Well, this is it, folks: it's one month until Christmas Day. Had it been several hundred years ago, Advent would have already have begun on November 11, Martinmas (St. Martin's Day). Like Lent, Old Advent was forty days (not counting Sundays) during which you refrained from eating rich food and prepared yourself for the coming of the Christ Child. The animals one could not feed during the winter would be butchered and smoked, and the root cellar was full of vegetables carefully stored so they would not rot to feed the family during the winter. You feasted on this bounty before Advent began.
I have been feasting on bounty from two electronic ARCs (Advanced Reader Copies)!
The Christmas Book, Andy Thomas
This is a nifty short book crammed full with color illustrations and black-and-white drawings that traces the history of the Christmas celebration, going all the way back to Egyptian observances of the god Horus and non-Christian solstice festivals. The Christian embracing—and frequent rejection of—a celebration of Jesus' birth is nicely summarized, with a section on the Puritan ban on the holiday after the English Civil War.
Although Thomas is from Great Britain and chiefly writes about the English and American way of celebrating the holidays, there are frequent asides to interesting customs in other countries, involving the Yule Lads in Scandinavia and Papai Noël in Brazil, and even a page about Russia's Grandfather Frost traveling with the Snow Maiden (the only male gift bringer to have a female sidekick). If you weren't aware previously, you'll discover that the Bible never mentions how many wise men (nor calls them kings nor states what gifts and how many they brought), that Prince Albert did not introduce the first Christmas tree into England, that the authorship of "A Visit from St. Nicholas" is still in doubt, and that Stonehenge probably chiefly celebrates the winter solstice, not the summer event as previously thought, among other things. (Note to the author: The narrator of "A Visit from St. Nicholas" was not "nodding off in front of the fire"; he was in bed, with his nightcap on, remember? Aroused by "such a clatter" that he flew to the window "to see what was the matter"?)
A great jumping off point to so many books about Christmas history and customs, from Williams Sansom's Christmas to Penne Restad's Christmas in America to Stephen Nissenbaum's The Battle for Christmas to Clement Miles and Karal Ann Marling, and more!
Merry Midwinter!, Gillian Monks
I have awarded this book the ultimate accolade: after reading the electronic version, I ordered the "real" book.
Monks, who describes herself as a Quaker and a practicing Druid (I didn't think that was possible!) has written a great book about celebrating all of the winter holiday season, from Hallowe'en/Samhain all the way through Candlemas, as our ancestors did. She traces the history of all the wonderful customs of the season, from decorating with evergreens (greens which represented both the spirits of nature and the "ever green" eternal love of the Son of God) to celebrating female bringers of light like Saint Lucy and Frau Holle to the connection of the winter solstice to the establishment of Christmas by the Christian Church on a day that was already celebrated as a religious holiday (the Saturnalia of the Romans, the feast of Mithras by the Persians, and ceremonies for the Egyptian Isis and the Greek god Apollo). And of course she addresses feasting, gift giving, the origins of some of the gift givers, including the now-ubiquitous Santa Claus, snow. As she states "Midwinter has always been a time for people to set aside their differences, lay down their weapons, and come together in a sense of community and celebration."
Her chapters include some of her personal memories of each of the holidays marking the winter season, along with family recipes and DIY crafts, but the thing she emphasizes most of all is simplicity and anticipation: not to rush any part of the winter season, but to enjoy each aspect of it, from the fun of Hallowe'en to the days building up to Christmas, and then not to let Christmas just stop at 11:59 p.m. on December 25, but to celebrate the entire twelve days of Christmas and even the January days leading finally to Candlemas/Imbolc on the second of February by walking in wintry woods or enjoying the cold weather, and enjoying days doing crafts indoors when the weather is inclement. She firmly believes in the philosophy of "there is no bad weather, only inadequate clothing" and invites you not to bemoan the loss of summer warmth but to embrace the wintry chill. I loved this whole attitude of enjoying all the seasons, and also of not allowing Christmas revelry to be trapped in a 24-hour period as our modern society dictates.
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