Oxford Handbook of Christmas
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Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 9780198831464
Number of Pages: 656
Published: 21/10/2020
Width: 18.1 cm
Height: 25.4 cm
The Oxford Handbook of Christmas provides a comprehensive, interdisciplinary account of all aspects of Christmas across the globe, from the specifically religious to the purely cultural. The contributions are drawn from a distinguished group of international experts from across numerous disciplines, including literary scholars, theologians, historians, biblical scholars, sociologists, anthropologists, art historians, and legal experts. The volume provides authoritative treatments of a range of topics, from the origins of Christmas to the present; decorating trees to eating plum pudding; from the Bible to contemporary worship; from carols to cinema; from the Nativity Story to Santa Claus; from Bethlehem to Japan; from Catholics to Baptists; from secularism to consumerism.
Christmas is the biggest celebration on the planet. Every year, a significant percentage of the world's population is draw to this holiday--from Cape Cod to Cape Town, from South America to South Korea, and on and on across the globe. The Christmas season takes up a significant part of the entire year. For many countries, the holiday is a major force in their national economy. Moreover, Christmas is not just a modern holiday, but has been an important feast for most Christians since the fourth century and a dominant event in many cultures and countries for over a millennium. The Oxford Handbook of Christmas provides an invaluable reference point for anyone interested in this global phenomenon.
Part I: History
1: Paul F. Bradshaw: The Dating of Christmas: The Early Church
2: Kati Ihnat: The Middle Ages
3: Katrina Jennie-Lou Wheeler: The Reformation and Early Modern Periods
4: Timothy Larsen: The Nineteenth Century
5: Christopher Ferguson: The Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries
Part II: Theology
6: John Barton: The Old Testament
7: Markus Bockmuehl and Evangeline Kozitza: The New Testament
8: Katherine Sonderegger: Jesus Christ and the Incarnation
9: Katherine G. Schmidt: The Blessed Virgin Mary and the Virgin Birth
Part III: Worshipping Communities
10: Anne McGowan: Roman Catholicism
11: Mary B. Cunningham: Eastern Orthodoxy
12: Kirsi Stjerna: Lutheranism
13: Martyn Percy: Anglicanism
14: Andrew R. Holmes: Reformed and Dissenting Protestants
Part IV: The Nativity Story
15: Holly Taylor Coolman: The Holy Family
16: David Lyle Jeffrey: Gabriel and the Angels
17: Leroy A. Huizenga: Bethlehem and the Census
18: D. H. Williams: The Magi and the Star
19: Jody Vaccaro Lewis: The Inn, the Manger, the Swaddling Clothes, the Shepherds, and the Animals
Part V: Traditions
20: Daniel Gifford: The Winter Solstice and other Celebrations of the Season
21: Adam C. English: St Nicholas to Santa Claus
22: David Bertaina: Trees and Decorations
23: Ellen M. Litwicki: Gifts and Charity
24: Marcia J. Bunge: Children and Childhood
25: Paul Freedman: Food and Drink
Part VI: The Arts
26: Tova Leigh-Choate: Carols and Music to 1900
27: Todd Decker: Carols and Music since 1900
28: Barbara von Barghahn: Paintings
29: Frances Clemson: Plays
30: Emma Mason: Poetry
31: Natalie McKnight: Fiction
32: Mark Connelly: Film and Television
Part VII: Around the World
33: Elizabeth Monier: Bethlehem and the Middle East
34: Nadine Cretin: Catholic Europe
35: Joe Perry: Germany and Scandinavia
36: Francesca Silano: Russia
37: Martin Johnes: The United Kingdom
38: Daniel Vaca: The United States
39: Joel Cabrita: Africa
40: Joseph Tse-Hei Lee: Asia
41: David Thomas Orique, O.P.: Latin America and the Caribbean
Part VIII: The State and Society
42: Richard W. Garnett and Jackson Blais: Public Holidays and the Law
43: John Schmalzbauer: Commercialism and Consumerism
44: David Nash: Secularity
45: Gerry Bowler: Culture Wars
Timothy Larsen: Epilogue: The Many True Meanings of Christmas
The Handbook is scrupulous in covering the views of all the main Christian traditions and perspectives, and Orthodox perspectives receive admirably balanced coverage throughout the work. There are a couple of curious examples in which traditions are treated slightly less thoroughly than might seem warranted. * Philip Jenkins, Fides et Historia * So many are the impacts of Christmas, and so diverse, that we can scarcely imagine a single book that could do the topic justice. We must then laud the sheer ambition of Oxford University Press in proposing anything like The Oxford Handbook of Christmas, and the raw nerve of Timothy Larsen in undertaking the editorial guidance. The resulting book is a triumph. * Philip Jenkins, Baylor University, Fides et Historia * Larsen has edited a volume that, with all its scholarly orientation and high quality, also offers inspiring reading for long evenings in winter, Advent and the Christmas days and provides fresh angles for celebrating Christmas, be it in a Christian congregation, at home or in wider society. * C. Stenschke, Ephemerides Theologicae Lovanienses * Everyone who loves Christmas will want to have this work of reference on their bookshelf. * Salvador Ryan, St Patrick's College, Maynooth * The Oxford Handbook of Christmas is a perfect treasure trove. * Chris Deacy, Theology * [Timothy Larsen's] book, a highly readable collection of 45 essays by well-informed scholars, is a fascinating box of focusing lenses on Christmas-its history, theology, iconography, traditions, and, yes, its controversies, including those of the present moment. * Book Review Editor, Wall Street Journal * [T]his vast collection, edited by Timothy Larsen -an expert in Victorian religious life-offers stimulating essays on what might be called Christmasness; thus it will be ever timely. * Alexandra Mullen, Wall Street Journal * This beautiful, comprehensive handbook thoroughly covers the religious and cultural significance of the Christian festival of Christmas. Larsen (Christian thought, Wheaton College, Illinois) assembled an international team of contributors, and he divides their 45 essays into eight topical parts. "History" covers the history of Christmas in Christianity from the beginning to the present; "Theology" and "Worshipping Communities" deal with, respectively, the biblical
and theological aspects of Christmas and how the holiday is observed within the various Christian communities; and "The Nativity Story" examines different aspects of the traditional Christmas narrative. ... Though the beauty of the book and its illustrations could lead one to think otherwise, this is a
serious work of scholarship, as evidenced by the extensive bibliographies at the end of each essay. * M. A. Granquist, CHOICE *