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Optimo dierum! – Ancient winter festivals
By Alex Wakelam | @A_Wakelam It should come as no surprise to most that the festival of Christmas, as practised by Europeans, did not come into existence at this time of year by itself. Long before the supposed birth of the Nazarene, ancient cultures celebrated a number of winter festivals. Nor is this acknowledgment necessarily a new…
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Richard of York gave battle in vain
By Ben Oldham (bo286@cantab.ac.uk) Christmas is not usually a time for warfare, but in the Wars of the Roses, despite the sanctity of the festive season, the opportunity to cut the head off a rival branch was not one to be missed. In December 1460, Richard, duke of York kept Christmas at Sandal Castle: a…
doinghistoryinpublic.org 