There are a huge number of holidays that are celebrated around the world during December. To cite but a few, there's Advent (the four weeks before Christmas); St. Nicholas Day (December 6); Chanuka (December 11-19 in 2009); Festival de Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe (December 12); St. Lucia Day (December 13); Las Posadas (December 16-24); Yule (December 20-22); Winter Solstice (in the Northern Hemisphere, December 21 or 22); Soyaluna (December 22); DongZhi (December 21, 22 or 23); Kwanzaa (December 26-January 1); Boxing Day (December 26); Ōmisoka (December 31).
Because many of the above holidays celebrate the triumph of "light" and warmth over "darkness" and cold, and are rooted in ancient pagan traditions that later were co-opted by proponents of Christianity, it is not surprising that quite a few of them are precursors to, or are associated with, what arguably is the most celebrated holiday in the Western World, Christmas:
The literature of Christmas is vast, and any book collector seeking to create a Christmas-themed private library quickly realizes that difficult choices have to be made.
Does one collect everything written about or influenced by this holiday? An impossible task--even if one has all the money in the world, some books simply are unavailable in the marketplace.
Does one focus only on nonfiction books (origins, evolution, secular or religious aspects), fiction (not all of which is cheery), or both? Does one collect such books as a stand-alone theme, or as an adjunct to other collecting areas (folklore, religion, industrialization, childhood, illustration)?
Over the next several days, we will examine the literature of Christmas in more detail....
Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no VIRGINIAS. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.
Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies....
Recent Comments