The days grow short, the nights grow long, and one thinks about curling up near the hearth with tea, seasonal munchies and a good book or three. Here's a list of my favorite reading materials for this festive time of the year when we are all thinking about light, community and feasting. Some of these books are out of print, but they can occasionally be found in used book shops online, and they are, very often, happy campers in your local library.
The Oxford Book of Days,
Bonnie Blackburn and Leofranc Holford-Strevens
Echoes of Magic: A Study of Seasonal Festivals through the Ages,
C.A. Burland
Ancient Ways: Reclaiming Pagan Traditions,
Pauline and Dan Campanelli
Wheel of the Year: Living the Magical Life,
Pauline and Dan Campanelli
Medieval Holidays and Festivals: A Calendar of Celebrations,
Madeleine Pelner Cosman
The Return of the Light: Twelve Tales from Around the World
for the Winter Solstice,
Carolyn McVickar Edwards
Kindling the Celtic Spirit,
Mara Freeman
A Calendar of Festivals, Traditional Celebrations, Songs, Seasonal
Recipes and Things to Make,
Marian Green
The Sun in the Church: Cathedrals As Solar Observatories,
John L. Heilbron
Celebrate the Solstice: Honoring the Earth's Seasonal Rhythms
Through Festival and Ceremony,
Richard Heinberg
Celestially Auspicious Occasions: Seasons, Cycles and Celebrations,
Donna Henes
Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain,
Ronald Hutton
The Winter Solstice
Ellen Jackson
The Dance of Time: The Origins of the Calendar: A Miscellany of History
and Myth, Religion and Astronomy, Festivals and Feast Days,
Michael Judge
The Solstice Evergreen: History, Folklore and Origins of the Christmas Tree,
Sheryl Karas
Perpetual Almanack of Folklore,
Charles Kightly
Sacred Celebrations: A Sourcebook,
Glennie Kindred
Celebrations Of Light : A Year of Holidays Around the World,
Nancy Luenn and Mark Bender (Illustrator)
The Winter Solstice: The Sacred Traditions of Christmas,
John Matthews and Caitlin Matthews
Christmas in Ritual and Tradition,
Clement A. Miles
Yule: A Celebration of Light and Warmth (Holiday Series),
Dorothy Morrison
The Battle for Christmas
Stephen Nissenbaum
Sacred Origins of Profound Things: The Stories Behind the Rites
and Rituals of The World's Religions,
Charles Panati
The Shortest Day: Celebrating the Winter Solstice,
Wendy Pfeffer and Jesse Reisch
Pagan Christmas: The Plants, Spirits, and Rituals at the Origins of Yuletide,
Christian Rätsch and Claudia Müller-Ebeling
All Around the Year, Holidays and Celebrations in American Life,
Jack Santino
Circle Round: Raising Children in the Goddess Tradition,
Starhawk, Anne Hill and Diane Baker
Keeping Christmas: Yuletide Traditions In Norway And The New Land,
Kathleen Stokker
When Santa Was A Shaman: Ancient Origins of Santa Claus and the Christmas Tree,
Tony van Renterghem
The Fires of Yule: A Keltelven Guide for Celebrating the Winter Solstice,
Montague Whitsel
At least three of Dolores Stewart Riccio's Circle novels involve Yuletide and I shall be reading them again this year. Last, but certainly not least, the holiday interval would not be complete without rereading Susan Cooper's Dark is Rising sequence in its entirety: Over Sea, Under Stone, The Dark is Rising, Greenwitch, The Grey King and Silver on the Tree
5 comments:
Part of my seasonal tradition includes anticipation of this Yule season book list.
Thank you for putting this together.
I wonder if any of these are among free Kindle books.
The boys were excited to find 4 of our current homeschool books listed here. Both the Campanelli books are favorites.
Many of these should be available, Tabor, and they are classics.
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