Word: holidayers
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From a TV perspective, Christmas Eve 1966 looked grim. The regular Saturday night college basketball broadcast was suspended due to the holiday, and while many viewers in the New York area might have had something better to do, those who tuned in to local broadcaster WPIX would face an hour and a half of nothing, followed by a roller derby at 11:30. WPIX president Fred Thrower had a suggestion: the station would announce the cancellation of all its programming that evening "in order to present a WPIX Christmas card to our viewers." (The roller derby, Thrower noted...
...Yule Log spirit, however, proved harder to extinguish. In ensuing years, and especially following the growth of the Internet, fans of the original Log began clamoring for its return. Joseph Malzone, a New Jersey-based audio-video technician, and music collector Lawrence "Chip" Arcuri started theyulelog.com to commemorate the holiday special, and collected hundreds of supportive email messages demanding its return. After the 9/11 terror attacks, amid growing demand for what WPIX's president called "comfort food" television, the station agreed to digitally remaster the Log, and restore it to its place of glory. In 2006, for its 40th anniversary...
...calendar - one way most Americans don't celebrate it is by going to church. While demand for Christmas Eve celebrations is so high that some churches hold as many as five or six different services on the 24th of December, most Protestant churches are closed on the actual religious holiday. For most Christians, Christmas is a day for family, not faith. (See the top 10 religion stories...
When did Christmas Eve displace Christmas Day as the time for Christians to observe one of the two holiest days in the church year? Some traditions, including Catholics and Anglicans, hold midnight masses on the Saturday before Easter to usher in that holiday. But everyone still shows up the next morning for the traditional Easter celebration, just as Christmas Day remains a holy day of obligation for Roman Catholics, who are likely to be found in church the day after attending a Midnight Mass. By contrast, the Christmas service everyone thinks of as "traditional" is the Service of Lessons...
...developed in 1880 by Edward White Benson, who later served as Archbishop of Canterbury. The service was originally used by cathedrals and churches connected with British colleges and schools. Because the school terms ended before Christmas, the service gave the students and faculty a way of observing the holiday several weeks early. In 1918, however, it was modified by Eric Milner-White, the Dean of King's College, Cambridge, for a festival held on Christmas Eve. The format took off and has remained basically unchanged ever since. (See people finding God on YouTube...