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The many faces, voices, and cultures of a Minnesota holiday season
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.
Please note: Most content related to this topic that is contemporary or created after 2005 can be found on our main content pages of MPR News, YourClassical MPR, The Current, APM Reports, and Marketplace.
130 Collection Items
- Help yourself to the MPR News holiday arts smorgasbord
The MPR News arts team guest hosts a special holiday hour of MPR News with Angela Davis. Arts reporters Jacob Aloi and Alex Cipolle, and arts editor Max Sparber, talk with performers, show directors, each other, and listeners about some of Minnesota’s most distinctive seasonal art and culture offerings.
- New generation of Hmong dancers prep for New Year celebration in Southwest Minnesota
MPR’s Hannah Yang visits the Veterans Memorial Center in rural Tracy, a southwestern Minnesota town. Young Hmong dancers are busy getting ready for the Hmong New Year as they practice traditional dance routines.
- For this Tiny Tim, Christmas present is a Guthrie debut
MPR’s Marianne Combs profiles 10-year-old Sophie Jones of Chaska. The young actor makes her debut in the high-profile role of Tiny Tim at The Guthrie’s production of A Christmas Carol.
- Two decades of Kwanzaa celebration at local school
MPR’s Brandt Williams reports on Lyndale Community School’s Kwanzaa celebration. Twenty years ago, Titilayo Bediako, a Minneapolis public school teacher started telling her students about Kwanzaa - the week-long African centered celebration of black heritage and values which begins the day after Christmas. She discovered that the underlying principles of the non-religious holiday resonated with students from diverse backgrounds. Now that early classroom lesson has grown into an institution which hosts an annual musical Kwanzaa recognition.
- Diwali Festival and it's meaning
MPR’s Doualy Xaykaothao reports on the meaning behind the Diwali Festival. Local Indian Americans gather at the Minneapolis convention center for annual event. The ancient celebration is one of the biggest and most important holidays in Hindu tradition.
- Bemidji friends carry on the art of lefse-making
MPR’s John Enger talks with Bemidji resident Gerri Thorsgard, who recounts memories of lefse and the importance in making it herself now in carrying on the tradition.
- Meet the man behind the Dayton's auditorium Christmas shows
Morning Edition’s Cathy Wurzer interviews Jack Barkla, who since the 1970s, has been responsible for creating the auditorium shows at Dayton’s in downtown Minneapolis. Barkla calls it "conjuring up magic."
- 'Scrooge in tha Hood' reimagines Dickens for modern day
MPR’s Nikki Tundel reports on the CrossRoads Panorama's production, Scrooge in tha Hood, a modern take on the classic tale A Christmas Carol. Actors portray the struggling Scratchit family, a twist on Charles Dickens's Cratchit family.
- Kevin Kling's "Of Mirth and Mischief"
Midday presents a broadcast of Of Mirth and Mischief, a performance of stories, winter fairies, and elves from writer and humorist Kevin Kling at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul.
- Essayist Peter Smith doesn't welcome carbs this holiday season
There's one holiday reunion local essayist Peter Smith isn't exactly looking forward to during the season. It’s all about the carbohydrate.