Christmas and Christmas Lore [Hardcover]

T. G. Crippen (Contributor)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 223 pages
• Publisher: Omnigraphics Inc (June 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558888608
• ISBN-13: 978-1558888609
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,508,307 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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4.0 out of 5 stars A Classic History of Christmas, February 7, 2011

By 

L. M Young (Marietta, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Christmas and Christmas Lore (Hardcover)

I searched for this book in the library after hearing it referred to by Bill Bryson as "scholarly and ageless," and immediately wished to add it to my Christmas library after reading it. It is a much easier read than Clement Miles' 1912 book about Christmas customs and certainly more readable than Dawson's CHRISTMAS: ITS ORIGINS AND ASSOCIATIONS from 1902, which seems obsessed with how royalty spent the holiday. A fascinating history of Yuletide lore as seen eighty years ago in Great Britain and Ireland, Crippen's 1923 book begins with the origins of the holiday, continues with the various symbols of Christmas, celebrations through the ages, and also covers the other holidays around Christmas: St. Thomas' Day, St. Stephen's/Boxing Day, Childermas, the new year, and Twelfth-Night/Epiphany. You will find sections about the origins of wassailing and regional customs like Hogmanay and the "Mari Lwyd" in Wales, and some old-fashioned recipes for what sound today like gastronomic indigestion and beverages guaranteed to have you under the table, with not a media reference in sight. A great addition anyone's book collection if you are interested in Christmas history.