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December 29, 2025 at 5:50 PM

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Melissa Lewis

@melissa.news

For anyone girding their loins for political arguments tomorrow, I recommend a moderator’s response to an @askhistorians.bsky.social post from a couple of years ago; it includes a passage about bad-faith arguments from a Sartre essay that knocked me off my feet the first time I read it.

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What the heck was going on in New York at Christmas in the 1770s? Wikipedia's history of Santa Claus describes "aggressive home invasions," "sexual deviancy" and a weird parody of Dutch culture.

December 25, 2025 at 7:29 AM

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@askhistorians.bsky.social

Read about the popular #History of American Jews ordering Chinese food for Christmas in this great answer from @hannahstohelit.bsky.social . Theres concerns about keeping koshers, and finding an open restaurant on such a busy night! #Skystorians
buff.ly/ILn6Gpp

The picture shows a serving of traditional dumplings, while the caption reads "Some Jews did feel the contradiction. Some ate only food that was "kosher style". They would not eat pork or shellfish, but would eat chicken or beef, even though the meat wasn't slaughtered according to Jewish law, and other ingredients may not have been strictly kosher."

December 24, 2025 at 6:30 PM

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@askhistorians.bsky.social

What the heck was going on in New York at #Christmas in the 1770s? /u/lord_mayor_of_reddit gifts us with a sprawling answer on how different the celebration was at the time #Skystorians!

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Is anything in this 'wiccan' meme/comic abput the pagan origins or Christmas symbolism accurate?

December 24, 2025 at 5:30 PM

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@askhistorians.bsky.social

/u/itsallfolklore shares an answer on the changing nature of folklore and tradition, and how that relates to the frequent discussion of Christians ‘coopting’ pagan traditions for Christmas. #Skystorians #Folklore

This cartoon looks fairly accurate to me except the Yule log. While lighting fires - having light in general - during the period of the winter...

December 24, 2025 at 4:30 PM

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"Online Rent-a-Sage" Bret Devereaux

@bretdevereaux.bsky.social

Impressed by the very on-point pun the flared response (the top one) worked in at the end.

AskHistorians @askhistorians.bsky.social · 16d

We occupy a very specific niche when it comes to the public discussion of history, and that niche is serious answers to the question of how bamboozled Hitler would have been by big chungus memes.

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From the AskHistorians community on Reddit: I'm Professor Gregory Gordon here to discuss my book "Nuremberg's Citizen Prosecutor: Benjamin Ferencz and the Birth of International Justice." Ferencz, an ...

December 24, 2025 at 5:04 AM

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UVA Press

@uvapress.bsky.social

AMA on r/AskHistorians with Prof. Gregory Gordon, author of "Nuremberg's Citizen Prosecutor: Benjamin Ferencz and the Birth of International Justice"

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Has Hanukkah Observance Changed Due To The Commercialization of Christmas in the 20th Century?

December 23, 2025 at 2:26 PM

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@askhistorians.bsky.social

Has Hanukkah Observance Changed Due To The Commercialization of Christmas in the 20th Century? It has indeed, according to /u/gingeryid. As cultures and traditions influence and change each other, the holidays follow suit! #Skystorians

Great question! Yes, observance of (c)hanuk(k)a(h) has changed substantially through influence from Christmas. The most obvious case of this is...

Why is modern Christmas imagery stuck in the Victorian era? (And was Victorian Christmas imagery stuck in the Baroque era?)

December 23, 2025 at 11:30 PM

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@askhistorians.bsky.social

Why is modern Christmas imagery stuck in the Victorian era? While many traditions and images are far more recent then you might think, /u/lord_mayor_of_reddit goes back to the start to gift us this great thread. #Skystorians #Christmas

I hope you don't mind this answer being Anglo-centric, and mostly U.S.-centric: I can't offer a great answer to your first question as to "why",...

wotan_weevil's comment on "Did Cromwell actually ban mince pies?"

December 23, 2025 at 10:30 PM

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@askhistorians.bsky.social

Cromwell was a real humbug about #Christmas, but did he really ban mince pies? /u/wotan_weevil explores the anti-Christmas legislature that sought to ban the holiday, and why the humble pie met with Puritan disapproval. #Skystorians

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Santa Lucia (Scandinavia) & pre-Christian tradition

December 23, 2025 at 9:30 PM

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@askhistorians.bsky.social

/u/Platypuskeeper writes about Lucia, Midsummer, the Yule Goat and more when they take a look at the folklore to find out how far back the traditions go. #Skystorians #Folklore

Sigh, yes there are these common and persistent myths about Scandinavian folklore based in romantic 19th century notions (and contemporary...

How much of the Biblical story of Christmas is historically plausible?

December 23, 2025 at 8:30 PM

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@askhistorians.bsky.social

/u/uncovered-history explores the traditional Christmas narrative of Jesus’ birth, and the different biblical sources we have on it. #Skystorians #Christmas
buff.ly/HJr5xG9

This is an interesting question and one that I love discussing because it's deeply fascinating. So before I can fully answer your question, I need to provide some context. I'll also need to go into detail about what the authors of the Nativity narratives say, since the issue with your question is that some of what you are saying in your questions do not happen in all the gospels.

old.reddit.com

December 23, 2025 at 7:30 PM

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@askhistorians.bsky.social

What is the history of reading pagan origins into Christmas traditions? @kiwihellenist.bsky.social explores everything from the Puritan war on Christmas, to the long lasting “Christmas is pagan” meme! #Skystorians

What is the history of reading pagan origins into Christmas traditions?

There's an excellent article by Chris Durston that details the history of 'the Puritan war on Christmas' in 16th-17th century England (Durston 1985; also good is Pimlott 1960).

December 23, 2025 at 6:58 PM

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@askhistorians.bsky.social

It’s the Holiday Season, so we thought we’d celebrate by showcasing some amazing answers related to this festive time of the year. Start off with @georgy-k-zhukov.bsky.social writing about the famous Christmas Truce of 1914 & some common misunderstandings on the topic. #Skystorians
buff.ly/JkwkPmp

The picture depicts a scene from the World War One Christmas Truce, as two groups of soldiers meet to shake hands. The caption reads "Contrary to many popular portrayals, the Christmas Truce was not a universal occurrence on the front, and if anything, the popular image of foe messing about in No Man's Land, and even playing football, are to be chalked up as the exception, rather than the rule."

December 23, 2025 at 5:30 PM

Reposted by AskHistorians

Dan Howlett

@dhowlett1692.bsky.social

We have an AMA today with @profgsgordon.bsky.social for his new book Nuremberg's Citizen Prosecutor, come check it out over on @askhistorians.bsky.social!

www.reddit.com/r/AskHistori...

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December 22, 2025 at 2:57 PM

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Dex Anderson

@dexanderson.com

i am begging you to click through and read the top comment

AskHistorians @askhistorians.bsky.social · 16d

We occupy a very specific niche when it comes to the public discussion of history, and that niche is serious answers to the question of how bamboozled Hitler would have been by big chungus memes.

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December 22, 2025 at 3:58 AM

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𝕋𝕙𝕖 ℍ𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕪 𝕠𝕗 ℂ𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕒 ℙ𝕠𝕕𝕔𝕒𝕤𝕥

@thoc.bsky.social

The historians are alright.

AskHistorians @askhistorians.bsky.social · 16d

We occupy a very specific niche when it comes to the public discussion of history, and that niche is serious answers to the question of how bamboozled Hitler would have been by big chungus memes.

www.reddit.com/r/AskHistori...

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December 22, 2025 at 1:15 AM

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SF Boswell

@sfboswell.bsky.social

And they say history is dead.

AskHistorians @askhistorians.bsky.social · 16d

We occupy a very specific niche when it comes to the public discussion of history, and that niche is serious answers to the question of how bamboozled Hitler would have been by big chungus memes.

www.reddit.com/r/AskHistori...

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December 21, 2025 at 2:42 PM

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CT Yankee

@connecticut-yankee.bsky.social

Best subreddit to ever do it.

AskHistorians @askhistorians.bsky.social · 16d

We occupy a very specific niche when it comes to the public discussion of history, and that niche is serious answers to the question of how bamboozled Hitler would have been by big chungus memes.

www.reddit.com/r/AskHistori...

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December 21, 2025 at 3:01 PM

AskHistorians

@askhistorians.bsky.social

We occupy a very specific niche when it comes to the public discussion of history, and that niche is serious answers to the question of how bamboozled Hitler would have been by big chungus memes.

www.reddit.com/r/AskHistori...

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teakettling's comment on "Did Ashurnasirpal II's Party actually take place?"

December 21, 2025 at 9:19 AM

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Andrew A.N. Deloucas

@aandeloucas.com

Gave myself a little break from dissertation writing to answer a question on @askhistorians.bsky.social:

"Did Ashurnasirpal II's Party actually take place?"

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