A Yuletide Reading List

This morning's post is a personal tradition of sorts, a list of written materials about the winter holiday season and the return of the light to our world. Many of these books are out of print, but they can sometimes be found in used book shops, and they are often happy campers in your local library. May they be a light in your window, a fire on your hearth conveying warmth, comfort and festive spirit this holiday season.

No Yule interval would be complete without reading Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising sequence again. The five books in the series are: Over Sea, Under Stone, The Dark is Rising, Greenwitch, The Grey King and Silver on the Tree. I usually reread John Masefield's Box of Delights, a favorite from my long ago childhood days, and at least four of my late friend Dolores Stewart Riccio's delightful Circle novels take place at (or near) Yule. I will be reading them again this year too. The works listed here are old friends and come highly recommended, particularly those of Marian Green, Richard Heinberg, Glennie Kindred, E.C. Krupp and Judy Ann Nock.

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

The Book of Christmas Folklore, Tristram Potter Coffin

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

Christmas, A Biography, Cynthia Flanders

The Magic of the Winter Solstice: Seasonal Celebrations to Honour 

Nature's Ever-turning Wheel, Danu Forest

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

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

The Ancient Celtic Festivals: and How We Celebrate Them Today,

Clare Walker Leslie and Frank E. Gerace

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

Rituals of Celebration: Honoring the Seasons of Life 

Through the Wheel of the Year, Jane Meredith

Christmas in Ritual and Tradition, Clement A. Miles

The Hedgewitch Book of Days, Spells Rituals and Recipes
for the Magical Year, Mandy Mitchell

Yule: A Celebration of Light and Warmth, Dorothy Morrison

The Provenance Press Guide to the Wiccan Year: A Year Round Guide to Spells, 

Rituals, and Holiday Celebrations, Judy Ann Nock

The Modern Witchcraft Guide to the Wheel of the Year: From Samhain to Yule,
Your Guide to the Wiccan Holidays, Judy Ann Nock

Sacred Origins of Profound Things: The Stories Behind the Rites and Rituals

of the World's Religions, Charles Panati

Yule: Rituals, Recipes and Lore for the Winter Solstice,

Susan Pesznecker

Christmas Folklore, Cory Nelson and Kyle Pressly 

Celebrating the 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

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

How To Celebrate Winter Solstice, Teresa Villegas

The Fires of Yule: A Keltelven Guide for Celebrating the Winter Solstice,

Montague Whitsel

The Wicca Cookbook: Recipes, Ritual and Lore, Jamie Wood