The big day is here, and so is our final episode of 2024. As we so do every year, we’ll take a look back at all the news, trends, sights, and sounds that […]

The small, unassuming wren may be nothing much to look at, but wait till it starts singing. Its loud, complex songs, and its tendency to sing them throughout […]

One by one, over a series of nights during Christmastime in Iceland, the Yule Lads come down from a mountain, making mischief, rewarding good behavior and […]

Ded Moroz (“Grandfather Frost”), went from folk tale to fairy tale, from beloved symbol of Christmas to exile, and then back to beloved symbol, all in […]

Once again it’s time for one of my favorite traditions here on Christmas Past: dedicating an entire episode to you and your Christmas memories! I love these […]

For a long time, ivy conjured images of all things pagan, superstitious, gluttonous, debauched, and morbid. For those reasons, it would be forbidden from […]

Forty years ago, audiences got into the Christmas spirit by watching a little green creature get killed in a blender. Gremlins was more than a movie that […]

If Christmas commemorates the birth of Jesus, and we celebrate it on December 25, then Jesus must have been born on that day, right? Not so fast! We actually […]

Who doesn’t love a parade? The very idea of a procession, usually involving costumes and music, is at least 4,000 years old. But grand parades to kick off […]

The three kings. The wise men. The magi. They’re the supporting cast in many a Nativity scene…the subject of several postage stamps and greeting […]