Toward The Origins Of Christmas

Author : Susan K. Roll
Publisher : Peeters Publishers
Page : 300 pages
File Size : 53,6 Mb
Release : 1995
Category : Christmas
ISBN : 9039005311

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Toward the Origins of Christmas by Susan K. Roll Pdf

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).

Author : Hugh Chisholm
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 1016 pages
File Size : 49,7 Mb
Release : 1911
Category : Encyclopedias and dictionaries
ISBN : UOM:39015015204509

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The Encyclopaedia Britannica by Hugh Chisholm Pdf

Author : Bruce David Forbes
Publisher : Univ of California Press
Page : 198 pages
File Size : 54,7 Mb
Release : 2007-10-10
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780520933729

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Christmas by Bruce David Forbes Pdf

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?

Author : Joseph F. Kelly
Publisher : Liturgical Press
Page : 184 pages
File Size : 43,6 Mb
Release : 2014-10-14
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780814648858

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The Origins of Christmas by Joseph F. Kelly Pdf

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.

Author : Heather Lefebvre
Publisher : CF4Kids
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 42,6 Mb
Release : 2019
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN : 152710334X

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The History of Christmas by Heather Lefebvre Pdf

History of Christmas from Bethlehem to today Bible readings, questions, recipes and activities Beautiful colour illustrations

Author : Penne L. Restad
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 240 pages
File Size : 49,5 Mb
Release : 1996-12-05
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9780199923588

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Christmas in America by Penne L. Restad Pdf

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.

Author : Tara Moore
Publisher : Reaktion Books
Page : 224 pages
File Size : 47,5 Mb
Release : 2014-09-15
Category : History
ISBN : 9781780233871

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Christmas by Tara Moore Pdf

Black Friday. The War on Christmas. Miracle on 34th Street and Elf. From shopping malls and Fox News to movie theaters, Christmas no longer solely celebrates to the birth of Christ. Considering the holiday in its global context, Christmas journeys from its historical origins to its modern incarnation as a global commercial event, stopping along the way to look at the controversies and traditions of the celebratory day. Delving into the long story of this unifying but also divisive holiday, Tara Moore describes the evolution of Christmas and the deep traditions that bind a culture to its version of it. She probes the debates that have long accompanied the season—from questions of the actual date of Christ’s birth to frictions between the sacred and the secular—and discusses the characters associated with the holiday’s celebration, including Saint Nicholas, the Magi, Scrooge, and Krampus. She also explores how customs such as Christmas trees, feasting, and gift giving first emerged and became central facets of the holiday, while also examining how Christmas has been portrayed in culture—from the literary works of Charles Dickens to the yearly bout of holiday films, television specials, traditional carols, and modern tracks. Ultimately, Moore reveals, Christmas’s longevity has depended on its ability to evolve. Packed with illustrations, Christmas is a fascinating look at the holiday we only think we know.

Author : Al Remson
Publisher : Perigee Trade
Page : 100 pages
File Size : 55,9 Mb
Release : 1996
Category : Reference
ISBN : 0399522476

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Where Did Christmas Come From? by Al Remson Pdf

"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

Author : Christian Rätsch,Claudia Müller-Ebeling
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
Page : 224 pages
File Size : 46,8 Mb
Release : 2006-10-24
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781594776601

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Pagan Christmas by Christian Rätsch,Claudia Müller-Ebeling Pdf

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.

Author : Susan K. Roll
Publisher : Peeters
Page : 296 pages
File Size : 50,6 Mb
Release : 1995
Category : Christmas
ISBN : 9042939095

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Toward the Origins of Christmas by Susan K. Roll Pdf

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).

Author : Jock Elliott
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 136 pages
File Size : 41,8 Mb
Release : 2002-10
Category : Antiques & Collectibles
ISBN : UCSC:32106016655935

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Inventing Christmas by Jock Elliott Pdf

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.

Author : Michael Patrick Barber
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 190 pages
File Size : 50,8 Mb
Release : 2021-11-15
Category : Religion
ISBN : 1950939847

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The True Meaning of Christmas by Michael Patrick Barber Pdf

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 Dr. Barber will show, to find our way "home" at Christmas, we need to first return to Christmas's home in the story of the Bible. Only by carefully reflecting on the stories of Jesus' birth can we hope to celebrate Christmas in the way it is meant to be celebrated and discover the real joy it promises!

Author : Clement A. Miles
Publisher : DigiCat
Page : 387 pages
File Size : 40,6 Mb
Release : 2023-12-27
Category : Religion
ISBN : EAN:8596547765943

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Christmas in Ritual & Tradition: Christian and Pagan (Illustrated Edition) by Clement A. Miles Pdf

Christmas in Ritual and Tradition, Christian and Pagan is a study of the history and folklore surrounding Christmas holidays in several countries. It is an amazing collection of Christmas-related traditions from the first introductions of Christianity to the early 20th century. The book covers the history of Christmas as a Christian feast day and how that developed. It also discusses pre-Christian festivals and observances and how a lot of them survived by being given a Christian veneer although the overt paganism disappeared. Clement A. Miles (1881-1918), an author and translator, was a member of the Folk-Lore Society. He had been for many years on T. Fisher Unwin's literary staff and he was the author of an important work: Christmas in Ritual and Tradition. Miles possessed a wide knowledge of European languages, and translated numerous works from French and Italian.

Author : Bruce David Forbes
Publisher : Univ of California Press
Page : 195 pages
File Size : 49,6 Mb
Release : 2007-10-10
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780520251045

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Christmas by Bruce David Forbes Pdf

"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 consumer culture."--Page 2 of cover.

Author : Clement A. Miles
Publisher : Xist Publishing
Page : 390 pages
File Size : 53,9 Mb
Release : 2016-11-25
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781681955988

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Christmas in Ritual and Tradition, Christian and Pagan by Clement A. Miles Pdf

Reflect on the Christmas Season with a Celebration of Virtue 1900 “To be honest, to be kind--to earn a little and spend a little less, to make upon the whole a family happier for his presence....here is a task..” - Robert Louis Stevenson, A Christmas Sermon A Christmas Sermon is not necessarily a book about Christmas. In fact, it is a book that tries to educate the reader preaching the Christian values of morality, humility and kindness. It is also a book about how to approach the end of a year and the eve of a new one full of hope and optimism. ,This book has been professionally formatted for e-readers and contains a bonus book club leadership guide and discussion questions. We hope you’ll share this book with your friends, neighbors and colleagues and can’t wait to hear what you have to say about it.