Read Books Online and Download eBooks, EPub, PDF, Mobi, Kindle, Text Full Free.
The Origins Of Christmas
Download The Origins Of Christmas full books in PDF, epub, and Kindle. Read online The Origins Of Christmas ebook anywhere anytime directly on your device. Fast Download speed and no annoying ads. We cannot guarantee that every ebooks is available!
Book Synopsis The Origins of Christmas by : Joseph F. Kelly
Download or read book The Origins of Christmas written by Joseph F. Kelly and published by Liturgical Press. This book was released on 2014-10-14 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Book Synopsis The Encyclopaedia Britannica by : Hugh Chisholm
Download or read book The Encyclopaedia Britannica written by Hugh Chisholm and published by . This book was released on 1911 with total page 1016 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Christmas written by Bruce David Forbes and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2007-10-10 with total page 198 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Written for everyone who loves and is simultaneously driven crazy by the holiday season, Christmas: A Candid History provides an enlightening, entertaining perspective on how the annual Yuletide celebration got to be what it is today. In a fascinating, concise tour through history, the book tells the story of Christmas—from its pre-Christian roots, through the birth of Jesus, to the holiday's spread across Europe into the Americas and beyond, and to its mind-boggling transformation through modern consumerism. Packed with intriguing stories, based on research into myriad sources, full of insights, the book explores the historical origins of traditions including Santa, the reindeer, gift giving, the Christmas tree, Christmas songs and movies, and more. The book also offers some provocative ideas for reclaiming the joy and meaning of this beloved, yet often frustrating, season amid the pressures of our fast-paced consumer culture. DID YOU KNOW For three centuries Christians did not celebrate Christmas? Puritans in England and New England made Christmas observances illegal? St. Nicholas is an elf in the famous poem "The Night Before Christmas"? President Franklin Roosevelt changed the dateof Thanksgiving in order to lengthen the Christmas shopping season? Coca-Cola helped fashion Santa Claus's look in an advertising campaign?
Book Synopsis The History of Christmas by : Heather Lefebvre
Download or read book The History of Christmas written by Heather Lefebvre and published by CF4Kids. This book was released on 2019 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: History of Christmas from Bethlehem to today Bible readings, questions, recipes and activities Beautiful colour illustrations
Book Synopsis Pagan Christmas by : Christian Rätsch
Download or read book Pagan Christmas written by Christian Rätsch and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2006-10-24 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Book Synopsis Christmas in America by : Penne L. Restad
Download or read book Christmas in America written by Penne L. Restad and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 1996-12-05 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Book Synopsis Toward the Origins of Christmas by : Susan K. Roll
Download or read book Toward the Origins of Christmas written by Susan K. Roll and published by Peeters Publishers. This book was released on 1995 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Christmas exerts an enormous attraction today even apart from its Christian character as a celebration of the incarnation of God in the Person of Jesus. Even marginal or indifferent Christians crowd the churches on Christmas Eve and in highly commercialized and technologized Western societies the Christmas season is celebrated with enthousiasm. Yet Christmas entered the calendar of feasts relatively late, by 336 C.E., and the reason for its introduction and quick spread remain speculative and based on fragmentary evidence. Towards the Origins of Christmas addresses both the contemporary Western celebration of Christmas, and its deep historical roots in the church of the fourth century. The book presents a thorough investigation of the patristic texts and evidence cited by liturgical scholars in the late 19th and 20th centuries to support two main theories: the Calculation theory and the History of Religions theory. This historical research is set in the framework of the contemporary experience of Christmas; the dynamics of time and the liturgical year; the inculturation of liturgy; and underlying elements of dualism and patriarchal power paradigms which linger beneath the often commercial and sentimental character of Christmas today. Suzan K. Roll was born in Clarence Center, New York (USA) in 1952. She holds degrees in classical languages and pastoral theology, and in 1993 received a Ph. D. from the Faculty of Theology of the Catholic University of Louvain (Leuven), Belgium, summa cum laude with the gratulations of the jury. She has thaught and published in the field of liturgy, sacraments, pastoral theology, and presently teaches at Christ the King Seminary, Buffalo, New York (USA).
Book Synopsis The True Meaning of Christmas by : Michael Barber
Download or read book The True Meaning of Christmas written by Michael Barber and published by Ignatius Press. This book was released on 2021-10-14 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What does the Bible really say about the birth of Jesus? How did the celebration of Christmas become associated with things like Santa Claus and decorated trees? In The True Meaning of Christmas: The Birth of Jesus and the Origins of the Season, biblical scholar Michael Patrick Barber offers an inspiring look at the Bible''s accounts of Jesus'' birth and the development of the Christmas season. Along the way, he answers numerous questions, including: • How is the Christmas story related to ancient Jewish expectations? • Why is Jesus said to be laid in a "manger"? • Who are the Magi? • What is the mysterious Christmas star? • How did December 25th become the date of Christmas? • How did Saint Nicholas become "Santa Claus"? As Barber explains, though some of the answers to these questions may be surprising, only by understanding the message at the heart of Christmas can we fully enter into the joy it promises.
Book Synopsis Christianity For Dummies by : Richard Wagner
Download or read book Christianity For Dummies written by Richard Wagner and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2011-04-20 with total page 429 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Get to know the beliefs and practices inspired by Jesus Christ Discover what it means to be a Christian and follow the gospel Curious about Christianity? This friendly guide helps you understand the basic teachings of the Christian faith, exploring the common ground that all Christians share, the differences among the major branches, the key events in Christian history, the key theological issues, and the many ways Christians live out their faith in today's world. The Dummies Way Explanations in plain English "Get in, get out" information Icons and other navigational aids Tear-out cheat sheet Top ten lists A dash of humor and fun Discover how to: Express the core essentials of Christianity Appreciate the life and teachings of Jesus Understand why the Bible is central to the faith Respect the unique roles of the Trinity Explore controversial issues among the branches
Book Synopsis Christmas in the Crosshairs by : G. Q. Bowler
Download or read book Christmas in the Crosshairs written by G. Q. Bowler and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2017 with total page 310 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Christmas, a global phenomenon adored by billions and a backbone of international trade, is the biggest single event on the planet. For Christians it is the second-most sacred date on the calendar. But whether one celebrates it or not, it engages billions of people who are caught up in its commercialism, music, sentiment, travel, and frenetic busyness. Since its controversial invention in the Roman Empire, Christmas has struggled with paganism, popular culture, fierce Christian opposition to its celebration, its abolition in Scotland and New England, and its neglect and near-death experience in the 1700s, only to be miraculously reinvented in the 1800s. The twentieth century saw it opposed by Bolsheviks, twisted by Hitler, and appropriated by every special interest group in the industrialized world. Lately it has been caught up in the cultural struggles between the left and the right in America, often misinterpreted as a war on Christmas, when the fight is really over whether religion in general will be allowed a public face. Gerry Bowler tells the fascinating story of the tug-of-war over Christmas, replete with cross-dressing priests, ranting Puritans, atheist witches, the League of the Militant Godless, aesthetic terrorists in Quebec and rap-singing Santa killers in Spain.
Book Synopsis O Christmas Tree by : Jacqueline Farmer
Download or read book O Christmas Tree written by Jacqueline Farmer and published by Charlesbridge Publishing. This book was released on 2010 with total page 35 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recounts the traditions and folklore surrounding the Christmas tree, including its origin, customs around the world, and the activities that take place on a Christmas tree farm.
Book Synopsis The Modern Christmas in America by : William Waits
Download or read book The Modern Christmas in America written by William Waits and published by NYU Press. This book was released on 1994-10 with total page 291 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An historical survey of American Christmas that describes how the modern holiday emerged. It traces the evolution from years prior to 1880, when people presented one another simple, handmade presents, through the late 19th century when industrialization inundated the celebration with inexpensive "tawdry" trinkets, to today. Includes photographs of store and product advertising. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
Book Synopsis When Santa was a Shaman by : Tony van Renterghem
Download or read book When Santa was a Shaman written by Tony van Renterghem and published by . This book was released on 1995 with total page 222 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Yes, there is a Santa Claus -- and this provocative book will tell you who he really is! Travel back in time to view Santa's pagan origins -- and his fascinating connections to the Horned Shaman, the Greek God Pan, the Norse god Wodan, and Robin Hood. Learn how we are influenced by this ancient myth everyday. Based on ten years of extensive research.
Download or read book Christmas written by Judith Flanders and published by Thomas Dunne Books. This book was released on 2017-10-24 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Presents a tour of Christmas holiday traditions from the original festival through today, touching on subjects ranging from gift wrap and the holiday parade to the first gag holiday gift book and the first official appearance of Santa Claus.
Book Synopsis There Really is a Santa Claus - History of Saint Nicholas & Christmas Holiday Traditions by : William J. Federer
Download or read book There Really is a Santa Claus - History of Saint Nicholas & Christmas Holiday Traditions written by William J. Federer and published by Amerisearch, Inc.. This book was released on 2002 with total page 346 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Includes U.S. president's Christmas addresses."
Book Synopsis The Christmas Carol by : Charles Dickens
Download or read book The Christmas Carol written by Charles Dickens and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 1948 with total page 141 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Book Synopsis Stories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas by : Ace Collins
Download or read book Stories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas written by Ace Collins and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2010-05-04 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Behind the Christmas songs we love to sing lie fascinating stories that will enrich your holiday celebration. Taking you inside the nativity of over thirty favorite songs and carols, Ace Collins introduces you to people you’ve never met, stories you’ve never heard, and meanings you’d never have imagined. The next time you and your family sing "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," you’ll have a new understanding of its message and popular roots. You’ll discover how "Angels from the Realms of Glory," with its sublime lyrics and profound theology, helped usher in a quiet revolution in worship. You’ll learn the strange history of the haunting and powerful "O Holy Night," including the song’s surprising place in the history of modern communications. And you’ll step inside the life of Mark Lowry and find out how he came to pen the words to the contemporary classic "Mary, Did You Know?"Still other songs such as "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" trace back to mysterious origins--to ninth-century monks, nameless clergy, and unknown commoners of ages past. Joining hands with such modern favorites as "White Christmas" and "The Christmas Song," they are part of the legacy of inspiration, faith, tears, love, and spiritual joy that is Christmas. From the rollicking appeal of "Jingle Bells" to the tranquil beauty of "Silent Night," the great songs of Christmas contain messages of peace, hope, and truth. Each in its own way expresses a facet of God’s heart and celebrates the birth of his greatest gift to the world--Jesus, the most wonderful Christmas Song of all.
