Winter Holiday Roundup

Learn More About Major December Celebrations

Advent: Variable, beginning on the fourth Sunday before Christmas. 

The start of the Christmas season

Hanukkah: Variable, according to the Hebrew calendar

The "festival of lights" celebrates Jewish triumphs

Christmas: Dec. 25

World's biggest festival has varied roots

Kwanzaa: Dec. 26-Jan. 1

Honoring the values of ancient African cultures

New Year's: Jan. 1

Auld Lang Syne and other New Year's customs

Special Features

Christmas Price Index

The cost of the gifts in the classic holiday song "The Twelve Days of Christmas"

Festivus

A nondenominational winter holiday which originated on an episode of Seinfeld

Christmas Traditions

From Christmas trees to Christmas cards

Charlie Brown Christmas

The unlikely beginnings of a holiday classic

Names for Santa Around the World

Santa Claus or the "Christmas Gnome"?

Saying "Merry Christmas" Around the World

From Afrikaans to Welsh, 25 Christmas greetings

Celluloid Santas

Saint Nick's most famous appearances

Grinchy Trivia

Size up the movie, TV, and Dr. Seuss creations

Winter Holidays by the Numbers

From the U.S. Census Bureau

Winter Solstice

Dec. 21, marks the solstice

For Kids: Understanding the Solstice

Did you ever wonder why the days are so long in the summer and so short in the winter?

Boxing Day

In Great Britain, the day after Christmas is a holiday, too

Winter Quotations

Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson, and others

Record Low Temperatures by State

From Alabama to Wyoming, record chills

Saying "Happy New Year!" Around the World

Voorspoedige nuwe jaar! and more

New Year's History

A move from March to January

New Year's Traditions

Auld Lang Syne and other New Year's customs

Holiday Fun Stuff

Christmas Customs Quiz

In Belgium, St. Nicholas pays

how many visits to each house?

A Charlie Brown Christmas Quiz

What does Lucy say she really

wants for Christmas?

Boxing Day Quiz

What major holiday does Boxing Day

follow?

The TV Grinch Quiz

What did the Grinch hate

about Christmas?

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Once upon a time - of all the good days in the year, on Christmas Eve - old Scrooge sat busy in his counting-house . . .

Toy Trivia Quiz

Crayolas, Ken dolls, and Lego arithmetic Holiday Word Search

• Santa Claus Slider
• Hanukkah Jigsaw Puzzle
• Hanukkah Hangman
• Christmas Hangman
• Kwanzaa Word Search

Religions of the World

• Islam Primer
• Judaism Primer
• Top Ten Organized Religions of the World
• Largest 25 U.S. Churches
• Non-Christians in the U.S.