Holiday Traditions

Not so very long ago, Yuletide was as much a chilling season of ghosts and witches as it was a festival of goodwill. In The Old Magic of Christmas, you'll rub elbows with veiled spirits, learn the true perils of elves, and discover a bestiary of enchanted creatures. Rife with the more frightful characters from folklore and the season's most petulant ghosts, this book takes you on a spooky sleigh ride from the silvered firs of a winter forest to the mirrored halls of the Snow Queen.

Christmas Past: The Fascinating Stories Behind Our Favorite Holiday’s Traditions reveals the surprising, quirky, mysterious, and sometimes horrifying stories behind the most wonderful time of the year.

It is one year after the triplets changed their lives and relocated to Asheville, each starting off in a new direction. Once again, the holidays bring challenges and change, happiness and heartbreak, and the power of unbreakable family bonds. Join these strong, funny, and loving women as the holiday spirit lifts them as high as the Blue Ridge Mountains as they celebrate old traditions and create a few new ones along the way.

Dive into the vibrant tapestry of Jewish festivities with "Discovering Jewish Holidays and Traditions" a comprehensive guide crafted to immerse non-Jewish readers into the incredible richness of these cherished celebrations. What makes this book truly unique is its innovative approach—a seamless blend of enjoyable storytelling and enlightening explanations. Journey through lively anecdotes that provide profound insights into holiday customs, unlocking the cultural depth embedded in each tradition. From joyous celebrations to reflective observances, gain a profound understanding of the ...

In this widely popular, exciting story for the advent season, listeners follow 10-year-old Jotham across Israel as he searches for his family. Though he faces thieves, robbers, and kidnappers, Jotham also encounters the wise men, shepherds, and innkeepers until at last he finds his way to the Savior born in Bethlehem.

Once fall hits and the chilly weather settles in, the holiday season has begun! And nothing embodies holiday spirit more than the continuing of family traditions that have been passed down from generation to generation. May it be sharing stories at the dinner table, laughs on the porch, or just time spent alone - everyone has their own ritual. Join Dana Cowin, author and former editor-in-chief of Food & Wine, as she chats with some of today’s most popular chefs and food personalities.

Discover the hilariously weird history behind your favorite Christmas traditions in “Wait… Why Do We Do This?” by Holly Jinglesworth. This laugh-out-loud guide explores everything from why we drag trees into our homes to how Santa ended up with flying reindeer. Packed with fun facts, humor, and a touch of holiday magic, this book answers the big questions about Christmas traditions: Why do we hang stockings by the fire? Who invented gingerbread houses? What’s the deal with candy canes, mistletoe, and ugly sweaters? How did Christmas lights become the ultimate holiday decoration?...

It’s time to celebrate Christmas. There’s so much to do! Make cookies and decorate the Christmas tree. Have dinner with your family. Exchange presents. This important Christian holiday celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ.

Holiday traditions are so deeply entrenched in our culture, but represent a deception so complete that they have become one of Satan’s greatest victories. You've grown up celebrating various holidays, yet you don't know where they originate. They come from the celebration of pagan gods. You owe it to yourself to learn the truth. Find out how the observance of these holidays may be robbing you of spiritual fulfillment.

Snowed in with my infuriatingly hot coworker… and everything I’ve worked for is about to implode. Thorne Chilton is the last person I want to be stuck with days before Christmas. Arrogant, entitled, and way too tempting. But we're stranded in a blizzard, and the tension between us is sharper than the freezing wind outside. What started as an airport nightmare turned into the road trip from hell. My brain must have frostbite, because I hate him… but my body melts at his slightest touch. Before I can stop myself, I’m leaning in, craving more. Every touch, every glance weakens my ...

For the first time since their children were born, empty nesters Judith and Stan Winters spent Thanksgiving alone, without the kids and grandkids. It’s looking like Christmas will be the same. Judith can hardly bear the thought and struggles even to decorate the house. But soon some wonderful and totally unexpected events turn things completely around, starting with that box of "ugly ornaments" (as Stan calls them). Could they be the key to rescuing their Christmas this year? A "beautifully written story" for the holiday season, or any time of the year.

After the unexpected death of her husband, Joanne Huist Smith had no idea how she would keep herself together and be strong for her three children - especially with the holiday season approaching. But 12 days before Christmas, presents begin appearing on her doorstep with notes from their "True Friends." As the Smiths came together to solve the mystery of who the gifts were from, they began to thaw out from their grief and come together again as a family.

The night she came back to Winter Haven, I should’ve killed her. But instead, I made her my prisoner. Vera was mine before she betrayed me. Now she claims our child is alive—the child she said was stillborn. I’m torn between the man I must be and the monster I’ve become. I want to make her suffer. I want to tear her apart. But in the cold, the heat between us won’t die. Every kiss drags me deeper, every glance sets me on fire. The line between revenge and desire blurs with every minute we’re together. She’s hiding something, and I’ll use her body to get the truth. I’ll ...

Preparing for Christmas: A Family Advent Devotional for Hope and Reflection invites families to journey together through the Christmas season with purpose, faith, and connection. This beautifully crafted devotional offers daily reflections, prayers, and meaningful discussions designed to draw families closer to each other and to the heart of Christ. Perfect for creating cherished memories, each day's devotion centers on themes like hope, joy, love, and faith, building anticipation for the celebration of Jesus' birth. Gather as a family around the table, by the Christmas tree, or during ...

The folklore roots of Christmas under its many other guises (Yule, the Winter Solstice, Saturnalia) is examined in a different, darker light. The Winter Solstice is a time to be afraid. It’s the shortest day of the year, the longest night. In some parts of the world, the sun doesn’t rise at all. It’s dark, and we have to wonder if the sun will ever come back at all. Christmas has always been creepy and with The Fright Before Christmas, you'll see that side. This is a book for everyone who loves a little darkness around the holidays.

Did you know Christmas wasn’t always about jolly Santas and sparkling trees? Beneath the tinsel and cheer lies a dark and fascinating history filled with ghosts, witches, and sinister folklore. Dark Christmas: The Sinister Origins of Your Holiday Traditions dives deep into the eerie tales and forgotten rituals that shaped the holiday season as we know it today. Explore spine-chilling stories of Krampus, the Christmas devil, and Frau Perchta, the belly-slitting witch. Discover why we hang stockings, the creepy roots of Christmas trees, and the haunting legends of the Wild Hunt and Mari ...

It’s time to celebrate Hanukkah! Light the menorah. Sing songs and eat tasty treats. During Hanukkah, or the Festival of Lights, Jews remember a war they won. This allowed them to freely practice their beliefs.

Five wishes...one special place...and a miracle to make it happen each Christmas. The Summers family always chose somewhere special to spend their Christmas holiday instead of at home. Every year their holiday vacation destination was different and carefully determined their Christmas wishes. Hannah and her children loved their Christmas holiday tradition even though it was never easy for everyone to be completely satisfied and this year was no different...or was it? Daniel Summers quickly offered to handle the arrangements for their upcoming Christmas holiday vacation. He knew his mother ...

The holly-jolly holidays aren’t for everyone, least of all when you look back on that one Christmas when there were two definitely haunted dolls waiting for you and your sister under the tree. You have to assume that’s where it all started. And so it was for Jenny Lawson. Now, she lives in the land of eternal Halloween, as evidenced by her interior decor and general state of darkness. (Although, if you ask her, her taxidermy zoo is less dark, more delightful. But not everyone has taste, so what are you going to do?)

Anyone who laments the excesses of Christmas might consider the Puritans of colonial Massachusetts: they simply outlawed the holiday. The Puritans had their reasons, since Christmas was once an occasion for drunkenness and riot, when poor "wassailers" extorted food and drink from the well-to-do. In this intriguing and innovative work of social history, Stephen Nissenbaum rediscovers Christmas's carnival origins and shows how it was transformed, during the nineteenth century, into a festival of domesticity and consumerism.