Amanda Salis University of Sydney If you – or someone you care about – are embarking on post-holiday weight loss, understanding the body’s physiological responses to excess kilojoule intake could give you the edge for a successful New Year’s resolution. Weight loss is never easy, but the first days
Ian Hamilton University of York Alex Aldridge Royal Holloway On their own, sex and drugs are cultural taboos. Combining them only adds to our reluctance to talk about them. But understanding how sex and drugs are connected isn’t something we should shy away from or perceive as deviant. Humans
Aaron Jarden University of Melbourne Christmas can be a stressful time of year. You will blow your budget, your relatives will annoy you, and you’ll receive gifts that go straight to Vinnies, all in 40 degree Celsius heat. Meanwhile, your friends post pictures on social media of their idyllic
Philip Lovell Pearce Li Jing James Cook University John Briggs, a 40-year-old on holiday, texted his wife Shirley: “Look at the glacier out there.” He waited for the reply, which came through on his mobile. At the time they were sitting next to one another on board the
Michael R. Nadorff Mary E. Dozier Mississippi State University Many people love the holidays because they are a time to make happy memories with loved ones. But what if you could do something that would help restore memories in some of the people you love? Using a process called reminiscence
Carl W Jones University of Westminster December 25, as we all know, is Jesus Christ’s birthday, a Christian celebration in which the myth of three kings who travelled far and wide to give gifts to the “new born king” inspires the modern Christian tradition of gift giving. Early gifts
Melanie Gregg Danielle Defries University of Winnipeg Before the holidays ruin your wellness plan and make you turn as green as the Grinch, try these 10 ways to help you stay on track and keep your festive spirit. Often we feel if we can’t stick to our regular routine,
Dimitris Xygalatas University of Connecticut The mere thought of holiday traditions brings smiles to most people’s faces and elicits feelings of sweet anticipation and nostalgia. We can almost smell those candles, taste those special meals, hear those familiar songs in our minds. Ritual marks some of the most important
Joan Fitzpatrick Loughborough University Charles Dickens popularised the traditional, English Christmas in 1843 in his novel A Christmas Carol, when Bob Cratchit and his family sit down on Christmas Day to eat a dinner of goose with mashed potatoes and apple sauce accompanied by sage and onion stuffing and followed
Joan Fitzpatrick Loughborough University Charles Dickens popularised the traditional, English Christmas in 1843 in his novel A Christmas Carol, when Bob Cratchit and his family sit down on Christmas Day to eat a dinner of goose with mashed potatoes and apple sauce accompanied by sage and onion stuffing and followed
Joe Perry Georgia State University In 1921, in a Munich beer hall, newly appointed Nazi party leader Adolf Hitler gave a Christmas speech to an excited crowd. According to undercover police observers, 4,000 supporters cheered when Hitler condemned “the cowardly Jews for breaking the world-liberator on the cross”
William Keylor Boston University The Christmas Truce is no stranger to popular entertainment – this year more than any other as its 100th anniversary is marked. The famous moment when British and German soldiers climbed out of the trenches in peace on Christmas Day 1914 has been replicated and ruminated upon
Diane Winston USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism Tinseled trees and snowy landscapes are not the only signs of the upcoming holiday season. Red kettles, staffed by men and women in street clothes, Santa suits and Salvation Army uniforms, also telegraph Christmastime. The Salvation Army is among America’s
Aurélie Bröckerhoff Coventry University Cristina Galalae University of Leicester Wooden huts with twinkling fairy lights, festive hubbub, and the aromas of roasted chestnuts and glühwein – this picture-postcard setting is recreated annually across UK towns and cities in December. This year, however, most Christmas markets have been cancelled, meaning that
François Lévêque Mines ParisTech A few hundred years ago, who would have dreamed that the humble Christmas tree would one day be an immense global success? Certainly not Martin Luther, who is said to have decorated a tree with candles to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Nor Prince Albert,
Nelson Blackley Nottingham Trent University The “commercialisation” of Christmas has long been a feature of the season. Although there have been significant changes in seasonal shopping habits over the past decade (such as online stores and the introduction to the UK of “Black Friday) the practice of buying gifts, bringing
