Gilded Age holidays

Gilded Age holidays
NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) -- The mansions of Newport are world-famous for their Gilded Age opulence. This time of year, the Breakers, the Elms and Marble House are decorated for the holidays with evergreen trimmings, holiday wreaths and thousands of poinsettias. Elegant dining tables sparkle with settings of period silver and china, and Christmas trees glitter in grand foyers. Local choirs perform, and visitors can sample eggnog or cider. Christmas tours of the mansions take place until Jan. 2.
The Astor family's Beechwood Mansion is open for tours through Dec. 31, and you're invited to stay for dinner Dec. 10, 12, 17 and 19, for an event re-creating a Victorian holiday feast, complete with servants in period costume and dancing.
For more information on holiday events in Rhode Island, go to www.visitrhodeisland.com or call (800) 556-2484.
A whole town namedfor the jolly old elf
SANTA CLAUS, Ind. (AP) -- You don't have to go to the North Pole or even a department store to see Santa Claus. Just head to this town in Indiana.
The postmaster of the town of Santa Claus, Ind., began answering letters from children to old St. Nick in 1914. Volunteers are still answering the letters -- up to 10,000 each year. A statue of Santa was erected in 1935 on Highway 245.
The town also hosts an annual holiday festival, scheduled this year for Dec. 11 and 12, which includes a craft show, parade, musical performances and a 14-mile driving tour through themed, decorated neighborhoods filled with elaborately lit homes.
Nearby towns in Spencer County like Rockport and Lincoln City -- named for Abe Lincoln, who spent 14 early years in the area -- also have holiday events.
For more information about Christmas in Santa Claus and other Spencer County towns, call (888) 444-9252 or visit www.LegendaryPlaces.org.
South of Mason-Dixon
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- For a jolly Raleigh Christmas, check out holiday happenings in North Carolina's capital.
A Civil War Christmas encampment is planned for Dec. 11 and 12 in Capital Square. At the Executive Mansion, home to the governor, visitors will find a giant gingerbread house and decorated trees. For information on visiting the mansion, call (919) 807-7950.
North of the border
TORONTO (AP) -- The Cavalcade of Lights sets this Canadian city aglow with a month of holiday events, sparkling displays and neighborhood tours.
The event was created in 1967 to showcase Toronto's newly constructed City Hall and Nathan Phillips Square. Running through Jan. 2, the event includes the illumination of the square and a giant Christmas tree with 100,000 lights.
For more information on Toronto's Cavalcade of Lights and related events, visit www.toronto.ca/special--events or call (800) 499-2514.
Celebrating Hanukkah with regional flavor
NEW YORK (AP) -- At Columbia University in Upper Manhattan, a 15-foot menorah made from food cans will be lit each night of Hanukkah. In Krasnoyarsk, Russia, the menorah at the center of a public Hanukkah celebration is actually a giant ice sculpture. In Miami Beach, the menorah is made of seashells, and in Charlotte, N.C., it's made from Legos.
In Bangkok, participants in a Hanukkah celebration will ride elephants, and in San Antonio, Texas, they'll be on a boat. In Morumbi, Brazil, they'll be at a soccer stadium, and in Upland, Calif., look for a parade of Hummers, each with a menorah on top.
These are just a few of the unusual Hanukkah celebrations taking place this year, sponsored by outposts of Lubavitcher Jews around the globe but open to all. Other events include a Hanukkah celebration in Washington, D.C.'s Lafayette Park, where a menorah has been lit every year for 25 years, as well as a menorah lighting at the Eiffel Tower. At Universal Studios Hollywood, a Hanukkah celebration in the CityWalk section of the park is expected to draw 20,000 people. A menorah made from balloons will be on display in Atlanta, and another made from chocolate is the centerpiece of a celebration in Mount Olympus, Calif.
All lightings will take place for eight nights beginning Dec. 7, around sundown. Check times and locations for these and dozens of other Hanukkah events around the world at www.chabad.org/events.