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Drawing, 1932.
holidays

J.R.R. Tolkien Is Our Favorite Father Christmas

For 23 years he role-played in holiday letters to his children.
Anika Burgess December 21, 2017
Wild poinsettia in Thailand.
christmas

Wild Poinsettias Can Grow Eight Feet Tall

A diplomat, a scientist, and a farmer tamed the blazing red plant into a commercial juggernaut.
Sarah Laskow December 21, 2017
Alan Turing in 1930, long before computer music was even imaginable.
music

Listen to the First Computer-Generated Christmas Carols, From Alan Turing's Lab

"Jingle Bells" and "Good King Wenceslas" haven't sounded like this in a long time.
Natasha Frost December 20, 2017
A Kransekake in all its glory.
Gastro Obscura

Kransekake

For special occasions, Norwegians stack 18 rings of cake into a tower.
Light up your day with all the holiday news you might have missed!
holidays

The Week In... Holiday Feats!

A nativity break-out, heirloom string lights, giant Christmas trees, and more.
Eric Grundhauser December 15, 2017
You can eat inside the gingerbread, but you can't eat the gingerbread.
food

Building a Life-Sized Gingerbread House Takes Over 10,000 Cookie Bricks

To be ready by Christmas, you better start baking in August.
Anne Ewbank December 14, 2017
Santa plotting his route, from a holiday card in the New York Public Library collection.
libraries

The Most Festive Treasures of the New York Public Library's Maps Division

We wish you a mappy Christmas.
Jessica Leigh Hester December 11, 2017
A slice of black cake baked by Mrs. Annemarie Charles, from San Fernando, Trinidad.
Gastro Obscura

Black Cake

Fruit soaks in rum for up to a year to make this rich Caribbean Christmas cake.
Spit cake in progress.
Gastro Obscura

Lithuanian Spit Cake

This dessert is roasted over a fire and looks like a tree.
A perfect pie, complete with stars and fish heads.
Gastro Obscura

Stargazy Pie

A traditional Cornish pie that—ARE THOSE FISH HEADS COMING OUT OF THE TOP?!
Mock mushrooms are often added to yule log cakes, made of either meringue or marzipan.
Gastro Obscura

Yule Log Cake

These holiday cakes link Christmas to the Norse god of lightning.
Wilmington, New York

Santa's Workshop

A hamlet full of permanent Christmas spirit holds one of the earliest theme parks in the United States.
Fran Baxter stands outside her seasonal antiques shop in Christmas Valley, which was once the location of Phillips's office.
deserts

The 1960s Real Estate Mirage of Christmas Valley

Developer M. Penn Phillips had a vision for the Oregon high desert. But there was a reason the area had yet to be developed.
Hannah Steinkopf-Frank August 18, 2017
Permanently Closed
Santa's mailbox
Nuuk, Greenland

Santa’s Mailbox

Thousands of letters to Santa get delivered to this mailbox in Greenland.
Seneca Falls, New York

Bridge Street Bridge

A near tragic event on this bridge helped inspire the classic film "It's a Wonderful Life."
Pequena Finlândia in Penedo, Itatiaia
Penedo, Brazil

Penedo

This "Little Finland" started as a Finnish utopian society in Eastern Brazil.
New York, New York

Holiday Nostalgia Train

During the holidays, a vintage subway train whisks New Yorkers back in time.
A miniature New York
Bronx, New York

Holiday Train Show at New York Botanical Garden

Every year model trains zip through a miniature New York City that's now 150 landmarks strong.