Christmas Customs

Anyone who laments the excesses of Christmas might consider the Puritans of colonial Massachusetts: they simply outlawed the holiday. The Puritans had their reasons, since Christmas was once an occasion for drunkenness and riot, when poor "wassailers" extorted food and drink from the well-to-do. In this intriguing and innovative work of social history, Stephen Nissenbaum rediscovers Christmas's carnival origins and shows how it was transformed, during the nineteenth century, into a festival of domesticity and consumerism.

The folklore roots of Christmas under its many other guises (Yule, the Winter Solstice, Saturnalia) is examined in a different, darker light. The Winter Solstice is a time to be afraid. It’s the shortest day of the year, the longest night. In some parts of the world, the sun doesn’t rise at all. It’s dark, and we have to wonder if the sun will ever come back at all. Christmas has always been creepy and with The Fright Before Christmas, you'll see that side. This is a book for everyone who loves a little darkness around the holidays.

After the unexpected death of her husband, Joanne Huist Smith had no idea how she would keep herself together and be strong for her three children - especially with the holiday season approaching. But 12 days before Christmas, presents begin appearing on her doorstep with notes from their "True Friends." As the Smiths came together to solve the mystery of who the gifts were from, they began to thaw out from their grief and come together again as a family.

Not so very long ago, Yuletide was as much a chilling season of ghosts and witches as it was a festival of goodwill. In The Old Magic of Christmas, you'll rub elbows with veiled spirits, learn the true perils of elves, and discover a bestiary of enchanted creatures. Rife with the more frightful characters from folklore and the season's most petulant ghosts, this book takes you on a spooky sleigh ride from the silvered firs of a winter forest to the mirrored halls of the Snow Queen.

Christmas trees and Christmas cards seem to be an essential part of the holiday season. So it may surprise you to know they are both relatively recent traditions in the United States and Britain!

It’s time to celebrate Christmas. There’s so much to do! Make cookies and decorate the Christmas tree. Have dinner with your family. Exchange presents. This important Christian holiday celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ.

The holly-jolly holidays aren’t for everyone, least of all when you look back on that one Christmas when there were two definitely haunted dolls waiting for you and your sister under the tree. You have to assume that’s where it all started. And so it was for Jenny Lawson. Now, she lives in the land of eternal Halloween, as evidenced by her interior decor and general state of darkness. (Although, if you ask her, her taxidermy zoo is less dark, more delightful. But not everyone has taste, so what are you going to do?)

Sula the Cat does it again! Sula, parish cat at Old Mission San Juan Bautista, is a cat with a special mission: to comfort people in need. Every morning, she spends time with St. Francis, patron saint of animals, and receives guidance for the day. During Masses, led by the Holy Spirit, she seeks out whomever God wants her to comfort, and they report that she brings comfort, indeed. In her spare time, she writes books. This time, she is writing about Christmas traditions and how she experiences them as a parish cat. Ever wonder where our various Christmas customs come from? Sula tells you ...

SAVING CHRISTMAS: RECLAIMING THE SACRED SEASON The battle for Christmas isn't new, but the stakes have never been higher. For generations, Christmas has been the cornerstone of Western civilization's most cherished traditions. Yet today, this sacred season faces an unprecedented assault from those who would strip it of its meaning, reduce it to mere commercialism, or erase it from public life entirely. Saving Christmas takes readers on a revelatory journey through two millennia of holiday tradition, tracing the festival's roots from ancient European winter celebrations through ...

Navigating Christmas Traditions: A Handbook for Expatriates in Christian Countries is aguidebook designed to assist expatriates in understanding and participating in the diverse Christmas customs and practices prevalent in Christian nations. With a focus on cultural sensitivity, this invaluable resource offers practical advice, historical insights, and step-by-step instructions to help expats immerse themselves in the joyous festivities, while also respecting local traditions and customs. Whether you are a newly arrived expatriate or a seasoned traveler, this handbook will ensure that you ...

The perfect gift book, featuring the writing of Meryl Streep, Bill Bailey, Emilia Clarke, Olivia Colman, Caitlin Moran, Richard Ayoade, Emily Watson and others, to coincide with the upcoming movie Last Christmas, starring Emma Thompson, Emilia Clarke and Henry Golding. When you think back to Christmases past, what (if anything) made it magical? This is a beautiful, funny and soulful collection of personal essays about the meaning of Christmas, written by a unique plethora of voices from the boulevards of Hollywood to the soup kitchens of Covent Garden.

Have you wondered about the origins of the Christmas pickle? Or how we got from the manger in a cave/stable to giant plaster nativity scenes? Did you ever try to explain to someone what Christmas might actually be about under all that hype, marketing and expense? Then this little book of daily readings is just right for your Advent (the 24 days leading up to Christmas) season. You’ll laugh a bit, shake your head at the monsters, enjoy the family recipes and favorite carols in the appendix, but mostly you’ll find some peace, some down time, a little oasis of serenity and comfort in all ...

Roses are red, violets are blue, in this book of fear, Valentine's haunts anew. Dare to discover the true lore of Valentine's Day, where love and terror intertwine in the most unexpected ways. With classic myths about tragic love, dark romances that end in murder, and true crimes committed in...

Following the hugely successful memoir of his boyhood, An Hour Before Daylight, Jimmy Carter remembers Christmas in Plains. This very special day provides a source of spiritual inspiration, respite, family ties, friendship, vacation fun, and the simplicity of community.

When Stuever's narrative begins, he's standing in line with the people waiting to purchase flat-screen TVs at Best Buy on Black Friday, the opening of the Christmas shopping season. From there he follows a number of key residents of Frisco, Texas, as they navigate through the nativity and all its attendant crises.

A manual of hundreds of Christmas trivia facts - and these are challenging! Learn more and appreciate the Christmas season and what it really means. Included are facts, traditions, and customs about the Annunciation, the Nativity, Christmas Day, Christmas decorations, Christmas songs and performances, the Christmas tree, St. Nicholas, Christmas cards, Christmas meals, and much more! An enlightening book for the holidays! Well-researched and quite informative. A wealth of information packed in every single minute!

Ever wondered if and how they celebrate Christmas around the world? We did! Here's what we found out, and it's amazing! We've loaded this book with great, traditional recipes from around the world and think this just might be a must-have for your holidays not only as a conversation starter, but as a great way to try international fare at your own gathering.

Everyone has experienced that fresh baked cookie smell and thought of some cherished family member or friend. The author’s goal in writing about ethnic food is to have the reader experience the same thing. For the author the smell of ethnic dishes like Kapusta (cabbage) Soup or Kugela(is) (potato pudding) isn’t the smell of cabbage or potatoes that is memorable but lunches at his grandmother’s house with his family, a welcome break from work at the family business next door. One problem in accomplishing this goal is that the extinction of ethnic foods in this country has been ongoing ...

In this hilariously irreverent collection of essays, Jen Mann, nationally best-selling author of People I Want to Punch in the Throat, turns her mordant wit on the holidays. On Mann's naughty list: mothers who go way overboard with their Elf on the Shelf, overzealous carolers who can't take a hint, and people who write their Christmas cards in the third person ("Joyce is enjoying Bunko. Yeah, Joyce, we know you wrote this letter."). And on her nice list...well, she's working on that one.

This booklet covers most of the known Christmas customs at this famous old seaport. It is based on the script of a radio program that I wrote and narrated for BBC Radio Cleveland in 1991 and it was broadcast on Christmas day of that year. Whitby was the port where Captain Cook, the famous Royal Navy explorer and navigator learnt his trade from Quaker shipbuilders and he no doubt experienced, if not participated in this book's customs as a young apprentice seaman.