Santa Claus made a special appearance on Wednesday, December 2 before hundreds of admirers. Among them were children from Most Precious Blood Parochial School who turned out for the annual Broadway- Astoria Merchants and Professionals Association (BAMPA) and Most Precious Blood Roman Catholic Church Christmas tree lighting ceremony and Nativity display. Santa made his way down Broadway in a vehicle […]

On Thursday, October 22, residents, elected officials and community leaders of Western Queens gathered at the Sunnyside Community Services (SCS) Center Annual Benefit Reception to honor SCS Executive Director Judith Zangwill for nearly 20 years of service to the community of Sunnyside. Against a backdrop of food, live music and a silent auction, numerous members of the Sunnyside community expressed […]

On October 22, 450 supporters of the Hellenic American Neighborhood Action Committee (HANAC), celebrated the completion of the George T. Douris Tower at HANAC’s 37th annual dinner dance, “Building our Future”, at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Manhattan. Mega Contracting President Hercules Hanjis was honored with the Man of the Year award for his accomplishments as a contractor and his […]

Freezing rain and snow could not keep spectators from coming out on December 5 to celebrate the annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony presented by Woodside On The Move. Poor conditions caused the event to be moved from Sohncke Square Park at 58th Street between Roosevelt and Woodside Avenues to St. Sebastian’s school auditorium. Children and adults were told to imagine […]

Decorating homes and Christmas trees with ornaments is one of the most traditional ways to capture the excitement and magic of the holiday season. Evergreen Christmas trees made their appearance in American homes in the 1700s, when families decorated them with white wafers and small pastries cut into stars, angels, hearts and flowers. Holiday ornaments, as we know them, became […]

The popularity of Dan Brown’s latest novel, “The Lost Symbol,” has opened up the secretive world of the Freemasons to millions of readers. The ancient society and puzzling ciphers featured in the book have sparked interest in finding out more about both. Now, that interest can be fed with two books in the popular “For Dummies(r)” series. “The Masons are […]

The history of candy canes dates back to December 1670, when the choirmaster of the Cologne Cathedral in Germany gave sugar sticks in the shape of shepherd’s crooks to his young singers to keep them silent during a long depiction of The Nativity. In 1847, German immigrant August Ingaid unknowingly started a holiday tradition when he decorated a small spruce […]

The story of Chanukah begins in the reign of Alexander the Great. Alexander conquered Syria, Egypt and Judea, but allowed the people under his control to continue observing their own religions and retain a certain degree of autonomy. Under this relatively benevolent rule, many Jews assimilated, adopting Hellenistic culture, including the language, customs and dress in much the same way […]

One of the best known symbols of Chanukah is the Dreidel. A dreidel is a four sided top with a Hebrew letter on each side. The four letters are: These letters mean “A Great Miracle Happened There” In Israel the dreidel is a bit different—their letters mean “ A Miracle Happened HERE!” Dreidel is also a popular game played during […]