A. Sutherland – AncientPages.com – Have you ever wondered how our ancestors celebrated New Year’s Eve worldwide? The history of New Year celebrations goes back to ancient times, and some traditions have survived for thousands of years. Babylonian Akitu Festival
Ellen Lloyd – AncientPages.com – On December 31, Scotland celebrates Hogmanay. It’s a very old tradition, and the celebrations continue into the first couple of days of January. Many local areas have their own customs for celebrating Hogmanay, which are all
Ellen Lloyd – AncientPages.com – Do you have the courage to challenge supernatural forces? If you decide to do so, remember it will be your own doing. One man named Glamr was overconfident. Considering himself invincible and untouchable, he thought
Jan Bartek – AncientPages.com – No Christmas is complete without a ghost story. Our fascination with ghostly tales around Christmas time goes back thousands of years and is rooted in ancient winter solstice celebrations. One of the most famous ghost
Ellen Lloyd – AncientPages.com – Have you ever wondered what’s behind the ancient Christmas tradition and the true meaning of candy canes? Due to the J-shape, many people associate candy canes with the name Jesus, but that is wrong. The
Ellen Lloyd – AncientPages.com – There is a beautiful legend behind the Christmas Rose, a flower that is today regarded as a symbol of love and hope. The story carries a powerful message, reminding us of something important when we
Jan Bartek – AncientPages.com – Every year, families celebrating Christmas decorate their trees and hang stockings in anticipation of Santa Claus’s arrival. But how is this related to the religious holiday itself? Tracing how the celebration of Jesus’s birth evolved
Ellen Lloyd – AncientPages.com – If you are a book lover, you would appreciate the annual Icelandic Jolabokaflod or the “Christmas Book Flood.” The best Christmas gift in Iceland is a book. It has been that way for decades. In Iceland,
Ellen Lloyd – AncientPages.com – What do the Norse Gods Odin and Thor have in common with the Biblical Magi, the Three Holy Kings? Drinking horns reveal a link between the Yule festival and what we know as Christmas. Long
A. Sutherland – AncientPages.com – Christmas is one of the greatest celebrations in the Christian calendar. We dress Christmas tree, eat, and surprise each other with gifts. For many of us, it is a very special time since we celebrate the
Ellen Lloyd – AncientPages.com – It isn’t easy to imagine a Christmas celebration without a beautifully decorated Christmas tree at home. In the United States alone, more than 40 million real or specially grown trees are sold during the Christmas period
Ellen Lloyd – AncientPages.com – Shortly before Christmas, you can see this little fellow everywhere in Scandinavia. He appears on Christmas cards, in shops, on the Christmas tree, outdoors, and in places you wouldn’t expect to find him. He is
A. Sutherland – AncientPages.com – In Icelandic folklore, Gryla (Grýla) is a giantess living in Iceland’s mountains. In Snorre Sturluson’s Prose Edda, from the 13th century, she is mentioned as the most horrible sorcerer who scared children into obedience. Many
Ellen Lloyd – AncientPages.com – Did you know that Nordic people celebrated a festival similar to Christmas long before they became Christian? Of course, Norse Yule was not the same as our Christmas festival, but there are many similarities between
Ellen Lloyd – AncientPages.com – When darkness falls and the days get colder, we gather around the fireplace to embrace the warmth. In the old days, when there were no radiators, the chimney was a treasure that helped survive cold
Ellen Lloyd – AncientPages.com – As Christmas draws near, children eagerly anticipate the arrival of Santa Claus, hoping for gifts that reward their good behavior. The familiar tale warns that misbehaving kids might find coal instead of toys and candy.
