Winter Solstice The Sacred Traditions of Christmas

Many of us long for an alternative to the commercial industry Christmas has become. This beautifully illustrated, full-color book, brimming with folklore, stories, recipes, games, activities, decorating ideas, songs, and other resources, will help families who are "burned out" on Christmas create alternative celebrations more in keeping with the heartful spirit of the original Winter Solstice festivals.

• Delight in the surprising multicultural origins of Santa Claus, holly, the Yule Log, caroling, mistletoe, and the Christmas evergreen.
• Revive old traditions and discover new ones through lively descriptions of the midwinter revels of Old Europe and the solstice ceremonials of traditional peoples from many lands.
• Hallow the Twelve Days of Christmas as they were originally intended — as days to reflect, rejoice, and renew ourselves for the year to come.

The Winter Solstice brings together the full spectrum of Christmas past and present, including both familiar Christian symbolism and earlier pre-Christian traditions associated with the midwinter festival. Couples from differing religious backgrounds, followers of Eastern traditions, and Christians who wish to restore the original meaning of Christmas will find inspiration as well as practical direction in this glorious book.

Many people long for an alternative to the commercial industry Christmas has become. This illustrated, full-color book, brimming with folklore, stories, recipes, games, activities, decorating ideas, and songs, will help families who are burned out on Christmas create celebrations more in keeping with the heartful spirit of the original Winter Solstice festivals.

John Matthews is an international authority on Celtic folklore, the Western mystery tradition, and the Grail legends, and is one of the great culture-bearers of our times. He has written over forty books on the Arthurian legends, esoteric wisdom, and the Grail. His Quest Book The Winter Solstice won the Benjamin Franklin Award in 1998. With his wife and frequent coauthor Caitlin, John established the Foundation of Inspirational and Oracular Studies.