Paula’s Advent Calendar Day Six – A Visit from St. Nicholas (and Black Peter)
Today, Dec. 6th, is St. Nicholas Day. For many European families, particularly those of Dutch descent, it’s a delicious pre-Christmas warm-up, a chance for children to receive gifts, candy, and other...
View ArticleTroll the Edmonton yuletide carol
Like reindeer on Candy Cane Lane, there’s no shortage of new Christmas tunes by some of Edmonton’s finest musicians. Here are five suggestions to spice up your Bing-, Bieber- and Buble-saturated...
View ArticlePaula’s Advent Calendar, Day Seven – A Santa Surprise
Welcome to Day Seven of my advent calendar countdown. Yesterday was St. Nicholas Day, and it seemed like a perfect day, therefore, to refurbish and republish this column on the history of St. Nick, and...
View ArticlePaula’s Advent Calendar, Day 11 – Can you still hear the bell?
My daughter was a Christmas baby – more or less. To be precise, she was due on Dec. 21, but didn’t actually put in an appearance until Dec. 29th. I must tell you, being pregnant – extremely pregnant –...
View ArticlePaula’s Advent Calendar Day 14: Santa, the niqab and me
What does the niqab have to do with Santa? Keep reading - all will be revealed. I’ve written a lot of controversial columns in my day. But few have stirred up as much hatred, and as much hate mail, as...
View ArticlePaula’s Advent Calendar, Day 23 – Searching for Santa
Kevin Fox, dressed as Santa for the 2010 Christmas Market in Churchill Square What happens to Christmas, when Santa Claus loses his way? For years, Kevin Fox, a friendly man with the shaggy mane of...
View ArticleSaturnalia 2.011 – aka Boxing Day
New Yorker essayist Adam Gopnik delivered this year's Massey Lectures for the CBC Radio program, Ideas. In his wonderful Massey lecture series, Winter, essayist and popular historian Adam Gopnik argues...
View ArticleYule Ave (a blast on 118th) this weekend
They know how to party on the Ave, 118th that is. And Christmas brings out the best in them. We saw that last year, with the inaugural Yule Ave festivities. They’re back, by popular demand. The second...
View ArticleSanta Claus is coming to town council
Elections aren’t just about incumbents, power brokers and rock stars. When the votes are counted, anything can happen. That’s probably why long shots knock on doors every election, gathering signatures...
View ArticleChristmas season gets going right after Remembrance Day celebrations
Remembrance Day There are several options for commemorating Remembrance Day around town on Wednesday, including a late-morning ceremony presented by the city of Edmonton at the City Room in City Hall....
View ArticleParade of Lights kicks off Christmas season
Kids Club You like surprises, don’t you? We know for a fact that kids always enjoy surprises, which makes the Free Kids Club (don’t read that the wrong way, please) at Bonnie Doon Mall the perfect...
View ArticleEdmonton prepares to swing into holiday season with Saturday outdoor parade
On the heels of Edmonton’s first week of wintry weather, the public is invited to get in the holiday spirit Saturday with the Santa’s Parade of Lights and All is Bright festival in central Edmonton....
View ArticleWhat's your most memorable Christmas?
What is your most memorable Christmas? Last week, we invited you to share with us, and Journal readers, your most vivid memory of the season. The stories we have received so far have ranged from funny...
View ArticlePerfect curls across her forehead
It is possible for a six-year-old child to start with a sob and crescendo within five minutes. In 1942, I managed this feat as my mother left for her first day of work. She was excited as she had just...
View ArticleReaders share their most memorable Christmas
Save a chair for those you loved On Dec. 21, 1980, my 33-year-old husband was at the Cross Cancer Institute. Doctors said he would not live until Christmas. He made it until my birthday, Dec. 28. I was...
View ArticleSanta to make an early appearance in Edmonton on Saturday
The lack of snow, or cold weather for that matter, may not make it feel like Christmas is on its way but that’s all about to change come Saturday. That’s when thousands of Edmontonians are expected to...
View ArticleDutch bakery in Edmonton celebrates Christmas with controversial blackface...
An Edmonton bakery is facing criticism for promoting the Dutch custom of Zwarte Piet, or Black Pete, which has been the subject of ongoing global controversy for the use of blackface. “There have been...
View ArticleNDP coal phase out, carbon tax a drain on Santa's workshop says Opposition
If Alberta’s carbon tax were applied to Santa Claus, there would be no Christmas, says Wildrose MLA Derek Fildebrandt. The member for Strathmore-Brooks used the final question period of the fall...
View ArticleOpinion: Santa is always on schedule, but tooth fairy runs on her own time
Every year I think I’m ready. They’re not going to get me this year. Nothing coming out of left field, no sidewinder missiles. I am ready for this discussion with my Grade 1 students this time. Because...
View ArticleEdmonton airport braces for busiest day of the year Friday
Edmonton International Airport is reminding passengers of best travel practices as it braces for the busiest day of the year. The Friday before Christmas always has the heaviest traffic at the airport,...
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