Really enjoyed reading these short stories during the Christmas season. While there were no references, and some of the connections to Christian beliefs were a bit contrived, it still was great preparation for me for celebrating.

Ace Collins covers how most of our Christmas traditions came into being. He traces the pagen roots and how the church adapted them to fit their celebrations.

There is a lot I could say about this book but it ultimately boils down to the main irritation: No Bibliography. Site your damn sources, Collins. It's not to say that the information is all together fiction but I feel Collins simply ran with the myths and legends we as a society have halfheartedly accepted...how about doing some true research and expanding on these traditions. On well.

Very interesting stories and information that has been forgotten.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

If you're looking for a Christmas book full of traditions, stories and information, this is the one to pick! I was very impressed with this wonderful book. First, it's a beautiful, hard-bound, book that's small enough to tuck into your bookcase among your other favorite Christmas books. And it's the perfect keepsake... with stories and information about everything Christmas... from advent to mistletoe to The Nutcracker Ballet...

This is a wonderful book to share with your children and grandchildren during the holiday season.

God Bless You!

and MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!


HINT:  This would also make a great, early Christmas gift for family and friends.

An informative read about many of our favorite Christmas traditions. The author is diligent to present historical facts and also seeks to leave an inspiring thought at the end of each chapter.

History matters. For this reason, knowing the rich legacies of our most cherished activities at the Yuletide season can only deepen our appreciation for the babe in the manger who changed the world.

Ever wonder why we do some of the traditions we cherish at Christmas? This is a great resource on the "why" of the things we do. I really love learning about how things began and this book answered a lot of my questions.

I recommend this book.

A wonderful book to read before or during the holidays to see where some ideas came from and changed throughout history.

Collins surveys the many traditions and practices and myths we celebrate around the Christmas season, telling the story of how each new people who accepted the Gospel celebrated it in light of their previous traditions, and cultural practices and lifestyle in their environment.

Especially helpful was to understand that "Christmas" was never broadly celebrated by churches or by European society at large as a religious celebration. But until the 1800s, in England and America it was a cultural festival with lots of quite unchristian activities at the core.

I was glad to learn that it became a common family worship focus under the influence of Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert of Bavaria. This was the first time it had been seen as a family focus, and the Bavarian royal practice, introduced to the United Kingdom by Prince Albert became accepted and imitated in the whole English speaking world.

It was from that time that Churches began having services on Christmas Eve and the religious focus of Christmas became more infused into the worldwide Anglo culture. The British royal practice quickly was accepted in Canada, and in the united States, as well as other British Commonwealth nations.

He explains how in the early 20th century commercial enterprises were finally the effective popularizer that made Christmas a universal focus on Christ's birth and the meaning of the Gospel, as Woolworth's and other major businesses run by Christians promoted the focus on Christmas and its Christian Gospel values centered in the birth of Christ.

This book seemed to be full of opinion facts- there’s no bibliography, citations, or anything else to suggest the author got these facts from anywhere else but in his head. I stopped reading a few chapters in when I realized there were no sources or proof of any type of research.

I was looking for pagan traditions the Christians use in celebrating the season now. Was not a terrible book, just not what I was looking for.

3.5 would be a better rating. Some of the subjects covered were a bit tedious, others brought back fond memories of my childhood. This is a book club read.