I've heard that Christmas wasn't always as big of a deal as it is now. Were shops always closed on Christmas? If not, when did businesses stop opening on Christmas day?

Concepts like freedom, justice, intelligence, etc, as opposed to simple ideas or concrete objects. What are the earliest records we have that have words assigned to these complex ideas?

I was looking at some old Chinese pictographs to see how they evolved in modern Chinese characters, and I only managed to find pictures of common concrete objects, animals, people, observable events etc. It made me wonder when abstract concepts started to show themselves in ancient languages, how they formed, if they formed as combinations of simpler ideas, things like that. Any insight would be great.

*Irishman. Drats.

So they'd have eaten fish on the coast, obv. But apart from that.

Myths, scriptures, treatises: what do we have that was written down?

If a captain were to address one of his men, a man named Smith, say, what would he call him? Regular Smith? Mr. Smith? Soldier Smith? I know very little about war in general and have no idea if this is a stupid question. Any help would be wonderful.

I've been miffed for a long time now that Netflix doesn't have any World War 1 documentaries, and all the suggestions on r/documentaries are either low fidelity or just really dry and I can't get into them. I'm a huge fan of Ken Burns' The War and while I'm not looking for the same format, I would like something that entertaining and charismatic for The Great War. I am subscribed to youtube.com/thegreatwar and Indy Neidell is great but I don't believe his channel is a replacement for a feature documentary. Can anyone recommend something, or shall I simply have to try to get into one of the suggestions on r/documentaries?

It says in the Wikipedia article that he was born grasping a blood clot, and that this was a sign of his future as a great leader. Firstly, how does one grasp a blood clot? Secondly, can anyone share information about this belief? Thanks in advance for any information.

So when you see modern fights or engagements especially with terrorist or extremist groups their tactics of hiding within their lands, sniping, setting off bombs etc, as cowardly and what not. Did the disciplined line tactics of the red coats or general british population see the american tactics the same way as cowardice and "a new terrifying kind of enemy"?

From what I remember from undergrad history courses, they were both civilizations with well structured communities and were both decent at math. Did they have schools that resemble anything like what we have today? Were there any recognized scholars?

As America's first permanent establishment, why is it still literally mud and straw homes in 2014?

Why is it not on the scale of Paris, London, Venice or other known permanent founding establishments?

As far as NYC, I know at that point things were kind of more planned out for "America". From it's first establishment until America became fairly economically sizable, why was Jamestown so stunted from becoming a huge city?

It seems like the site even had a head start with the Powhatan people near by and all.. yet it was deserted compared to the rest of America?

In the biblical narrative, it says that Bethlehem was full from all the people visiting where they were born. But if so many people were born there, why weren't there more places to stay? It seems like a lot of people must have moved out. If so, why?

I come from a fascist state (opinion) and am wanting to write on how a country/nation recovers from fascist states and propagandas.

And I believe Germany would be the best country to put forward as an example. So, how did you guys manage it? Was it constant reminders? self-reflection? And what still keeps Germany from falling back into fascism? How long did it take and how much of the population would be completely unaffected as of now ? I would really love to know.

Also would not mind any related reading.

I hope I don't offend anyone with this post!

Would be very thankful for answers !

It fascinates me as to how the dieting habits of people have changed over time, and little emphasis is given to this.

I found a little bit on Wikipedia describing that some prominent Onna Bugeisha lived during the Gempei War, but there was very little concerning fighting women during the Sengoku period.

Would it have potentially thawed US-USSR relations to the point of ending the Cold War if Reagan hadn't adopted anti-détente policies?

Refugees, etc.