Download or read book The Book of Christmas Folklore written by Tristram Potter Coffin and published by . This book was released on 1973 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Insights into the culture of pre-Christian Europe are provided as the author seeks out the origins and meanings of songs, food, legends, and other items associated with yuletide.
Download or read book The Old Magic of Christmas written by Linda Raedisch and published by Llewellyn Worldwide. This book was released on 2013 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Tis the Season for Witches, Elves, and a Legion of Ghosts 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. Along the way, you'll discover how to bring the festivities into your home with cookie recipes and craft instructions, as well as tips for delving more deeply into your relationship with the unseen. Praise: "Steeped in history and adorned with a bit of enchantment, The Old Magic of Christmas is the perfect book to read by a winter's fire with a mug of mulled cider in hand."--Deborah Blake, author of The Witch's Broom "...[A] fascinating journey into the stories behind the tinsel and bows."--Doreen Shababy, author of The Wild & Weedy Apothecary "...[A]n intriguing little tome that explores the darker side of the Yuletide holiday."--Ellen Dugan, author of The Enchanted Cat
Download or read book Discovering Christmas Customs and Folklore written by Margaret Baker and published by Shire Publications. This book was released on 1992 with total page 126 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Including chapters on food, garlands, games, cards, carols, the crib, Boxing Day, New Year and Twelfth Night, this book covers British, European and American customs and folklore during the season of goodwill.'
Download or read book And to All a Good Night Christmas Folklore written by Bill Palmer and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2014-09-02 with total page 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Did you know that today's jolly Santa Claus was originally a Catholic bishop? Or that Santa Claus is connected to Saturn, an ancient Roman god? Or that in some places, Santa rides a camel? Christmas is a holiday of light and giving, and Santa Claus has become a traditional symbol for the season's deepest meanings. Learn more about:• Santa • the Christ Child • Christmas animals • the Wise Men • Christmas plants • Christmas songs and cards. Across North America, Christmas is an occasion for love and joy and celebration. Discover the traditions and folklore that make this holiday so special.
Download or read book Keeping Christmas written by Kathleen Stokker and published by Borealis Book. This book was released on 2000 with total page 392 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book brings home the stories and origins of the treasured customs which Norwegians use to celebrate the Christmas season. Norwegian immigrants carried with them centuries-old folk tradition, which they held especially dear at Christmas time, remembering family members left behind. But the US, the immigrants and their descendants met the newly evolving traditions of the commercial American Christmas, a powerful homogenising force in a nation of immigrants. Stokker describes and traces the development of folkways on both side of the ocean, from their origins to their practice today. With fascinating details, with scores of accounts of ancient and modern Christmases, with recipes and photographs, this book reminds Norwegians and Norwegian Americans of their connections to each other and explains how their celebrations differ on this joyous family holiday.
Download or read book The Krampus and the Old Dark Christmas written by Al Ridenour and published by Feral House. This book was released on 2016-09-12 with total page 327 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Krampus, a folkloric devil associated with St. Nicholas in Alpine Austria and Germany, has been embraced by the American counterculture and is lately skewing mainstream. The new Christmas he seems to embody is ironically closer to an ancient understanding of the holiday as a perilous, haunted season. In the Krampus' world, witches rule Christmas, and saints can sometimes kill.
Download or read book Always Together at Christmas written by Sara Sargent and published by Random House Books for Young Readers. This book was released on 2020-11-03 with total page 34 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Help children discover the joy of Christmas 2020 with this timely picture book that affirms the special magic of the holidays even if we're physically separated from our loved ones! Christmas will always mean love. Even if love looks a little different this year. As families and communities come together--and stay apart--in creative ways this holiday season, bring comfort and joy to children with this story about a Christmas like no other. Always Together at Christmas highlights different family traditions and the ways they're changing in 2020: from Santa's elves practicing social distancing to opening presents via Zoom on Christmas morning. And it even includes ideas for new quarantine-appropriate Christmas traditions! The sweet and cozy illustrations add classic touches, making this book the perfect gift to share with family and friends from across the miles.
Download or read book The Winter Solstice written by John Matthews and published by Godsfield Press. This book was released on 2003 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This text gives meaning not just to Christmas, but to the whole winter season. Folklore expert John Matthews traces the history behind many of the sacred traditions of the holiday season and provides refreshing and practical suggestions for celebrating the winter solstice as a joyous, life-affirming, spritual festival.
Download or read book The Book of Christmas written by Christopher Winn and published by . This book was released on 2018-10 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What is the significance of mistletoe at Christmas? Why do we eat Brussels sprouts for Christmas dinner? When did turkeys become the plat du jour? Just who is, or was, Santa Claus? In The Book of Christmas, best-selling author and acclaimed historian, Christopher Winn, casts a witty and revealing eye on the stories, myths and legends of the most celebrated festival of the year: Christmas. In this lovingly written collection of festive myths, legends and (quite often) bizarre traditions, discover the fascinating stories behind some of our most cherished Christmas rituals and customs. Along with the stories behind many of the more mainstream customs, Christopher Winn unearths some of the more unusual traditions from around the world; from the burning of the 13-foot Yule Goat of Sweden to Japan's predilection for a Kentucky Fried Chicken Christmas dinner; the Peter Pan swim in London to the hiding of broomsticks in Norway, discover the fascinating truth (and oddities) behind this very special religious holiday. Beautifully produced and charmingly illustrated, The Book of Christmas is a treasure trove of all things Christmas to delight the whole family.
Download or read book Pagan Christmas written by Christian Rätsch and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2006-10-24 with total page 559 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An examination of the sacred botany and the pagan origins and rituals of Christmas • Analyzes the symbolism of the many plants associated with Christmas • Reveals the shamanic rituals that are at the heart of the Christmas celebration The day on which many commemorate the birth of Christ has its origins in pagan rituals that center on tree worship, agriculture, magic, and social exchange. But Christmas is no ordinary folk observance. It is an evolving feast that over the centuries has absorbed elements from cultures all over the world--practices that give plants and plant spirits pride of place. In fact, the symbolic use of plants at Christmas effectively transforms the modern-day living room into a place of shamanic ritual. Christian Rätsch and Claudia Müller-Ebeling show how the ancient meaning of the botanical elements of Christmas provides a unique view of the religion that existed in Europe before the introduction of Christianity. The fir tree was originally revered as the sacred World Tree in northern Europe. When the church was unable to drive the tree cult out of people’s consciousness, it incorporated the fir tree by dedicating it to the Christ child. Father Christmas in his red-and-white suit, who flies through the sky in a sleigh drawn by reindeer, has his mythological roots in the shamanic reindeer-herding tribes of arctic Europe and Siberia. These northern shamans used the hallucinogenic fly agaric mushroom, which is red and white, to make their soul flights to the other world. Apples, which figure heavily in Christmas baking, are symbols of the sun god Apollo, so they find a natural place at winter solstice celebrations of the return of the sun. In fact, the authors contend that the emphasis of Christmas on green plants and the promise of the return of life in the dead of winter is just an adaptation of the pagan winter solstice celebration.
Download or read book The Christmas Nisse written by Rikke Melgaard Liffiton and published by FriesenPress. This book was released on 2021-09-02 with total page 38 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A delightful Christmas story for families. The Christmas Nisse presents a Danish Christmas tradition about the magical little Nisse. These mischievous creatures live at the North pole with Santa. On the last night of November, they roam through the cold to find their way to your home. You know they have arrived when their little door appears. The Christmas Nisse is on a mission to create and collect Christmas Joy to make Santa's sleigh fly. How do you help the Nisse, you ask? Bring this beautiful tradition into your home and find out.
Download or read book The Yule Lads written by Brian Pilkington and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 25 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Inspired by the book of verses by Jóhannes úr Kötlum, Yuletide is coming, that tells the story of Grýla and her children, the 13 Yule lads: Stekkjarstaur, Giljagaur, Stúfur, Þvörusleikir, Pottasleikir, Askasleikir, Hurðaskellir, Skyrgámur, Bjúgnakrækir, Gluggagægir, Gáttaþefur, Ketkrókur, and Kertasníkir. Each of the Yule lads sets off from the family home in the Highlands and travels on foot over the mountains, making their individual appearances one after the other, on the thirteen nights before Christmas.
Download or read book Christmas Ornament Legends written by Timothy Merck and published by . This book was released on 1995 with total page 88 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Old World Christmas proudly presents CHRISTMAS ORNAMENT LEGENDS. This hard-bound, full-color book features eighty pages of stories, traditions, & folklore from the Old World. The charming origin of an enchanting variety of treasured mouth-blown glass ornaments is portrayed in this insightful publication. Readers will enjoy learning about the legends behind the ornaments. The book is beautifully decorated with dazzling ornaments & wonderful color plates of traditional Christmas renderings. A special introduction about how & where mouth-blown glass ornaments were first made is included. Also featured is the fascinating story of how the authors, Tim & Beth Merck, traveled to the Old World & gathered these legends to bring home to American families everywhere. Destined to compliment existing Christmas traditions, this superbly illustrated book is currently available by ordering from Old World Christmas directly at 1-800-962-7669 or by mail at P.O. Box 8000, Spokane, WA 99203. The book wholesales for $7.75 & is sold in minimum quantities of 6 for $46.50. Acceptable methods of payment include Visa, MasterCard, personal check, money order, or cashiers check. Customers may also apply for open credit.
Download or read book Pagan Christmas written by Augusto S. Cacopardo and published by Gingko Library. This book was released on 2017-02-15 with total page 169 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This authoritative work sheds light on the religious world of the Kalasha people of the Birir valley in the Chitral district of Pakistan, focusing on their winter feasts, which culminate every year in a great winter solstice festival. The Kalasha are not only the last example of a pre-Islamic culture in the Hindu Kush and Karakorum mountains but also practice the last observable example anywhere in the world of an archaic Indo-European religion. In this book, Augusto S. Cacopardo takes readers inside the world of the Kalasha people. Cacopardo outlines the history and culture of this ancient but still extant people. Exploring an array of relevant literature, he enriches our understanding of their practices and beliefs through illuminating comparisons with both the Indian religious world and the religious folklore of Europe. Bringing together several disciplinary approaches and drawing on extensive ethnographic fieldwork, this book offers the first extended study of this little-known but fascinating Kalasha community. It will take its place as a standard international reference source on the anthropology, ethnography, and history of religions in Pakistan and Central South Asia.
Download or read book A Foxfire Christmas written by Eliot Wigginton and published by Univ of North Carolina Press. This book was released on 2010-02-15 with total page 157 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: New in paperback This captivating book of recollections celebrates the holiday traditions of Appalachian families as passed from one generation to the next. Based on Foxfire students' interviews with neighbors and family members, the memories shared here are from a simpler time, when gifts were fewer but perhaps more precious, and holiday tables were laden with traditional favorites. More than just reminiscences, however, A Foxfire Christmas includes instructions for recreating many of the ornaments, toys, and recipes that make up so many family traditions, from Chicken and Dumplings to Black Walnut Cake, and from candy pulls to corn husk dolls and hand-whittled toy cars.
Download or read book Krampus written by Brom and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2012-10-30 with total page 383 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Terrific. A wild ride….I loved it. It hooked me and I couldn’t put it down.” —Mike Mignola, creator of Hellboy "Brom is that rare breed: a person who is skilled in more than one area of artistic expression. Here's hoping that he will continue to share his dark and often beautiful dreams with us for many years to come." --Christopher Paolini, New York Times bestselling author of Eragon Acclaimed author and artist Brom raised eyebrows and pulse rates with The Child Thief, his grim, brilliantly audacious, gorgeously illustrated reimagining of the Peter Pan legend. So what does this innovative fantasist do for an encore? He tinkers darkly with the beloved mythology of Santa Claus. Set in Appalachia, Krampus the Yule Lord is a twisted fairytale about a failed West Virginia songwriter who gets ensnared on Christmas Eve in an eternal war between a not-so-saintly Saint Nick and his dark enemy Krampus, aka Black Peter, an ancient trickster demon. Krampus the Yule Lord is Gregory Maguire (Wicked) meets Susanna Clarke (Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell) in the realm of Guillermo Del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth, as Clive Barker (Mr. B. Gone) works his dark sorcery from the shadows. Once again featuring Brom’s chillingly beautiful artwork throughout, Krampus the Yule Lord is a feast of wonder straight from the kitchen of Sweeney Todd.
Download or read book Feliz Navidad written by and published by World Book. This book was released on 2015-09 with total page 80 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A study of the celebrations, customs, and practices of Mexico and of Mexican Americans. Also includes crafts, recipes, and carols"--Provided by publisher.
