New year, new calendars One of my favorite things about New Year’s Day is hanging up new calendars, and marking birthdays, anniversaries and other special days for the year ahead. A few years ago, I sent a check of support to a nature conservancy foundation, and ever since, I’ve gotten a stack of letters—and ultimately calendars—from organizations begging for my support.

Perhaps no other voice signals the beginning of the Christmas season like that of Bing Crosby. In fact, many people think that Christmas just isn’t Christmas until they have heard Crosby sing “White Christmas.” In a very sincere and simple manner, this carol seems to say more with fewer words than anything ever written about holidays in America.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer In 1938, as the Great Depression wound down and even as the prospect of better times loomed on the horizon, Bob May was looking toward another bleak Christmas. As an advertising copywriter for Montgomery Wards, May lived on a meager salary and was on the brink of bankruptcy and exhaustion.

One of the most famous modern-day Christmas songs was written on one of the hottest California days on record. Yet, there’s something about hearing Nat King Cole singing “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire” that tells me Christmastime is here!

Age has taken a mighty toll on the men and women who first clung to “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” as not just a song, but also a prayer. Like last week’s song I featured in this spot, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” this week’s story falls about in the same line.

Like last year’s December columns, I decided to continue with the stories about some of our most favorite Christmas songs. Last year I shared stories of five songs we know as “carols,” with four of the featured songs that are found in our church hymnals. This year I’ve selected five that probably aren’t found in church hymnals but are still favorites of many of us, I’m sure.

In 1621, famous Pilgrim William Bradford proclaimed a day of feasting to commemorate the first harvest after a long year of suffering. That became America’s first Thanksgiving Day.

Officially amazing (and weird) I don’t usually pay attention to Guinness World Records, mostly because there are more important, more urgent things that need my attention. A person can only hold so much before the brain just pops, and that sounds messy.

5 Facts to Know About Veterans Day Veterans Day is a well-known American holiday, but there are also a few misconceptions about it — like how it’s spelled or whom exactly it celebrates. To clear some of that up, here are five important facts we should all know.

I was visiting with our postal carrier the other day about all the junk mail I receive. It seems like if I order from one place, I will eventually end up receiving a half-dozen or more catalogs from other places I’ve never heard of. And just because I contributed to one organization, I now get a stack of envelopes nearly every day, asking for my financial support. Of course all the number of catalogs and solicitations from organiza tions has picked up a lot now, just in time for Christmas giving or buying.