About This Book
The volume surveys how the Nativity has been observed across various lands and ages, first treating the festival's Christian side through hymnody, liturgy, devotional practices, cribs, and nativity drama, then detailing pagan survivals in winter rites. It traces the incorporation of pre-Christian customs into church celebrations, examines seasonal saints' observances and New Year customs, and describes the yule log, decorated evergreens, gift-giving, feasting, and related folk beliefs. Poetry, theatrical traditions, and comparative folklore are brought together to map variants, probable origins, and the interaction between sacred observance and popular ritual.