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” and
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
What’s the best Christmas gift you ever got? In The Big Bang Theory, socially-awkward genius Sheldon struggles with the whole concept of Christmas gift-giving. Why is it wrong to give someone something practical that they need? Why give someone something ostensibly useless? Sheldon just doesn’t get it — until
William Keylor Boston University The Christmas Truce is no stranger to popular entertainment – 2014 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 in
The word for today is… noel (noun): 1 : a Christmas carol 2 capitalized : christmas Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology :English speakers borrowed the word noel from French. It can be traced further back to the Latin word natalis, which can mean “birthday” as a noun or “of or relating to birth”
goodnewsnetwork.org A retired couple amusingly recreate their friends’ Christmas card photo every year—by posing in place of their young children. 68-year-old Carol and 72-year-old Michael Whalen started the tradition after receiving a greetings card showing their pals’ then one-year-old son in his toy car. They have been remaking
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
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,
The word for today is… frenetic (adjective): : marked by fast and energetic, disordered, or anxiety-driven activity Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology :In modern use, frenetic can describe a focused and intense effort to meet a deadline, or dancing among a hyped-up crowd, but the word’s Middle English predecessor, frenetik, had
Thomas Adam University of Arkansas Thomas Adam, PhD, is an associate professor of international and global studies in the Department of Political Science at the University of Arkansas. He also serves as associate director of the International and Global Studies Program at the University of Arkansas. Each season, the celebration
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
Katherine Baker mercatornet.com Katherine Baker is a freelance writer who lives in Western Pennsylvania. A couple of years ago there was quite a kerfuffle about the holiday duet, “Baby, its Cold Outside”. This song, from 1944, features a dialogue which some people might describe as a man trying to
The word for today is… cadence (noun): 1a : the beat, time, or measure of rhythmical motion or activity b : a rhythmic sequence or flow of sounds in language c : a regular and repeated pattern of activity 2a : a falling inflection of the voice b : a concluding and usually falling strain
Gareth streetfoodguy.com 1) Christmas Cookies One of the most popular Christmas gifts is a batch of cookies. Cookies are always a welcome addition to any holiday party and they’re easy to transport in a festive tin. The great thing about cookies is that you can make them yourself
goodnewsnetwork.org A Christmas-mad mom has transformed her home into—a real-life gingerbread house. 67-year-old Virginia Hoffman spent ‘hundreds of hours’ festooning her property into a vision from a fairytale. Homemade decorations include candy canes, giant gumdrops, peppermint swirls, huge chocolate and wafer cookies, and an oversized gingerbread man. Interior
Anne Lawrence-Mathers University of Reading The idea of hanging up decorations in the middle of winter is older than Christmas itself. Decorations are mentioned in ancient descriptions of the Roman feast of Saturnalia, which is thought to have originated in the 5th century BC. Some 900 years later, a Christian
