This is a tradition of sorts, my annual posting of favorite reading materials for and about the holidays and the return of the light to our world. May the list be a candle in your window, bringing warmth, comfort and festive spirit to you and yours. Some of these books are out of print, but they can occasionally be found in used book shops online, and they are, very often, happy campers in your local library. They're treasures, each and every one, and they're fine companions for a winter afternoon.
Decking the Halls: The folklore and traditions of Christmas plants,
Linda Allen
Christmas Folklore and Superstitions,
A.R. Bane
The Oxford Book of Days,
Bonnie Blackburn and Lranc Holford-Strevens
Echoes of Magic: A Study of Seasonal Festivals through the Ages,
C.A. Burland
Ancient Ways: Reclaiming Pagan Traditions,
Pauline and Dan Campanelli
Wheel of the Year: Living the Magical Life,
Pauline and Dan Campanelli
The Book of Christmas Folklore,
Tristram Potter Coffin
A Crown of Candles: How to Throw a Fabulous Lucia Party,
Joanna Powell Colbert
Lights of Winter: Winter Celebrations Around the World,
Heather Conrad and DeForest Walker
Medieval Holidays and Festivals: A Calendar of Celebrations,
Madeleine Pelner Cosman
Christmas and Christmas Lore,
T.G. Crippen
The Return of the Light: Twelve Tales from Around the World
for the Winter Solstice,
Carolyn McVickar Edwards
Kindling the Celtic Spirit,
Mara Freeman
A Calendar of Festivals: Traditional Celebrations, Songs, Seasonal
Recipes and Things to Make,
Marian Green
The Sun in the Church: Cathedrals As Solar Observatories,
John L. Heilbron
Celebrate the Solstice: Honoring the Earth's Seasonal Rhythms
Through Festival and Ceremony,
Richard Heinberg
Celestially Auspicious Occasions: Seasons, Cycles and Celebrations,
Donna Henes
Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain,
Ronald Hutton
The Winter Solstice
Ellen Jackson
The Dance of Time: The Origins of the Calendar: A Miscellany of History
and Myth, Religion and Astronomy, Festivals and Feast Days,
Michael Judge
The Solstice Evergreen: History, Folklore and Origins of the Christmas Tree,
Sheryl Karas
Perpetual Almanack of Folklore,
Charles Kightly
Sacred Celebrations: A Sourcebook,
Glennie Kindred
Beyond the Blue Horizon: Myths and Legends of the Sun, Moon, Stars, and Planets, E.C. Krupp
Celebrations Of Light : A Year of Holidays Around the World,
Nancy Luenn and Mark Bender (Illustrator)
The Winter Solstice: The Sacred Traditions of Christmas,
John Matthews and Caitlin Matthews
Christmas in Ritual and Tradition,
Clement A. Miles
Yule: A Celebration of Light and Warmth (Holiday Series),
Dorothy Morrison
Christmas Folklore,Cory Nelson and Kyle Pressly
The Battle for Christmas
"Stephen Nissenbaum"
Christmas in New Mexico: Recipes, Traditions, and Folklore for the Holiday Season,
Lynn Nusom
Christmas Ornament Legends: A Collection of Stories, Traditions,
and Folklore from the Old World,
Old World Christmas
Sacred Origins of Profound Things: The Stories Behind the Rites
and Rituals of The World's Religions,
Charles Panati
Celebrating Winter Solstice,
Theresa Reel
The Shortest Day: Celebrating the Winter Solstice
Wendy Pfeffer and Jesse Reisch
The Old Magic of Christmas: Yuletide Traditions for the Darkest
Days of the Year
Linda Raedisch
Pagan Christmas: The Plants, Spirits, and Rituals at the Origins of Yuletide,"Christian R"atsch and Claudia M"uller-Ebeling
All Around the Year, Holidays and Celebrations in American Life,
Jack Santino
Circle Round: Raising Children in the Goddess Tradition,
Starhawk, Anne Hill and Diane Baker
Keeping Christmas: Yuletide Traditions In Norway And The New Land,
Kathleen Stokker
When Santa Was A Shaman: Ancient Origins of Santa Claus and the Christmas Tree,
Tony van Renterghem
The Fires of Yule: A Keltelven Guide for Celebrating the Winter Solstice,
Montague Whitsel
A Foxfire Christmas: Appalachian Memories and Traditions,Eliot Wigginton and Bobby Ann Starnes
At least four of Dolores Stewart Riccio's delightful Circle novels take place at (or near) Yule, and I shall be reading them again this year - I highly recommend the most recent, "The Divine Circle of Ladies "Burning Their Bridges. "Last, but certainly not least, the holiday interval would not be complete without rereading Susan Cooper's Dark is Rising sequence in its entirety. The five books are: "Over Sea, Under Stone", "The Dark is Rising", "Greenwitch", "The Grey King" and "Silver on the Tree"."
