Christmas elves evolved from Norse mythology to Santa’s workshop

Santa Claus is the result of centuries of evolving traditions

Originating from Saint Nicholas, a 4th-century bishop celebrated for his generosity, Santa's story merged with European folk legends like Sinterklaas and Father Christmas. By the 1800s, American culture redefined him, thanks to Clement Clarke Moore’s poem "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" and Thomas Nast’s illustrations.

Danish folklore suggests families should treat mischievous elves to some porridge

The “nisse” is a small, demonic figure who was said to creep into barns, sometimes killing livestock. Over time, the character evolved into a friendlier Christmas elf that families could satisfy with a bowl of porridge.

Leaving cookies for Santa became popular in America during the Great Depression

During the period of economic hardship, many parents wanted to teach their children the importance of sharing and gratitude. The tradition dates even further back to ancient Norse mythology. The god Odin and his eight-legged horse, Sleipner, were left food in exchange for gifts.

There’s a solid argument to be made that Macy’s was the inventor of the retail Santa

The Macy’s website claims that retail Santas—the Christmas icons who invite children to meet them at department stores and malls around the holidays—have been visiting the store since the 1860s.

Santa Claus originally wrote Christmas letters instead of receiving them

Parents originally used the letters as an opportunity to help discipline their children. Gifts eventually took on a more central role in the holiday, turning the letters into chances for kids to write Christmas wish lists.

Christmas carols evolved from medieval folk songs to modern holiday staples

Christmas carols began as communal folk songs in medieval Europe, and were later adapted into religious hymns. Revived in England in the 19th century, they have become a core holiday tradition around the world.

Working as a mall elf is not always merry

Humorist David Sedaris’s classic radio piece on his time working as Crumpet the Elf at Santaland in a Macy’s revealed a darker side of Christmas, filled with tantrums and fights. First broadcast in 1992, Santaland Diaries was Sedaris’s breakout story, and NPR has annually aired the story ever since.

Norse Yule solstice rituals inspired many modern Christmas decorations

Scandinavian Vikings celebrated Yule during the winter solstice, burning massive, decorated logs to protect their homes and ensure good harvests, while hoping for the sun's return. The festival included evergreens, mistletoe, holly, and ivy.

The origins of Iceland's child-eating Yule Cat legend

Iceland is a cold place, and wool production has long been a key means of surviving the climate's severity. For those Icelanders who failed to get new Christmas clothing before the holiday, their lurked a vicious, hungry cat to consume them. The centuries-old folklore is a fascinating story of social control through the tales we tell. For a dose of Christmas fear, read this wild article.

Track Santa and his industrious elves

Starting in December, you can follow along with Santa’s trek across the globe. Spend time on the map, play games, and even translate your holiday messages into other languages.

Thirty weird facts about Christmas trees

From its fascinating origin to how yours is grown today, these incredible Christmas tree facts will add a little bit more wonder to your holiday season.

Some parents think believing in Santa Claus hinders critical thinking

There’s a divide among Christian Scientists as to whether encouraging children to believe in Santa Claus is harmless fun or a potentially damaging lie. However, most American parents apparently encourage their children to believe in Santa.

Dalí partnered with Hallmark to design surreal Christmas cards

Dalí pursued commercial work throughout his career. In 1948, Hallmark released a set of Christmas cards designed by the artist. A decade later, he created images for additional holidays, including Valentine's Day, Easter, and Mother's Day.

'Everything you look at can become a fairy tale and you can get a story from everything you touch.'

- Danish author Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875)

Advent originally had almost nothing to do with the Christmas story

Early Advent wasn’t about celebrating Jesus’s birth. In the 5th and 6th centuries, the season focused almost entirely on preparing for Christ’s Second Coming and “final judgment.” Advent’s connection to the Nativity only emerged centuries later.

Thomas Edison created the first strand of electric Christmas lights in 1880

Edison strung electric bulbs outside his laboratory in 1880, and his business partner Edward H. Johnson first wrapped a tree in lights in 1882. It wasn’t until the lights were commercialized in 1917 that they became common in household Christmas decorations.

Charles Dickens' novels inspired a young Norman Rockwell

Rockwell is considered a narrative painter who tells stories through his portraits of everyday Americans. The interest in using images to tell stories began at a young age, when his father read Dickens aloud to him while the young Norman illustrated the books’ scenes.

The Brothers Grimm were lawyers before they were storytellers, but became interested in fairy tales as they began investigating how rules and customs had been passed down through cultures.

Halloween originated with the Celtic festival of Samhain

Halloween, a holiday primarily popular in the US and Canada, originated 2,000 years ago with the Celtic people. The Celts interpreted this transition as when ghosts returned to the land of the living, leading to rituals like feasts, bonfires, and wearing costumes made of animal body parts on Oct. 31.

The Brothers Grimm were lawyers before they were storytellers, but became interested in fairy tales as they began investigating how rules and customs had been passed down through cultures.

El Niño, Spanish for 'the boy,' was named after Jesus Christ because the phenomenon resembled the weather changes observed around Christmastime.

The holiday has evolved alongside its participants' cultural identities

The Day of the Dead blends various traditions, including Aztec myth, Mexican heritage and Chicano identity. That makes for a complex and evolving holiday. This conversation between Cynthia Vidaurri, a Smithsonian folklorist, and Lalo Alcaraz, a cultural consultant for “Coco,” analyzes how the varied influences have created the modern holiday.

JRR Tolkien believed fantasy literature was an entirely different world

Tolkien effectively invented modern fantasy, which often relies on an intricate universe, complete with its own languages, cultures, lifeforms, physics, and systems. When an author did this effectively, he called it “Faërie”—a sort of enchantment that transports the reader into the fictional world.

Stonehenge has produced wild origin stories

Built before the wheel was invented, Stonehenge inspired increasingly fantastical explanations—from a 12th-century tale of Merlin and Nephilim giants to 1960s claims that aliens built it alongside the pyramids.

The original ending to 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer' was changed after viewers voiced their disappointment

The movie's TV premiere on December, 6, 1964, ended with Santa choosing Rudolph to help him deliver presents across the world. However, young viewers were disappointed that Rudolph never fulfilled his promise to rescue his friends from the Island of Misfit Toys, which he'd promised to do earlier in the film. The producers reworked the ending, correcting the plothole, before the movie was broadcast again in 1965.

A Maya creation myth begins with dwarfs

In the Popol Vuh—a foundational Maya creation text from Guatemala—an early age is marked by dwarves gifted with great vision and intellect. Their hubris led to destruction by flood, after which humans were created from corn with deliberately limited sight.

Miracles versus magic: How early Christians distinguished their beliefs from pagan ones

This in-depth article describes how early Christians attempted to differentiate their beliefs and rituals from those that came before. One major difference? Demons. For pagans, demons could be good or bad, occupying the middle ground between gods...

In 1945, Surrealist artist Salvador Dalí and legendary animator Walt Disney began collaborating on a short film that was not completed until 2003, years after both men had died.

Mid-century modern graphic designers, known for their bright colors and bold lines in advertising, also found success with children's books.

The first robot in literature may have been a 'mechanical man' in 1907's 'Ozma of Oz,' a book in L Frank Baum's 'Wizard of Oz' series.

Clever Hans was a 1900s horse that was believed to be able to solve math equations, tell time, and read and comprehend German, until a psychology student discovered how he got his answers.

The 19th-century painters of the Hudson River School were among the first American romantics, with portraits that displayed the natural beauty of the young country.

The name 'Silicon Valley' arose from the founding of Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory in Fairchild Semiconductor in 1956-57, founded near Stanford University in Palo Alto

See the 25 of the best photos of auroras from around the world.

Crows are believed to have intelligence on par with a seven-year-old child and demonstrate complex behaviors, from problem-solving with tools to recognizing human faces.

In its famous catalog, Sears sold $600 DIY house kits from 1908 through the 1940s, resulting in an estimated 100,000 'Sears and Roebuck homes.'

The power and influence of the American presidency have expanded significantly over time—far beyond what the founders envisioned.

70 years ago today, city officials in Santa Cruz, California, banned rock 'n' roll to protect its youth from corruption after witnessing a 'provocative' concert the night before.

The Dracula character, now seen as the vampire archetype, was inspired by a seafood-induced nightmare its creator experienced.

For centuries, it was common to sleep in two shifts: a few hours at the beginning of the night, and a longer period beginning around midnight

The word 'jazz' evolved from 'jasm,' 19th-century American slang for 'energy'

Some Pokémon have been named after real and fictional organisms, while some real-world species have been named after Pokémon, such as Chilicola charizard and Binburrum zapdos.

See how fireworks are made and learn how metals like magnesium and copper are responsible for different colors.

In 2009, the nation was gripped by the story of a missing young boy who was believed to be floating over Colorado in a homemade balloon, until it was revealed that he was at home the whole time.

Many legends about George Washington, including his supposed wooden teeth and the story of cutting down the cherry tree, lack evidence.

Visualize the path of every solar eclipse from 1900 to 2099 and see what each looks like when observed from different locations on Earth.

While the first exchange-traded fund (a 'basket' of different assets that can be bought and sold on a stock exchange) in the US only launched in 1993, the global ETF market has grown to more than $10T in the short time since.

Netflix profits when you're not watching, and its movies are designed that way—read a detail-rich critical essay exposing lesser-known Netflix takes

20,000 letters to the advice columnist 'Dear Abby' provide insight into prevailing sex, religion, and LGBTQ fears, anxieties, and concerns from the 1950s onward.

Budweiser stores yeast derived from the original 1800s strain in a secret bunker, which only the Head of Yeast Management can access—not even the CEO