Tis the season for beautifully decorated homes! Take a sneak peek tour of the Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum and Planetarium in Centerport to learn a little about the history of the home as well as see some of the holiday decorations inside. Visit the link in the comments to see more estate houses at Long Island state parks and historic sites decorated for Christmas. | Newsday

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50K views · 602 reactions | CNN's Anderson Cooper explores the rise and fall of the historic US family, the Vanderbilts, in his new book "Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty." | CNN | Facebook

Leonidas I is often remembered as the flawless hero of Thermopylae, but his real story is far more complicated—and controversial. Born around 540 BCE into the Agiad royal line, Leonidas was not originally destined for the throne. He became king only after the death of his half-brothers Cleomenes and Dorieus, likely because Cleomenes’ only child was a daughter and Dorieus had died on campaign. This means the “chosen warrior-king” of popular legend may actually have been a late, almost accidental

67K views · 1.9K reactions | #OnThisDay: George Vanderbilt officially opened Biltmore House to family and friends on Christmas Eve in 1895 ✨ Here, Associate Curator, Lori Garst, shares how our holiday traditions are rooted in history. Discover more of the history behind #ChristmasatBiltmore: https://bit.ly/3P4AQzf | Biltmore | Facebook