Christmas

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.

Every year, millions of people celebrate Christmas to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ. But historical evidence suggests that Jesus wasn’t even born in the month of December.

On December 3, FGCU’s Bower School of Music & the Arts performed its annual Christmas extravaganza, “Joyful & Triumphant” at Moorings Presbyterian Church in Naples. The concert will be broadcast during Christmas week on WGCU HD TV and WGCU FM Radio.

It's time to discuss one of the perennial debates of the holiday season. Are real Christmas trees or their fake counterparts more eco-friendly?

Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe calls its holiday offering their Christmas card to the community. This year, WBTT returns “A Motown Christmas” to the Donelly Theatre stage.

NEW YORK — With Christmas right around the corner, you might want to check the list of what stores are open (and closed) twice.From retail to grocery chains, many companies across the U.S. close early on Christmas Eve and shut their doors entirely on Christmas Day — while others opt to cut back hours. But there’s also a handful of businesses that stay open on the holiday.

The documentary unit for WGCU has been interviewing Sanibel residents for a new program coming out next year. Recently, they interviewed Kenneth and Eugene Gavin, who grew up on Sanibel Island and are now in their early 80s. Their grandparents were among the first Black families to settle on Sanibel. Kenneth Gavin described how their grandparents chose the island.

The Charlotte County Sheriff's Office is celebrating its 20th year of Shop With A Cop in Charlotte County with two weeks of activities. The program began in 2004 in the wake of Hurricane Charley's destruction.

The 35th Annual Fort Myers Beach Chamber of Commerce Christmas Boat Parade took to the waters to kick off the holiday season after having to cancel last year due to Hurricane Ian.