Reviews

The Old Magic of Christmas: Yuletide Traditions for the Darkest Days of the Year by Linda Raedisch

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daniemanos's review against another edition

4.0

While we view Christmas today as a time of good cheer, generosity, and kindness, not too long ago it was a terrifying time of year full of witches, monsters, and other demons. The popular Krampus is only scratching the surface of these Christmas deviants... In this book I read about the vampires that roam Romania on the night of St Andrew's day. I read about the werewolf children who were thought to be born during Advent. I read about the Welsh who hoisted their dead up and down through chimneys, and the many offerings we tried to give to those malevolent creatures who might have crept back down through our chimneys - including the suckling pig, laid out on the table in the hopes that a lamiae might confuse it with a newborn child to feast on. The stories go on and on and stretch all the way from Norway to Greece. Many, if not all, of our Christmas traditions we have today can be traced back to these less than cheery folkloren tales. This is a season full of witchcraft, despite how secular it seems today.

It is in this season when the days grow short and the dark nights stretch on that the veil between life and death becomes the most thin. I like to imagine that the door to the dead opens on Halloween but even then the line between life and death is clear; the difference between living and dead is stark and clearly apparent. However this time of year that distinction is not so clear. We withdraw back to the hearth, maybe even sleep more, as if practicing for the long permanent sleep we will face at the end. It is not the ghosts coming to visit you, but you are both the dead and the living. It is now, in the dark and the cold, where you and your ghost are actually just one and the same.

This is a great, more academic read for those who are interested in the Dark Christmas aspect of the season. It reads a bit like a textbook.

lsparrow's review against another edition

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3.0

goes through many traditions of christmas and those that predate it and that are reflected in current traditions. some parts I knew but many details were new to me. I didn't like the organization of the book - it seemed to jump between organizing around cultural tradition and theme which makes it a bit harder to use as a referrence

tlctbr's review against another edition

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4.0

I really enjoyed taking a deep dive into some fascinating Christmas traditions and mythology. I don’t think I could convince the kids to trade in Santa for Befana, but we might find ways to invite some elves to join us at our Yule fire.