How Father Christmas Found his Reindeer
It took a long while for Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer to team up with Santa Claus. But once he did, there was no stopping him.
Christmas
Christmas Before Dickens
Charles Dickens’ name conjures up the quintessential English Christmas, but it is to another Charles D that we must look if we want to know what festivities were like before the Victorian makeover.
The Rise of the Turkey
The turkey’s path to festive supremacy was much more unexpected – and glorious – than it might seem.
Merry Christmas
J.A.R. Pimlott studies the development of the Christmas Spirit—from Pagan Saturnalia to Victorian family party
Christmas 1914, And After
Sentimentality about Christmas in Britain is a Victorian legacy that owes much to the influence of Germany. The sense of outrage in December, 1914, at encountering a Christmas tarnished by the ugliness of war was common to both countries.
Did the Romans Invent Christmas?
Did the first Christian Roman emperor appropriate the pagan festival of Saturnalia to celebrate the birth of Christ? Matt Salusbury weighs the evidence.
The Birth and Background of Jesus of Nazareth
J.K. Elliott describes how many diverse elements are woven into the traditional account of the Nativity; but ‘the inspiration that the story has given to countless believers... speaks for its effectiveness.’
The First Christmas
Geza Vermes looks at the Christmas stories in the Bible with a historian’s eye.
The First Christmas Tree
Alison Barnes sets the record straight on who was really responsible for introducing this popular custom to Britain.
Christmas with Sam and Elizabeth
Ron White draws on the diaries of Samuel Pepys to paint a picture of the festive season in the 1660s.