Minnesotans know that with the coming of bitter cold, something else is knocking on the door. The holiday season is a time of tales, readings, song, and reflection. Get your fill of lutefisk; hear the church bells rung “the old fashioned way;” take a tour of Hmong New Year; feel the melancholy of the farm; experience foreign students first encounters with turkeys and pumpkin pies; and learn the history of fruitcake. These are some of the wide-ranging stories of Minnesota holiday life that await your senses.
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November 28, 1991 - MPR’s John Biewen profiles the strange lot of folks that find themselves working on Thanksgiving. Biewen visits and interviews individuals at the airport, a restaurant, on a bus, an elder care facility, and a fire station.
December 23, 1991 - Part 1 of Midday After One - "Stories of the Season," where notable community members and Minnesota Public Radio staff read their favorite holiday tales.
December 24, 1991 - Part 2 of Midday After One - "Stories of the Season," where notable community members and Minnesota Public Radio staff read their favorite holiday tales. Lou Bellamy, of the Penumbra Theatre, reads "The Terrible Twos" by Ishmael Reed. MPR’s Greta Cunningham reads "A Brooklyn Christmas" by Betty Smith Gene Harrington, St. Paul resident, reads "A Cup of Christmas Tea" by Minnesota author Tom Hegg.
December 25, 1991 - Part 4 of Midday After One - "Stories of the Season," where notable community members and Minnesota Public Radio staff read their favorite holiday tales.
December 25, 1991 - Part 3 of Midday - "Stories of the Season," where notable community members and Minnesota Public Radio staff read their favorite holiday tales.
November 27, 1992 - MPR’s Chris Roberts reports on the annual Hmong New Year’s celebration held in St. Paul. Roberts interviews participants and describes some of the customs on display.
December 19, 1992 - Thorunn Bjarnadottir shares her fondest Christmas memory from Minnesota. Back in 1989, Bjarnadottir and her friend Remy, both foreign students, hunted the cold northern landscape for a Christmas tree.
December 19, 1992 - Minnesota author Lawrence Sutin reflects on the winter solstice, and on humanity in the darkest days of year.
December 24, 1992 - Duluth writer Michael Fedo shares his family memory of holiday slideshow presentations, and how it became a powerful time-marker.
January 2, 1993 - At the beginning of 1993, MPR’s Lawrence Sutin shares his new year’s resolutions, with five resolutions in no order of importance whatsoever.