• The history of the decommissioned subway station under City Hall, where Mayor Zohran Mamdani held his private swearing-in ceremony. (NPR)

• How centuries of Christmas tradition shaped the modern image of Santa Claus. (Snopes)

• A history of New Year’s festivities in New York, from Times Square to Chinatown. (Bowery Boys)

• “In Ireland, women celebrate their own ‘Christmas’ in January.” (National Geographic)

• “All of these conflicts are different in their origins and pathologies, of course, but they are driven by a common folly: the idea that ethnic coexistence is anathema to the coherence of the nation-state. Varosha’s damaged grid of vegetation and concrete reverberates beyond Cyprus as a forceful reminder, from the ongoing horrors in Gaza and Ukraine to the delicate reconstruction of post-Assad Syria, of the enduring shadow of the murderous ethnic politics of the 20th century.” (n+1)

• Found: “Yellow brick road” at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. (ScienceAlert)

• Donated: Dozens of Matisse artworks. (The Art Newspaper)

• Retired: New York City’s MetroCard. (Gothamist)

• This week in obituaries: Tatiana Schlossberg, Ben Nighthorse Campbell, Khaleda Zia, Perry Bamonte, Peter Arnett, Annette Dionne, Betty Reid Soskin, Melanie Watson Bernhardt, Isiah Whitlock, Jr., Mickey Lee, Chris Rea, Joseph Hartzler, Lou Gerstner, Carmen de Lavallade, Jerry Kasenetz, Brigitte Bardot, John Carey, Rob Reiner, Mohammad Bakri, and Norman Podhoretz.