My Merry Christmas

By Patrica Bhatia

More than just a decorative touch for your wall or door, wreaths have existed in various forms since the time of the ancient Romans. Whether the wreath you hang is a crafter's masterpiece or a homemade hand-made down, it has a long tradition of meaning behind it. Wreaths are an eternal part of the festive season.

In ancient Greece a laurel wreath was awarded to victors in sporting events. In the way that we now award gold medals, the wreath was a sign of victory. It... [Read More]

By Brenna Hall

Clara and Maria entered their house and closed the door.

They were living in Germany in about 1572 and they had just come in from getting apples. They had just brought home apples from the market and were now getting thin cookies, cutting out paper roses and apples to put on their Christmas tree.

Maria, the younger of the two sisters, asked, "Why do we use green and red at Christmastime?"

Clara, the oldest said, "Well, we use green because we use evergreens... [Read More]

By Amy S. Jorgensen

Enter any department store from now until New Year's and aisles packed with plastic ornaments, glistening garland, and blinking lights will greet you at every turn. What was once a simple family tradition has become a multimillion-dollar industry with decorations becoming more elaborate and costly each year. Where did this tradition begin and how did it become such an integral part of the holiday festivities?

Like the majority of practices associated with Christma... [Read More]

By Mac Carey



Gingerbread is a popular Christmas treat all over the world, in many different forms. Gingerbread first appeared in central Europe in the Middle Ages, made from sugars and spices that had been brought back from the Middle East by soldiers returning from the Crusades. In England, gingerbread only meant "preserved ginger," referring to the preservative effect of ginger on breads, cakes, and other pastries. It wasn't until the 15th century that gingerbread referred specifica... [Read More]

By Brenna Hall

First performed in 1892, the Nutcracker began as a story that was written by a man named E.T.A Hoffman. But his story was never meant for kids. It was a very morbid story. Hoffman meant to show the degenerate and desperate side of mankind.

Another man named Alexander Dumas Pere rewrote the story into one that was a little more optimistic and it is from this version that the Nutcracker ballet evolved. Here is the story of the Nutcracker, in a nutshell:

Clara, a yo... [Read More]

By Jeff Westover

Robert L. May was a typical department store employee in 1939. He worked hard to see his employer, Montgomery Ward, succeed. Though he was but a clerk, he utilized his creative talents to provide the marketing department with a little something for the kids: a poem he entitled “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”.

The kids ate the Christmas freebie up that holiday shopping season. More than two and a half million copies of the poem went home with Wards shoppers that Chri... [Read More]

By Cheryl Mayoss



Caroling or rejoicing loudly in song during Christmas is a tradition borne many years ago. The word 'carol' means a dance of celebration.

It is said that the first carol was sung by the angels announcing Christ's birth to the shepherds. Others claim that in the Middle ages poor, nomadic minstrels sang in public in exchange for donations.

But no matter how it came to be, Christmas carols are a firm tradition still celebrated today. What is intriguing is that... [Read More]

By Mac Carey



Though the practice of gift giving has a long Christmas history, those gifts being presented in colorful paper and tied up in curls of ribbon is a relatively new practice. While Christmas cards began to be sent in the mid-nineteenth century it wasn't until many years later that dressing up presents in Christmas finery caught on.

Holiday gift giving began long before Christmas. The Romans would give gifts to one another on pagan festivals like Saturnalia, the winter s... [Read More]

By B. Francis Morlan

Imagine this: holiday celebrants by the hundreds take to the streets wearing all manner of costumes and masks, going door to door seeking treats in a yearly ritual of fun and frivolity.

Halloween, right? Nope -- it's Christmas.

The ancient art of "mumming" dates back to before Christ and is eerily described these days in the fashion of Halloween: bands of neighbors and friends going door to door in disguise seeking treats or money in exchange for casting out d... [Read More]

By Julie Dacus

Every year at Thanksgiving my mother goes through her annual fret over her Christmas tree. She wonders whether she should keep her big tree, or get a small table top tree, which would be easier to put up and take down.

Easier for whom? You must understand that my sister Amy and I, along with our husbands, put Mom's tree up, string the lights, hang most of the ornaments, then take the whole thing down in January. Mom watches from the back of the room, her head tilted t... [Read More]