Year after year, many of us perform holiday rituals with little or no understanding of what they mean or what purpose they serve. How and why did these special days originate? Why do we observe Groundhog Day, and what does it have to do with the Virgin Mary and menstruation? What connects May Day and Roman prostitutes? Where did Valentine's Day come from - did the greeting card, chocolate, and florist companies create it, or is there something original, pure, and maybe even carnal about it? This book explores why humans have a need to mark certain days of the year, and uncovers the roots of our modern holiday rituals. Author Gabriella Kalapos digs through mythology, history, politics, and psychology to discover the elusive origins and meanings of many of our favourite celebrations. She connects them to the cycles of nature and the human psyche, and reveals how these holidays have been changed and manipulated over time to serve certain religious, political, and/or commercial causes.
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Gabriella Kalapos has been an environmental writer, organizer, and teacher for the last fifteen years. She lives in Toronto, Ontario.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good To Know,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Fertility Goddesses, Groundhog Bellies & the Coca-Cola Company: The Origins of Modern Holidays (Paperback)
A very informative and topical book. It tells us how all the holidays came about based on folk culture and in some cases fact. The authoress writes with humor and the work is entertaining.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Easy Writing Style,
By Rob Mashoo (LA USA) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Fertility Goddesses, Groundhog Bellies & the Coca-Cola Company: The Origins of Modern Holidays (Paperback)
The authoress' writing style makes for a truly pleasant read. She gives credit where credit is due and this is a nice compliment to the book as a whole. The information given on each holiday is sufficient so as not to choke the reader down with information overload. My only complaint with the book is the pot-shots made toward religion as a whole. She referred to Jesus as the "so called Jesus", she implied that Sarah (Abraham's wife) as being senile. I'm not sure if she was being serious or just being silly, but the writing style made up for it. This book gives a history of holidays most celebrate along with the authoress' point of view and feelings attached. If you are looking in depth history, you may want to look elsewhere but for an informative and easy to understand history on holidays, this one is for you.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
