History of the Holidays

The story of Thanksgiving zigzags through American history with some surprising twists. What started as a somber Puritan day of prayer is now about football and food. How did we get there?

Ho, ho, ho! 'Tis the season of survival. Armed with history, humor and his trademark ranting, the "Curmudgeon of Comedy" returns to make sense of this 36-day, end-of-year insanity that consumes us all.

It's the centerpiece of Thanksgiving dinner tables and one of the most famous birds in North America. From pets to presidential pardons, take a look at the feisty fowl that's the reluctant star of our holiday dinners.

A small band of religious extremists flee persecution in Europe in the hopes of creating a more godly society in the New World, but devastating difficulties await these immigrants in North America.

Every battleground from Valley Forge to Desert Storm has stories of how warriors handled the incongruous mix of Christmas and killing. Learn about the heartwarming and heartbreaking moments they experienced.

There's a lot to tell about the history of Christmas. Meet Ebenezer Scrooge and George Bailey, the Grinch and Rudolph, and learn the true origins of our Christmas traditions from caroling to Krampus.

Christmas in the 1960s was a turbulent time, marked by the loss of JFK and absent loved ones fighting in Vietnam, but a live broadcast from Apollo 8 astronauts - and Charlie Brown - offered hope to all on Earth.

In the 1970s we traveled to a galaxy far far away with our "Star Wars" action figures and visited Big Bird on "Sesame Street," though the holidays were tense as we waited for American hostages to be released in Iran.

The 80s were all about the Walkman, Cabbage Patch Kids, and the fall of the Berlin Wall. Relive the splendor of Clark Griswold's Christmas light display as now-classic hits set the soundtrack for the holiday season.

The 90s holiday season began with cheer as Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev resigned on Christmas Day while desktop computers, Tickle Me Elmo, and the latest Beanie Baby toys were on everyone's Christmas list.