The Philosophy of Christmas

Caroline Taggart

£12.99

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British Library Publishing
17 October 2024
ISBN: 9780712355162
Hardback
112 pages

From the publisher

Following in the tradition of the British Library Philosophies series, this full-colour book explores the fascinating and diverse influences on our Christmas celebrations. A beautifully designed gift book, this is the perfect stocking filler, written by a popular and best-selling author, Caroline Taggart.

Take the Roman festival of Saturnalia, the gift-giving Norse god Odin and the Pagan habit of bringing evergreen plants into the house at Midwinter. Add a benevolent fourth-century bishop, some drunken medieval singing and a nineteenth-century American poem. Sprinkle with the Christian tradition of Jesus being born on 25 December and stir well. Allow the mixture to absorb other influences over hundreds of years and serve with a plum pudding that may or may not have plums in it.

Drawing on these multifarious ingredients and more, Caroline Taggart takes a fascinating and quirky look at why we celebrate Christmas the way we do. Illustrated in glorious full colour with images from the British Library Collections, this is a joyful journey through distant lands and ancient customs, finishing with a few thoughts on what our future traditions might be.