Holiday Traditions

Once fall hits and the chilly weather settles in, the holiday season has begun! And nothing embodies holiday spirit more than the continuing of family traditions that have been passed down from generation to generation. May it be sharing stories at the dinner table, laughs on the porch, or just time spent alone - everyone has their own ritual. Join Dana Cowin, author and former editor-in-chief of Food & Wine, as she chats with some of today’s most popular chefs and food personalities.

In this widely popular, exciting story for the advent season, listeners follow 10-year-old Jotham across Israel as he searches for his family. Though he faces thieves, robbers, and kidnappers, Jotham also encounters the wise men, shepherds, and innkeepers until at last he finds his way to the Savior born in Bethlehem.

Ever wonder why everyone wants to immigrate to America? Rediscovering America answers that question, and it’s like no other history you have ever encountered. More than an account of people, dates, and events, this story is about the hidden hand of a purposeful historical development where the main actors are colorful characters, participating in an American drama of little-known but remarkable events where overcoming incredible odds of failure is more unbelievable and engaging than fiction.

It is one year after the triplets changed their lives and relocated to Asheville, each starting off in a new direction. Once again, the holidays bring challenges and change, happiness and heartbreak, and the power of unbreakable family bonds. Join these strong, funny, and loving women as the holiday spirit lifts them as high as the Blue Ridge Mountains as they celebrate old traditions and create a few new ones along the way.

After the unexpected death of her husband, Joanne Huist Smith had no idea how she would keep herself together and be strong for her three children - especially with the holiday season approaching. But 12 days before Christmas, presents begin appearing on her doorstep with notes from their "True Friends." As the Smiths came together to solve the mystery of who the gifts were from, they began to thaw out from their grief and come together again as a family.

Christmas Past: The Fascinating Stories Behind Our Favorite Holiday’s Traditions reveals the surprising, quirky, mysterious, and sometimes horrifying stories behind the most wonderful time of the year.

The holly-jolly holidays aren’t for everyone, least of all when you look back on that one Christmas when there were two definitely haunted dolls waiting for you and your sister under the tree. You have to assume that’s where it all started. And so it was for Jenny Lawson. Now, she lives in the land of eternal Halloween, as evidenced by her interior decor and general state of darkness. (Although, if you ask her, her taxidermy zoo is less dark, more delightful. But not everyone has taste, so what are you going to do?)

Five wishes...one special place...and a miracle to make it happen each Christmas. The Summers family always chose somewhere special to spend their Christmas holiday instead of at home. Every year their holiday vacation destination was different and carefully determined their Christmas wishes. Hannah and her children loved their Christmas holiday tradition even though it was never easy for everyone to be completely satisfied and this year was no different...or was it? Daniel Summers quickly offered to handle the arrangements for their upcoming Christmas holiday vacation. He knew his mother ...

Anyone who laments the excesses of Christmas might consider the Puritans of colonial Massachusetts: they simply outlawed the holiday. The Puritans had their reasons, since Christmas was once an occasion for drunkenness and riot, when poor "wassailers" extorted food and drink from the well-to-do. In this intriguing and innovative work of social history, Stephen Nissenbaum rediscovers Christmas's carnival origins and shows how it was transformed, during the nineteenth century, into a festival of domesticity and consumerism.

In this hilariously irreverent collection of essays, Jen Mann, nationally best-selling author of People I Want to Punch in the Throat, turns her mordant wit on the holidays. On Mann's naughty list: mothers who go way overboard with their Elf on the Shelf, overzealous carolers who can't take a hint, and people who write their Christmas cards in the third person ("Joyce is enjoying Bunko. Yeah, Joyce, we know you wrote this letter."). And on her nice list...well, she's working on that one.

In recent years many claims have been made and questions asked about the origins of our Easter traditions. Was the holiday based on Pagan traditions? Was Easter created by the Roman Catholic Church at the Council of Nicaea? Where did Easter eggs and the Easter Bunny come from? How did Lent get started? Should Christians celebrate Easter, or should we be celebrating Passover? In this book we try to go back to the origins of these traditions and examine the historical evidence available to us to see where all of these traditions got started. Starting with the Bible as our guide, we work our ...

Holiday traditions are so deeply entrenched in our culture, but represent a deception so complete that they have become one of Satan’s greatest victories. You've grown up celebrating various holidays, yet you don't know where they originate. They come from the celebration of pagan gods. You owe it to yourself to learn the truth. Find out how the observance of these holidays may be robbing you of spiritual fulfillment.

The folklore roots of Christmas under its many other guises (Yule, the Winter Solstice, Saturnalia) is examined in a different, darker light. The Winter Solstice is a time to be afraid. It’s the shortest day of the year, the longest night. In some parts of the world, the sun doesn’t rise at all. It’s dark, and we have to wonder if the sun will ever come back at all. Christmas has always been creepy and with The Fright Before Christmas, you'll see that side. This is a book for everyone who loves a little darkness around the holidays.

Maddox Delaney wasn’t all that famous; she was well-known by association. Surrounded by her famous, coupled-off friends, Maddox had thought she had her chance at love. So, while a New Year’s Eve Party hosted by some of her closest friends isn’t really her idea of fun, it might just be what she needs. She’s definitely not planning on kissing anyone at midnight. That is, until she meets Avery. As the party unfolds, Maddox and Avery not only keep running into each other; they are finding excuses to. What happens when the clock strikes midnight? One party. One chance.

In addition to all the delicious meals we enjoy around Thanksgiving, we have so much more for which to be thankful. This book aims to bring our attention to God, the Creator of the universe, and many priceless benefits that can only be found in Christ, the Savior.

Not so very long ago, Yuletide was as much a chilling season of ghosts and witches as it was a festival of goodwill. In The Old Magic of Christmas, you'll rub elbows with veiled spirits, learn the true perils of elves, and discover a bestiary of enchanted creatures. Rife with the more frightful characters from folklore and the season's most petulant ghosts, this book takes you on a spooky sleigh ride from the silvered firs of a winter forest to the mirrored halls of the Snow Queen.

Snuggle up in front of a blazing fire, your favorite quilt, and a piping mug of hot chocolate as you delve into this sweet, holiday romance. On the other hand, forget the hot chocolate, or it will end up coming out your nose from all the chuckling and laughing you’re going to do. Kylie Dennis, one of the top sales associates for the department store where she works, has given up on men. Not a one can live up to her standards. And they’re not even that high: be an interesting, kind person whose main goal in talking to her is to get her into bed with him. When the H.R. department asks her...

The Pilgrims' celebration of the first Thanksgiving is a keystone of America's national and spiritual identity. But is what we've been taught about them or their harvest feast what actually happened? And if not, what difference does it make? Through the captivating story of the birth of this quintessentially American holiday, veteran historian Tracy McKenzie helps us to better understand the tale of America's origins—and for Christians, to grasp the significance of this story and those like it.

Have you ever really considered the psychological effects of the Santa Claus story and Holidays in general? A Holiday Hazing Santa Clause Syndrome is a presentation of one of the most devastating and most commonplace psychological afflictions of the postmodern era; Santa Clause Syndrome. A Holiday Hazing Santa Clause Syndrome dissects the psychological results of the cultural initiation that is celebration of Santa Clause. Moreover no one has elaborated on Christmas and holidays in general like this in 2,000 years! You will laugh, you may cry, and you will forever more question institutions...

Dear Traveler, Welcome to the WanderStories™ guide to Chinese cuisine and table manners, traditions and customs, holidays and festivals, behavior and etiquette, Peking opera, Chinese humor and jokes. We, at WanderStories™, are storytellers. We don’t tell you where to eat or sleep, we don’t intend to replace a typical travel reference guide. Our mission is to be the best local guide that you would wish to have by your side when visiting the sights. So, we meet you at the sight and take you on a tour. WanderStories™ travel guides are unique because our storytelling style puts you ...