Holidays Books - Page 4

The Book Of Halloween (1919)

Ruth Edna Kelley

Amazon Price: $18.96 List Price: $24.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Kessinger Publishing, LLC Amazon Marketplace: 16 new & used starting at $16.18

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Holidays
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Social Sciences -> Sociology -> General
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Social Sciences -> Sociology -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

I'm So Happy This Book is Bacck in Print! 5 out of 5 stars.
10 of 10 people found this review helpful.

I was so thrilled to discover that this book is back in print! My grandmother owned a copy, and I read it over and over again at Halloween when I was a little girl. It is the ultimate history of the Halloween holiday, from ancient times to the early Twentieth Century. The author, Ruth Edna Kelley, was herself just 25 or so when the book was originally published in 1919. I'm not a very good review writer, but I wanted to let anyone who is considering buying this book know that this is a very nice edition, and the cover is just adorable. Everything I remember from childhood is there, except for a few blurry black and white pictures that were never very exciting to begin with. What makes this book great are the words, the accounts of how Halloween was celebrated in various countries, especially the Victorian Era games people played at parties, including about a dozen "tests" for discovering the name or seeing the face of your true love in a vision. I am crazy for anything having to do with this era, and re-reading The Book of Hallowe'en after all these years was like stepping backward in time and really being there. The accounts are so vivid, it really makes you want to just live now the way they did then. With this book, you could accomplish it. Everything you would need to have an authentic Victorian Halloween party today is right here. Best of all, it's just $13.95. I've seen used copies selling on Amazon for over a thousand dollars! I'm just tickled, really! This is a great book!

Editorial Review:

A Vintage medley of spooky fascination and fun for every grown-up who still thrills to the sight of carved pumpkins, straw witches and the eerie promise of a full, golden moon crowning a crisp October night In Ruth Edna Kelley's THE BOOK OF HALLOWE'EN, you'll discover the roots of our modern Halloween holiday in the religious and cultural traditions of the ancient Celts, Irish, Scots, Welsh, Britons, Germans and other Peoples of Old Europe, while also catching an enticing firsthand glimpse of how the holiday was enjoyed during the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, in both Europe and America. Filled with Halloween poems, games and tried and true ancient methods for divining the future (especially for discovering the identity of one's future spouse ), THE BOOK OF HALLOWE'EN opens a captivating window onto the past of one of today's most beloved holidays.

Today is Thanksgiving

P. K. Hallinan

List Price: $12.95 By: Forest House Publishing Company Amazon Marketplace: 2 new & used starting at $9.95

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Holidays

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Good Wholesome Book 5 out of 5 stars.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.

This book along with many other P.K. Hallinan books are good, wholesome books to enjoy with your children. The story not only includes the usual "goodies" that children are accustomed to during holidays, but it also includes the "true meaning" of holidays. Hallinan lets us enjoy the extras of Thanksgiving but reminds us to be thankful for the little things too. This book is a "must read".

Editorial Review:

A child describes Thanksgiving Day, from football to family to food.

Halloween: An American Holiday, an American History

Lesley Pratt Bannatyne

Amazon Price: $10.17 List Price: $14.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Pelican Publishing Company Amazon Marketplace: 33 new & used starting at $6.00

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Holidays
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Social Sciences -> Customs & Traditions
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Social Sciences -> Folklore & Mythology

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 13 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

great halloween information 5 out of 5 stars.
14 of 19 people found this review helpful.

this is an awesome book if you are looking for the whole history behind halloween and how it became an american holiday.This book is not for someone who is looking for a holiday read,but rather for someone who really wants to know the history behind this greatest of all holidays.I learned things about halloween that i never knew before,and being a real halloween nut, I thought i knew alot.You will learn the whole history behind halloween with this book,I enjoyed it greatly.

Editorial Review:

Halloween has evolved from the Celtic celebrations of 2,000 years ago to become today the fastest-growing holiday in the country. This, the only book to completely cover All Hallow’s Eve, from its beginnings to the present, examines the ancient origins as well as its traditions and celebrations, from costuming to bobbing for apples. Jack-o-lanterns, black cats, and witches are explained. Ghosts, ghouls, and goblins lurk behind every page.

The book traces the contributions of America’s immigrants to the holiday, documenting the beliefs each ethnic group has added to the mix. Related recipes, poems, songs, and photos perfectly complement the meticulously documented text. The result is the most educational and entertaining examination of Halloween, its myths, and its truths.

All Around the Year: Holidays and Celebrations in American Life

Jack Santino

Amazon Price: $18.00 List Price: $20.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: University of Illinois Press Amazon Marketplace: 22 new & used starting at $7.00

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> World Literature -> Mythology -> Folklore
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Holidays
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Social Sciences -> Customs & Traditions

Editorial Review:

Jack Santino's guide to such festivities is a wonderfully readable exploration of holidays, family and neighborhood rituals, and life-cycle customs and celebrations. He draws on history, anthropology, popular culture, and folklore to reveal the intricate relationships between holidays and the roles they play in people's personal and public lives.

LIFE: America's Parade

List Price: $29.95 By: Time-Life Books Amazon Marketplace: 20 new & used starting at $1.37

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> History -> Americas -> United States -> State & Local -> New York
Subjects -> History -> Americas -> United States -> General
Subjects -> History -> Americas -> United States -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

A nice celebration of the parade! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This is a good photographic book celebrating the Macy's Parade. The pictures of the balloons and floats over the years are great--my nephew has enjoyed it as much as I have. A good gift for kids and adults alike--I'm giving a few as gifts.

A former Macy's employee's viewpoint 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This book tells the whole story of how the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade has become America's number 1 parade. It tells how it has grown. The story of the floats, the ballons and the guest artists. A book the whole family can enjoy.

Editorial Review:

The editors of LIFEhave opened up the Macys photo archives to bring you a collection of never before seen pictures of one of Americas greatest holiday celebrations, Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade. Follow LIFEas it takes you on a historical journey into the heart of one of the worlds largest and most anticipated annual events.

Christmas Customs and Traditions

Clement A. Miles

Amazon Price: $10.16 List Price: $11.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Dover Publications Amazon Marketplace: 54 new & used starting at $0.64

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Crafts & Hobbies -> General
Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Crafts & Hobbies -> General AAS
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Holidays

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Well Worth Reading 4 out of 5 stars.
55 of 56 people found this review helpful.

This book was originally published in 1912 under the title "Christmas in Ritual and Tradition, Christian and Pagan".

This Book not only covers Christmas, but Halloween and various Saint's Days.

Mr. Miles does an interesting job of exploring the lore behind Christmas breads and cakes, the Yule log, decorating, and the Christmas Dramas of Europe and the British Isles, earlier this century.

A quaint Northumberland ritual utilizing Holly leaves is presented from page 275 of this work:

"....Nine leaves are taken up and tied with nine knots into a
"handkerchief, and put under the pillow by a person who
"desires prophetic dreams.
"For this purpose smooth leaves (without prickles)
"must be employed...."
The next sentence informs us that "holly is hated by witches"....

A twist on the familiar "Kissing under the Mistletoe" is given on the previous page, and we are informed that after each kiss, the boy removes a berry from the bough, and "when the berries were all picked, the privilege ceased."

You will also find a scattering of black and white reproductions of paintings, a wonderfully etched reproduction of Albreht Durer's "Madonna and Child", as well as a bibliography, notes and an index.

This book is well worth it's modest price.

Editorial Review:

Comprehensive, nonsectarian treasury details the origins and evolution of Christmas, and significance of religious and secular practices during the Yuletide. Includes caroling, gifts, Yule logs, much more. Scholarly, yet fascinating.

A Nantucket Christmas

Leslie Linsley

Amazon Price: $13.59 List Price: $19.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Bulfinch Amazon Marketplace: 32 new & used starting at $6.25

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> Special Occasions -> General
Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> Special Occasions -> General AAS
Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Crafts & Hobbies -> Seasonal

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

People from all over the United States come to Nantucket Island to celebrate Christmas in the charming setting of days gone by. Lamplights shine along cobblestoned Main Street, lined with Christmas trees heaped with thousands of lights. Every year, the week after Thanksgiving a select number of houses--most more than 200 years old--are chosen to be on a house tour for visiting tourists and islanders.

Leslie Linsley, renowned style and craft expert and author of the recently published Leslie Linsley's Decoupage, is also a resident of Nantucket. Now for the first time in paperback, A NANTUCKET CHRISTMAS shows you ideas for Christmas trees, door decorations, mantels, and much more, all inspired by the homes of Nantucket. Also included are projects such as ornaments and stockings as well as festive recipes and inspirations for table settings and entertaining.

Whether you're creating a wreath, banister decoration, or table setting, A NANTUCKET CHRISTMAS will inspire you to add a bit of early America to your Christmas tradition.

Dancing in the Streets: A History of Collective Joy

Barbara Ehrenreich

Amazon Price: $10.88 List Price: $16.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Holt Paperbacks Amazon Marketplace: 58 new & used starting at $2.47

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Psychology & Counseling -> Social Psychology & Interactions
Subjects -> History -> Historical Study -> Social History
Subjects -> History -> World -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

“Fascinating . . . An admirably lucid, level-headed history of outbreaks of joy from Dionysus to the Grateful Dead.”—Terry Eagleton, The Nation

 

Widely praised as “impressive” (The Washington Post Book World), “ambitious” (The Wall Street Journal), and “alluring” (The Los Angeles Times), Dancing in the Streets explores a human impulse that has been so effectively suppressed that we lack even a term for it: the desire for collective joy, historically expressed in revels of feasting, costuming, and dancing.
 
Drawing on a wealth of history and anthropology, Barbara Ehrenreich uncovers the origins of communal celebration in human biology and culture. From the earliest orgiastic Mesopotamian rites to the medieval practice of Christianity as a “danced religion” and the transgressive freedoms of carnival, she demonstrates that mass festivities have long been central to the Western tradition. In recent centuries, this festive tradition has been repressed, cruelly and often bloodily. But as Ehrenreich argues in this original, exhilarating, and ultimately optimistic book, the celebratory impulse is too deeply ingrained in human nature ever to be completely extinguished.

The First Thanksgiving (Hello Reader! Level 3)

Garnet Jackson

Amazon Price: $11.01 List Price: $12.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Topeka Bindery

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 4-8 -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 4-8 -> General AAS
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 9-12 -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Very good, yet simple Thanksgiving book 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I have a three year old, and this story is just right for her. It is simple enough that it keeps her attention, but it provides details such as why the Pilgrims left England, the harsh winters they had to endure, the different tribes of Native Americans they encountered and became indebted to, and it explains the harvest feast and why the pilgrims were thankful. I recommend this if you want something that gives a simple yet not overly simple explanation of the first Thanksgiving.

WHY WE GIVE THANKS 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I BOUGHT THIS NOT KNOWING IF MY 4 YEAR OLD AND 2 1/2 YEAR GRANDCHILDREN WOULD SIT THROUGH THE ENTIRE READING. THEY DID AND PAID ATTENTION TO WHAT WAS BEING READ!!! OBVIOUSLY THIS BOOK IS NOT INTENDED FOR CHILDREN THIS SMALL TO READ BY THEMSELVES BUT IT'S NEVER TOO EARLY TO READ TO THEM AND TEACH THEM THE TRUE MEANINGS OF OUR VARIOUS HOLIDAYS AND THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY - THIS STORY OFFERS BOTH. I WOULD DEFINITELY RECOMMEND IT FOR THIS AGE GROUP AND OLDER. A HINT - I READ THE STORY ALONG WITH INVOLVING THEM WITH SOME EASY THANKSGIVING CRAFT PROJECTS TO HELP REINFORCE THE STORY LINE.

Editorial Review:

Learn about the Pilgrim's arrival in the new world, their harsh first winter, and their relationship with Samoset, Squanto, and other Native Americans. The book culminates in the great harvest feast shared between the English and the Natives, which has now come to be known as the first Thanksgiving.

Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night

Nicholas Rogers

Amazon Price: $26.99 List Price: $29.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Oxford University Press, USA Amazon Marketplace: 55 new & used starting at $3.80

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> History -> Americas -> United States -> 20th Century -> General
Subjects -> History -> Americas -> United States -> General
Subjects -> History -> Americas -> United States -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Boasting a rich, complex history rooted in Celtic and Christian ritual, Halloween has evolved from ethnic celebration to a blend of street festival, fright night, and vast commercial enterprise. In this colorful history, Nicholas Rogers takes a lively, entertaining look at the cultural origins and development of one of the most popular holidays of the year.
Drawing on a fascinating array of sources, from classical history to Hollywood films, Rogers traces Halloween as it emerged from the Celtic festival of Samhain (summer's end), picked up elements of the Christian Hallowtide (All Saint's Day and All Soul's Day), arrived in North America as an Irish and Scottish festival, and evolved into an unofficial but large-scale holiday by the early 20th century. He examines the 1970s and '80s phenomena of Halloween sadism (razor blades in apples) and inner-city violence (arson in Detroit), as well as the immense influence of the horror film genre on the reinvention of Halloween as a terror-fest. Throughout his vivid account, Rogers shows how Halloween remains, at its core, a night of inversion, when social norms are turned upside down, and a temporary freedom of expression reigns supreme. He examines how this very license has prompted censure by the religious Right, occasional outrage from law enforcement officials, and appropriation by Left-leaning political groups.
Engagingly written and based on extensive research, Halloween is the definitive history of the most bewitching day of the year, illuminating the intricate history and shifting cultural forces behind this enduring trick-or-treat holiday.