The Heathen's Guide to Christmas

Bought this book as a gift. Was embarassed to give away because it looked like it had been printed in someones house after scanning the original book at very low resolution. The cover was blurry and the text inside filled only half the width of the page. Awful

This book is not necessarily a follow up to Hopper's "Heathen's Guide to World Religions". It is an irreverent and occasionally sardonic essay on the pagan origins on the myths of the Christmas season. It gives a reasonable accounting of the rituals associated with the celebration of the Christmas holiday, from mistletoe to the addition (and evolution) of everyone's favorite fat jolly elf.While this sort of sounds like a "how-to" guide for wanna-be Grinches, it is actually a lively read. (Even Grinches are mentioned in the book) Some of the origins of the myths you've probably heard before but more than a few times I found myself tapping my lower lip in thought and thinking: "So THAT'S where that came from!"I thoroughly enjoy the Christmas holiday, giving gifts and spending time with those I love, and the book didn't change that. But learning the history behind it, where the rituals came from and why we do them was fascinating.

After "the Heathen's guide to World Religions" you know what to expect from Hopper's book ; the rational , historical view of our current Christmas holiday , how it started and what it has become now. Higly recommended for anyone curious about Christmas and for everybody interested in knowing what started it all .