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.
Start Here
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.
Explore All Related Topics
Christmas, celebrated annually on December 25, is both a sacred religious holiday as well as a worldwide cultural and commercial phenomenon.
See popular Christmas tree decorating fads dating back to 1920s.
The holiday, also called Three Kings Day, concludes the 12 days of Christmas.
Christmas trees are a German-born tradition with ancient roots.
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.
Santa Claus—otherwise known as St. Nicholas or Kris Kringle—has a long history steeped in Christmas traditions.
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.
How an accidental call to NORAD's top-secret military hotline led to a Christmas tradition.
