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Christmas

Originally published 12/15/2017
The racist origins of "Jingle Bells"

It was written in the 19th century by a songwriter who was cashing in on minstrel shows.

Originally published 12/15/2017
The War of Words behind ‘Happy Holidays’

Much like “Merry Christmas,” it turns out that “Happy Holidays” also has religious roots.

Originally published 12/05/2017
The ‘War on Christmas’ predates Trump and Fox News by almost 400 years

In 1647 the Puritans banned Christmas in Boston because it was seen as nothing more than an unholy pagan ritual.

Originally published 11/30/2017
A History of the War on Christmas

How wishing people "Happy holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas" came to be regarded as an act of war.

Originally published 12/23/2016
5,000-Year-Old Nativity Scene Found in Egypt

Italian researchers have discovered what might be the oldest nativity scene ever found — 5,000-year-old rock art that depicts a star in the east, a newborn between parents and two animals.

Originally published 12/05/2016
A Christmas in Wales Is Like Christmas Anywhere in America

Bruce Chadwick

We have a number of wonderful Christmas plays and movies to keep us warm during the holidays. Poet Dylan Thomas’s "A Child’s Christmas in Wales" usually does not find its place on that list and it should.

Originally published 12/28/2015
Have You Heard of Irving Berlin’s Alleged Snow Job Against African Americans?

Harold Brackman

"[I]t’s past time for you over-heated White privileged, Berlin admirers to chill out by admitting that the musical white side has a dark side exploited by this notorious Jewish minstrel man’s most beloved song." -- Or is this over the top?

Originally published 12/24/2015
How the Nazis co-opted Christmas

Joe Perry

While some Germans did resist the heavy-handed, politicized appropriation of Germany’s favorite holiday, many actually embraced a Nazified holiday that evoked the family’s place in the “racial state,” free of Jews and other outsiders.

Originally published 12/09/2015
War on Christmas: The Prequel

Early campaigns to abolish the holiday form a largely forgotten chapter in American history.

Originally published 12/20/2014
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Turns 75

Although firmly entrenched as a Christmas icon, the tale of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” is a piece of relatively modern folklore penned in 1939 by a department store adman enduring a time of great personal tragedy.

Originally published 12/19/2014
Remembering the Peace of Christmas Eve

William Lambers

Peace should be in our minds and hearts as we confront the issues of today.

Originally published 12/19/2014
Did historical Jesus really exist? The evidence just doesn’t add up.

Raphael Lataster

The first problem we encounter when trying to discover more about the Historical Jesus is the lack of early sources.

Originally published 12/18/2014
What Christmas carols are really celebrating

Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol” means something different than you think it does.

Originally published 12/17/2014
The Christmas Truce: A Sentimental Dream

Peter Hart

From the perspective of the freezing-cold trenches the idea of the season of peace and goodwill seemed surrealistic. Yet parcels and Christmas gifts began to arrive in the trenches and there was a strange atmosphere in the air.

Originally published 12/16/2014
The X in Xmas literally means Christ. Here's the history behind it.

In Greek, the language of the New Testament, the word Christos (Christ) begins with the letter "X," or chi.

Originally published 10/13/2014
This Historian Has Written Six Books About Wartime Christmases. Now He Explains Why.

Stanley Weintraub

“I do not expect to write another book in which Christmas is a factor. I have run out of appropriate wars.”

Originally published 12/19/2013
Messiah College Professor Says Christians Should Study History, Stop Overreacting to 'War on Christmas'

The "golden age of Christmas" never existed.

Originally published 12/19/2013
A Short History of the War on Christmas

How everyone from Bill O’Reilly to Jon Stewart became a co-conspirator in an annual farce.

Originally published 12/05/2013
Is ‘Black Pete’ Racist?

John McWhorter

The Dutch holiday icon is widely decried as blackfaced racism.

Originally published 11/23/2013
Harry Reid's House Doppelganger

Stephen Mihm

Claims that his action is unprecedented miss the mark.

Originally published 01/12/2010
HNN Hot Topics: Christmas

Everything you need to know about the calendar's biggest holiday.

Originally published 07/08/2002
Top 5 Myths About Christmas

Rick Shenkman

#1 Myth: Retailers have ruined Christmas.

Originally published 12/24/2017
How a Shy Jewish Boy’s Nose Issues Gave America Rudolf for Christmas

Gil Troy

Crafting a parable, Robert Lewis May remembered the taunts he endured as a Jewish kid for his nose. Why not make an “underdog – a loser … triumphant in the end,” he thought.

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