An 8th century priest, a 16th century religious reformer, and the Victorian royals all played a role in the history of the Christmas tree.
Tag: Christmas
Dickens and His Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens might just be the best known Christmas story out there. Find out the story behind the story…
Happy Holidays
I just love the festive, Christmas season. The sights, sounds, and smells always seems to lift my spirits…
Father Whipper: St Nick’s Evil Helper
Misbehaving children have to be very careful the first part of December, or St. Nick might send his not-so-nice “helper” to see them…
British Christmas Panto: An Outrageous Holiday Tradition
British Christmas pantos are filled with slapstick humor, cross-dressing actors, jokes about current events, and audience participation…
British Christmas Pudding and Pie
Christmas pudding and mince pies are a big part of the British holiday season. Let’s have a look at these two essentially British desserts…
Holiday Musings
Musings about books and winter holidays…
Happy Crappy Christmas
Two quirky Christmas traditions from Barcelona…
Mistletoe and a Flying Donkey
Mistletoe in French is called gui. This ball of vegetation that grows high in trees has been considered magical since ancient days…
St Nicholas… Santa Claus… Father Christmas
Even though some of the American/British folkloric characters don’t come to France, you’ll be happy to know that the jolly old man in the red suit does. Of course, he goes by a different name: in France he’s known as Père Noël, or Father Christmas.
Thirteen Desserts? That’s my kind of Meal!
Christmas time in Provence and the south of France is full of traditions and, as with most good traditions, food is usually involved. Miniature wheat
Santons: The Little Saints of Provence
In many parts of the world, Nativity scenes make up a part of the Christmas decoration but in Provence, they are taken to the extreme…