(Heiko Stein / Pixabay)

Chicago will ring in 2022 with a 1.5-mile-long fireworks display on New Year’s Eve, the largest in the city’s history, officials announced.

Spreading goodwill doesn't have to mean spending a lot of money -- or any at all. (Brandon Bell / Getty Images)

It’s the season of giving! Even if you are low on funds, you can still make an impact. Here are four ways you can spread goodwill during the holidays without spending a dime.

American poet Amanda Gorman reads her commissioned poem “The Hill We Climb” during the 59th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 20, 2021. (AP Photo / Patrick Semansky, Pool, File)

Books and authors mattered in 2021, sometimes more than the industry wanted.

People attend Easter Sunday mass while adhering to social distancing guidelines at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., on April 4. (Saul Loeb / AFP / Getty Images)

For many places of worship, it’s business as usual. But some churches, synagogues, mosques and other houses of worship have been offering virtual or outdoor services, and will be doing so for holiday events. 

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Chicago fell to the Minnesota Vikings 17-9 on Monday Night Football, the team’s third straight loss.

(Courtesy of John Soss Photography)

Discovery is central to the work of an artist who seeks and finds all kinds of things on the shores of Lake Michigan. John Soss makes artwork out of seemingly nothing, sifting the sand for debris left by people and nature.

(Photo by Heidi Peters / Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago)

Global Christmas traditions, holiday lights, festive floral arrangements and comics usher in the holiday weekend. Here are 10 things to do in and around Chicago.

Katie Lauffenburger paints a ceramic home inspired by Chicago architecture. (WTTW News)

Our city’s towering skyline gets all the press, but for the husband-and-wife artist duo behind Wonder City Studio, it’s the vernacular styles that make Chicago a place worth calling home.

Megan Williamson created a hundred portraits based on interviews she saw on newscasts. (WTTW News)

From February to May, Megan Williamson made one portrait a day. She recreated living rooms across the country and even a few guests seen on “Chicago Tonight.” 

Temur Suluashvili and José Pablo Castro Cuevas perform in “The Nutcracker.” (Photo by Todd Rosenberg)

Following the long pandemic shutdown, many theaters came back in the fall only to pivot once again in the face of the omicron threat. 

St. Mary of the Lake parishioners depart the church on the first night of Las Posadas, Dec 16, 2021. (Credit: Erica Gunderson)

Parishioners of St. Mary of the Lake Catholic Church are observing Las Posadas. It’s a Catholic tradition that commemorates the journey Joseph and Mary made seeking refuge where Mary could give birth to the Christ child. The parish adapted the tradition with a procession through the church’s neighborhood.

Vicente Fernandez performs at a free concert during Valentine's Day in Mexico City's on Feb. 14, 2009, file photo, singer. On Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2016. The Mexican singer died Sunday at 81 years of age in Guadalajara, Mexico, his family announced in a statement. (AP Photo / Claudio Cruz, File)

Vicente Fernández was known for hits such as “El Rey,” and “Lástima que seas ajena,” his command of the ranchera genre and his dark and elegant mariachi suits with their matching wide-brimmed sombreros.

The Holiday Train will welcome riders Nov. 26 through Dec. 22. (Courtesy of Chicago Transit Authority)

CTA announced Friday an added run of the beloved Holiday Train, set to circle the Loop on Monday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

A Chicago artist has returned home to make her Broadway debut in a classic romantic comedy-turned-musical.  (WTTW News)

A Chicago artist has returned home to make her Broadway debut in a classic romantic comedy-turned-musical. Arts Correspondent Angel Idowu introduces us to a performer who tells us how she made it from the classroom to the stage. 

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Rumors are swirling around the future of the Bears organization as big changes loom. Meanwhile, the team has to contend with all three coordinators possibly missing Monday night's game at home against the Minnesota Vikings due to COVID-19.

(Credit: Jonathan Michael Castillo)

Many immigrants dream of owning and operating a small business. A Chicago-based photographer has a personal understanding of immigration, and he has spent years documenting small businesses. He calls his project “Immigrant Owned,” and it’s about to be expanded in a big way.