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Beschreibung
In some respects, the contrasts of Christmas are what make it the most delightful time of the year. It is a time of generosity, kindness and peace on earth, with broad permission to indulge in food, drink and gifts. On the other hand, Christmas has become a battleground for raging culture wars, marred by debates about how it should be celebrated and acknowledged as a uniquely Christian holiday.
This text argues that much of the animosity is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of the holiday's core character. By tracing Christmas's origins as a pagan celebration of the winter solstice and its development in Europe's Christianization, this history explains that the true "reason for the season" has as much to do with the earth's movement around the sun as with the birth of Christ. Chapters chronicle how Christmas's magic and misrule link to the nativity, and why the carnival side of the holiday appears so separated from traditional Christian beliefs.
In some respects, the contrasts of Christmas are what make it the most delightful time of the year. It is a time of generosity, kindness and peace on earth, with broad permission to indulge in food, drink and gifts. On the other hand, Christmas has become a battleground for raging culture wars, marred by debates about how it should be celebrated and acknowledged as a uniquely Christian holiday.
This text argues that much of the animosity is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of the holiday's core character. By tracing Christmas's origins as a pagan celebration of the winter solstice and its development in Europe's Christianization, this history explains that the true "reason for the season" has as much to do with the earth's movement around the sun as with the birth of Christ. Chapters chronicle how Christmas's magic and misrule link to the nativity, and why the carnival side of the holiday appears so separated from traditional Christian beliefs.
Über den Autor
Nathaniel Parry is an American researcher and writer living in Denmark. He is the editor of several books and his work has appeared in outlets such as Consortium News, In These Times, Common Dreams, Global Research, and Truthout. Since 2008, he has worked at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security Cooperation in Europe, where he is currently head of communications.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Table of Contents

Acknowledgmentsix

Preface1

Introduction3

Part One-Origins and Evolution

1.Holiday Hype and Historiography10

[...] Search of the First Christmas22

3.Christmas in a Pagan World34

[...]'s ­Post-Pagan Metamorphosis46

5.Repression and Resistance58

Part Two-Curious Customs

6.Sacred Trees68

[...] Man, the Myth, the Legend,

the God-Santa Claus83

8.Actual Christmas Magic98

9.Children's Saturnaliä113

10.Ghosts, Goblins and Angels127

Part Three-Enduring Legacies

11.Legacy of Miracles142

12.Legacy of Misrule158

[...] Halloween Connection171

[...] Pagan to Secular182

15.Reason for the Season198

[...] Over Christmas209

Chapter Notes219

Bibliography241

Index245
Details
Erscheinungsjahr: 2022
Fachbereich: Allgemeines
Genre: Importe, Religion & Theologie
Rubrik: Geisteswissenschaften
Thema: Lexika
Medium: Taschenbuch
ISBN-13: 9781476688282
ISBN-10: 1476688281
Sprache: Englisch
Einband: Kartoniert / Broschiert
Autor: Parry, Nathaniel
Hersteller: McFarland
Verantwortliche Person für die EU: Libri GmbH, Europaallee 1, D-36244 Bad Hersfeld, gpsr@libri.de
Maße: 254 x 178 x 14 mm
Von/Mit: Nathaniel Parry
Erscheinungsdatum: 10.11.2022
Gewicht: 0,5 kg
Artikel-ID: 130067742