What Coronavirus Means for Christmas

Jeff Westover Christmas News March 4, 2020March 4, 20201918, Christmas, coronavirus, flu, pandemic 0 Comment

In 1918 the Spanish Flu pandemic hit in three waves – once in the spring, then again in the fall and once again in the new year of 1919. The second wave of the flu was the most deadly, killing more than 195,000 people during that stage of the event. In Western New York State a young mother of two came down with the flu in early November. Her flu morphed into pneumonia, a common part of the Spanish flu sweeping the globe that ultimately infected 55 million people. She was my great-grandmother. Her passing changed the course of ourRead more

Finding Christmas in Thanksgiving

Jeff Westover Christmas News, Christmas Opinion, Thanksgiving November 4, 2018November 4, 2018Christmas, festivus, Thanksgiving 0 Comment

A recent survey revealed sharp divisions in when the celebration of Christmas begins. Nearly a third said Christmas begins right after Halloween, a third said Christmas begins right after Thanksgiving and for another third the celebration of Christmas is something done every day. In recent years many have insisted that Christmas so overpowers the calendar that holidays such as Thanksgiving and Veteran’s Day are entirely forgotten. Those making the argument are also those who claim Christmas celebration comes in the form of broadcast music, seasonal Starbucks cups and decorations sold in stores. There are even those who blanch and takeRead more

Understand Easter to Understand Christmas

Jeff Westover Christmas History, Christmas News, Sacred Christmas March 20, 2017March 20, 2017Christmas, Easter, Jesus Christ 1 Comment

In a world growing more secular by the day there seems to be a serious decline in the understanding of what makes Easter so significant. A quick Google search about the “facts” of Easter reveals stunning statistics on how many chocolate eggs are consumed, how much fake grass is purchased and how many dollars are spent on baskets and bunnies. But hiding behind the commercialized accounting of Easter are real disturbing numbers about Easter itself. A 2014 survey by the Bible Society reveals that only one in four school-aged children can explain Easter. In fact, 71 percent of parents withRead more

Christmas Connection with the Dead

Jeff Westover Sacred Christmas November 1, 2016Christmas, death, Halloween 0 Comment

Many limit the Christmas connection with the dead as merely something from the imagination of Charles Dickens. As Scrooge is haunted by Marley he encounters many of the dead from his family and youth – and that has a huge connection to all that was sacred to those who celebrated the ancient Christmas. Halloween in many parts of the world is actually a celebration of two or three days. There is All Hallow’s Eve (Halloween), Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), and Dia de los Santos (Day of the Saints). Some Christians mistaken these days as a scaryRead more

Christmas in a Political Year

Jeff Westover Christmas Opinion October 14, 2016October 14, 2016Christmas, politics 0 Comment

I recently engaged in conversation with one of our international members who observed, “You Americans ruin Christmas every four years”. Her reference, of course, was to the rancor of this particular election and how divisive it has been for everyone – even those out of the country. I had to laugh but she had a point. It does seem that the conversation shifts greatly around the cycles of American politics. The thought caused me to look through the numbers. We are not a for-profit venture and frankly we do not usually much care for the business of visitor statistics. ButRead more

More than a Half Million Lights on One Tree

Jeff Westover Christmas Features, Christmas News November 28, 2015November 27, 2015Australia, Christmas, Guinness World record for Christmas lights 0 Comment

Australia isn’t to be outdone by anyone in the world when it comes to Christmas. There’s no snow, few natural Christmas trees, and little that actually originates in Australia when it comes to Christmas. But they celebrate it big time and they want the world to know it. From their Lego trees to their floating trees to this new Christmas tree — a monster with a Guinness world record breaking total of more than half a million Christmas lights — Australia is most definitely world-leading when it comes to celebrating the season. Check it out:

Ancient Connections of Thanksgiving and Christmas

Jeff Westover Christmas Features, Christmas History, Christmas News, Thanksgiving November 24, 2015Abraham Lincoln, Christmas, Christmas history, George Washington, Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving history 0 Comment

Here is some fodder for your Thanksgiving day discussions around the turkey — which is the more sacred holiday in America, Thanksgiving or Christmas? Check your learning of history at the door. This history of both holidays goes back further than you know — and both are related to each other in significant ways. Watch this video: Christmas, while constantly under a cloud in regular debates of what is politically correct or not, was NEVER a religious holiday in America. It may have been a religious holiday once-upon-a-time in Rome. The mashed-up words “Christ” and “mass”, which many historians sayRead more

Christmas in Billings, Montana 1954

Jeff Westover Christmas Features, Christmas Memories September 18, 2015May 18, 2015Christmas, Montana 0 Comment

Early last week, James Carroll of Tyler, Texas, came to Billings for the second time in his life. It was an enjoyable visit, but it was hard to top that first one, on Christmas Eve 1954. Carroll was a 23-year-old Army private at the time, just out of basic training at Fort Bliss, Texas, on his way to Seattle on a troop train. From Seattle he shipped out to Alaska, where he would serve for the duration of his two-year enlistment. The train stopped in Colorado to pick up some more troops, bringing the number of soldiers to somewhere betweenRead more

Racism and Christmas

Jeff Westover Christmas Features, Christmas News August 30, 2015Black Pete, Christmas, racism, St. Nicholas 1 Comment

Christmas has endured many controversies over the course of its history. Most usually center on religious disputes or how much Christmas imposes of itself on parts of society that do not want it. But in recent years Christmas has seemingly become embroiled in an important ongoing societal dialogue: racism. The biggest story in Christmas and racism centers in the Netherlands. The United Nations recently again declared the Dutch tradition of Black Pete racist. Every year from mid-November until the traditional feast day of St. Nicholas on December 6th many communities in the Netherlands celebrate what is commonly known as aRead more

Train to Release a Christmas Album

Jeff Westover Christmas Features, Christmas Music May 18, 2015May 18, 2015Christmas, Train 0 Comment

Train is releasing a Christmas album this year. Frontman Pat Monahan told Billboard that the band is currently recording a Christmas album with the tentative title Christmas in Tahoe. And Monahan promises it will be no ordinary holiday album. “There’s a couple of traditional covers on there, but we tried not to do the same stuff everybody else does,” Monahan said to Billboard, explaining what fans can expect from the album. He listed a cover of The Band’s “Christmas Must Be Tonight” Train is doing as an example of what’s to come. Unfortunately there’s no word on whether the bandRead more

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