Images

A photograph of members of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in France during the Phoney War. Taken in January 1940. (Imperial War Museums)

Exotic animal transportation, Roman mosaic in the Villa del Casale, Piazza Armerina, Sicily, Italy, 4th century. Image published in Le Musée absolu.

A 6th-century encaustic icon from Saint Catherine's Monastery, Mount Sinai.

A fresco of the early Orthodox Saint Ignatius of Antioch who died in the 2nd century CE.

A picture of a 19th-century coach caught in the snow. From a tin produced by Excelvit. (Private Collection)

Volumes of Christmas Literature. (Private Collection)

An 1880 coloured lithograph titled Christmas Eve by J. Hoover. (Library of Congress)

An 1848 illustration of the royal Christmas tree of Queen Victoria (r. 1837-1901) and Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the Prince Consort (l. 1819-61).

A painting depicting the tradition of attending a morning church service on Christmas Day. Print by Hoover & Son. (Library of Congress)

A c. 1862 oil painting, Santa Claus, by William Holbrook Beard (1825-1900). (Rhode Island School of Design Museum)