Christmas Origins & History
Oct 30 2025
For millions of people around the world, Christmas begins with a story more than two thousand years old: a young woman named Mary, an unexpected message from an angel, a journey to Bethlehem, a baby laid in a manger, shepherds watching their flocks beneath the night sky, and wise men following a star. The biblical …
Oct 21 2025
From Humble Caves to Artistic Masterpieces Few Christmas decorations carry as much meaning in such a small space as the Nativity scene. A simple arrangement of Mary, Joseph, the infant Jesus, shepherds, angels, animals, and travelers following a star can tell one of Christianity’s most familiar stories without saying a word. Whether carved from olive …
Oct 09 2025
Christmas has gathered an extraordinary cast of characters over the centuries. Some come from the biblical story of the Nativity, others from old European folklore, and still others developed from regional traditions surrounding Saint Nicholas, gift-giving, winter, and the celebration of Christmas itself. Santa Claus may be the most recognizable Christmas character today, but he …
Oct 06 2025
One of the most enchanting images of Christmas is Santa Claus sweeping across a moonlit winter sky in a sleigh pulled by reindeer. With snow below, stars overhead, and sleigh bells ringing through the darkness, the scene feels so timeless that it is easy to imagine people have been telling the story for thousands of …
Dec 08 2024
Christmas Eve would be very different without the sound of sleigh bells in the sky. Long after the Christmas lights have been switched off and children have been tucked into bed, Santa Claus begins his most extraordinary journey of the year. His sleigh is piled high with presents, the stars glitter above the snowy rooftops, …
Dec 22 2023
Christmas music has a peculiar kind of magic. A song can disappear from our lives for eleven months, then return in December and somehow feel as familiar as the ornaments we have hung on the tree since childhood. The opening notes of “White Christmas” can conjure an old-fashioned snowy street. “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” …
Dec 11 2023
Christmas has a language all its own. Certain words, colors, plants, songs, and even names seem to glow a little more brightly once December arrives. A name such as Holly immediately brings to mind glossy green leaves and brilliant red berries, while Noel sounds almost like a Christmas carol before we even stop to consider …
Dec 10 2023
There is something especially meaningful about flowers at Christmas. Against the bare branches and muted landscapes of winter, brilliant red poinsettias, snowy white hellebores, elegant amaryllis blooms, and fragrant evergreen foliage bring color and life indoors at exactly the time of year when nature seems quietest. Yet many of the plants we associate with Christmas …
Dec 08 2023
Christmas folklore is often filled with kindly gift-bringers, cheerful elves, sparkling lights, and magical reindeer. Iceland does things a little differently. High in the mountains, according to Icelandic tradition, lives a terrifying old creature named Grýla. Each winter she emerges from the wilderness with a particularly gruesome purpose: searching for badly behaved children to carry …
Nov 29 2023
There is a certain kind of Christmas magic that seems to belong to another time: a room glowing by candlelight, a tree covered with handmade ornaments, oranges and nuts tucked into stockings, carolers singing in the cold, and a table filled with foods prepared from recipes handed down through generations. An old-fashioned Christmas was not …
