menu_open
Francis Young

Francis Young

The Spectator

We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close

How Santa came to recruit his elves

24.12.2024 10

The Spectator

Francis Young

The surprisingly recent invention of Friday the 13th

13.12.2024 9

The Spectator

Francis Young

England’s forgotten Easter traditions

If you get up early enough on Easter morning, according to old English folklore, you might be lucky enough to see the sun dancing in the sky as it...

31.03.2024 50

The Spectator

Francis Young

Christmas traditions and the lost practice of ‘mumming’

Christmas, we are often told, is rich in traditions invented by the Victorians (or even later), and it was a rather austere affair before Charles...

25.12.2023 7

The Spectator

Francis Young

The ancient roots of Christmas ghost stories

Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol is either, depending on your perspective, the ultimate Christmas ghost story or a complete subversion of the...

24.12.2023 6

The Spectator

Francis Young

The Ministry of Justice is engaged in historical vandalism

This week, the Ministry of Justice launched a consultation on its plan to digitise its vast archive of wills. The only problem is that it also wants...

19.12.2023 3

The Spectator

Francis Young

454582ef1b13bf7deba1950cf1c53a28