Decking the halls of history: The origins of Christmas decorations
This article was written by Anne Lawrence-Mathers, Professor in Medieval History, University of Reading. The idea of hanging up decorations in the middle of winter…
Paganism
The holly and the ivy: How pagan practices found their way into Christmas
This article was written by Peter Glaves, Enterprise Fellow at Northumbria University, Newcastle. Every year, almost without thinking about it, we incorporate certain plant species…
From scary stories to scowling pumpkins, Halloween has pagan roots
The author of this article is Bill Hughes, Professor of Gothic Studies at Bath Spa University. Halloween these days calls pumpkins to mind, cackling witches,…
How do modern-day witches mark Halloween?
This article was written by Helen A. Berger, Resident Scholar at Brandeis University and sociologist doing research on contemporary pagans for over 30 years. The original title…
