We all love Christmas, don't we? Christmas trees and fairy lights, nativity plays with angels and kings, perhaps going to church in the snow, eating baked apples and cinnamon stars - and above all: presents from Father Christmas! But why do we celebrate Christmas the way we do? Is it the same in other countries? And: Christmas used to look very different, it smelled different, it tasted different. Some people don't celebrate Christmas at all. What's more, it's not winter everywhere at Christmas.

In this lecture, we want to start thinking about Christmas in August. Pretty early, you think? You'll see that the answers to the questions of how Christmas came about and how it has changed over the centuries are exciting at any time of year!