A Yuletide Reading List

Days grow short, nights grow long, and one thinks about curling up near the hearth with urns of tea, bowls of seasonal munchies and a stack of  good books for company.

This is a tradition of sorts, my annual posting of favorite reading materials for and about the holidays and the return of the light to our world.  May the list be a candle in your window, bringing warmth, comfort and festive spirit to you and yours. 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.  They're treasures, each and every one, and they're fine companions for a winter afternoon.

Decking the Halls: The folklore and traditions of Christmas plants,
Linda Allen

Christmas Folklore and Superstitions,
A.R. Bane

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

The Book of Christmas Folklore,
Tristram Potter Coffin

A Crown of Candles: How to Throw a Fabulous Lucia Party,
Joanna Powell Colbert

Lights of Winter: Winter Celebrations Around the World,
Heather Conrad and DeForest Walker
 
Medieval Holidays and Festivals: A Calendar of Celebrations,
Madeleine Pelner Cosman

Christmas and Christmas Lore,
T.G. Crippen

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

Beyond the Blue Horizon: Myths and Legends of the Sun, Moon, Stars, and Planets, 

E.C. Krupp

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

Christmas Folklore,

Cory Nelson and Kyle Pressly

The Battle for Christmas
Stephen Nissenbaum

Christmas in New Mexico: Recipes, Traditions, and Folklore for the Holiday Season, 
Lynn Nusom 

Christmas Ornament Legends: A Collection of Stories, Traditions,
and Folklore from the Old World,
Old World Christmas

Sacred Origins of Profound Things: The Stories Behind the Rites
and Rituals of The World's Religions,
Charles Panati

Celebrating Winter Solstice, 
Theresa Reel 

The Shortest Day: Celebrating the Winter Solstice
Wendy Pfeffer and Jesse Reisch

The Old Magic of Christmas: Yuletide Traditions for the Darkest
Days of the Year
Linda Raedisch

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

A Foxfire Christmas: Appalachian Memories and Traditions,

Eliot Wigginton and Bobby Ann Starnes

At least four of Dolores Stewart Riccio's delightful Circle novels take place at  (or near) Yule, and I shall be reading them again this year - I highly recommend the most recent, The Divine Circle of Ladies Burning Their Bridges. Last, but certainly not least, the holiday interval would not be complete without rereading Susan Cooper's Dark is Rising sequence in its entirety.  The five books are: Over Sea, Under Stone, The Dark is Rising, Greenwitch, The Grey King and Silver on the Tree.