Christmas

Over time, the historic roots of some holiday music have been forgotten.

The story of Caesar, an enslaved chef and chocolatier in colonial Virginia.

The modern image of Santa Claus first appeared in a Civil War illustration, and it wasn’t the last time St. Nick was deployed in wartime.

Copywriter Robert L. May dreamed up Rudolph during a particularly difficult time in his life.

The 140-year journey from the streets of London's East End to the parking lot of your nearest mall.

Rosie the Riveter wasn’t the only woman who pitched in on the homefront.

Though the practice is now more associated with Halloween, spooking out your family is well within the Christmas spirit.

“Yes, Virginia” is the most reprinted newspaper piece in American history, and this guy wrote it.

A researcher in Boston discovers that the beloved Christmas favorite was first performed in a Boston minstrel hall.

Americans purchase approximately 1.6 billion holiday cards a year. Why is this tradition so popular?

The Library of Congress has the only complete version of the original 1948 release.

Nostalgia has always been harnessed or packaged to sell things.

Nazis play a key role as villain in American collective consciousness—but without broad understanding of antisemitism.

See how Washington Irving, Clement Clarke Moore and Thomas Nast made Santa the merriest man in Manhattan.

A new book sets out to discover how Americans became such creatures of the seven-day week.

Class-obsessed consumers found the cold, hard and highly breakable figurines irresistible

Why do we eat pumpkin pie spice in the fall?

The holiday favorite is an allegorical prayer for peace.

Held across the U.S. in the early 20th century, the events sought to raise awareness about workhorses' poor living conditions.

The polarizing dessert that people love to hate became a Christmas mainstay thanks, in part, to the U.S. Postal Service.