The History Channel website has a great Christmas section with details on the origins of the holiday celebration, the Christmas tree and even candy canes.

Highlights of this day in history: Japan signs surrender, officially ending World War II; Union forces occupy Atlanta during the Civil War; A great fire ravages medieval London; Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh

Scientists in Israel are taking digital photographs of the Dead Sea Scrolls with the aim of making the 2,000-year-old documents available to the public and researchers on the Internet.