Entries by Jeff Westover

Sleigh Ride Day

On this date in 1946 American composer Leroy Anderson penned the holiday favorite, Sleigh Ride. Though long associated with Christmas and played each holiday season as a classic Sleigh Ride was never officially a Christmas song. But given its cult status as staple of the season, we declare today Sleigh Ride Day of Christmas. There […]

New England Christmas

The Puritans who first settled New England may have been hesitant to celebrate it. But their children and grandchildren have embraced it wholeheartedly. Many of today’s iconic images of Christmas come from traditions long celebrated in New England. But the modern Christmas in New England is breath taking in its own right. This locally produced […]

Unreal Santa in Art

That’s Santa, right? Look closely. Is he real? Or merely unreal? Whether with a brush or its computer equivalent this video showing more than 50 hours of tedious attention to detail in making this photo realistic Santa Claus is something to see:

Leon Day

Today is a day long anticipated by those who countdown to Christmas: it’s Leon Day. Leon Day marks the exact half way mark to Christmas. It’s all down hill from here. Why is it called Leon Day? Leon is Noel spelled backwards. The history of Leon Day is a bit murky. While counting down to […]

Mariah Carey Bets on Christmas

Mariah Carey wants to be back on top — and she is looking to Christmas to get her there. The now unmarried mother of two is in the middle of a revitalization phase of her career and recently started a run in Las Vegas that has already run into snags with reported many diva-like show […]

We Need a Little Christmas

Today is the 24th of May and there remains only 215 days in our countdown to Christmas. On this date of May 24th in 1966 the Broadway musical Mame made it’s debut starring Angela Lansbury in the title role, bringing the song (and many others) We Need a Little Christmas to the vast collection of […]