{"product_id":"the-lost-christmas-9798235782020","title":"The Lost Christmas","description":"\u003cp\u003e • Author(s): Patrick Mullany\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher: Black Bell Books\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher Imprint: Black Bell Books\u003cbr\u003e • BISAC: Holidays (non religious)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBefore Christmas became a quiet day of presents, parlors, and polished tradition, it was something far older, stranger, louder, and more dangerous.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Lost Christmas\u003c\/strong\u003e uncovers the forgotten world of December before the modern holiday softened its edges. This was the season of pagan fires, winter spirits, ghost stories, sacred plants, masked visitors, wassail bowls, riotous feasts, wild hunts, village rituals, and old customs that once stretched from the winter solstice to Twelfth Night.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAcross Britain, Ireland, Scandinavia, Germany, Rome, and the wider European winter world, midwinter was understood as a threshold. The dead came close. The sun had to be called back. Fires burned against the longest nights. Greenery was brought indoors for protection. Communities drank, sang, disguised themselves, crossed boundaries, welcomed spirits, feared omens, and turned the social order upside down.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eInside this book, readers will discover: \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e- \u003cstrong\u003eThe pagan roots of Christmas and the ancient meaning of the winter solstice\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003cstrong\u003eThe Norse Yule, Roman Saturnalia, Sol Invictus, and older fire festivals behind December's rituals\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003cstrong\u003eThe eerie tradition of Christmas ghost stories and why the dead were believed to return at midwinter\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003cstrong\u003eWassailing, sacred drinks, feasts, Yule logs, mummers, the Lord of Misrule, and Twelfth Night customs\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003cstrong\u003eThe hidden folklore of holly, ivy, mistletoe, evergreens, winter spirits, and household protection\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003cstrong\u003eThe Wild Hunt, Berchta, Krampus, Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas, and the supernatural visitors of the season\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003cstrong\u003eThe Puritan war on Christmas and the later Victorian reinvention of the holiday\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003cstrong\u003eThe strange customs that survived beneath the surface of modern Christmas\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThis is Christmas before it was domesticated.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt is the Christmas of smoke and snow, fire and fear, feast and ghost story, sacred darkness and returning light. It is the old December, half holy and half haunted, still waiting beneath the glitter of the modern season.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor readers of folklore, seasonal history, pagan tradition, ghost stories, ancient customs, and the darker side of Christmas, \u003cstrong\u003eThe Lost Christmas\u003c\/strong\u003e opens the door to the holiday we almost forgot.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Black Bell Books","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":47892099661975,"sku":"9798235782020","price":1395.0,"currency_code":"INR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0666\/3471\/1191\/files\/9798235782020.webp?v=1781185737","url":"https:\/\/atlanticbooks.com\/products\/the-lost-christmas-9798235782020","provider":"Atlantic Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}