History of the Holidays

Trick or treating, costume parties, bowls of candy by the door...It's how we celebrate Halloween. But where do these customs come from? On October 31, when pint-sized ghouls and goblins knock on doors, they're actually carrying on a tradition that goes back thousands of years to the Celtic tribes of northern Europe.

We all think we know the history of America's holidays, especially Thanksgiving. The story goes that after a horrible winter, a small group of Massachusetts Pilgrims were so thankful to be alive, they threw a feast for themselves and their Native-American neighbors.

Fascinating story of how the bawdy Roman Saturnalia, a week-long festival of food and drink that culminated on December 25, became the centerpiece of the Christian year, and why the holiday is known as much for shopping as the birth of Christ. Interviews with experts, harried bargain hunters, and excited children round out the program.

In Ireland, March 17th is a feast day honoring the bishop who Christianized the island; but in America it's a boisterous celebration of Irish heritage. We'll march up New York City's Fifth Avenue with over 150,000 celebrants at the largest and oldest parade on the day all Americans are Irish. With Andrew Greeley and Frank McCourt.

Get all you need to know about the unique history of our holidays with this in-depth collection. History of the Holidays spans countless cultures, numerous religions and thousands of centuries to provide in-depth looks at 24 holidays, including the Fourth of July, Halloween and Christmas.

It began centuries ago as a pagan holiday that honored the dead and warned of a netherworld of spirits and ghosts. Today, it has morphed into a day for breaking rules, pushing boundaries and wearing disguises. But Halloween remains a time for us to deal with our own mortality.

The story of Thanksgiving, with its costumed Pilgrims, turkeys and pumpkin pie, zigzags through American history with some surprising twists. At the iconic Thanksgiving feast of 1621--no pumpkin pie or cranberry sauce was served, and that event was wiped from the history books for 200 years!

Did you know that the quaint custom of Christmas caroling actually began with drunk and rowdy revelers threatening people door to door looking for food and liquor? Early versions of the heartwarming legend of Santa Claus described him as a horrible devil named Krampus who beat and kidnapped naughty children.