Christmas 2025

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Can you believe they're already talking about Christmas and we haven't even had Thanksgiving yet!!

 

Rockefeller Christmas Tree

The Rockefeller Christmas tree arrived in New York City Saturday, kicking off a tourist season that will see an estimated 750,000 people visit daily—more than 125 million people each year.  The tradition dates back to 1931, when construction workers at what would become Rockefeller Plaza pooled resources to buy a 20-foot balsam fir tree (see more, w/video). Since then, the tradition has involved larger trees, typically a Norway spruce lit with more than 50,000 LED lights and topped with a 900-pound Swarovski-crystal star. This year’s tree is a 75-foot-tall, 11-ton Norway spruce from East Greenbush, New York, donated by a woman in honor of her late husband. The tree will be lit from Dec. 3 to mid-January, after which the wood will be donated to Habitat for Humanity. See an interview with Erik Pauze, the gardener who selects the tree each year, here (w/video).

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⛪ AI Christmas

Illustration: Maura Kearns/Axios

Churches across the U.S. and abroad are quietly experimenting with AI-generated Christmas content, from Nativity visuals and kids' lessons to Christmas Eve sermons. Why it matters: Churches' growing reliance on AI raises questions about whether algorithms can handle faith's deepest themes, Axios' Russell Contreras writes. ? Zoom in: Church Communications, a group that helps thousands of churches, published an AI guide, advising congregations to generate Nativity devotionals, Christmas graphics, Advent calendars and kids' stories with the tech. ChurchLeaders, another major ministry outlet, encourages pastors to use AI for planning Christmas services, creating sermons, scheduling volunteers and generating social media content. The other side: The dean of Grace Cathedral in San Francisco tested AI last Christmas Eve, asking ChatGPT to write jokes and a Nativity sermon, but found it "flat" and had "no heart." Todd Brewer, a New Testament scholar, asked ChatGPT to write a 1,000-word Christmas sermon based on the Nativity narrative. He said it was better than some authentic sermons he'd heard, but it still lacked empathy.

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❄️ 1 fun thing: Christmas movie pilgrimage

Scenes from the Hallmark movie "Sugar Plum Twist" were filmed at city hall in Norwich, Conn. Photo: Susan Haigh/AP Fans of made-for-TV Christmas movies are flocking to Connecticut — now the unofficial backlot of Hallmark-style romances, AP reports. Why it matters: Holiday films are big business, with networks and streamers releasing about 100 new titles a year. Connecticut — the location for at least 22 holiday films by Hallmark, Lifetime and others — is leaning in with a "Christmas Movie Trail" that launched last year. Bus tours of filming locations are selling out, including one that drew 53 superfans to Wethersfield, a town near Hartford where shops sell "I Live in a Christmas Movie" merch. Go deeper.

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? Christmas crunch time

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios Time is running out to have your Christmas gifts delivered on time, Axios' Kelly Tyko reports. ?️ Package carriers are hitting their last recommended dates to get packages to doorsteps by Dec. 24 — and the longer you wait, the more you'll pay. ? Many ground deadlines have already past, leaving only costlier two-day, overnight and same-day options. But you still have alternatives. ? On-demand services like DoorDash, Uber and Instacart can deliver last-minute gifts. Many retailers, including Walmart, Target and Amazon, offer same-day delivery or curbside pickup. See the deadlines.

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Brooklyn's Christmas hot spot

Photo: Liao Pan/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images Merry Christmas from Brooklyn's Dyker Heights neighborhood, famous for its wildly impressive home light displays, Alex writes. ? Thousands of visitors flock to the area — not far from the Verrazzano — each year to gawk at the lights and enjoy some hot cocoa. One tip, from this former local: Go after Christmas for thinner crowds, before residents take down their displays for the year. ? And stop in Sunset Park — home to Brooklyn's first Chinatown — for food on your way home.