Christmas
Christmas, a Christian holiday honoring the birth of Jesus, has evolved into a worldwide religious and secular celebration, incorporating many pre-Christian and pagan traditions into the festivities.
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Learn why we decorate trees, swap cookies and hide pickles and elves, among other traditions.
In medieval times, Christmas celebrations carried on for multiple raucous days and nights.
Many celebrate the Nativity—and the New Year—in festive, sometimes whimsical, ways.
Americans adjusted amid the war, and found different, often leaner ways to mark the holidays.
Lunar New Year
The Chinese New Year
The 15-day-long Chinese New Year celebration originated from an ancient Chinese legend of the monster Nian.
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Santa Claus, otherwise known as St. Nicholas or Kris Kringle, has a long history steeped in Christmas holiday traditions.
Germany is credited with popularizing Christmas trees as we know them today, and by the 1800s, this tradition made its way to America.
Christmas, celebrated on December 25, is a religious holiday and a cultural phenomenon that builds upon ancient winter solstice traditions.
In colonial America, some settlers imported Christmas traditions from Europe, while others rejected the holiday due to its pagan roots.
See popular Christmas tree decorating fads dating back to 1920s.
The holiday, also called Three Kings Day, concludes the 12 days of Christmas.
Learn why we decorate trees, swap cookies and hide pickles and elves, among other traditions.
Here are the most-wanted holiday toys of the past century.
The Alpine legend is the original bad Santa.
From its rebellious composer to one out-of-this-world rendition, learn surprising facts about one of the most popular holiday melodies.
In medieval times, Christmas celebrations carried on for multiple raucous days and nights.
Behind the jolly, red-suited Santa of today lies a monk who lived in the third century.
Department stores and malls realized early on how live Santa impersonators could help attract shoppers during the holiday season.
One theory claims the iconic holiday candy was created in Germany to appease fidgety choirboys.
Edward Hibberd Johnson added flash and color to Christmas trees when he introduced electric lights in 1882.
