A 32-foot Christmas tree stands in Salisbury Cathedral in England. In the 17th century, churches across the country were forbidden from decking the halls for Christmas—which Puritans rejected as ...

And because many of the 17th-century Christmas traditions in question had ties to both Roman Catholicism and to an older pagan winter solstice festival, the Puritans said they had to go.

History and merriment meet fine, kingly food tonight and tomorrow, as the 37th annual Madrigal Dinner re-creates an authentic 17th-century Christmas feast at College Misericordia. The event ...

New version removes cleavage in Carlo Maratta’s 17th-century artwork. The original version of Carlo Maratta’s painting, titled “The Holy Night” or “The Nativity,” at left.