off Holiday Festivities
Throughout December, parades, Christmas shows, and lights take over downtowns, pubs, and street corners and bring holiday cheer to communities across the Central Valley. On Saturday, Clovis returns the Children's Electric Christmas Parade for its 34th year hosted by the Old Town Kiwanis Club. The parade features floats with festive...
Christmas a Religious Holiday? — Point-Counterpoint
Point: Christmas Is a Holy Day So the other day, a friend asked me a question that boiled down to this: Does Christmas have to be a religious holiday? My immediate response — as a person of faith who follows Jesus and as an Episcopal priest — was, “Well, yeah …” I mean, what else would...
Beware of Falling Iguanas: Chilly Christmas Expected in Florida
ORLANDO, Fla. — With unexpectedly cold weather in the forecast and pandemic-related curfews in some places, Florida is about to have a Christmas unlike any other in recent memory, and it may involve falling iguanas. The National Weather Service earlier this week warned that South Florida could experience the coldest...
‘Mom’s Worth It’: US Holiday Travel Surges Despite Outbreak
TAMPA, Fla. — Some are elderly and figure they don’t have many Christmases left. Others are trying to keep long-distance romance alive. Some just yearn for the human connection that’s been absent for the past nine months. Millions of Americans are traveling ahead of Christmas and New Year’s, despite pleas...
Forget Sad Thanksgiving: Early Christmas Fever Takes Over
NEW YORK — Lindsey Catarino is the talk of her neighborhood. She put up her Christmas tree, lights and all, in mid-September. By Oct. 1, her mantel was decorated. Since, she has added more trees and decorations in just about every room of her Connecticut condo. The goal for the...
Good Grief! Charlie Brown Holiday Specials Return to TV After Backlash
NEW YORK — The “Great Pumpkin” never showed on broadcast television this year, but after a deal with PBS, the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and Christmas specials will return to the air. Last month, Apple TV+ became the new home to the beloved Peanuts holiday specials. That sparked an outcry from...
Here Comes Santa Claus – With Face Masks and Plexiglass
NEW YORK — Santa Claus is coming to the mall — just don’t try to sit on his lap. Despite the pandemic — and the fact that Santa's age and weight put him at high risk for severe illness from the coronavirus — mall owners are going ahead with plans...
Space-Baked Cookies, 'Mighty' Mice Back on Earth via SpaceX
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The first batch of space-baked cookies is back on Earth, along with muscle-bound “mighty” mice and other space station experiments. SpaceX provided the ride home Tuesday, a month after its Dragon capsule arrived at the International Space Station. The capsule parachuted into the Pacific, returning 3,800...
On the Money: Tips to Make the Best of Post-Holiday Shopping
NEW YORK — Holiday shopping doesn’t end with Christmas. Shoppers can take advantage of fatter discounts on clothing, home decor and other items between Christmas and well into January. In fact, a National Retail Federation survey of nearly 8,000 adults conducted Nov. 27 through Dec. 5 found that 68% of...