Were They Wise Men or Kings?: The Book of Christmas Questions

A book that sets its task to answer those frequently questions about the traditions of Christmas that many take for granted, and never bother to ponder for a second where this, or that, originates, or who, or whence this, or that comes.
The witty compendiary answers in two pages per question. Each section beginning with a beautiful, full-color illustration of the theme, e.g. Santa, The Nativity, Celebration, Traditions, and several more; which happen to appear on the back cover of my edition, as well. It tackles the serious social commentary-- "How do savvy merchants convince us to spend so much at Christmas?", and "Is Christmas commercialism new?, to the whimsical--"Who invented the Christmas card?", and "Why does Santa come down the chimney?".
As a lover of the Christmas holidays, I have perused several tomes regarding the myths, history, origin, evolution, traditions of the Winter Feast from the ancient days, to online shopping marketing. This book provides a wonderfully compact means to explore those nagging questions, or encounter information never before considered, yet fascinating.

This is a compact, handy reference guide to answer quick questions about Christmas. For it's short length, it is suprisingly thorough.

A thorough reference guide to commonly asked questions that revolve around Christmas traditions, customs, and folklore. A fun book to have on hand during the holiday season.

A HISTORIAN LOOKS INTO THE BACKGROUND OF MANY HOLIDAY CUSTOMS

College history teacher Joseph J. Walsh wrote in the Introduction to this 2001 book, “Christmas is about everything… Christmas touches upon virtually every aspect of human history, belief, thought, and behavior. In my research … I found myself in awful World War I trenches, in the mysterious forests of prehistoric Europe, on the American frontier, in splendid Spanish cathedrals, in astronomical observatories, in the minds of marketers, and, of course, in Bethlehem. And it was all fascinating… I can make no guarantees, but I have found that knowing more about the myths, traditions, and history of the holiday season has made my holiday more meaningful---and much more fun to boot. Besides, when we are confronted by the awkward situation that mistletoe presents and someone asks, ‘Where did this custom come from, anyway?’” someone needs to have the answer.” (Pg. 1)

He notes, “our spirits are very often in need of something visible and palpable to carry us through to the warm, thriving, green seasons. Holly and ivy fit the bill perfectly. In winter, they are both green, and holly actually bears bright red berries as well. And so, since late antiquity, Christians have decorated their homes and churches at Christmas with these cheerful symbols of the continuity and renewal of life. The idea of using festive greens was not Christian in origin, however. For centuries before the birth of Christ, pagans decorated their altars, temples, and sanctuaries with all sorts of greenery and flowers for celebrations.” (Pg. 25)

He explains, “In the Middle Ages… The parish priest would make the rounds of his village, blessing the boughs and the homes displaying them... visitors… would be welcomed with a hug… Eventually a kiss was added to the hug, presumably something like the modern liturgical kiss of peace [rather] than a kiss of passion. Did mistletoe… survive the demise of the tradition of the bough AND carry along with it a somewhat transformed kissing custom? Alas, no definitive evidence links kissing under mistletoe directly to pagan precedents or to the Holy Bough.” (Pg. 28)

He reports, “in the Middle Ages… it became customary for someone… to utter the toast
'Waes hail’---that is, ‘To your health.’ … This toast… evolved into our word ‘Wassail,’ which came to stand for the entire ritual. Over time households designated a special bowl for this ritual, which was called, naturally, the wassail bowl. It is easy to imagine how this festive custom contributed to the participants’ feelings of intimacy and connection, especially since the wassail bowl was passed in the Christmas season.” (Pg. 78)

He observes, “The Christmas season can be stressful, and some people become particularly depressed---the holiday blues syndrome even has a name and an apt acronym, ‘Seasonal Affective Disorder,’ or SAD. That holiday depression can even help drive the most seriously affected to take their lives. But SAD is actually related to the deprivation of light the winter brings, and recent studies seem to indicate that suicide rates go down at Christmas. According to one study… December has the lowest suicide rate of any month.” (Pg. 92)

This book will be of keen interest to those wanting to know more about the holiday and its traditions and customs.

A quick read. Nothing in here that I couldn't live without and quite a lot I already know. Still, kind of fun.

Well, were they wise men or kings? Neither, they were magi, sort of astrologer/astronomer/priests, practitioners of a prestigious profession that combined science and religion.

This is a fun and easy to read book. Each chapter is one question about Christmas, along with its answer, approximately a page. The chapters are organized according to the following eight topics:
1) Santa,
2) Deck the Halls,
3) The Nativity
4) The Arts and Senses,
5) Celebration,
6) Naughty or Nice,
7) Traditions and
8) Peace on Earth.

Once I got started I did not want to put it down, though I have plenty still to do to get ready for Christmas. But it's also an easy book to pick up and set down because you can also just look for a specific question if you just want to read that and find the answer. You don't have to read all the way through.

A nice addition to anyone's Christmas library. 4.5 stars

An extremely helpful reference for many of our Christmas traditions and the beginnings from which they sprang.