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Christians the world over are celebrating Christmas. India, the birthplace of Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism, marks the birth of Jesus with a national holiday. In this land of great religions, Christians and non-Christians join in the festivities of this season with song and special meals.

Few people today remember E.T.A. Hoffmann, but most everyone is familiar with his most famous creation: The Nutcracker. NPR's Robert Siegel traces the history of everyone's favorite Christmas ballet all the way back to its much darker original version.

The Christmas season is a peculiar time for Jewish children, many of whom are drawn to Christmas specials like A Christmas Story. What should Jewish parents do? Guest host John Donvan talks to Slate senior editor Dahlia Lithwick about her Jewish parent's guide to Christmas specials.

In Newtown, Conn., Christmas is very different this year, a little more than a week after the shooting at an elementary school. Eight families that attend St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church lost children to the tragedy. Parishioners came to Christmas masses there seeking solace, and priests gave a message of hope and comfort.

Rye was all but pushed off the market by sweeter, corn-based bourbon after Prohibition, but it might be coming back, no illegal still required. Bartenders from coast to coast seem to prefer its intense flavor for their cocktail creations.

Ann Powers picks her favorite chart-topping, radio-dominating songs of 2012.

It was a busy year for federal authorities pursuing insider trading cases, such as the one against hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam. Investigators say that success comes largely from their decision to attack insider trading the way they take down the Mafia and drug cartels — with wiretaps, informants and cooperators.

This year has seen an explosion of professional online videos, eclipsing home videos of cats and babies. In 2012, 8 of the top 10 YouTube videos were professional — and Hulu, Netflix and multichannel networks like MiTu all produced exclusive new programming.

The 007 theme is one of the most famous themes in movie history. The infamous guitar riff that gives the theme its secret agent feel was performed by Vic Flick, who spoke to Morning Edition about the day he played it, 50 years ago. (This piece initially aired on October 03, 2012 on Morning Edition).

Washington, D.C., city police are investigating whether NBC News' David Gregory broke the district's laws when he displayed what he said was a "magazine for ammunition that carries 30 bullets" on Sunday's edition of Meet the Press.