holidays

• 
• SOURCE: The Conversation
  12/16/2022
  

  Jews of Color have Made Traditions of "Untraditional" Hanukkah Celebrations

  by Samira Mehta

  Jews from outside Ashkenazi heritage present celebratory and food practices that show the diversity in Jewish communities and the navigation of tradition in interfaith families. 

• 
• SOURCE: The Conversation
  12/15/2022
  

  The Christmas Tree Predates Christmas Itself

  by Troy Bickham

  The modern Christmas tree, adorned with lights, has come full-circle with its roots in pagan veneration of evergreen trees at the winter solstice. 

• 
• 12/18/2022
  

  Revisiting the "Knickerbocker" Origin Story of Santa Claus

  by Tom A. Jerman

  The notion that the American Santa Claus evolved naturally from the European Saint Nicholas conceals an origin story for the character that's both simpler and more complex. 

• 
• SOURCE: TIME
  12/13/2022
  

  The Surprising Origins of Christmas "Traditions"

  by Olivia B. Waxman

  From "Merry Christmas" to "classic" carols, much of what we consider "timeless" in fact has a traceable history. 

• 
• SOURCE: History.com
  12/9/2022
  

  How Americans Celebrated the Holidays During World War II

  American women in particular found it challenging to uphold holiday traditions when mobilization, war work, rationing, and the lingering Great Depression hung over the season. 

• 
• SOURCE: New York Times
  12/6/2022
  

  The Origins of the "White Elephant" Party

  Quirky custom or exercise in cutthroat depravity? The roots of White Elephant trace back to the 1890s.

• 
• SOURCE: Contingent
  11/7/2022
  

  When Christmas Started to Creep

  by Bill Black

  The story of "Christmas Creep" is not a linear encroachment of Yuletide on the rest of the calendar, and hinged on political decisions made during the Great Depression and World War II. 

• 
• SOURCE: The Conversation
  12/17/2021
  

  The Magnificent History of the Much-Maligned Fruitcake

  by Jeffrey Miller

  A quip attributed to former “Tonight Show” host Johnny Carson has it that “There is only one fruitcake in the entire world, and people keep sending it to each other.”

• 
• SOURCE: TIME
  12/17/2020
  

  How America Keeps Adapting the Story of the Pilgrims at Plymouth to Match the Story We Need to Tell

  by Peter C. Mancall

  The prevailing memory of Plymouth has shifted as Americans have used it as an allegory for their contemporary concerns. Most notably, the harsh religious orthodoxy of Plymouth was converted by the 19th century to stand for religious liberty, a concept the Pilgrims would have found odious. 

• 
• 11/22/2020
  

  Take a Lesson from the Persistence of the Founder of Modern Thanksgiving

  by William Lambers

  Sarah Josepha Hale pushed Abraham Lincoln to declare a national Thanksgiving holiday as a day to seek healing and unity. Fighting to end hunger is a way to recommit to the spirit of the holiday.

• 
• 11/22/2020
  

  UCLA Historian Carla Pestana Debunks Myths About the Pilgrims and the Plymouth Colony

  by James Thornton Harris

  Alert Tom Cotton: Plymouth Rock, the Mayflower Compact, and the origins of Thanksgiving are just a few of the things Professor Carla Pestana finds in need of historical revision. 

• 
• 7/3/2020
  

  The Case for a National Liberation Day Holiday on December 6

  by Robert Hardaway

  The anniversary of the ratification of the 13th Amendment, which finally eliminated slavery in the entire United States, should be made a national holiday.

• 
• 12/16/19
  

  Turns out, The Rockettes’ Annual Christmas Spectacular Hasn’t Always Been So Spectacular

  by Isabella DelPino

  The hidden history of the Radio City Rockettes.

• 
• 12/1/2019
  

  How did November become the Mizrahi Heritage Month? And what’s Mizrahi anyhow?

  by Lior Sternfeld and Arie M. Dubnov

  The Mizrahi heritage month is not a local, grassroots initiative that emerged in response to experiences of discrimination or marginalization. Instead, it is a transatlantic importation of recent attempts by the Israeli government to commemorate the forced expulsion of Jews from the Arab and Muslim world in the wake of the establishment of Israel.

• 
• SOURCE: The Conversation
  10/10/10
  

  Why more places are abandoning Columbus Day in favor of Indigenous Peoples’ Day

  by Malinda Maynor Lowery

  The growing recognition and celebration of Indigenous Peoples’ Day actually represents the fruits of a concerted, decadeslong effort to recognize the role of indigenous people in the nation’s history.

• 
• SOURCE: The Atlantic
  7/4/19
  

  What to an American Is the Fourth of July?

  by Ibram X. Kendi

  Power comes before freedom, not the other way around.

• 
• SOURCE: The Atlantic
  7/4/19
  

  The Fourth of July Has Always Been Political

  by David Waldstreicher

  The question is which vision of America it’s being used to advance.

• 
• SOURCE: Washington Post
  7/3/19
  

  Why Democrats are wrong about Trump’s politicization of the Fourth of July

  by Shira Lurie

  He’s not doing anything that hasn’t been done for centuries.

• 
• SOURCE: History.com
  5/28/19
  

  One of the Earliest Memorial Day Ceremonies Was Held by Freed Slaves

  At the close of the Civil War, freed slaves in Charleston honored fallen Union soldiers.

• 
• SOURCE: Washington Post
  4/20/19
  

  Vermont passes bill abolishing Columbus Day in favor of Indigenous Peoples’ Day

  The state is one signature away from abolishing Columbus Day altogether and permanently recognizing Indigenous Peoples’ Day.