Faris Alaboudy

The Holly Bears the Crown
A History of Christmas


Christmas (Cristes maesses or Christ’s Mass) conjures a collection of familiar images, such as Christmas trees, stockings, chestnuts roasting an open fire and, of course, Santa Claus. Indeed, whenever Christmas is discussed, the word “tradition” invariably is used, suggesting an immediately understood picture of Christmas Day. The Christmas “tradition,” however, is a vast amalgam of influences by pagan rituals, the Bible, and various sain… Continue

English is not my first language, but I use it to talk to my daughter. Here's a interesting history of our fascinating language.


The Great Melting Pot of Language
A History of the English Language

The history of English is a complex and dynamic history. It is often, albeit perhaps too neatly, divided into four periods: Old English, Middle English, Early-Modern English, and Late-Modern English. English is classified genetically as a Low West Germanic language of the Indo-European family… Continue

Of Harvest, Prayer, and Football

Thanksgiving Day in the United States evokes a number of rich traditions, most notably the Thanksgiving Day feast. The food is, itself, a symbolic display with roots both in the New World’s early interaction between European settlers and indigenous people and in conventions that are more recent. In addition to the food, Thanksgiving calls to mind a range of traditions revolving around the family: parades, football, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, travel, an… Continue

Hi everybody,

Here's a fascinating article on the history of tattoos my wife wrote that I thought you guys might like. I have a few tattoos and its kind of cool to know where they came from. Check it out:

http://www.randomhistory.com/2008/07/26_tattoo.html