The Secret History of Christmas: The Development of Yuletide Traditions and the Battle for Our Heritage

Description

When was Christmas first celebrated? How did December 25 become the official date for the celebration of the birth of Jesus? Why are the Magi included in the tale? Who was the real St. Nicholas, and how did he become one of the most famous of all Christian saints? Why do we burn a Yule log or hang stockings from the mantle? Why do we cut down and bring inside an evergreen tree and decorate it with lights? Why is Santa Claus depicted today as an elf? What ancient pagan ritual has survived into the present-day Christmas celebration? Who brought Christmas to America? What role did the Keltic druids have on our modern Christmas celebration? Why did Santa Claus once ride a goat and why do early depictions show goats hauling Santa’s four-wheeled wagon? What about holly and mistletoe and evergreens—where did they come from and why are they so tightly tied to Christmas? Has the White world turned Christmas into its own cultural celebration? Have we taken Christ out of the equation to the disgust of many devout Christians and turned Jesus’s birth into a holiday so filled with Aryan pagan rite and imagery as to make it un-Christian? This and many more questions will be answered in this fascinating booklet by Patrick Chouinard. This little book helps to dispel myths, explain legends and name the key figures and the roles they played in forming the Christmas celebration as we know it today. A great gift for young and old. Profusely illustrated. Softcover, saddle stitched, 70 pages