History of Christmas carols from dance to revival
The piece traces carols origins in medieval dance, notes old terms like carole, cites early nonreligious carols, outdoor singing by torchlight, and the Puritan suppression. It covers later revivals in 17th 18th centuries and mentions classics such as The Twelve Days of Christmas Good King Wenceslas God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen Adeste Fideles.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Joye
England
Queen's College, Oxford
God
St. Bonaventure
John Francis Wade
France
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Bradford
America
Old fashioned Christmas contrasts across centuries
The piece muses on nostalgia for early Christmas customs and contrasts Puritan strictness with later celebrations. It traces evolving traditions from 18th and 19th century England and America to 1960s culture, noting carols, plays, and records that shaped modern holiday mood. It ends with a small Arizona-town joke about Santa.
Santa Claus as Home Towns Across America
Children ask where Santa lives and readers can point to real place names across the country. The article lists towns such as Santa Claus Indiana Bells Tennessee Evergreen Alabama Holly Washington and Noel Missouri as cheerful, fitting Santa homes.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Santa Claus
North Pole
Indiana
Bells
Tennessee
Evergreen
Alabama
Holly
Washington
Noel
Missouri
Santa
Country
Christ
Holy Thorn Tree Blooms Each Christmas in England and DC
A legendary tale places the Holy Thorn in Glastonbury blooming on Christmas Day and an offshoot at Washington DCs Cathedral Close in December. The legend ties the trees to St Joseph of Arimathea and the Holy Grail, noting the staff driven into the ground that miraculously blossomed.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
England
Washington, D.C
Glastonbury
Washington
Catheral
Christ
St. Joseph of
Arimathea
Stocking Up Starts with Santa Tradition
Reading from a December 24 1964 page notes how the stocking custom grew from Saint Nicholas gifting gold to three poor daughters. The tale links Santa Claus to a romantic, cheerful guardian of children and explains stockings appearing by the chimney as gold is dropped through the window or chimney landing in a drying stocking.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Santa Claus
St. Nicholas
Also Mentioned on This Page
Italy
Germany
Isaac Watts
John Wesley
Mark the
Mohr
Franz Gruber
Irving Berlin
Bess
Arizona
Lloyd
Pella Booter
John
Vogelaar
Jerry
Melvin
Henrietta
Bernice
Roger
Pella Beauty Shop
Shirley
Tukker
Cornie
Tunis
Lee
Stace At
Kellogg Savings Bank
Kellogg & Sully
Iowa
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!