(The latter question probably defies all historical analysis. Many people have a general inkling about the way old pagan traditions and celebrations fed into Christmas as we know it today. But the ...

Winter solstice traditions from around the globe Christmas isn’t the only time for a magical celebration—there’s also the ...

So because these ideas and traditions had a lengthy history, Nazi propagandists were able to easily cast Christmas as a celebration of pagan German nationalism. A vast state apparatus (centered in ...

In the Middle Ages it was adopted by those of the Christian faith as a representation of the start of Christmas. The tradition of using evergreen foliage around the time of the winter solstice dates ...

Who invented Christmas? Historian Lucy Worsley traces the roots of Christmas by exploring the Anglo-Saxon tradition, wassailing where people sing to the apple trees to celebrate the winter solstice.

The time had come to rejoice. A drinking horn represents the Yule ale and “drinking jul” traditions on December 25 in the Runic calendar. Yuletide, a modern term meaning Christmas, has its roots in ...

Built from a hodgepodge of diverse parts, Halloween is one such tradition that has been continually reinvented since its ancient origins as a Celtic pagan ceremony. Yet beneath the superhero ...

As per the centuries-old tradition ... that the maypole is a pagan fertility symbol. “I doubt it,” she says. “It’s more ...

On Christmas Eve some families like to attend midnight mass ... The Stonehaven Fireballs Festival has its roots in pagan traditions – for nearly a century, residents of this Aberdeenshire town have ...

Having trees over the winter period is a tradition so old that it actually predates Christmas. Evergreen plants, whose leaves remain throughout the year, were used in pagan celebrations of the winter ...

Each year in Nashville, a joyous festival draws in spiritual seekers to experience the rich cultural traditions of the pagan ...

Rooted in a pagan melody, the term “Alilo” appears to have been derived later from “Alleluia.” It is suggested that the collective name for Christmas and Easter carols might have originally been Chona ...