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For much of U.S. history, Christmas was a contested holiday. Protestants scorned it, viewing it as a relic of paganism. Catholics boisterously celebrated it, but to them it was more akin to St. Patrick’s Day or Mardi Gras.
Only after the Civil War, with the establishment of new traditions − Santa Claus, reindeer, gift giving, trees − did Christmas become popular enough to be declared a federal holiday.
As the country continued to evolve and grow, absorbing millions of immigrants − many of them non-Christians − entertainment became a way to loop everyone into America’s Christmas celebrations.
Ray Rast, a historian at Gonzaga University, explains how Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas” − a song with no mention of Jesus, wise men or mangers − became a hit precisely because it tapped into the secular themes of family, nostalgia, home and hope.
For these reasons, it’s the quintessential American Christmas song − one written by a Jew, popularized during World War II and enjoyed by people of all faiths.
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Nick Lehr
Arts + Culture Editor
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After Irving Berlin, left, penned ‘White Christmas,’ he pegged Bing Crosby as the ideal singer for what would become a holiday classic.
Irving Haberman/IH Images via Getty Images
Ray Rast, Gonzaga University
The secular carol doesn’t mention Jesus, angels or wise men, while reminding listeners of what makes them not just American, but human.
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Politics + Society
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Mark A. Graber, University of Maryland
Colorado’s Supreme Court has removed Donald Trump from the state’s 2024 presidential ballot. A scholar of constitutional law explains why.
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Lindsay Schakenbach Regele, Miami University
Much like the history of the US, Joel Roberts Poinsett, after whom the poinsettia is named, had a complicated and troubling history.
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Stefanie Lindquist, Arizona State University
The Constitution makes clear that a president who was impeached and convicted can still be prosecuted − but what about one who is acquitted in two impeachment trials?
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Ethics + Religion
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Helen A. Berger, Brandeis University
Yule, celebrated by Wiccans and many other Pagans in the Northern Hemisphere on Dec. 21, the day of the winter solstice, is a time for reflection.
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Arts + Culture
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Regina Hansen, Boston University
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Health + Medicine
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Mandy Doria, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
A trauma-informed therapist discusses how grief affects the brain and highlights the role of a sixth stage of grief – finding meaning – in the healing process.
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Environment + Energy
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Jaime Toro, West Virginia University
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Rachel Kyte, Tufts University
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Avery Paxton, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
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Science + Technology
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Alex Johnson, Michigan State University
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Eric Smalley, The Conversation
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Economy + Business
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Judith Stepan-Norris, University of California, Irvine; Jasmine Kerrissey, UMass Amherst
Two labor scholars argue that the balance of power between workers and employers, which has been tilted toward employers for nearly a half-century, is beginning to shift.
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