How Christmas Began

How Christmas Began PDF Author: Claire Boudreaux Bateman
Publisher: Shell Beach Pub
ISBN: 9780970673213
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 33

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Book Description
The young Jesus and his friend Santa Claus plan to celebrate his birthday by bringing gifts to all the people in the world who have a heart full of love like Jesus's own.

How Christmas Began

How Christmas Began PDF Author: Claire Boudreaux Bateman
Publisher: Shell Beach Pub
ISBN: 9780970673213
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 33

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Book Description
The young Jesus and his friend Santa Claus plan to celebrate his birthday by bringing gifts to all the people in the world who have a heart full of love like Jesus's own.

The Encyclopaedia Britannica

The Encyclopaedia Britannica PDF Author: Hugh Chisholm
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Encyclopedias and dictionaries
Languages : en
Pages : 1016

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Christmas in America

Christmas in America PDF Author: Penne L. Restad
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199923582
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 240

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Book Description
The manger or Macy's? Americans might well wonder which is the real shrine of Christmas, as they take part each year in a mix of churchgoing, shopping, and family togetherness. But the history of Christmas cannot be summed up so easily as the commercialization of a sacred day. As Penne Restad reveals in this marvelous new book, it has always been an ambiguous meld of sacred thoughts and worldly actions-- as well as a fascinating reflection of our changing society. In Christmas in America, Restad brilliantly captures the rise and transformation of our most universal national holiday. In colonial times, it was celebrated either as an utterly solemn or a wildly social event--if it was celebrated at all. Virginians hunted, danced, and feasted. City dwellers flooded the streets in raucous demonstrations. Puritan New Englanders denounced the whole affair. Restad shows that as times changed, Christmas changed--and grew in popularity. In the early 1800s, New York served as an epicenter of the newly emerging holiday, drawing on its roots as a Dutch colony (St. Nicholas was particularly popular in the Netherlands, even after the Reformation), and aided by such men as Washington Irving. In 1822, another New Yorker named Clement Clarke Moore penned a poem now known as "'Twas the Night Before Christmas," virtually inventing the modern Santa Claus. Well-to-do townspeople displayed a German novelty, the decorated fir tree, in their parlors; an enterprising printer discovered the money to be made from Christmas cards; and a hodgepodge of year-end celebrations began to coalesce around December 25 and the figure of Santa. The homecoming significance of the holiday increased with the Civil War, and by the end of the nineteenth century a full- fledged national holiday had materialized, forged out of borrowed and invented custom alike, and driven by a passion for gift-giving. In the twentieth century, Christmas seeped into every niche of our conscious and unconscious lives to become a festival of epic proportions. Indeed, Restad carries the story through to our own time, unwrapping the messages hidden inside countless movies, books, and television shows, revealing the inescapable presence--and ambiguous meaning--of Christmas in contemporary culture. Filled with colorful detail and shining insight, Christmas in America reveals not only much about the emergence of the holiday, but also what our celebrations tell us about ourselves. From drunken revelry along colonial curbstones to family rituals around the tree, from Thomas Nast drawing the semiofficial portrait of St. Nick to the making of the film Home Alone, Restad's sparkling account offers much to amuse and ponder.

Inventing Christmas

Inventing Christmas PDF Author: Jock Elliott
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Antiques & Collectibles
Languages : en
Pages : 136

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Book Description
Looks at the origins of modern Christmas traditions, which evolved over a twenty-five year period, beginning in 1823 with the publication of Clement Clarke Moore's "A Visit from St. Nicholas," to 1848.

Incarnation

Incarnation PDF Author: Rev. Adam Hamilton
Publisher: Abingdon Press
ISBN: 1791005551
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
Be Transformed this Advent Season! His parents gave him the name Jesus. But the prophets, the shepherds, the wise men, and the angels addressed him by other names. They called him Lord, Messiah, Savior, Emmanuel, Light of the World, and Word Made Flesh. In Incarnation: Rediscovering the Significance of Christmas, best-selling author Adam Hamilton examines the names of Christ used by the gospel writers, exploring the historical and personal significance of his birth. This Advent season church families will come together to remember what’s important. In the face of uncertainty and conflict, Christians reclaim the Christ Child who brings us together, heals our hearts, and calls us to bring light into the darkness. Now more than ever, we invite you to reflect upon the significance of the Christ-child for our lives and world today! Incarnation is a standalone book, but works beautifully as a four-week Bible study experience perfect for all age groups during the Advent season. Additional components include a comprehensive Leader Guide, a DVD with short teaching videos featuring Adam Hamilton, as well as resources for children and youth.

The Origins of Christmas

The Origins of Christmas PDF Author: Joseph F. Kelly
Publisher: Liturgical Press
ISBN: 0814648851
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 184

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Book Description
When was Christmas first celebrated? How did December 25 become the date for the feast? How did the Bible’s “magi from the East” become three kings named Melchior, Caspar, and Balthasar who rode camels from three different continents to worship the newborn Christ? How did the Feast of the Nativity generate an entire liturgical season from Advent to Candlemas? Why did medieval and Renaissance artists portray Joseph as an old man? When did the first Christmas music appear? And who was the real Saint Nicholas? These and many other questions are answered in this revised and expanded edition of The Origins of Christmas. The story of the origins of Christmas is not well known, but it is a fascinating tale. It begins when the first Christians had little interest in Christ’s Nativity, and it finishes when Christmas had become an integral part of Christian life and Western culture. The Origins of Christmas covers a variety of topics in a concise and accessible style, and is suitable for group discussions.

Where Did Christmas Come From?

Where Did Christmas Come From? PDF Author: Al Remson
Publisher: Perigee Trade
ISBN: 9780399522475
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 100

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Book Description
"Today, Christmas is celebrated with a host of rituals and conventions, from decorating the evergreen tree to lighting the Yule log, from hanging a beribboned wreath on the door to exchanging brightly wrapped gifts with our families and friends. But what are the origins of these traditions?" "This entertaining compendium explores the symbols and ceremonies, the popular stories and arcane lore, the rites and rituals that have been passed down from generation to generation to become our most beloved Christmas traditions."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

The Christmas Carol

The Christmas Carol PDF Author: Charles Dickens
Publisher: Lulu.com
ISBN: 0557892902
Category : Christmas stories
Languages : en
Pages : 141

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A Christmas Carol

A Christmas Carol PDF Author: Charles Dickens
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781761531460
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Pagan Christmas

Pagan Christmas PDF Author: Christian Rätsch
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1594776601
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
An examination of the sacred botany and the pagan origins and rituals of Christmas • Analyzes the symbolism of the many plants associated with Christmas • Reveals the shamanic rituals that are at the heart of the Christmas celebration The day on which many commemorate the birth of Christ has its origins in pagan rituals that center on tree worship, agriculture, magic, and social exchange. But Christmas is no ordinary folk observance. It is an evolving feast that over the centuries has absorbed elements from cultures all over the world--practices that give plants and plant spirits pride of place. In fact, the symbolic use of plants at Christmas effectively transforms the modern-day living room into a place of shamanic ritual. Christian Rätsch and Claudia Müller-Ebeling show how the ancient meaning of the botanical elements of Christmas provides a unique view of the religion that existed in Europe before the introduction of Christianity. The fir tree was originally revered as the sacred World Tree in northern Europe. When the church was unable to drive the tree cult out of people’s consciousness, it incorporated the fir tree by dedicating it to the Christ child. Father Christmas in his red-and-white suit, who flies through the sky in a sleigh drawn by reindeer, has his mythological roots in the shamanic reindeer-herding tribes of arctic Europe and Siberia. These northern shamans used the hallucinogenic fly agaric mushroom, which is red and white, to make their soul flights to the other world. Apples, which figure heavily in Christmas baking, are symbols of the sun god Apollo, so they find a natural place at winter solstice celebrations of the return of the sun. In fact, the authors contend that the emphasis of Christmas on green plants and the promise of the return of life in the dead of winter is just an adaptation of the pagan winter solstice celebration.