How many of the “favorite things” are Christmas-coded? We counted.

CHRISTMAS
You’ve sung them while clutching cups of hot cocoa. You’ve heard them played in shopping malls. But do you know how some of the world’s best-known Christmas carols were created?
As anyone who has seen ‘A Christmas Story’ knows, licking a cold metal object can be dangerous. Here’s why you should never stick your tongue to a metal pole in winter.
Aldi’s shoppers, rejoice! The store’s 2024 Advent calendars are coming soon.
Christmas has been canceled a fair number of times throughout history.
The pop-up Halloween giant is hoping to become a force in the Christmas market.
The Hallmark Channel’s annual Countdown to Christmas kicks off every October. But the channel's reputation for producing feel-good holiday films began years before the annual event.
The meaning of ‘Bah, humbug!’ is a little more layered than what people normally attribute to Ebenezer Scrooge of ‘A Christmas Carol.’
Discover 10 of the best last-minute gifts to give this holiday season, including MasterClass, Nuuly, Blue Apron, and more.
The hardy plant’s ability to stay vibrant through the winter made it a natural choice for pre-Christian winter festivals, but why is holly now associated with Christmas?
These obscure Christmas songs from the early 20th century might become your new favorite carols.
Thirteen bearded wild men descend upon Icelandic homes to reward children who behave and punish those who don’t.
They look gourmet, but with help from a frozen ingredient chefs swear by, these cookies come together fast.
Père Fouettard, or “Father Whipper,” is a butcher whose favorite pastime is eating children. And hanging out with St. Nicholas.
How many states opted for 'Elf' over 'A Christmas Story'? Did 'National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation' get the shaft? Discover the topography of holiday movies here.
Stressed about what to give to mom this year? From fitness trackers to DNA testing kits, the best gifts for moms run the gamut, but they can help make her holiday season even more meaningful.
The ‘egg’ part of ‘eggnog’ is obvious. The ‘nog’ is a little more mysterious—possibly involving noggins and/or grog.
“Last Christmas” is now the centerpiece of a growing holiday tradition based around ... not listening to it.
Dickens’s unprecedented celebrity made him the most popular novelist of his century—but the author of Great Expectations, Bleak House, A Christmas Carol, and dozens of other works was more than just a writer.
Band Aid's charity song "Do They Know It's Christmas?" enlisted everyone from Sting to Bananarama, but its efforts to help the Ethiopian famine didn't go exactly as planned.
We celebrate the same holidays every year, but how much do we actually know about these annual traditions? And how much of what we think we know is actually true?
The original “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” implied that you’d never have a merry Christmas again.