Christmas: From Solstice to Santa

by Nikki Tate, Dani Tate-Stratton

Overview

Christmas is a popular holiday celebrated by people all over the world. This informative and engaging exploration of Christmas is aimed at the middle grades but will entertain readers of a much wider age range. Learn about the games played, foods eaten, music played and favorite ways of decorating in different parts of the world. With lots of fun facts (about everything from frumenty to the jolly old man in red himself) and recipes, there's plenty in this beautifully illustrated volume to satisfy anyone with an interest in the festive season.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781459813557
Publisher:	Orca Book Publishers
Publication date:	10/09/2018
Series:	Orca Origins Series , #6
Pages:	80
Product dimensions:	7.50(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.56(d)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Nikki Tate is the author of more than 30 books, most of which are for children and teens. Her Footprints title, Deep Roots: How Trees Sustain Our Planet, received several award nominations and was named by the New York Public Library as one of 2016’s Best 100 Books for Kids. She lives in Canmore, Alberta.

Dani Tate-Stratton lives with her husband in Victoria, British Columbia, but is always plotting her next trip. When she isn’t exploring other cities, she is a graphic designer, writer, compulsive crafter and devoted dog mom.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter One: Season of Darkness, Season of Light

• Early Midwinter Celebrations
• Time to Feast
• Yule Logs and the Yule Goat
• Ancient Rome
• Ancient Greece
• Flying Chariots
• Early Christianity
• The Story of the Nativity
• The Spread of Christianity
• The Puritans
• Christmas Carols
• Saint Nicholas
• Christmas Bounces Back

Chapter Two: The Beginnings of Modern Christmas

• Saint Nicholas, Meet Santa Claus!
• Rich and Poor
• Modern Christmas Music
• Christmas Trees
• Gift Giving
• Let's Shop! (or Not)

Chapter Three: Celebrations around the World

• Light
• Feasting
• Gifts (or Who Brought Those Presents Anyway?
• Fun and Games

A final word from the authors
Glossary
Resources
Index
Acknowledgments

Editorial Reviews

"Fun-filled, with fascinating facts that will appeal to young readers."

Booklist

An informative history of the Christian holiday…The narrative is well illustrated.

The Horn Book Online

"A very personal feel. The design is particularly pleasing…[and] adds to the festive feelings suited to the season…One cannot stop reading snippets aloud with the comment 'Did you know this?'"

Resource Links

"A delightful stocking stuffer for any Christmas lover."

Rocky Mountain Outlook

With personal anecdotes, this is a complete guide to a multiplicity of customs behind Christmas celebrations.

The International Educator

"Fun-filled, with fascinating facts that will appeal to young readers."

Booklist

2018-07-24

Readers so inclined can celebrate Christmas anytime with this overview of the holiday's traditions from past to present.

This exploration of Christmas traditions is separated into three chapters, with accounts from the mother-daughter authorial duo's personal celebrations interspersed throughout. The first chapter follows Christmas' origins as a non-Christian early midwinter celebration. Readers learn about ancient Rome's Saturnalia and ancient Greece's celebration of Dionysus' birth. Further travels in the Northern Hemisphere introduce readers to Jesus' birth and the spread of Christianity throughout Europe and beyond. Despite the Puritans' attempts to cancel Christmas, it "bounces back." The book's second chapter then goes on to chronicle the evolution of modern-day Christmas. The third chapter looks at festivities around the world in a smattering of countries in Asia, South America, Central America, Africa, and Oceania. The large, glossy photos (some from the authors' lives) show a welcome range of racial representation. Sidebars provide some helpful context and interesting asides, including a handful of recipes. The conversational tone is as delightful and jovial as Santa Claus himself. Unfortunately, that results in a rose-colored view of the spread of Christianity, noting that it simply "traveled along with" colonists.

An adequate survey of the holiday in a pretty package, made a bit more special with its personal touches. (glossary, resources, index) (Nonfiction. 9-12)

Kirkus Reviews