Stories Behind the Great Traditions of Christmas (Stories Behind Books) [Hardcover]

Ace Collins (Author)

Book Description

Series: Stories Behind Books | Publication Date: September 16, 2003

The cheer of a crackling hearth fire. Colorful cards from friends and loved ones. An evergreen tree festooned with ornaments. The golden traditions of Christmas---gifts, wreaths, stockings, carols, mistletoe, and more---infuse our celebration of the season with meaning and glowing memories. And, in ways you may not realize, they point us to the birth of Christ. Stories Behind the Great Traditions of Christmas reveals the people, places, and events that shaped the best-loved customs of this merriest of holidays. Here are spiritual insights, true-life tales, and captivating legends to intrigue you and your family and bring new luster and depth to your celebration of Jesus' birth. Discover how * after eighteen centuries of all but ignoring the event, churches began to open the door for believers to commemorate Jesus' incarnation. * the evergreen tree, once a central theme in the worship practices of pagan cultures, came to represent the everlasting love of God. * the magi's three gifts---gold, frankincense, and myrrh---are filled with spiritual symbolism. The traditions of Christmas lend beauty, awe, and hope to the holiday, causing people all over the world to anticipate it with joy. The stories in this book will warm your heart as you rediscover the true and eternal significance of Christmas.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Collins serves up some little-known holiday history in this interesting book that teems with Christmas facts and legends, arranged alphabetically by topic. Readers will be fascinated to learn, for example, that the holiday shopping season used to be only a couple of weeks long, but was extended during WWII so families could get care packages off to soldiers in a timely fashion. Or that St. Francis of Assisi was one of the first people to use a live nativity scene to teach others about Christ's birth. Collins tackles customs such as Christmas gifts and cards, and the popularity of cultural events like the Nutcracker and the Messiah (which, intriguingly, fell entirely out of fashion in the decades after Handel's death). There are chapters on the history of holly, mistletoe, Christmas trees, candy canes, poinsettias, yule logs, stockings and-of course - Santa Claus.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Collins serves up some little-known holiday history in this interesting book that teems with Christmas facts and legends, arranged alphabetically by topic. Readers will be fascinated to learn, for example, that the holiday shopping season used to be only a couple of weeks long, but was extended during WWII so families could get care packages off to soldiers in a timely fashion. Or that St. Francis of Assisi was one of the first people to use a live nativity scene to teach others about Christ's birth. Collins tackles customs such as Christmas gifts and cards, and the popularity of cultural events like theNutcracker and the Messiah (which, intriguingly, fell entirely out of fashion in the decades after Handel's death). There are chapters on the history of holly, mistletoe, Christmas trees, candy canes, poinsettias, yule logs, stockings and---of course---Santa Claus. (Oct.) -- Publisher's Weekly

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan; 1st Edition ISBN#0310248809 edition (September 16, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310248809
• ISBN-13: 978-0310248804
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 5.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #174,676 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #87 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Holidays > Christmas

More About the Author

Ace Collins is the writer of more than sixty books, including several bestsellers: Stories behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas, Stories behind the Great Traditions of Christmas, The Cathedrals, and Lassie: A Dog's Life. Based in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, He continues to publish several new titles each year, including a series of novels, the first of which is Farraday Road. Ace has appeared on scores of television shows, including CBS This Morning, NBC Nightly News, CNN, Good Morning America, MSNBC, and Entertainment Tonight.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Does this author actually research his subjects?, December 28, 2005

By 

Bill Egan "Christmas Historian" (Florida USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stories Behind the Great Traditions of Christmas (Stories Behind Books) (Hardcover)

How does Ace Collins manage to slap together a bunch of fairytales and call it history? His book on Christmas carols has a totally fictitious account of the history of "Silent Night" and this Christmas book has a completely fabricated version of the Nativity scene set up by St. Francis of Assisi. Collins wonders if the figures in Francis' Nativity were clay or carved wood. Collins supposes that Francis had figures of shepherds but probably skipped having any animals.

What?!?!?!? According to the two biographers of St. Francis (St. Bonaventure and Thomas of Celano) there were no clay or wooden figures of Mary and Joseph. There were neither shepherds nor kings in the Nativity at Greccio, Italy in 1223. There was a feeding trough (manger), a live ox, and a live ass. According to Thomas, it was beautiful in its simplicity with the manger acting as the altar for the Christmas Mass.

It's time for Ace Collins to do some real research and rewrite his Christmas books instead of foisting fairytales on an unsuspecting public.

13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Do some research!, November 29, 2008

By 

Douglas Snapp (Grandview Heights) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Stories Behind the Great Traditions of Christmas (Stories Behind Books) (Hardcover)

I really wonder what kind of research Mr. Collins did.

Granted the only selection that I read had to do with the Nutcracker.

I have a feeling that Mr. Collins never read E.T.A. Hoffman's (sic) original story, (it was Hoffmann, not Hoffman as is indicated by Mr. Collins), even though Mr. Collins recounts it. All in all, he makes some very erroneous comments about that story.

For the last 30 years or so, it has been a family tradition to read Hoffmann's story in English and in German during the month of December. We use "E.T.A. Hoffmann Nutcracker," Pictures by Maurice Sendak, Translation by Ralph Manheim, Crown Publishers, Inc., 1984, for the English version. For the German, we use "E.T.A. Hoffmann Werke, Zweiter Band," Insel Verlag, 1967. (Manheim did a wonderful job with the translation and, of course, Sendak did outstanding work with the illustrations.)

Mr. Collins writes, "Marie was a child who lived in a home devoid of love." Nonsense.

Then Mr. Collins writes of a "fairy tale that would hardly appeal to anyone except the most cynical of readers." Again, nonsense: the story ends with a "happy ever after" note.

Most of Mr. Collins other comments are stuff and nonsense, stuff and nonsense.

I didn't bother to read any of the other selections.

I would have rated this book with a "no star" rating, but it wouldn't let me....

15 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for lovers of history and the Christmas season, January 8, 2005

By 

Beth Cholette "doctor_beth" (Upstate NY USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Stories Behind the Great Traditions of Christmas (Stories Behind Books) (Hardcover)

In this book, author Ace Collins traces the history behind various popular Christmas traditions, from caroling and ornaments to mistletoe and yule logs. Collins provides various theories on the origins of each tradition, some of which date back to even before Christ's birth. He also does a nice job of explaining the rise in popularity of each activity as it moved into the mainstream of Christmas celebrations. Finally, the book carries a strong Christian message, as Collins talks about connecting each modern tradition back to its original roots in commemorating Christ's birth. This is a perfect little book to teach children about the history behind Christmas or for adults looking to find greater meaning in this much-commercialized holiday.