This is a holiday tradition, a list of written materials about the winter holiday season and the return of the light to the north. 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 the works below be a light in your window, a red shawl around your shoulders, a pair of fuzzy socks, a mug of something hot and nourishing, a fire on your hearth conveying comfort, fellowship and festive spirit this holiday season.
No Yule interval would be complete without reading Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising sequence. The five volumes are: Over Sea, Under Stone, The Dark is Rising, Greenwitch, The Grey King and Silver on the Tree. There is also John Masefield's Box of Delights, a childhood favorite, and at least four of my late friend Dolores Stewart Riccio's delightful Circle novels take place at (or near) Yule. This year, I will also read the late Phil Rickman's novel, December. He was a friend.
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
Yule: History, Lore and Celebration, Anna Franklin
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, 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
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
Llewellyn's Little Book of Yule, Jason Mankey
The Winter Solstice: The Sacred Traditions
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
The Shortest Day: Celebrating the Winter Solstice, Wendy Pfeffer
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, 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
3 comments:
Goodness, that's a full library of books! I may find one or two to read...thanks for the info!
In another life, you might have been a bibliotherapist, Cate. Thank you.
Now that's what I call a book list! -Kate
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