Alabama

Alabama ranked No. 3 for states ‘most obsessed with Christmas’: See who beat us

Published

1 year ago

December 9, 2024

Alabama ranked No. 3 for states ‘most obsessed with Christmas’: See who beat us

According to a famous holiday song, Christmas is “the most wonderful time of the year,” and people in Alabama definitely agree.

Despite the lack of snow in winter, Alabamians have a big love for holiday lights, decorated trees, wrapped gifts, holly-jolly movies and other seasonal traditions. In fact, a recent study ranks Alabama as No. 3 in its list of the “Top 10 Most Christmas-Obsessed States.”

West Virginia took the top spot in the rankings from Chicks Gold, an online gaming marketplace. A team of busy elves from the company used data from Google Trends to determine the rankings, according to a press release. Utah was named No. 2 among states “that take their Christmas cheer to the next level.”

Alabama came in at No. 3 among states that go all out for the holidays, taking a bronze medal from Santa. Chicks Gold touted some of the annual Christmas events in each of the top three states, and pointed to a couple of favorites in Alabama.

The Tinsel Trail is a display of live Christmas trees in downtown Huntsville. It’s free to attend and open throughout the holiday season.(AL.com file photo/Bob Gathany)

“Huntsville, the biggest city in Alabama, annually hosts the Tinsel Trail, where local groups sponsor decorated Christmas trees that are displayed in the local park,” a press release says. “The Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum also hosts a North Pole Express every year where families can take a traditional train ride and meet Santa.”

READ: All aboard! Alabama railroads offer families a festive ride to meet Santa

West Virginia got a major thumb’s up from Chicks Gold for its Light the Night festival in Charleston, “which includes rides, Christmas shopping, good food and photos with Santa, as well as an amazing Christmas light display featuring over 2.5 million lights,” the release says.

Utah earned kudos for the “huge light display in Temple Square in the middle of Salt Lake City, as well as carol concerts and guided tours.”

The study tracked how many times people in each state searched for “Christmas decorations,” “Christmas gifts,” “Christmas games” and “Christmas movies,” the release says. Each of the holiday terms was given a weighting to determine the final score. “The data was based on the 5-year trending score from the start of the week in which it was collected (10/13/2019-10/17/2024),” according to the release.

Here’s the full top 10 list, as determined by Chicks Gold:

West Virginia
Utah
Alabama
Kentucky
Mississippi
Indiana
Tennessee
Pennsylvania
South Carolina
Ohio

Such rankings are created mostly for fun and bragging rights, so let’s not get all Grinchy about Alabama getting bested by two other states. Folks here know that we have Christmas cheer aplenty, with a wealth of holiday lights shows, skating rinks, concerts, parades, Santa visits and more.

READ: 5 Alabama Christmas towns that look like Hallmark movies

Cullman recently earned a spot on Southern Living’s list of cutest Southern Christmas town, thanks to a 40-foot-tall Christmas pyramid that glows with lights during the holiday season. Cullman also has a popular Christmas market in Depot Park that features ice skating, a Ferris wheel, German food vendors, shops, train rides and more.

Glow Wild at Birmingham Zoo — Brightly glowing lanterns in the shape of animals, dinosaurs and other creatures are on display at “Glow Wild,” a holiday lights show at the Birmingham Zoo.(Mary Colurso | mcolurso@AL.com)

Christmas festivities in Fairhope, Gadsden, Demopolis, Andalusia, Prattville and several other cities are well-known throughout the state. The Birmingham metro area has several glittering holiday lights shows, plus Christmas events throughout the month of December.

READ: Christmas 2024: Best holiday lights shows in the Birmingham area

Source link

Alabama

Is flashing your headlights legal in Alabama? Here’s what the law says

Published

4 hours ago

March 7, 2026

Press Room

Is flashing your headlights legal in Alabama? Here’s what the law says

A quick flash of your headlights can catch someone’s attention faster than a horn. On busy or quiet streets, it’s a simple, wordless way drivers communicate.

Sometimes it’s a quick “thanks,” a warning or just a mystery. But is this way of communicating legal? Here’s what Alabama law says about flashing headlights.

Is it legal to flash your headlights at other cars in Alabama?

Yes, in Alabama, it technically is legal to flash your headlights at another car. There are no laws that explicitly say it’s illegal. However, some codes prohibit the use of high beams.

Alabama law says drivers must use low beams when within 500 feet of oncoming traffic or 200 feet of the vehicle ahead. These rules help everyone see clearly and stay safe.

Is flashing headlights to warn drivers of speed traps a form of free speech?

See a speed trap? Flashing your headlights to warn others is common. Is it legal? The Free Speech Center at MTSU notes that courts have protected this as free speech.

In 2012, Michael Elli of Ellisville, Missouri, was pulled over for warning of a speed trap by flashing his headlights. Officials said he hindered police, but later agreed he did not.

Other similar cases were Elliott v. Warrick County in 2014 and Beaver v. City of Federal Way in 2018.

Jennifer Lindahl is a Breaking and Trending Reporter in Alabama for USA TODAY’s Deep South Connect Team. Connect with her on X @jenn_lindahl and email at jlindahl@usatodayco.com.

Source link

Alabama

Breaking Down Auburn’s Path to the NCAA Tournament Ahead of Alabama Clash

Published

16 hours ago

March 6, 2026

Press Room

Breaking Down Auburn’s Path to the NCAA Tournament Ahead of Alabama Clash

The Auburn Tigers are firmly on the bubble heading into the final game of the regular season, and the urgency couldn’t be higher for Steven Pearl and company.

Auburn travels to Tuscaloosa for a rematch with the Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday, currently standing at 16-14 overall and 7-10 in the SEC. Alabama knocked off the Tigers on their home floor at Neville Arena just over three weeks ago, meaning Auburn should be seeking revenge this weekend inside Coleman Coliseum.

The Tigers have dropped seven of their last nine games, most recently falling to Ole Miss 85-79 last Saturday and defeating LSU by 14 points on Tuesday’s senior night. Auburn played like two extremely different teams in these two matchups, and it certainly needs to carry the momentum it garnered from the midweek win into Saturday.

The newly updated NCAA Tournament projections feature Auburn on the outside looking in, according to multiple outlets. The Tigers are listed as ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi’s second team out of the field, which is disappointing after sitting as a solid No. 7-seed just a few weeks ago.

In CBS Sports’ latest bracketology, Auburn is projected to land as the First Team Out, alongside New Mexico, Seton Hall, and Indiana. However, the Tigers actually boast a higher NET ranking than all seven of the other squads featured in CBS Sports’ Last Four In and Last Four Out.

Prior to its clash with Ole Miss last Saturday, the general consensus was that if Auburn took care of business on its home floor against the Rebels and LSU, the Tigers would put themselves in a good position to crack the tournament, assuming they lost to Alabama in the season finale.

However, obviously, Auburn was unable to get both tasks done, as Pearl’s squad, frankly, seemed uninspired in what was a near must-win game for the Tigers versus Ole Miss. Auburn looked slightly more motivated in its victory over LSU on Tuesday, but could it be too late?

Now, with Auburn sitting just two games over .500 overall and playing some of its worst basketball as of late, it feels as if its season is absolutely on the line in Tuscaloosa on Saturday.

ESPN’s most recent betting odds lean toward Auburn missing the tournament, but a win over the Crimson Tide could, and would, certainly shift that line.

If the Tigers are able to emerge from Coleman Coliseum victorious, which would be a top-20 Quad-1 win on the road, they will most likely hear their name called on Selection Sunday.

But on the flip side, if Auburn falls to its arch rival to close the regular season, it would likely need to win three games or more in the SEC Tournament next week to feel somewhat hopeful about its postseason fate.

Nonetheless, as mentioned previously, there’s no excuse why urgency shouldn’t be at an all-time high on Saturday. With their NCAA Tournament hopes virtually on the line and a chance for revenge on their most-hated rival, the Tigers should come out desperate and hungry from the tip.

Source link

Alabama

Southern 88-85 Alabama A&M (Mar 5, 2026) Game Recap – ESPN

Published

1 day ago

March 6, 2026

Press Room

Southern 88-85 Alabama A&M (Mar 5, 2026) Game Recap – ESPN

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — — Terrance Dixon Jr.’s 19 points helped Southern defeat Alabama A&M 88-85 on Thursday.

Dixon shot 7 of 10 from the field and 5 of 6 from the free-throw line for the Jaguars (15-16, 11-7 Southwestern Athletic Conference). Michael Jacobs scored 15 points while going 4 of 11 and 7 of 9 from the free-throw line, and added five rebounds. AJ Barnes shot 3 for 7 (1 for 3 from 3-point range) and 7 of 8 from the free-throw line to finish with 14 points, while adding six rebounds.

Koron Davis finished with 23 points for the Bulldogs (17-14, 10-8). James Graham added 19 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and two steals for Alabama A&M. Kintavious Dozier also had 12 points.

The Jaguars led by 10 points with 59 seconds to go, before the Bulldogs executed a three-point play from Bilal Abdur-Rahim then got a 3-pointer from Dozier in the span of nine seconds, cutting the deficit to four. A free throw battle closed out the result for the Jaguars.

——

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

Source link