Holiday Traditions

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.

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.

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.

Discover the hilariously weird history behind your favorite Christmas traditions in “Wait… Why Do We Do This?” by Holly Jinglesworth. This laugh-out-loud guide explores everything from why we drag trees into our homes to how Santa ended up with flying reindeer. Packed with fun facts, humor, and a touch of holiday magic, this book answers the big questions about Christmas traditions: Why do we hang stockings by the fire? Who invented gingerbread houses? What’s the deal with candy canes, mistletoe, and ugly sweaters? How did Christmas lights become the ultimate holiday decoration?...

Young listeners learn about the early traditions which have led to our present-day celebration of Valentine's Day.

Dive into the vibrant tapestry of Jewish festivities with "Discovering Jewish Holidays and Traditions" a comprehensive guide crafted to immerse non-Jewish readers into the incredible richness of these cherished celebrations. What makes this book truly unique is its innovative approach—a seamless blend of enjoyable storytelling and enlightening explanations. Journey through lively anecdotes that provide profound insights into holiday customs, unlocking the cultural depth embedded in each tradition. From joyous celebrations to reflective observances, gain a profound understanding of the ...

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.

It’s time to celebrate Christmas. There’s so much to do! Make cookies and decorate the Christmas tree. Have dinner with your family. Exchange presents. This important Christian holiday celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ.

Young listeners learn about the early traditions which have led to our present-day celebration of Halloween.

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 ...

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?)

🎄 “A dash of flour, a pinch of stage fright, and a whole lot of love.” ❄️ Shy small-town baker, Janine Massey has a secret crush on Alex Hendricks, her best friend and Winterhaven’s handsome drama teacher. When Alex is cast as Mr. Darcy in the town’s Christmas play, Janine reluctantly steps into Elizabeth Bennet’s shoes—and possibly into true love. As rehearsals heat up and snowflakes fall, Janine and Alex discover a chemistry that goes beyond the stage. But with a big-city theater group eyeing Alex's talent and a sophisticated talent scout determined to whisk him away to...

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.

Did you know Christmas wasn’t always about jolly Santas and sparkling trees? Beneath the tinsel and cheer lies a dark and fascinating history filled with ghosts, witches, and sinister folklore. Dark Christmas: The Sinister Origins of Your Holiday Traditions dives deep into the eerie tales and forgotten rituals that shaped the holiday season as we know it today. Explore spine-chilling stories of Krampus, the Christmas devil, and Frau Perchta, the belly-slitting witch. Discover why we hang stockings, the creepy roots of Christmas trees, and the haunting legends of the Wild Hunt and Mari ...

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.

Snowed in with my infuriatingly hot coworker… and everything I’ve worked for is about to implode. Thorne Chilton is the last person I want to be stuck with days before Christmas. Arrogant, entitled, and way too tempting. But we're stranded in a blizzard, and the tension between us is sharper than the freezing wind outside. What started as an airport nightmare turned into the road trip from hell. My brain must have frostbite, because I hate him… but my body melts at his slightest touch. Before I can stop myself, I’m leaning in, craving more. Every touch, every glance weakens my ...