Christmas Customs

What if everything you thought you knew about Christmas was only the surface of the story? Imagine discovering that the tree in your living room, the candles in your window, and the gifts beneath your feet are echoes of rituals that began thousands of years ago—long before the word “Christmas” was ever spoken. The Real History of Christmas peels back the layers of tradition to reveal a deeper, more powerful origin. This is not just a history book. It’s a journey through firelit forests, Roman feasts, and Norse bonfires. It’s a story of how humanity, facing the longest nights and ...

What if the Christmas traditions you cherish are not Christian at all, but whispers from a forgotten, ancient world? Step into the heart of winter, and you will uncover a story far older than the nativity. Beneath the twinkling lights and familiar carols lies a truth carved into the bones of the season itself, echoed in firelight and carried on the breath of ancient gods. This is an invitation to explore the untold origins of the world’s most celebrated holiday. For centuries, the story of Christmas has been a paradox—a Christian holiday built upon the bones of pagan ritual. The early ...

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!

What if the most festive season of the year was born from a cosmic crisis? For centuries, we’ve cherished the comfort of Christmas, but we’ve forgotten the primal terror that birthed it. Before Santa’s sleigh, before tinsel and mandatory cheer, the deepest part of winter was a war against chaos, isolation, and the chilling possibility that the sun might never return. This is the story of the necessary shadow that gives the holiday light its meaning. Historian Elias Shepherd meticulously uncovers the lost traditions of Europe, revealing why the old ways were so terrifying, yet so vital...

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 TRADITIONS YOU LOVE…FINALLY EXPLAINED 🕯️ FROM MIDWINTER FIRES TO MODERN FAMILY MAGIC 🎁 SANTA, STOCKINGS, TREES, CAROLS, CANDLES, FEASTS—WHERE IT ALL CAME FROM 📚 SHORT CHAPTERS, BIG WOW-FACTS, ZERO TEXTBOOK BOREDOM ✨ THE PERFECT COZY READ (AND GIFT) FOR DECEMBER Welcome to the “behind the tinsel” story of the world’s most beloved celebration. This book is a fast, fascinating, easy-to-follow tour through centuries of faith, folklore, culture, & pure human creativity—showing how today’s favorite December moments were built, borrowed, remixed, & made ...

What if Christmas had a criminal record, a monster problem, a ghost obsession, and a long history of setting things on fire? Strange But True: The Weird History of Christmas unwraps the bizarre, funny, creepy, and completely true stories hiding behind the world’s most familiar holiday. Long before glowing trees, cheerful Santas, and neatly wrapped presents, Christmas could mean drunken street celebrations, masked visitors, frightening monsters, flaming desserts, ghost stories, strange foods, and authorities trying to shut the whole thing down. Discover why Christmas was once banned in ...

WITH PHOTOGRAPHS THROUGHOUT Some ceremonies still performed today have remained unchanged for over 40,000 years. What did their keepers know that science is only now confirming? Every fact is drawn from academic research and documented institutional data. This True Verified Facts book delivers 500+ traditions and rituals from every corner of the planet, built to educate, entertain, and arm you with knowledge worth retelling at any table. Inside This Book: The folk songs that predicted meteor showers a thousand years before astronomers wrote them down African talking drums whose messages can...

Discover the Magic, History, and Traditions of a Proper British Christmas Why do the Brits say "Happy Christmas" instead of "Merry"? What exactly goes into a Christmas pudding, and why does it get set on fire? And how did a department store advert become the most anticipated event of the holiday season? For over two decades, Anglotopia has been your trusted guide to all things British—and now, we're bringing you the ultimate collection of British Christmas traditions, customs, and celebrations that have captivated readers for 20 years. Inside This Festive Collection, You'll Discover: The ...

What if the most beloved holiday in the world is built on a lie? Imagine everything you thought you knew about Christmas, from the sacred date to the jolly man in the red suit, was merely a successful cover story for a history too chaotic, too violent, and too strange for the official narrative. You are about to discover the hidden truth nobody talks about. The journey begins not with quiet reverence, but with existential dread and pagan fire. Inside this book, you will uncover: ✔ The stunning truth about December 25th, revealing why the date was likely chosen not to steal a pagan ...

In the appealing conversational tone that has won him millions of devoted readers, Hahn presents the basic tenets of Church teachings, clears up common misconceptions about specific rituals and traditions, and responds thoughtfully to the objections raised about them. Each chapter concludes with...

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 ...

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 ...

Border Guards is a collection of stories originally written by John Bedard. This is the first in a series of stories inspired by Border Guards. The story takes place on a cold Christmas morning at the border station at Cantic, Quebec, Canada. Having just returned from Korea, John and his buddy Jules work the border station early Christmas morning and encounter a man without a country.

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.

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 ...

This cheerful book full of informative narrative poems takes the listener through ancient pagan traditions that inspired the celebration as we know it today. From the Roman Saturnalia to Norse Yule, from Persian god Mithras to Jesus Christ, there are fables, symbols and lessons to learn that the book eloquently relays. Christmas tree, christingle, mistletoe, Santa Claus, mince pie, stockings, angels, wreaths, turkey—all come to life in fun trivia stories.

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 ...

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...

Christmas Traditions in the Spanish-Speaking World is a warm, beautifully written guide to how Hispanic communities celebrate the season across Latin America and Spain. It blends history, food, music, and faith with the small, familiar details that make December feel like casa. Plus, the research behind this collection also highlights traditions from many other Spanish-speaking countries, revealing the beautiful diversity of how Christmas is celebrated across the Hispanic world.