So, what’s it like to celebrate Christmas in a town where it’s Christmas every day? In a word, magical. Welcome to the Santa Claus House in North Pole, Alaska. For 60 years, the Miller family has been celebrating Christmas every day of the year. More […]
Close your eyes and visualize how you want to spend the winter holidays. Do you see a magical tableaux out of a Norman Rockwell painting, or a mad scene of frenzied efforts to complete a list of self-imposed tasks? This year, consider taking a break […]
It’s that time of year, the time of year when all the holiday magazines and catalogs come out featuring stunning gingerbread houses, gingerbread castles, gingerbread churches, and even a gingerbread Tardis. I am by no means a gingerbread expert. I have never had a gingerbread […]
Need some new ideas for the Elf on the Shelf? The time of year is quickly approaching when the Elf on the Shelf returns from the North Pole to be Santa’s little eyes during the holiday season! In our house, while we are packing the […]
High atop the Blarney Castle is one of Ireland’s most famous tourist attractions: The Blarney Stone. It’s easy to see, both from the battlements and from the ground. What’s not so easy is kissing it, yet even Winston Churchill bent over backwards to gain the […]
Happy Valentines Day Albany Kids! To help celebrate Valentines Day, here are some wonderful vintage valentines. They are all from Wikimedia Commons, and are all public domain, so please feel free to download and share. Enjoy! If you read yesterday’s article The Odd History of […]
Ancient festivals and legends Approximately fourteen Christian martyrs are named Valentine, including a bishop in central Italy, a priest in Rome, and a saint in Africa. Saint Valentine in Africa is the only one connected with February 14th, the date being his feast day. There […]
Friggatriskaidekaphobia Do you have it? What about just triskaidekaphobia? Many people who have one also have the other. It’s nothing to worry about. You don’t have to take special medicine, or avoid certain foods, or even see a doctor at all. Well, not for mild […]
If you said “A big crystal ball in the middle of Times Square” and thought you were done…FAIL! At last count there are hundreds of things – from a giant beer bottle to several pieces of giant candy – dropped from all sorts of heights all over […]
Good King Wenceslas looked out on the Feast of Stephen… So begins the strains of a familiar old English Christmas Carol. It’s the story of Saint Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia (907–935), a saintly king who goes out in a storm to give a poor […]
