The holiday season offers many occasions to celebrate with friends and families. Did you know that state and federal government publications can inform and enliven those celebrations?

Thanksgiving may have passed, but many households cook a large holiday meal for one or more occasion in December as well. The U.S. Department of Agriculture provides general guidelines for food safety in preparing and storing your holiday meal, as well as fact sheets about specific holiday dishes, such as stuffing and giblets.

The holidays lead many people to struggle with stress or loneliness. The Washington Employee Assistance Program offers a useful tip sheet to help you have a healthy and happy holiday season. Other useful holiday tips can be found in this fact sheet from the Washington State University’s Extension Energy Program on how to maximize efficiency with your holiday lighting, as well as this fact sheet from the Federal Trade Commission on how to get the best deal on your holiday shopping.

Did you know that the location in the continental U.S. that statistically gets the most snow on Christmas is Stampede Pass here in Washington? Meanwhile, Olympia has a 3% chance of having a white Christmas in any given year. For background and the stats on locations across the country, check out this report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

A Christmas favorite you may be familiar with is the NORAD Santa Tracker. The North American Aerospace Defense Command tracks everything that flies in and around North America, including Santa! This NPR article shares the heartwarming story of how the Santa Tracker got started in 1955.

These are just a sampling of the government publications that the Washington State Library can help you find, on this or any other topic you may be researching. Visit our website to see all the ways that you can get librarian assistance in finding government publications, and have a happy holiday season!