Winter Holiday Roundup

Updated November 8, 2021 | Infoplease Staff

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

Judaism	Christianity
Islam	Hinduism
Buddhism	Confucianism
Shintoism	Taoism
Sikhism
Islam Primer Judaism Primer Top Ten Organized Religions of the World Largest 25 U.S. Churches Non-Christians in the U.S.