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In World War II America, Female Santas Took the Reins

Rosie the Riveter wasn’t the only woman who pitched in on the homefront.
by Greg Daugherty via Smithsonian on December 18, 2017
Title page and verso of the first edition of "A Christmas Carol."

A Plea to Resurrect the Christmas Tradition of Telling Ghost Stories

Though the practice is now more associated with Halloween, spooking out your family is well within the Christmas spirit.
by Colin Dickey via Smithsonian on December 15, 2017
Cartoon drawing of Francis Pharcellus Church.

The Journalist Who Understood The True Meaning Of Christmas

“Yes, Virginia” is the most reprinted newspaper piece in American history, and this guy wrote it.
by Ilana Gordon via OMGFacts on December 16, 2016

“Jingle Bells” History Takes Surprising Turn

A researcher in Boston discovers that the beloved Christmas favorite was first performed in a Boston minstrel hall.
by Joel Brown via BU Today on December 8, 2016
Exhibit

Christmas Past

Histories of American Christmas songs, stories and rituals.

A Brief History of the Holiday Card

Americans purchase approximately 1.6 billion holiday cards a year. Why is this tradition so popular?
by Ellen F. Brown via JSTOR Daily on December 20, 2015

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’s First Starring Film Role

The Library of Congress has the only complete version of the original 1948 release.
by Mike Mashon via Now See Hear! on December 16, 2014

Losing Ourselves in Holiday Windows

Nostalgia has always been harnessed or packaged to sell things.
by Hunter Oatman-Stanford via Collectors Weekly on December 20, 2013
A bird perched on top of a broken tree trunk, surrounded by snow covered bushes and trees.

For the Birds

In 1973, the Christmas Bird Count formed the basis for a press freedom case that centered on the impacts of DDT.
by Santiago Flórez via History News Network on December 24, 2024
A ticket to the 1854 Anti-Slavery Bazaar for 1854-1855.

Women’s Work: The Anti-Slavery Fairs of the 1800s

Women abolitionists held annual Christmas bazaars to raise money for the cause; these fairs sold everything from needlework to books to Parisian dresses.
by Tanya L. Roth via The Saturday Evening Post on December 3, 2024
Illustration of kringles in a Christmas parade.

How the Kringle Became a Wisconsin Christmas Classic

Trader Joe’s stocks an aggressively American version of the Dutch pastry, turning it into a beloved holiday staple nationwide.
by Trisha Gopal via Eater on December 2, 2024
Dole pineapple cookbook featuring a pineapple upside down cake and a can of Dole sliced pineapple.

American Food Traditions That Started as Marketing Ploys

Your grandma didn't invent that recipe.
by Diana Hubbell via Atlas Obscura on September 30, 2024
Kris Kringle with children from the film 'Santa Claus is Comin' to Town.'
partner

A Classic Christmas Movie Offers a Lesson About Antisemitism

Nazis play a key role as villain in American collective consciousness—but without broad understanding of antisemitism.
by Rebecca Brenner Graham via Made By History on December 21, 2023
Santa catches the trolly to Bloomingdales.

In the 1800s, a Group of NYC Artists and Writers Created the Modern-Day Santa Claus

See how Washington Irving, Clement Clarke Moore and Thomas Nast made Santa the merriest man in Manhattan.
by Lucie Levine via 6sqft on December 8, 2023

Liquor on Sundays

A new book sets out to discover how Americans became such creatures of the seven-day week.
by Anthony Grafton via London Review of Books on November 17, 2022
Twentieth-century porcelain dolls made by German company Armand Marseille

How Porcelain Dolls Became the Ultimate Victorian Status Symbol

Class-obsessed consumers found the cold, hard and highly breakable figurines irresistible
by Maria Teresa Hart via Smithsonian on November 1, 2022
A Starbucks pumpkin spice latte.

The Secret History of Pumpkin Pie Spice

Why do we eat pumpkin pie spice in the fall?
by Sarah Wassberg Johnson via The Food Historian on October 2, 2022
Women feeding horses next to Christmas tree decorated with apples and sign announcing "Free Christmas dinner for horses."

When Humane Societies Threw Christmas Parties for Horses

Held across the U.S. in the early 20th century, the events sought to raise awareness about workhorses' poor living conditions.
by Eliza McGraw via Smithsonian on December 17, 2021
Image of a 1970's band invoking the imagery of the Lost Cause and the Confederacy.

Whistlin' D ----.

Why songs of the southland are really northern.
by William Hogeland via Hogeland's Bad History on December 15, 2021
Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus, and snowman.

How Mrs. Claus Embodied 19th-Century Debates About Women's Rights

Many early stories praise her work ethic and devotion. But with Mrs. Claus usually hitting the North Pole’s glass ceiling, some writers started to push back.
by Maura Ives via The Conversation on December 15, 2021
A blurry pixilated image of Jimmy Carter on a television screen.

How the Ghost of Jimmy Carter’s Presidency Haunts Everything Biden Says About Supply Shortages

The last from-the-top critique of American overconsumption generated a massive backlash.
by Kevin Mattson via Slate on October 22, 2021
Christmas yard decorations with an inflatable black Santa and "JOY".
partner

Black Santas Have a Long and Contested History in the U.S.

What’s at stake in debates about the meaning and visibility of the Black Santa.
by E. James West via Made By History on December 23, 2020

The History of O. Henry's 'The Gift of the Magi'

The beloved Christmas short story may have been dashed off on deadline but its core message has endured.
by Patrick Sauer via Smithsonian on December 23, 2019

‘Baby, It's Cold Outside' Was Controversial From the Beginning

Here’s what to know about consent in the 1940s, when the song was written.
by Olivia B. Waxman via TIME on December 5, 2019

Thanksgiving Has Been Reinvented Many Times

From colonial times to the nineteenth century, Thanksgiving was very different from the holiday we know now.
by Elizabeth Pleck, Matthew Wills via JSTOR Daily on November 1, 2019
Aerial view of Saint Helena Island.

“A Hot Dinner and a Bloody Supper”: St. Helena's Christmas Rebellions of 1783 and 1811

On this tiny British outpost, conditions of isolation and alcholism mixed with the era's revolutionary fervor to inspire a number of revolts.
by Felix Schürmann via Age of Revolutions on December 17, 2018
Portrait of Charles Dickens from his 1842 trip to America.

Charles Dickens Had Serious Beef with America and Its Bad Manners

How Charles Dickens' unpleasant trip to Boston led to "A Christmas Carol."
by Samantha Silva via Literary Hub on December 21, 2017
Firecracker box with "Santa Claus" theme

Kaboom! 10 Facts About Firecrackers That Will Blow You Away

Firecrackers are essentially un-American, even though we associate them with our most deeply patriotic celebration, the Fourth of July.
by Lisa Hix via Collectors Weekly on July 3, 2014
Thanksgiving card featuring a turkey with a carving knife and fork in its back.

Talking Turkey

A conversation with food historian Andrew F. Smith on his new book, "The Turkey: An American Story."
by Andrew F. Smith, Jeffery Kastner via Cabinet on November 1, 2006

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