Timeless Traditions
This spinning four-sided toy is used during Hanukkah celebrations.
What is a Dreidel?
This 1990 comedy features Kevin McCallister defending his home from the Wet Bandits.
What is 'Home Alone'?
This lively tune tells the story of a brave group who reclaimed the Holy Temple and brought light back to the Jewish people.
What is "Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah"?
In A Christmas Story, this child desperately wants a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas, despite repeated warnings about his eye.
Who is Ralphie Parker?
This holiday tradition involves hiding an ornament on a Christmas tree, with the first person to find it receiving a small gift or good luck for the upcoming New Year.
What is the Christmas Pickle ornament?
Popularized in Victorian England, this holiday greeting method relied on rapidly expanding global postal systems and featured hand-painted scenes of robins and holly.
What are Christmas Cards?
This 1965 animated classic introduced the world to the “sad little tree” chosen by a young boy.
What is 'A Charlie Brown Christmas'?
This 1944 Judy Garland song, introduced in Meet Me in St. Louis, was so somber that she asked for its lyrics to be rewritten before performing it.
What is "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"?
This glowing-nosed reindeer finally got to guide the sleigh after years of being teased.
Who is Rudolph?
This December plant, known for its red leaves, is often given as a festive gift and was introduced to the U.S. by ambassador Joel Roberts Poinsett.
What is a Poinsettia?
This European tradition features Saint Nicholas’s darker, mischievous counterpart who is said to punish naughty children.
Who is Krampus?
This 2003 film stars Will Ferrell as a human raised by elves who travels to New York City.
What is 'Elf'?
This famous holiday tune begins with the lyrics, “Sleigh bells ring, are you listenin’?”
What is 'Winter Wonderland'?
In It's a Wonderful Life, this angel earns his wings after helping George Bailey realize the impact he's had on his community.
Who is Clarence?
During Hanukkah, children may receive these small chocolate coins wrapped in gold or silver foil.
What is gelt?
This Christmas dessert contains candied fruit and is often the punchline of jokes about its density.
This 1947 Oscar-winning film features Maureen O'Hara and Natalie Wood - and raised real-life debate about Santa's identity after a courtroom showdown.
What is Miracle on 34th Street?
Written in 1943 and inspired by a soldier longing for home, this melancholy tune became one of Bing Crosby's biggest wartime holiday hits.
What is "I'll Be Home for Christmas"?
This ballet character defeats the Mouse King and journeys to the Land of Sweets.
Who is the Nutcracker?
During Kwanzaa, this centerpiece holds seven candles that are lit each night to represent the holiday's seven principles.
What is the Kinara?
Modern Advent calendars can include chocolates, trinkets, or even wine, but their origins trace back to this country, where families marked December days with chalk lines.
What is Germany?
This 1945 film starring Barbara Stanwyck involves a journalist lying about her domestic abilities, only to be invited to host a picture-perfect Christmas dinner she can't actually cook.
What is Christmas in Connecticut?
First performed in 1963 on A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector, this song by Darlene Love became a perennial favorite despite modest chart success initially.
What is "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)"?
This menorah-bearing heroine of Jewish folklore defied an invading army with courage and cunning.
Who is Judith?
The use of a "Yule Log" in holiday celebrations traces back to pre-Christian Nordic traditions, where it symbolized this seasonal event.
What is the winter solstice?