Christmas in Ritual and Tradition, Christian and Pagan (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781636370019)

This is a survey of the history and folklore surrounding Christmas and related holidays, originally published in England in 1912. Part I covers the history of Christmas as a Christian feast day and how that developed. Part II discusses pre-Christian festivals and observances and how a lot of them survived by being given a Christian veneer (feasting, the Yule log, mistletoe etc.) although the overt paganism disappeared. The folklore of several European countries is covered. One value of this book is that it covers a lot of customs that have probably disappeared since 1912. (Kenneth)