Christmas

The turkey’s path to festive supremacy was much more unexpected – and glorious – than it might seem.

J.A.R. Pimlott studies the development of the Christmas Spirit—from Pagan Saturnalia to Victorian family party

The outrage that Christmas was tarnished by the ugliness of the First World War was felt by both British and German soldiers. In some cases, it led to a brief moment of truce.

Did the first Christian Roman emperor appropriate the pagan festival of Saturnalia to celebrate the birth of Christ? Matt Salusbury weighs the evidence.

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.’

Geza Vermes looks at the Christmas stories in the Bible with a historian’s eye.

Contrary to myth, it wasn’t Prince Albert but another German royal transplant who introduced the Christmas tree to Britain.

Ron White draws on the diaries of Samuel Pepys to paint a picture of the festive season in the 1660s.

Before the mid-1800s many Americans did not dream of Christmas at all. Penne Restad tells how and why this changed – and played its role in uniting the US in social cohesion.