Christmas Spirit - The Joyous Stories, Carols, Feasts, and Traditions of the Season (Paperback)

Christmas is nearly everyone's favorite time of the year because it is adorned with so many special celebrations, happy memories, delightful stories, wonderful songs, and rich recipes. A season of selfless giving and expressive love, it is a time for family togetherness, for snuggling up to the hearthside, for recalling the legends and fables, and for celebrating the things that matter the most. As a result, Christmas has been the focus of some of the greatest art, music, literature, and ideas of all time.

Christmas Spirit captures the essence of the Yuletide season by gathering in one place all of those elements that contribute to the joyous spirit of Christmas. From the origins of our most cherished holiday traditions and rituals to the insights of the wisest men and women of the ages on their essential meaning and significance, Christmas Spirit emphasizes and underscores the best moments of the season.

Here are the whys and wherefores of mistletoe, plum pudding, holly and ivy, Advent wreaths, nativity scenes, caroling, sleigh rides, Christmas trees, jingle bells, wassailing, Twelfth Night, twinkling lights, gift giving, and Saint Nicholas. In short, here is the joy of the season -- the Christmas Spirit.