The Woman Who Saw At Christmas Santa Visit
A vivid scene in a department store shows a child and a girl guided by the Woman Who Saw as they visit Santa Claus. The girl persuades the boy to kneel before the creche while a motherly gaze hints at devotion and the pull of faith over playthings in a holiday setting. In Worcestershire and Staffordshire a Christmas morning belief awards a sacrament coin for cures, earned by gathering pennies from maidens to buy the token.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Santa Claus
Jesus
Anzher
St. Joseph
Three Kings
Denny
Santa ‘Claus
God
New York Evening Sun
Worcestershire
Staffordshire
Provide for Christmas Eve Feast in Hobin's Almanac 1944
A verse exhorts generous feasting for Christmas Eve with bread, brawn, beef, pork, geese, capon and turkey, apples and nuts for a hall filled with cheer. It warns against scrupulous fanatics and counterfeit folk, urging merriment and good will.
Christmas Dinner at Bracebridge Hall
Washington Irving recalls a festive Bracebridge Hall Christmas supper with a blazing fire, green laurel decorations, a grand sideboard of silver and a ceremonial pig’s head at the head of the table. The scene features a minstrel, a joyful crowd, and a brief grace from the parson.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Bracebridge Hall
Washington Irving
No Santa Claus Sermon on the World’s New Birth
A reflective meditation on Christmas spirit and faith. The piece questions doubt and asserts that the true Christmas sermon must address the world’s transformation since the Saviour’s birth, describing the infinite kingdom of God and the need to articulate the world as it was and as it is. Howard Everett Hale’s view frames the occasion as the new birth of the world.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Santa Claus
Santa Clai
Howard Everett Hale
Cenone of southern Italy observed in Rome on Christmas Eve
The Cenone is a Christmas custom of the lower classes in southern Italy and Rome. It is a fast feast aimed at family reunion in devotion. The supper centers on macaroni and fish with no meat eggs yolks milk or butter. Streets desolate on Christmas Eve, followed by midnight parades in some areas.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Italy
Rome
Mechanical toys through the ages in ancient history
The article notes that children have always loved toys from pottery figures of animals in ancient times to mechanical toys. It recalls ancient Greece where moving statuary amazed people and claims many Athenian homes owned some form of mechanical toy.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Greece
Shoes Take Christmas Shape Across New Amsterdam
The piece recounts how Christmas stockings evolved from shoes hung by children in Amsterdam and New Amsterdam. It notes St Nicholas and his Dutch forms St. Niclaes and San Claus, ties to Woden and Sleipner, and explaining how Catholic and later Protestant eras kept the saint prominent for Dutch children, with Dec 6 as his feast day gift eve.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York
Santa Claus
St. Nicholas
St. Niclaes
San Claus
Woden
The Greek Orthodox Christmas Celebrations Across Diasporas
According to Greek and Russian calendars Christmas falls on January 7 in this country. In American cities Greek and Russian communities observe with prayers, feasting, and merriment. Churches fill with candles before shrines while restaurants and clubs display decorations. Russian and Greek homes feature Christmas trees and gifts for children, with older folk receiving money and presents on the Greek New Year.
Odd Christmas Beliefs Across Cultures
The piece notes diverse Christmas customs and beliefs. NCIANS say deer are best caught at midnight when they kneel. Germans credit born on Christmas with seeing spirits. A Spainish saying warns evil with a bird that sings all night. Roumania blesses the Danube with a priest parade and a cross cast to river. Mexico celebrates posadas from Dec 17 to 24 with nightly festivals.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Mexico
Joseph
Mary
Old Man Sandy Revealed In Denver Christmas Dig
Carlyle Smith narrates a curious night trek on the trail to glimpse Santa Claus style figure, noting a shaggy coat Big goggles motor mitts and a wool cap. The observer detects Sandy in disguise and accuses him of trying to fool him, ending with recognition of the masquerade.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Santa Clau Leo
Sandy
Daddykin
Carlyle Smith
Denver
A Christmas Church Vision From a Quiet Service
A reflective piece describes a simple Christmas church scene filled with greens and starry lights, focusing on a modest service without spectacle. It contrasts the serene gathering with festive readings, hymns, and a gentle Nativity narrative by a plainspoken clergyman. Also noted is a brief historical note on Christmas dishes, tracing turkey, mince pies, and plum pudding origins.
Spanish Christmas Music and Zambomba Tradition
In northern Andalusia the zambomba is used during Christmas where a flowerpot pierced by a hollow reed is wetted and rubbed to produce a hollow scraping sound as part of the festive music.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Spain
Andalusia
Christmas at Speedwell Farm Ends in Family Victory
Mary and Tom Speedwell celebrate a day of love as he sheds work worries to spend hours with their children. Elsie wishes for his presence all day, and Bob and Elsie delight in simple gifts, nestling at his heart as Mary watches, tearful but proud. The scene closes with Tom choosing to stay changed by selfless care.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Mary
Bob
Elsie
Mother
Tom
Eisie
Speedwell
Papa
Christ
Cincinnati Commercial ‘Tribune
Also Mentioned on This Page
Poor Hobin
Belshazzar
Yee
Roumania
Danube
Hvening Post
England
Charles Frederic Goss
This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!