The Little Book of Christmas

By Dominique Foufelle

A collection of the stories, legends, and rituals surrounding Christmas, featuring colorfully illustrated lithographs.

This festive follow-up to The Little Book of Saints and The Little Book of Angels explores the wonderful rituals and rich history surrounding Christmas. From the story of the nativity to the legends that have inspired beloved holiday traditions (like why Father Christmas arrives through the chimney), this collection includes Christmas customs from around the world. Beautifully illustrated with color lithographs taken from missals and prayer books, this joyful little book is a Christmas treasure for the whole family to gather around year after year.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Oct 3, 2017
• ISBN: 9781452165691

Book preview

DECEMBER TWENTY-FIFTH

THIS DAY, CHOSEN BY THE CHURCH IN THE FOURTH CENTURY, COINCIDED WITH PAGAN CELEBRATIONS OF THE SOLSTICE.

No ancient document gives a precise account of the date of Jesus’s birth. This did not bother the early Christians, who gave their attention to the death and Resurrection of their messiah. A passage in the Gospel according to Luke describes the shepherds guarding their sheep near the stable where Mary and the infant Jesus were sheltered. This detail does not argue in favor of the twenty-fifth of December, since in Judea flocks returned from the hills at the end of autumn. But this is the day made official by the Catholic Church in accordance with the decree of Pope Liberius in the year 354. The Church hoped that the ardor of pagan celebrations of the winter solstice, occurring close to this time of year, would translate to a new Christian holy day. The goal was soon fulfilled with acceptance of celebrations of the day; nonetheless, some still refute the inexact decision on when to celebrate the birth of Christ.

ADVENT

BEGINNING ON THE FOURTH SUNDAY BEFORE CHRISTMAS, CHRISTIANS PREPARE TO CELEBRATE THE NATIVITY.

When first observed in the fifth century, Advent began on the eleventh of November, Saint Martin’s Day. The faithful would fast three times a week until the twenty-fifth of December. Around the ninth century, the Church set the beginning of Advent on the fourth Sunday before Christmas, which also marked the beginning of the liturgical year. Over time, strict observances softened and fasting was no longer required; the faithful prepared to celebrate the birth of Jesus with meditation and with joy.

Many of the customs now associated with the Advent season came from nineteenth-century German Protestants, such as the crown of fir boughs bearing four candles lit sequentially each Sunday during Advent. The Advent calendar marks the days from December first to the twenty-fourth—straying somewhat from the liturgical calendar—with twenty-four paper windows each opened on their proper day. In early versions, each window revealed a holy image; in 1958 in Europe an Advent calendar that held candies appeared. By the popular vote of children, it was a great success. The Advent calendar would come to aid many families in their preparations to greet, no longer Jesus, but Father