Manila airport workers have been banned from wishing travelers a Merry Christmas, according to local a newspaper.

Book buzz: Top sellers, 'Suns' shines, warm 'Christmas' (USA Today)

Seven new hardcovers land in the Top 50 on USA TODAY's Best-Selling Books list; A Thousand Splendid Suns is out in paperback, with movie in the works; and The Christmas Sweater offers a warm and fuzzy take on the holiday.

Re-entry! Top of the Pops back in Christmas schedules (BBC News)

Top of the Pops returns to the BBC for two shows over Christmas, despite earlier promises it would stay off the airwaves.

More Carols Expected in Louisville's 2008 'Christmas Carol' (Playbill via Yahoo! News)

Fezziwig's yule party will be bigger than ever in Kentucky this year. Actors Theatre of Louisville is goosing its 2008 production of A Christmas Carol with extra music - 16 songs and live musicians are expected in the Sean Daniels-directed productions.

Christmas Tale (Rolling Stone)

Starring: Catherine Deneuve Review: Holiday films in the hands of Hollywood make me puke. Mom is usually expiring from something terminal while the family dresses the Christmas tree with brave smiles. This French knockout, tough-minded and all the more affecting for it, turned my head around. It hits hard — even the laughs are killers. I should say that Mom (Catherine Deneuve, still an actress ...