Latest from Ainsley Hawthorn
The historic case for leaving your Christmas decorations up until February
If you celebrate Christmas, you may already have taken down your decorations — or perhaps you're a traditionalist who leaves them up until Jan. 6, the Feast of Epiphany and the end of the twelve days of Christmas.
From the solemn to the silly: What exactly are the 12 days of Christmas?
Today you might only know the phrase “the 12 days of Christmas” from the popular carol. Few people still observe all 12 days, but as Ainsley Hawthorn historically Christians took the nearly two-week period to rest and celebrate.
Beyond Santa: Some of the world's other Christmas gift-bringers
Santa is just one member of a global family of winter gift-givers that include angels, fairies, human-sized crows and even a pooping Yule log.
Analysis
The 'cousin deficit' is why chosen family is so important to millennials and Gen Z
The shrinking size of the nuclear family means kids around the world are growing up with fewer and fewer cousins. Cultural historian Ainsley Hawthorn writes that her own family tree is typical of a powerful change in family connections.
Red and green with a bit of literal gaslighting: The story of our Christmas colours
Christmas is upon us, and homes across the country are decked out in holiday hues of red and green. But, contributor Ainsley Hawthorn writes, how did these complementary colours become so synonymous with the holiday?
Bannerman Park's biggest tent city happened 131 years ago in the wake of a stunning fire
The tent encampment underway at Bannerman near downtown St. John's is not the first time temporary shelter has been erected there. As Ainsley Hawthorn writes, many people lived in the park in the wake of the Great Fire of 1892 — and out of that came construction incentives and tenant protections.
The quest for the Northwest Passage was based on philosophy, not evidence
The search for a Northwest Passage fundamentally shaped the history of Newfoundland, where John Cabot landed in 1497 while seeking a northwestern sea route to Asia. As Ainsley Hawthorn writes, the quest persisted for centuries and cost hundreds of lives.
Half an hour later in Newfoundland: The origin of Canada's 30-minute time zone
With the clocks set to change, cultural historian Ainsley Hawthorn takes a broader look at time: specifically, why Newfoundland has a time zone to call its own.
Why is the English language packed with nautical slang?
Seafaring idioms aren't restricted to seafaring cultures, they're in wide use everywhere English is spoken, from the American Midwest to the Australian Outback. So how did they become such a mainstay of our vocabulary?
Newfoundland's Labour Day has its own distinct history
In Newfoundland and Labrador, we're known for doing things a little bit differently, so it should come as no surprise that Labour Day in the province has a history that's distinct from the rest of Canada, writes Ainsley Hawthorn.