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A Christmas Cornucopia: The Hidden Stories Behind Our Yuletide Traditions

by Mark Forsyth

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857314,699 (3.72)None
By the Sunday Times no. 1 bestselling author "Witty and revelatory. Blooming brilliant" Raymond Briggs "Everything we ever thought about Christmas is wrong! Great stuff" Matthew Parris The unpredictable origins and etymologies of our cracking Christmas customs For something that happens every year of our lives, we really don't know much about Christmas. We don't know that the date we celebrate was chosen by a madman, or that Christmas, etymologically speaking, means 'Go away, Christ'. Nor do we know that Christmas was first celebrated in 243 AD on 28 March - and only moved to 25 December in 354 AD. We're oblivious to the fact that the advent calendar was actually invented by a Munich housewife to stop her children pestering her for a Christmas countdown. And we would never have guessed that the invention of crackers was merely a way of popularizing sweet wrappers. Luckily, like a gift from Santa himself, Mark Forsyth is here to unwrap this fundamentally funny gallimaufry of traditions and oddities, making it all finally make sense - in his wonderfully entertaining wordy way.… (more)
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This was written as humor I hope. As even a semi-scholarly is falls flat...very flat. ( )
  dpevers | Dec 1, 2023 |
At-times hysterically funny but always engaging, interesting, and full of holiday insight. Highly recommended! ( )
  SESchend | Nov 2, 2021 |
Interesting and informative, ireeverant but not insulting, but I would have liked more. ( )
  ElentarriLT | Mar 24, 2020 |
''There's a lovely story about a Tokyo department store, back in the days when Christmas was unknown in Japan. The head of this store had heard rumours of a Western tradition that involved a massive shopping spree and he wanted to introduce it to Tokyo. So he sent some of his stuff to investigate, and the result was that on Christmas Eve the shop's main window was decorated with a huge Santa Claus nailed to a cross.''

What is the evolution of the Christmas Dinner throughout History? What is the actual (and rather complicated...) reason we celebrate Christmas on the 25th of December? How did the Christmas Tree manage to invade our households? How fed-up could a mother be to invent the Advent countdown? What is the big deal with carols? What prompted the transition from St Nickolas to Santa Claus? And what exactly is the significance of Boxing Day for those of us who aren't British?

With honest and accurate remarks and a few snarky but well-meant and elegant comments, Mark Forsyth writes about misconceptions, misunderstandings, confusion, strange customs and the ever-lasting warmth of Christmas, no matter the era or the increasingly absurd marketing.

''If you ask me any simple question - 'What's the capital of France?', 'When does the last train leave?', 'Would you like a drink?' - I can answer Paris, midnight and whiskey. But that is all dross. There is Something Else, something much more important, and I cannot tell you what that Something Else is; and if I could tell you, it would not be worth the telling. We cannot say it, but we can, somehow, do it. And we do it at Christmas.''

My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/ ( )
  AmaliaGavea | Dec 31, 2019 |
It only took me forever to finish this. Not because it was bad but because I put it down and forgot about it.

This was filled with humor, obscure facts and some interesting history. Not a bad read at all. ( )
  ViragoReads | Dec 12, 2019 |
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By the Sunday Times no. 1 bestselling author "Witty and revelatory. Blooming brilliant" Raymond Briggs "Everything we ever thought about Christmas is wrong! Great stuff" Matthew Parris The unpredictable origins and etymologies of our cracking Christmas customs For something that happens every year of our lives, we really don't know much about Christmas. We don't know that the date we celebrate was chosen by a madman, or that Christmas, etymologically speaking, means 'Go away, Christ'. Nor do we know that Christmas was first celebrated in 243 AD on 28 March - and only moved to 25 December in 354 AD. We're oblivious to the fact that the advent calendar was actually invented by a Munich housewife to stop her children pestering her for a Christmas countdown. And we would never have guessed that the invention of crackers was merely a way of popularizing sweet wrappers. Luckily, like a gift from Santa himself, Mark Forsyth is here to unwrap this fundamentally funny gallimaufry of traditions and oddities, making it all finally make sense - in his wonderfully entertaining wordy way.

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