Holiday sales from the beginning of November through Christmas Eve climbed 3.8%, outpacing the 3.1% increase from a year earlier, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse, which tracks all kinds of payments including cash and debit cards.

From uncovering the holiday’s 2,000-year-old origins to frying up golden potato pancakes, Geoffrey Baer does a deep dive into what makes Hanukkah, well, Hanukkah. 

From light shows to theater, themed bars and dance spectacles, there’s something for everyone to enjoy this holiday season. We’ve rounded up some of the season’s highlights in Chicago and the suburbs.

Many stores and offices are closed on the two holidays to give employees a chance to spend time with loved ones during the holiday season. This year, Christmas Eve falls on Tuesday, Dec. 24, and Christmas falls on Wednesday, Dec. 25.

Charitable giving dropped more than 2% in 2023, according to a Giving USA report. But local organizations are making efforts to reach their donation goals just in time for the new year. 

In a first for the Field Museum, the exhibits staff has outfitted four of its dinosaur replicas (OK, three dinosaurs and one pterosaur) in Santa hats to celebrate the festive season.

This weekend brings an ensemble of enticing musical choices, and it’s not just holiday songs and show tunes. OK, much of it is, but the hardest part will be deciding what to see — and hear.

Brighten your Black Friday – and Saturday and Sunday – by taking part in a communal experience in the arts. Here are five picks. 

Some shoppers may remember lining up to score Black Friday deals and discounts on Thanksgiving evening. However, this changed in 2020, when many stores opted to stay closed to limit crowding during the pandemic and spread out the holiday shopping season.

Santa and his elves are returning to CTA buses and trains for the holiday season. The holiday tradition will return starting the week of Thanksgiving and will run through late December, the Chicago Transit Authority announced Tuesday.

The holiday-related activities such as holiday markets and tree lighting ceremonies begin this month and run through early January.

Picture your holiday decorations with an actual figure from the Marshall Field’s window displays — a boy riding an old-fashioned bicycle or Christmas carolers or even a miniature version of the famous Marshall Field’s clock. Thirty mechanized figures can each go to the highest bidder.

The city of Highland Park is planning to resume its annual Fourth of July parade — two years after a gunman opened fire on attendees, killing seven and wounding dozens more.

The day honoring the patron saint of Ireland is a global celebration of Irish heritage. And nowhere is that more so than in the United States, where parades take place in cities around the country and all kinds of foods and drinks are given an emerald hue.

There’s no more iconic Chicago St. Patrick’s Day tradition than dyeing the Chicago River green.

The paczki many Polish Americans grew up eating, made with plum, rose or raspberry fillings, aren’t the only kind available these days. We take a look at the Fat Tuesday tradition.