Christmas

‘Tis the season for holly, hot chocolate and the tradition of singing Christmas carols. But what is the origin of some of your favorite holiday classics?

The Sarasota County Fire Department wants the community to have a safe holiday season by sharing safety tips and demonstrating the possible dangers of a dry tree and flammable holiday décor. Dried-out trees are a fire danger and should not be left in the home or garage or against the home outside. Decorations should be at least three feet away from heat sources.

Economic uncertainty surrounds the US, due to rises in tariffs, a soft job market and the recent government shutdown. Yet that doesn’t seem to be dissuading shoppers this upcoming holiday season.

Free holiday event at the Fort Myers Skatium features skating, bounce houses, games and more.

Children in Florida might not wake up to a white Christmas, but they can wake up to a letter from Santa. A local hardware store is helping make that happen.

Southwest Florida Theatre Producer Andrew Kurtz had the idea and the company’s Musical Director Julie Beardon Carver did the rest. The result is a holiday musical set in the magical town of Grimmville.

TheatreZone opens each season with "Home for the Holidays," a musical variety show that sells out every year because it's really well done. TheatreZone provides a fresh show each year and there are only four performances in the intimate, 250-seat G&L Theatre at Community School of Naples.

While many are packing away Christmas decorations and saying goodbye to holiday treats, a small Egyptian community in Fort Myers is just getting started. For them, January 7th marks the heart of the season—Coptic Orthodox Christmas.

Christmas Day marked the 109th annual Christmas Celebration held at the Dr. Piper Center in Dunbar. The event has a long and rich history, first taking place in 1915.The mother of Ella Mae Piper, the Fort Myers trailblazer who the Dr. Piper Center is named for, started the event that year by treating just 15 little girls from Dunbar to Christmas dinner. After her mother’s death in 1926, Piper continued the tradition. She used her connections as a local entrepreneur to gather donations and support for the event from the community each year. The event has evolved into a day where children from all across Southwest Florida can receive free Christmas gifts.