I happened upon this book at the library. I love that about the library. You can browse a shelf of books and you never know what is going to catch your eye!The Curious World of Christmas: Celebrating All That Is Weird, Wonderful, and Festive, by Niall Edworthy, is a clever book filled with holiday trivia. And if you like your Christmas tidbits on the dry British side, you will probably get a kick out of this book. Chapters include: Farting Dwarves and Peacock Pie, Reindeer Sausages and Minced Coffins, Turkey in the Trenches (this one gets me misty-eyed reading about enemy soldiers taking the day off from shooting at each other in order to celebrate the holiday), Will the Real Father Christmas Please Stand Up?, Turkey Kebobs and Steamed Goldfish.
Though I was raised Catholic, Hubby and I celebrate Christmas in a secular way, (yet I have a soft spot in my heart for the story of Christ's birth and the nativity) and I find myself looking for information about the holiday that makes sense for our family. Books like this one (and this one) give me a lot to contemplate about the origin of traditions. Ultimately, what I find is that Christmas, no matter how you celebrate it, is a time inspiring peace and goodwill, family togetherness, and happy/funny/sweet memory-making.
How do you feel about it?
P.S. Please stop by Turn the Page ... Tuesday today!
P.P.S. Excuse me for not posting last week. We adopted two kitties! More to follow...
This looks interesting. It's always fun to see where our traditions come from i'll have to see if our library has it. Can't wait to see those kitties!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a really fun book! I love Christmas, but the religious side and the secular side and it is really fun to hear others traditions. Steamed goldfish, though? Hmmm...not so sure about that one!
ReplyDeletecool book!
ReplyDeleteI'm catching up on all your posts! I love what you wrote about how you celebrate Christmas. I just wrote something similar about how I view the holidays and spirituality. Happy New Year, Sara!
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