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Story Archives of 'Christmas'
Dickens' "A Christmas Carol"
By Laura Knoy on Wednesday, December 24, 2008.The London Sunday Telegraph once proclaimed Charles Dickens as "The Man who Invented Christmas" and his timeless story "A Christmas Carol" is the main reason why. Written in London in 1843, at a time of expanding urbanization and industrialization, and a declining interest in old customs and ceremonies, "A Christmas Carol" with Scrooge, Cratchit, Tiny Tim and a host of ominous ghosts, helped its readers find the true spirit of Christmas and look back nostalgically at the old time Christmas traditions of friends, family, fun and frivolity.
Gerald Charles Dickens is Charles Dickens's great great grandson and like his famous namesake, an actor, has been touring America for the past ten years with his one-man performance of "A Christmas Carol". His tour stopped by the Granite State, and we caught up with Gerald Charles Dickens to talk about the legacy of the Great Great Grandfather, the magic of "A Christmas Carol" and to perform a handful of scenes from his show.
This show originally aired on 12/23/05
Found Magazine's Holiday Finds
By Virginia Prescott on Thursday, December 18, 2008.
When I was a kid, my relationship with Santa was pretty average. Once a year, I’d sit down and write a letter to the guy I imagined from the Rudolph special. It was a time of soul-searching. Had I really been good? What’s good anyway? I’d write my list and then cross my fingers and hope for the best.
Things are more complicated today. At least that’s the conclusion I came to after reading some misplaced Santa letters collected by the folks at FOUND Magazine. Readers send random photos, letters, notes or other personal ephemera found on the ground, or bus, or anywhere to FOUND for publication.
Davy Rothbart is the creator and editor of FOUND, and we caught him on his cellphone to tell us more about these unexpected discoveries, including a letter that a mother wrote to Santa on behalf of her kids, and a hand-drawn sketch of something called "vampire Santa."
Plus, the season of giving is upon us. Still, when New Hampshire reporter Sean Hurley heard that one of his neighbors was giving away Christmas trees, he wanted to find out more. He discovered a more nuanced story than he originally guessed. Turns out, while his neighbor’s charity was a very public act – letting people wander over his property to find and cut down one of his trees – it was also a very private affair.
(Photo FOUND by Francesco Tabiadon in Pordenone, Italy)
DIY Holiday Gift Ideas
By Virginia Prescott on Tuesday, December 2, 2008.The holiday shopping season kicked off better than expected last Friday. If you still have names to cross off your list, consider skipping the big-box department store and making something by hand.
The website Instructables.com has thousands of craft ideas you can browse through. The site is a magnet for DIY enthusiasts who post detailed instructions for personal projects, from making a wallet out of computer circuit boards, to origami roses made from duct tape. Now, a new book, The Best of Instructables, Volume One: DIY Projects From the World’s Biggest Show and Tell turns those posts into pages. The website has about 18,500 projects, which they've narrowed down to a little over 120 for this book.
We invited Eric Wilhelm, founder of Instructables.com to join us with some ideas, including a marshmallow shooter, an "invisible bookshelf," an arc light reactor inspired by the movie Iron Man, and an iPod speaker made out of a Hallmark music card and a cereal box.
And if you’re in Boston this coming Sunday it’d be worth dropping by the Bazaar Bizarre, Boston’s annual DIY holiday craft fair. It’s held at the Castle at Park Plaza between noon and 7 pm.
Holiday Books 2008
By Laura Knoy on Monday, December 1, 2008.It’s our annual holiday book show! We’ll hear what bios, novels and bestsellers are flying off the shelves this season. There’s a new biography of investment king Warren Buffett, novelists Wally Lamb and Maya Angelou are out with their latest offerings and the fads of the year Swedish mysteries and vampire fiction. What new books are on your holiday wish list? What might you be giving to that special someone this year?
Guests
- Dan Chartrand, owner of Water Street Bookstore in Exeter
- Michael Herrmann, owner of Gibson's Bookstore in Concord
Evergreen Farms
By Rosemary Conroy on Friday, November 21, 2008.There are numerous benefits to the environment and the neighborhood of a local Christmas Tree farm.
New Traditions: A Holiday Music Special from NHPR
By Andrew Walsh on Friday, December 21, 2007.THIS PROGRAM NOT AVAILABLE ON CD OR CASSETTE
New Traditions is a holiday music special from New Hampshire Public Radio, hosted by Andrew Walsh.
Thousands of performers have recorded holiday tunes over the decades, but for some reason, we tend to hear the same ones over and over. New Traditions is a Christmas music collection focusing on all the great christmas songs we don't usually get to hear on the radio.
A Public Story About a Private Gift
By Sean Hurley on Wednesday, December 19, 2007.When reporter Sean Hurley heard that one of his neighbors was giving away Christmas trees, he wanted to find out more about this local charity.
And what he found was that this man's very public act, letting people wander over his property to pick out and cut down one of the Christmas Trees, was also very private.
This story won Second Place in the 2007 Best Feature category from the New Hampshire Associated Press Broadcasters Association.
The Mistletoe Mystery
By Scott Fitzpatrick on Friday, December 14, 2007.Scott has the story behind the custom of kissing under the mistletoe.
Christmas Bird Count
By Scott Fitzpatrick on Friday, November 30, 2007.As the holiday season descends, there is still some business to attend to: namely, keeping tabs on our feathered friends.
