Santa’s ‘Ho ho ho’ mirrors our ambiguous relationship with laughter

The varied shades of laughter can evoke an array of emotional responses.

Anastasiya Fiadotava, The Conversation

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Anna-Sophie Jürgens, The Conversation

· Dec 27, 2022 · 09:30 pm

The Christmas tree is a modern invention, popularised by the American businessmen

Despite the name, it has little connection to an imagined Christian past.

James A T Lancaster, The Conversation

· Dec 24, 2022 · 09:30 pm

’Twas The Night Before Christmas...made the modern Santa Claus and became a literary whodunit

Debate still rages over the true author of the poem ‘A Visit from St Nicholas’.

Melissa Chim, The Conversation

· Dec 25, 2021 · 05:30 pm

During WWI, a princess sent 26 lakh Christmas gifts to soldiers and sailors (including Indians)

Neat little brass boxes bearing the profile of Princess Mary can be found in drawers and cupboards across the world.

Peter Doyle, The Conversation

· Dec 20, 2021 · 07:30 pm

Five reasons why the reindeer is the ideal animal to pull Santa’s sleigh

Millions of years of natural selection have prepared reindeer for Christmas Eve.

Louise Gentle, The Conversation

· Dec 19, 2021 · 11:30 pm

Why is 26th December known as Boxing Day?

Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated on 26th December, the day after Christmas.

Scroll Staff

· Dec 26, 2019 · 11:59 am

The universal image of baby Jesus in his manger was created only 1,200 years after his death

St Francis of Assisi performed a miracle, bringing to life a carved doll, and giving birth to the modern nativity scene.

Vanessa Corcoran, The Conversation

· Dec 24, 2019 · 08:30 pm

How to make merry amidst so much misery: Timeless advice from the 1830s

The rich have ‘too much Christmas all year round’, wrote English writer Leigh Hunt.

Robert Morrison, The Conversation

· Dec 23, 2019 · 09:30 pm

From ancient Rome to the 21st century, books have always been the perfect Christmas gift

There is historical evidence to prove that in ancient Rome, even before paper was invented, books were a go-to gift.

Leah Henrickson, The Conversation

· Dec 20, 2019 · 05:30 pm

In pictures: Christmas celebrations from around the world

Priests led congregations across India as worshippers thronged churches for morning mass.

Scroll Staff

· Dec 25, 2018 · 09:17 pm

Old manuscripts, letters show how Christian influences were depicted in Mughal art and life

A document talks about Christmas celebrations in Lahore in 1597.

Ursula Sims-Williams

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Malini Roy

· Dec 25, 2018 · 01:30 pm

How ‘Silent Night’, the Christmas carol that paused World War I, came to be a cultural landmark

The tranquillity of Joseph Mohr’s original German lyrics and the intimacy of Franz Xaver Gruber’s music have ensured its enduring popularity.

Martin Clarke, The Conversation

· Dec 23, 2018 · 11:30 pm