Author: Linda Raedisch
Publisher: Llewellyn Worldwide
ISBN: 0738733342
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 314
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Book Description
'Tis the Season for Witches, Elves, and a Legion of Ghosts 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. Along the way, you'll discover how to bring the festivities into your home with cookie recipes and craft instructions, as well as tips for delving more deeply into your relationship with the unseen. Praise: "Steeped in history and adorned with a bit of enchantment, The Old Magic of Christmas is the perfect book to read by a winter's fire with a mug of mulled cider in hand."--Deborah Blake, author of The Witch's Broom "...[A] fascinating journey into the stories behind the tinsel and bows."--Doreen Shababy, author of The Wild & Weedy Apothecary "...[A]n intriguing little tome that explores the darker side of the Yuletide holiday."--Ellen Dugan, author of The Enchanted Cat
Author: Christian Rätsch
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1594776601
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 224
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Book Description
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: Trisha Ashley
Publisher: HarperCollins UK
ISBN: 1847563015
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 257
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Book Description
A deliciously seasonal and heart-warming tale from the No.1 bestselling author of The Christmas Invitation
Author: Mary Higgins Clark
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1442434309
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 40
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Book Description
Johnny’s wish had come true. His family would be visiting his grandparents for Christmas. His grandparents lived in an old house in New England where his father had been born. The family together, the smells of the cookies baking, the snowy Christmas tree farm with trees of so many shapes and sizes, and most of all the wooden horse he had told his brother Liam about would make this the best Christmas ever. In his grandparents’ attic Johnny finds many treasures, but the wooden horse he remembered so well is missing. How can Johnny make his brother’s Christmas wish come true? Beloved and internationally bestselling author Mary Higgins Clark’s loving story together with Wendell Minor’s captivating paintings make The Magical Christmas Horse a book that captures the true heart of Christmas and one that families will make part of their Christmas tradition year after year.
Author: Al Ridenour
Publisher: Feral House
ISBN: 162731041X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 327
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Book Description
The Krampus, a folkloric devil associated with St. Nicholas in Alpine Austria and Germany, has been embraced by the American counterculture and is lately skewing mainstream. The new Christmas he seems to embody is ironically closer to an ancient understanding of the holiday as a perilous, haunted season. In the Krampus' world, witches rule Christmas, and saints can sometimes kill.
Author: Rob Scotton
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781945546105
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 36
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Book Description
Russell's Christmas Magic Storybook Greetings
Author: Michael Garland
Publisher: Puffin
ISBN: 9780142501405
Category : Christmas stories
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
No Marketing Blurb
Author: Sue Stainton
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0060785713
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 36
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Book Description
Santa helps the reindeer find their missing magical bells.
Author: John Matthews
Publisher: Quest Books
ISBN: 9780835608343
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 247
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Book Description
Many of us long for an alternative to the commercial industry Christmas has become. This beautifully illustrated, full-color book, brimming with folklore, stories, recipes, games, activities, decorating ideas, songs, and other resources, will help families who are "burned out" on Christmas create alternative celebrations more in keeping with the heartful spirit of the original Winter Solstice festivals.
Author: Neil Gaiman
Publisher: John Murray
ISBN: 1473663474
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 192
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Book Description
A present contains a monstrous secret. An uninvited guest haunts a Christmas party. A shadow slips across the floor by firelight. A festive entertainment ends in darkness and screams. Who knows what haunts the night at the dark point of the year? This collection of seasonal chillers looks beneath Christmas cheer to a world of ghosts and horrors, mixing terrifying modern fiction with classic stories by masters of the macabre. From Neil Gaiman and M. R. James to Muriel Spark and E. Nesbit, there are stories here to make the hardiest soul quail - so find a comfy chair, lock the door, ignore the cold breath on your neck and get ready to welcome in the real spirits of Christmas.
