Canadian Christmas Traditions by DeeAnn Mandryk

I came across this book in my local book store and initially thought it would be an eclectic collection of stories that no one would really care to read about... but I very happily discovered otherwise. This book is a wonderful resource for the origins of all of the things we now take for granted come Christmas. There are recipes in the book, but I do not cook or bake so I do not really care about them nor took the time to look them over, but there were a good number of them and I'm sure they would be of interest to those who do have an interest in both the culinary arts and the holiday season.

The book has pretty much every Christmassy thing in here and discusses both where it came from and how we use it currently. It covers a lot of ground so the information about some of the traditions are not as in-depth as others, some are only a page in length, but there is enough information on each topic to satisfy your average information junkie.

This is the table of contents in list form to give an idea of the subject matter;

Intro, The Origin of Christmas Day, Christmas and Xmas, The Christmas Tree, Christmas Ornamentation and Decorations, The Christmas Star, Holiday Flora, Yule Logs, Christmas Candles and the Festival of Lights, Origin of Advent, Colours of the Season, Christmas Bells, Feasting Traditions, Canadian Christmas Traditional Recipes, Origin of Christmas Crackers, First Christmas Carols, The Origins and Evolution of Santa Claus, Reindeer Names, Christmas Stockings, Christmas Presents, Origin of the Snowman, The Nutcracker, The Importance of Frankincense, Origin of the Creche, The Night Animals Could Speak, The Origin of Christmas Cards, Beginnings of Boxing Day, The Three Wise Men, Groundhog Day and Candlemas, Old Slavic Winter Solstice and Christmas Superstitions

I have always been interested in tradition and in the origins of both my belief and my culture. I would look up the history online and print out pages to show to my family. I no longer have to do that because this book has all of that information compiled into one super convenient and interesting book. It is very readable and easy to get through and a must for all Christmas enthusiasts out there.