While many Americans will ring in the new year with a toast and kiss, people from other countries will celebrate a tad differently. Some will throw dishes and others will don loud undies. Here’s ten odd New Year’s traditions from around the world, including one from the good ol’...

  It’s December 26. The Christmas Ham is now a Christmas Hambone that will soon be made into soup. You’ve unwrapped your presents, the crumpled paper and ribbon stuffed into garbage bags that could fill a small-town landfill. Soon the tree and decorations will look as out-of-place as street urchins...

  Ah, Christmas! The season of joy, peace on earth — and stress. Lots and lots of stress. Maybe you have Christmas fatigue, worn out after putting up decorations, baking cookies and rushing to the umpteenth party. Perhaps you’ve spent too much and you’re already dreading the credit card bill next month. Or it...

  I’m a big fan of Christmas music, which is akin to someone announcing he likes fruitcake. Seems like everywhere I turn, there are Christmas song haters. Granted, it does get tiresome to hear Andy Williams belt out “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” every hour on the...

  Sometimes the season of “peace on earth, goodwill toward all” isn’t. Certainly this is one of those times. Recent acts of violence by the Taliban, ISIS and Boko Haram have rocked the civilized world. As Christians, we often feel helpless in the face of such evil and think there is...

  What will you find under the Christmas tree this year? According to several consumer websites, the hot items of 2014 will be dolls from Disney’s Frozen, Lego sets, Xbox and Playstation 4 game consoles, and, believe it or not, Apple’s discontinued iPod Classic. Some people will discover some “gifts” they never wanted...

  Jesus Was Born in a Barn. Ah, the annual nativity scene! Churches from Seattle to Schenectady will recreate the beloved Christmas tableau. Mary and Joseph will be encased by stable walls, shepherds on bended knee with perhaps a lamb or two milling around, and the Baby Jesus nestled in a wooden manger. Only problem...

  Not long ago, my nephew sent me THIS LINK promising that “this guy summed up the entire Bible in one Facebook post, and it was perfect.” The post was pretty clever, depicting God, Jesus, the prophets and apostles telling the people not to do “the things.” The people agree...

  He wore a green flannel shirt and distinguished grey temples. Sticking out his hand, he said, “You’re the reason my family and I go to this church.” Usually I don’t receive this kind of greeting when I show up to deliver a sermon or monologue. All I could do...

  WWJD? What Would Jesus Do? Author Mick Mooney thinks he knows in a parable he wrote for Huffington Post. A mother gives her son a WWJD bracelet and the young man starts buying beers for the drunken and tossing pastors out on their ears who peddle books in their churches....