Beyond Christmas: Winter Heritage, Faith, and Inclusion in Museums 🕯️❄️

Shannon Kira Mcmillan
Dec 22, 2025
4 min read

Winter has always been a season of storytelling. In museums especially, it becomes a time when tradition, memory, and celebration overlap — but also a time when certain histories shine more brightly than others. As someone with a background in History and Religious Studies, now working across museums and heritage spaces, I’ve become increasingly aware of how winter narratives are framed, presented, and interpreted.

And while Christmas is a huge part of British cultural identity, I often find myself asking: Where are the other winter stories?

🎄 The Cultural Weight of Christmas in the UK

Growing up in Derbyshire, studying in Cheltenham, living in Coleford, and now in Sheffield, I’ve seen the same pattern repeated: December is almost entirely shaped by Christmas — culturally, socially, and institutionally.

In places like Cheltenham (which has around 50 churches), cultural Christianity still frames much of public life. Even for those who aren’t religious — like my dad, who always ticks “Protestant” on the census purely out of habit — the identity remains culturally ingrained.

Naturally, this also shapes what appears in museums.

Events like Sheffield Museums’ Victorian Christmas Market are joyful, beautifully delivered, atmospheric celebrations. Likewise, this year’s Crafted at Christmas Selling Exhibition included excellent winter-themed work from over 35 UK makers. But despite this, I still rarely see interpretation or programming connected to Hanukkah, Yule, or other seasonal traditions.

It’s interesting to remember that much of what we now think of as traditional Christmas symbolism actually took shape during the Victorian era. Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s German husband, introduced the Christmas tree to Britain, popularising a tradition that originated in Germany. Over time, candle decorations gave way to safer, sparkling glass baubles, adding both charm and meaning to festive décor. This Victorian influence still shapes how we celebrate today.

Different depictions of Jesus and Christianity: Paintings in the Gloucester Cathedral, the Church of Latter Day Saints (Hyde Park Chapel, London) and a Medieval painting of key Christian figures on a Crucifix.

🕎 Winter Traditions Beyond Christmas

My academic interests always pull me toward the wider picture — and publishing this on 22 December, the final day of Hanukkah, feels like the right moment to highlight just how many winter traditions sit alongside Christmas, even if they’re not always visible in public spaces.

Yule

Yule is an ancient celebration marking the winter solstice which is still celebrated today, full of feasting, fires, and hope for the returning light. Many of its traditions, like decorating evergreens and gift-giving, quietly found their way into Christmas.

Saturnalia, with Its Misrule and Celebration

Saturnalia was a lively Roman festival where social roles flipped—masters served slaves, and rules were relaxed. It was a joyful time of feasting and freedom that inspired later winter celebrations.

The Jewish Diaspora, Whose Forced Dispersal Through History Shaped Ashkenazi, Sephardi, and Mizrahi Traditions and Enriched Europe’s Cultural Landscape

The Jewish diaspora, shaped by centuries of migration and resilience, gave rise to rich traditions across Ashkenazi, Sephardi, and Mizrahi communities. Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, celebrates the miracle of light and freedom, offering a joyful winter tradition alongside Christmas. Jewish culture and customs have deeply enriched Europe’s cultural tapestry.

Kwanzaa, an African-American Winter Celebration

Kwanzaa, founded in the 1960s, is a vibrant celebration of African heritage and community values. It’s a time to reflect on unity, creativity, and shared responsibility during the winter season.

There are many more winter celebrations around the world each year, each with its own unique meaning and traditions. These stories are foundational to winter as we know it — and yet they often remain side-lined.

As someone who cares deeply about multi-faith history, I feel that winter interpretation could be richer, more diverse, and more reflective of the communities who visit our museums today.

📚 Literature, Diaspora & Contemporary Echoes

This year, at the Khushwant Singh Literary Festival in London, I had the opportunity to support The Poetry Archive’s launch of the Poetry of South Asia collection. One of our poets, Seni Seneviratne, gave a moving reading featuring her own work alongside poems by Palestinian writers.

Her choices were thoughtful, human, and rooted in shared experience — highlighting how literature often holds space for stories museums have not yet fully embraced.

Seni Seneviratne

🖼️ What Museums Represent — and What They Leave Out

While museums occasionally include micro-displays responding to current events or community experiences (such as small solidarity cases featuring symbolic objects like watermelons or keffiyeh patterns), broader winter representation still leans overwhelmingly toward Christmas.

This isn’t a criticism — it’s an observation shaped by:

my lived experience growing up in predominantly Christian regions
my academic grounding in religious studies
and my volunteer work across several museums

I love Christmas events. I love Victorian storytelling. But I also believe museums can hold more than one tradition at a time.

♿ Why This Matters to Me

My perspective is shaped not only by my academic background but also by my experience as a disabled, chronically ill person committed to accessibility and inclusive practice.

Across my website and socials, everything I produce — from Alt Text to transcripts, from emoji strategy to structural clarity — is shaped by a desire to help everyone feel welcome in heritage spaces.

Religious representation is part of that same accessibility mindset.

Museums tell the story of all of us. And winter has always been more than one story.

🌟 Looking Forward

As heritage professionals, volunteers, creatives, and audiences, we have an opportunity to widen the circle — to create winter programming that embraces: