Celebrating Christmas

This eleventh edition was developed during the encyclopaedia's transition from a British to an American publication. Some of its articles were written by the best-known scholars of the time and it is considered to be a landmark encyclopaedia for scholarship and literary style.

A story that explains the meaning behind the decorations used around the house at Christmas time.

Background information and activities from over 20 countries.

Celebrating a Merry Catholic Christmas is a treasure, one that offers its riches year after year. It is a valuable resource for understanding and celebrating Advent and Christmas as a Catholic. But, more than providing the historical roots of traditions, such as the Advent wreath and Christmas tree, it also features spiritual reflections and suggestions for practices to enrich your family's Christmas preparation and celebration. You'll find all of the major Feast Days of Advent and Christmas along with devotions and traditions that will help your family get more out these important seasons. Inside you'll learn... why candles are placed in windows why poinsettias are used as a Christmas decoration the origin of the Christmas tree when Christmas actually ends and more . . . so that you and yours can appreciate more fully the significance of these traditions and grow in love and honor of Christ.

The popular bilingual Christmas song by José Feliciano is illustrated by Caldecott awardwinner David Diaz. Together, lyrics and art celebrate music, food, gifts, family, tradition... Christmas! "Rare is the presiding adult who will be able to resist singing along to this invigorating picture-book adaptation.... Diaz's compositions convey the joyous mood that holidays traditionally inspire." - Publishers Weekly

Let Advent come alive in your life this Christmas. Every Christmas, Christians all over the world celebrate the advent season, recognizing the love, hope, joy, and peace that is found only in Jesus Christ. Through this 30-day devotional, Max Lucado brings to light the many events in the life of Christ from birth to ascension that demonstrate His omnipotence and the gift that God has given each one of us to enjoy during this Christmas season. Experience each moment as our Savior becomes the center of this Christmas for you. Note: Must be ordered in multiples of 25.

It wouldn't be Christmas without the "things." How they came to mean so much, and to play such a prominent role in America's central holiday, is the tale told in this delightful and edifying book. In a style characteristically engaging and erudite, Karal Ann Marling, one of our most trenchant observers of American culture, describes the outsize spectacle that Christmas has become.

Help children discover the joy of Christmas 2020 with this timely picture book that affirms the special magic of the holidays even if we're physically separated from our loved ones! Christmas will always mean love. Even if love looks a little different this year. As families and communities come together--and stay apart--in creative ways this holiday season, bring comfort and joy to children with this story about a Christmas like no other. Always Together at Christmas highlights different family traditions and the ways they're changing in 2020: from Santa's elves practicing social distancing to opening presents via Zoom on Christmas morning. And it even includes ideas for new quarantine-appropriate Christmas traditions! The sweet and cozy illustrations add classic touches, making this book the perfect gift to share with family and friends from across the miles.

"What we call Christmas is one of the oldest and most enduring of the human celebrations." So begins the Preface of this perennially popular volume which includes hundreds of seasonal selections from Unitarian Universalists over the years, plus a bibliography of resources beyond denominational inspiration. Celebrating Christmas contains history, customs, commentaries, opening words, responsive readings, poetry, prayers, meditations, readings, various service elements, special services, family and fun items, and a dozen woodcuts suitable for worship service covers. In addition there are thirteen new carols for the season. Celebrating Christmas was edited by Carl Seaburg. He and Mark Harris later compiled Celebrating Easter and Spring: An Anthology of Unitarian Universalist Readings.

The song “The 12 Days of Christmas” is a mainstay of the holiday season, but the practice of celebrating Christmas as a twelve-day festival fell out of fashion long ago in most cultures. In Celebrating the 12 Days of Christmas, author Chris Marchand explores the history behind the season and individual feast days from December 25 to January 6, and then offers suggestions for how you can celebrate it with your family, church, or community. Along with this, he provides answers to many of the nagging questions surrounding the holiday, such as the history behind the twelve-days song, why December 25 was chosen as the date, and what to do about its supposedly pagan origins. The challenge before us is to first help people see Christmas as a holiday that begins, rather than ends, on December 25, and then to together figure out how to reinvent Christmas in the present by learning how it was celebrated in the past.