• The history of Christmas carols

    ‘Carol’ from the Old French ‘carole’, meaning to dance and sing in a circle, is defined as ‘a religious folk song or popular hymn, particularly one associated with Christmas’. This root in folk music and religion is especially pertinent, given the origin of carols in pagan tradition. Thousands of...
  • Arts Feature: A History of Witchcraft in the UK

    Amongst the most common Halloween costume characters, zombies, vampires, ghosts… there is one that remains triumphant: the witch. But where does this fascination with witchcraft come from? Made punishable by death in the UK in 1542 under the reign of King Henry VIII, witchcraft was a crime leading to...