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By JACOB NELSON

The Christmas season, for people who celebrate, tends to be full of traditions. Maybe it’s watching the same corny holiday movies every year. Maybe it’s making Grandma’s special cookies, a yellowing index card with her faded cursive handwriting...

An ‘anti-holiday spectacular’Prefer rudeness to Rudolph, getting blitzed to Blitzen, or X-rated humor to Xmas? The show “F*ck That! Erin McKeown’s Anti-Holiday Spectacular,” which will be at the Iron Horse on Saturday, Dec. 7, at 7 p.m., might be for...

By SAMUEL GELINAS

It’s late November in New England: darker, shorter days and colder weather — all remedied by seasonal traditions including turkey, inflatable yard decor and, for the 92nd year, the Sidney F. Smith Toy fund.Begun in 1933 during the Great Depression by...

By EMILEE KLEIN

BELCHERTOWN — If you’re dashing through the snow in a one-horse open sleigh this holiday season, then your sleigh could have been manufactured in Belchertown.The carriage, wagon and sleigh industry thrived in Belchertown during the 19th century....

By MADDIE FABIAN

HOLYOKE — On Wednesday evening, Holyoke veteran Kurt Bluemer arrived home to twinkling white lights lining the porch rail, roof and bushes outside his house and a prominent wreath hanging from the top window.The decorations were hung earlier that day...

By STEVE PFARRER

The holidays are nearly upon us and, no surprise, the Valley’s music calendar is chock full of holiday shows over the next week, with some featuring bands playing their versions of seasonal tunes and others focused more on spreading general good...

By MADDIE FABIAN

NORTHAMPTON — A lifelong resident of Northampton, the late Ed McMahon had always donated to the Sidney F. Smith Toy Fund, “wanting to help the kids and their families,” said his daughter, Kara McMahon.When he died in 2013, his family continued the...

By MADDIE FABIAN

EASTHAMPTON — For the past 40 or so years during the holiday season, the city has sparkled with icy-white lights lining the gazebo, bright colors circling trees and, of course, the dazzling star atop Mount Tom.So when Patrick Brough heard that the...

By EMILEE KLEIN

FLORENCE — Carolyn “Sissie” Horrigan remembers one December years ago when Santa Claus strolled down Main Street with Mrs. Claus, greeting people and delivering presents to those naughty and nice.She said a young boy in the window of Fitzwilly’s...

By MADDIE FABIAN

AMHERST — As former longtime public school employees, Jack Horrigan and Jan Ryan worked with children over the span of their careers and saw firsthand the significance of Christmas to kids.That’s why every year, the two donate to the Sidney F. Smith...

By BERA DUNAU

EASTHAMPTON — For more than four decades, a star shining over the city from Mount Tom has been a holiday tradition. Now, as residents deal with the novel coronavirus pandemic, the star is again lighting up the night in a gesture meant to spark and...

If you’re a child, this is the weekend when the magic of the holiday comes to life. But as much as there is “magic” involved, many people around the globe are celebrating two miracles this weekend. The first night of Hanukkah, the eight-day Jewish...