Featuring 240
A-Z entries on Christmas and New Year's ritual and lore, Gulevich's volume is a worthy addition to the cultural reference shelf. Well researched and appealingly illustrated with black-and-white sketches, the text outlines holiday customs in easy-to-read language. There are entries for the ancient Roman festival of Saturnalia, the Salvation Army kettles, and Charles Dickens' Christmas writings, to cite a few examples. The entry on Christmas carols offers a succinct overview from the time of the gospels to the present day. Coverage has been expanded from the first edition,
Encyclopedia of Christmas (2000), to encompass New Year celebrations in entries such as
Resolutions and
Times Square, NewYear's Eve in. There is also more coverage of Christmas around the world. Around 30 national traditions are described in entries such as
Iran, Christmas in and
Mexico, Christmas in. The text contains reference helps: a sprinkling of cross-references, 70 pages of meticulous indexing, and 5 pages of illuminated lettering with Christmas motifs.
Weaknesses fall mainly in the category of omissions or lack of upgrade from the first edition. An entry on the U.S. national Christmas tree presents a serious examination of the politicizing of an annual tradition. However, the author offers data from 1993 as examples of the number of people attending the ceremony and the number of lights strung on the White House tree. Following entries are resources and Web sites for further study, many of which are seriously out of date. Gulevich fails to include some standard elements of holiday celebration, e.g., the Alfred Burt carols, the popular story "The Fourth Wise Man," and Benjamin Britten's "Ceremony of Carols." Overall, commentary is limited in depth. Nevertheless, the topic is a popular one, especially around holiday time, and school and public libraries will want to add this to their collections. Those already owning the first edition may not consider it essential to update. RBB
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