Author: Lisa Mungovan

Most of the time NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, is in charge of aerospace and maritime warning and control. But on Christmas Eve, NORAD tracks Santa Claus! They use radar, satellites, jet fighter escorts, and Santacams to get some pictures. Visit the noradsanta.org website to follow Santa’s travels around the world today!

Today is Eggnog Day. Also known as egg milk punch (which I think sounds kind of gross), eggnog is a drink made from milk, cream, sugar, spices and eggs. It’s also good in coffee! Sometimes it’s served spiked with liquor, so make sure you ask an adult, before you drink any!

A deer in California has spent months in a hammock, but he wasn’t relaxing. The buck got a string hammock tangled up in his antlers, and it took wildlife officials that long to locate him. After tranquilizing him, they removed his string-covered antlers, and released him safely. His antlers will grow back this spring.

Massachusetts artist Dave Rothenstein, used nearly 2 tons of snow, to create an 8-foot-tall snow sculpture. The piece is titled Winter Solstice Snow Lantern. The Ode to Mother Nature is a hexagonal tower made of snow bricks, with a light inside that makes the sculpture glow. It’s exhibited in his front yard, until it melts.

If you see a sparkling beard peeking out under a mask, don’t be alarmed. Someone’s just excited about the holidays, and decorating with beard glitter! You can also buy beard lights, or beard ornaments. If you can’t grow your own beard, buy a fake one instead! It will keep your face warm and toasty.

Many people are used to getting together with their whole family, for the holidays. Since that can easily spread coronavirus, visit by video-chat instead. Zoom usually has a 40-minute limit, but they’re lifting the time restrictions until the morning of December 26th, and again from December 30th to January 2nd. Zoom ahead in safety!

In 1997, a character in the TV show Seinfeld, made up a holiday called Festivus, because he thought Christmas was too commercialized. The rest of us now celebrate Festivus. They have the Airing of Grievances during dinner, perform Feats of Strength by wrestling, and perform Festivus Miracles, like getting groceries into the house without tripping.

A man dressed as Santa Claus, was caught up in a bit of trouble in California, while delivering candy canes to children. He was paragliding with a motorized parachute, when he got stuck in some power lines. The Sacramento Fire Department had to rescue him. All the reindeer were probably laughing their heads off.

4 years ago, a gold miner found a mummified wolf pup, while excavating in Yukon Canada. The Ice Age wolf, had been preserved in the permafrost, for 57,000 years. Scientists discovered she had eaten mostly aquatic food, during her 7 weeks of life. Instead of bison or musk oxen, she ate fish like Chinook salmon.

Raise your hand if you’ve ever dropped your phone, and cracked the screen. A good screen protector can help, but wouldn’t it be awesome, if your screen could magically heal? Colorless polyimide, is a glass alternative already being used in some phones. Researchers have found, that adding linseed oil, helps the material fix itself!