Holly, Reindeer, and Colored Lights


Book Description

Examines the origins of Christmas symbols--trees, ornaments, Yule logs, Santa Claus, cards, Christmas colors, and many other holiday observances.







Holly, Reindeer, and Colored Lights


Book Description

Examines the origins of Christmas symbols--trees, ornaments, Yule logs, Santa Claus, cards, Christmas colors, and many other holiday observances.




Hearts, Cupids, and Red Roses


Book Description

Traces the history of Valentine's Day and the little-known stories behind its symbols.




Witches, Pumpkins, and Grinning Ghosts


Book Description

Explains the origins of and relates stories associated with familiar Halloween symbols.




Celtic Folklore Cooking


Book Description

Presents recipes for beverages, eggs, cheese, soups, vegetables, seafood, meats, and desserts, listing traditional holidays associated with the foods, and other folk beliefs and correspondences.




Celebrate Christmas


Book Description

An introduction to the customs related to the holiday of Christmas.




Santa Claus, Last of the Wild Men


Book Description

Much of the modern-day vision of Santa Claus is owed to the Clement Moore poem The Night Before Christmas. His description of Saint Nicholas personified the jolly old elf known to millions of children throughout the world. However, far from being the offshoot of Saint Nicholas of Turkey, Santa Claus is the last of a long line of what scholars call Wild Men who were worshipped in ancient European fertility rites and came to America through Pennsylvania's Germans. This pagan creature is described from prehistoric times through his various forms--Robin Hood, The Fool, Harlequin, Satan and Robin Goodfellow--into today's carnival and Christmas scenes. In this thoroughly researched work, the origins of Santa Claus are found to stretch back over 50,000 years, jolting the foundation of Christian myths about the jolly old elf.




Finding the Voice Inside


Book Description

Finding the Voice Inside invites women to name, honor and explore their female experience as it differs from male experience. Doing this work in a group and hearing themselves and others read aloud what's been written, women re-awaken to what they don't always know that they know. Doing these exercises alone can continue the tradition of diary, journal and letter writing that makes up our knowledge of women's lives throughout history. In their effort to balance the male-constructed view of the world, women must first recreate the images, symbols, metaphors and truths of their own lives, as women.




Bricks Without Straw


Book Description

What has happened to our youth? How did it all go south so fast? Hardly any of them give up a seat to an elderly person or a pregnant woman—and profanity against bus drivers, teachers, police officers and everyone else has become a rite of passage. Drug use and violence no longer strike fear in their hearts. Even worse, they’re entitled, believing everything should be theirs even if they have not worked hard for it. Meanwhile, parents have given up on parenting, preferring to turn over their children to the government or society to be reared. Al Bruno, Ph.D., a longtime educator and former chaplain, highlights the epidemics that have ravaged our youth in Bricks without Straw. He offers guidance on how to: take back our children, guide them, and teach them about the Lord; prepare children for the difficult life they will face as adults; teach children right from wrong; instill a love of learning in children. With youth crime surging, a waning work ethic, and children hurling insults at each other at every opportunity, the stakes could not be higher. Whether you’re an educator, parent, grandparent, or community leader, you’ll grasp the problem and find solutions in this book.