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Official NORAD Santa Tracker (live stream)

The Night Before Christmas (1946) Live Action Film & Animation The Night Before Christmas (1946) or "A Visit From St. Nicholas" Mostly live action with animated parts. Narrated tale of the perennial classic poem. "A Visit from St. Nicholas" (also known as "The Night Before Christmas" and "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" from its first line) is a poem written by Clement Clarke Moore, first published anonymously in 1823. It is largely responsible for the conception of Santa Claus from the mid-nineteenth century to today, including his physical appearance, the night of his visit, his mode of transportation, the number...

Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, and Rudolph aren't the only animals that get to have their pictures taken with Santa. While most 'parents' bring their kids to the mall to take pictures with the jolly man from the North Pole, others take along their family pets for some very festive photos. And barring any allergies, this can mean a whole lot of upsides for Mr. Claus: Smokey the Cat is a lot less likely to throw a temper tantrum, Buddy the dog definitely won't ask for an Xbox, and Myrtle the turtle probably will not pick its...

So, you think that you know all there is to know about Christmas? Maybe you string enough lights on your roof to give Clark Griswald a run for his money. Maybe you can identify mistletoe and holly in the wild, chop down your own Christmas tree, and know exactly how many Hallmark Keepsake ornaments they’ve issued since 1973. You can rattle off all of Santa’s reindeer—backwards, starting with Rudolph and ending in Dasher, and know all the words to O’ Tannenbaum. Including all the verses. In German. You own White Christmas—which is indisputably the best Christmas movie ever—on Blu Ray,...

Archaeologists think they’ve found Santa’s bones Santa season is here and on December 25 many young children will be tearing open gifts they believe were dropped off by an incredibly efficient delivery man who swooped down their chimneys and bestowed presents upon them. Santa, as children today think of him, is of course not real (sorry), but the mythical figure is based on what some believe was a real-life saint and now archaeologists believe they’ve got his bones. Researchers from Oxford University have been studying human remains that, legend says, are those of St Nicholas. Hailing from the fourth century,...

(Someone post picture, please) “I can’t help in the way firemen or the Red Cross does, but I can do this,” he said. Most of the children he spoke with told him about the Christmas toys they wanted, he said. One boy just wanted a long hug.

A skydiving Santa looking to make a grand entrance while taking an Elf on the Shelf to a 9-year-old girl crashed into a tree and light pole before hitting a Florida beach and breaking his leg. News outlets say George Krokus was dressed as Santa Claus during a Saturday skydive to deliver toys to the Tampa Bay Beach Bums Operation Santa Charity Volleyball Tournament. Madison Spiers saw the crash and later found a note from the "elf" named Kristoff who visits her house during the holidays. It said, "As we were about to land this big tree jumped right out...

Santa Monica College will move forward with a plan to transform a popular computer lab into a social justice center despite a petition signed by hundreds of students. According to The Stringer, the proposal to construct the Social Justice and Gender Equity Center was spearheaded by Dr. Nancy Grass, Dean of Student Life, and would cost a total of $500,000, including $60,000 for a “computer lab update.”

Image from Youtube at  tnoutdoors9 About 36 or 37 years ago, at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, I recall hearing a Christmas song over the radio. I would like to find it again. It was a rendition of Santa Clause is Coming to Town, but with a significant twist.  In the story line, Santa is mugged, and when he comes back, he comes prepared. As I recall, Santa comes to town armed with a .45. There are plays on "He knows who has been naughty and nice". I recall a memorable line about the reindeer.  Something like trample, trample,...

The book, Santa’s Husband, goes on sale Oct. 10 and tells the story of a black Santa Claus and his white husband who both live in the North Pole. Santa’s spouse frequently fills in for his husband at malls, according to a description of the book Harper Design provided to TIME.

A new picture book will depict Santa as a gay man in an interracial relationship, publisher Harper Design confirmed Tuesday. The book, Santa’s Husband, goes on sale Oct. 10 and tells the story of a black Santa Claus and his white husband who both live in the North Pole. Santa’s spouse frequently fills in for his husband at malls, according to a description of the book Harper Design provided to TIME.

ALEXANDRIA, La. (KALB) -- A man has been arrested, and booked into the same jail for the 77th time. According to police in Alexandria, Louisiana, officers responded to the report of a man stuck in the chimney of a business early Friday morning. Employees told officers that when they arrived at the business, they could hear a man yelling. They found he was stuck. While officers were in route, police say the man was able to free himself from the chimney. He then reportedly threw a brick at an employee before running from the store. Officers were soon able to...

We lie about Christmas, because the real meaning and message of Christmas makes us confront a frightening truth. Christmas means one thing and one thing only. As C.S. Lewis put it, Christmas is the story of how the rightful king has landed. When Jesus stood before Pilate, just prior to going to his execution, the Roman governor asked Him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” After some discussion Pilate concluded to Jesus, “You are a king, then!” Jesus answered him, “You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for...

PHILADELPHIA (CBS/CNN) — It was a story many wanted to believe: A terminally ill child gets his last wish to see Santa and dies in his arms. But the Tennessee newspaper that ran it first now says it can no longer stand by the account and now there’s conflicting reports as to whether this happened. The Knoxville News Sentinel story quickly went viral after it was published Sunday. USA Today republished the column, which was written by News Sentinel columnist Sam Venable. A host of national news outlets gave it additional coverage, including CNN, who spoke to Santa actor Eric...

A 60-year-old Tennessee man who spends time volunteering as Santa Claus at a local hospital granted a 5-year-old terminally ill boy his final wish this holiday season, and held him as he died in his arms. “I spent four years in the Army with the 75th Rangers, and I’ve seen my share of [stuff],” Eric Schmitt-Matzen told USA Today. “But I ran by the nurses’ station bawling my head off. I know nurses and doctors see things like that every day, but I don’t know how they can take it.”

What was supposed to be a happy visit with Santa left a bad taste in the mouth of a 9-year-old boy in North Carolina. That’s because the jolly old fat man reportedly shamed the child by telling him to “lay off the hamburgers and french fries,” local station WLOS TV reports. On Saturday, Anthony Mayse of Rutherfordton went to a Christmas event in nearby Forest City. The family enjoyed a carriage ride and ice skating before ending the night with a visit to Santa.

The Royal Air Force will reportedly be on high alert in the coming days in order to intercept and track flights from the Arctic region. The move has been prompted by an incident around a year ago in which Typhoon aircraft escorted a Lapland registered aircraft (flying from the Arctic region) over the UK’s major cities, the pilot of the craft was said to be under the influence of alcohol and very “festive”, this is especially dangerous due to the sheer volume of cargo the aircraft was carrying. This is expected to happen again. An MoD spokesman had this to...

The Mall of America is celebrating diversity this holiday season. For the first time since it opened in the early 1990s, a black Santa will hear children's wishes at the Minnesota mall. "It's pretty historic," Landon Luther, co-owner of The Santa Experience, which runs a small photo studio in the mall, told NBC. "We want Santa to be for everyone." Luther said he wanted a diverse bunch to pose for photos with visitors this year, so he sent staff members to a Santa convention in Bronson, Missouri. There was a single black Santa at the convention, Texas resident Larry Jefferson....

For the first time ever, the Mall of America is hosting an African-American Santa. Santa's real name is Larry Jefferson, and he hails from Texas. (Don't let your kids read this.) "It's no big deal, I'm still Santa, I just happen to be a Santa of Color," Jefferson told CNN affiliate WCCO. Jefferson will spend four days taking pictures with families and listening to Christmas wishes, by appointment only. "We are looking to have a Santa for everyone," Santa Experience owner Landon Luther told WCCO. Luther met Jefferson at the Santa Convention in Missouri over the summer, and out of...

A school district in Oregon is joining many others around the country in a controversial decision to refrain from using religious-themed decorations during the holidays, including images like Santa Claus. KATU reports Santa Claus decorations are no longer welcome in Hillsboro Schools, outside Portland. The district sent this memo to staff: "You may still decorate your door or office if you like, but we ask that you be respectful and sensitive to the diverse perspectives and beliefs of our community and refrain from using religious-themed decorations or images like Santa Claus."