Christmas and New Year myths
9.99 €
In stock
This vibrant book is like a decorated box of winter legends, intricately intertwining biblical tales, pagan rituals, and folklore. It will take you on a grand festive journey through time and space—from Roman Saturnalia to Victorian Christmas trees, from medieval Europe to modern China—and uncover the amazing origins of beloved Christmas and New Year traditions.
You'll learn how the fir tree became a symbol of Christmas, and mistletoe and holly became integral attributes of the holiday; who else, according to folk legend, came to worship the infant Christ besides the Three Wise Men bearing gifts; and how winter holidays have been and continue to be celebrated around the world. You'll also meet kind winter wizards from around the world: the Russian Ded Moroz (Father Frost), the American Santa Claus, the Basque Olentzero, a descendant of ancient giants, the Italians Befana and Babbo Natale, the Frenchman Père Noël, and the Swedish Christmas gnome Jultomten.
Why do Scots send guests out into the cold with cookies, coal, and whiskey? How was Santa Claus almost replaced in Mexico with... an Aztec deity? What do the Icelandic Yule Boys named Zherdina-of-the-Sheepfold, Spoon-Licker, Sausage-Holder, and Candle-Beggar do, and what other ambiguous characters can you encounter at Christmas?
You'll learn all this and much more in this festive book, and at the end, a true book gift awaits you—a list of the most magical Christmas and New Year stories for cozy reading, so that your favorite childhood holidays become not just a good tradition, but a magical time when miracles still happen in the world. And color and black-and-white illustrations will complete your magical journey through Christmas and New Year!
You'll learn how the fir tree became a symbol of Christmas, and mistletoe and holly became integral attributes of the holiday; who else, according to folk legend, came to worship the infant Christ besides the Three Wise Men bearing gifts; and how winter holidays have been and continue to be celebrated around the world. You'll also meet kind winter wizards from around the world: the Russian Ded Moroz (Father Frost), the American Santa Claus, the Basque Olentzero, a descendant of ancient giants, the Italians Befana and Babbo Natale, the Frenchman Père Noël, and the Swedish Christmas gnome Jultomten.
Why do Scots send guests out into the cold with cookies, coal, and whiskey? How was Santa Claus almost replaced in Mexico with... an Aztec deity? What do the Icelandic Yule Boys named Zherdina-of-the-Sheepfold, Spoon-Licker, Sausage-Holder, and Candle-Beggar do, and what other ambiguous characters can you encounter at Christmas?
You'll learn all this and much more in this festive book, and at the end, a true book gift awaits you—a list of the most magical Christmas and New Year stories for cozy reading, so that your favorite childhood holidays become not just a good tradition, but a magical time when miracles still happen in the world. And color and black-and-white illustrations will complete your magical journey through Christmas and New Year!
See also:
- All books by the publisher
- All books in the series Myths of the World: The Most Fabulous Stories of Humanity