From: lmollett@lunatix.uucp (Laura Mollett)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books
Subject: Re: Cultural Appropriation and the New Age
Date: 24 Dec 92 02:47:46 GMT
Organization: Lexington Public Access Unix. -KY- (606) 255-9121

In article <1992Dec23.144617.25477@ns1.cc.lehigh.edu> jahb@ns1.cc.lehigh.edu (JENNIFER A. HEISE) writes:
>In article <JMC.92Dec22003234@SAIL.Stanford.EDU>, jmc@SAIL.Stanford.EDU (John Mc
>Carthy) writes:
>>When some American Indians became Catholic, were they appropriating someone
>>else's spirituality?
>
>No, but when Catholics moved the birth of Jesus to the winter solistice (sp?),
>and created an "All Saints Day" the day after Samhain (? I can't remember if
>that is the name of the Oct 31 holiday), were they appropriating the pagans'
>spirituality? How about when they elevated Mary as a Mother Goddess?
>P.S. I'm a Catholic (lapsed) myself.
>
Hello and Happy Holidays (whichever ones you're celebrating) :),
	It's solstice, btw. and your post seems like a good excuse for me
to recommend a book on the subject :).  (I thought someone else was asking
earlier too, but I don't remember who or when or what or what subject etc.)
Anyway, the book is _Christmas Customs & Traditions;                
			their History and Significance_
				by Clement A. Miles
			Dover Pub., New York, 1976
	and includes in Part II (Pagan Survivals)
		Pre-Christian Winter Festivals;
		All Hallow Tide to Martinmas (stuff on All Saints &
			All Souls' Days, their Relation to New Year
			Festival etc.)
		St. Clement to St. Thomas
		Christmas Eve and the Twelve Days
		The Yule Log
		The Christmas-Tree, Decorations, & Gifts
		Christmas Feasting & Sacrificial Survivals
		Masking, The Mummers' Play, The Feast of Fools, &
			the Boy Bishop (Interesting stuff :)
		St. Stephen's, St. John's, & Holy Innocents' Days
		New Year's Day
		Epiphany to Candlemas
	This is just the table of contents for the second part of the book.
Loads of great stuff in every chapter; and almost anything one could ask for
about where Christmas customs originated etc. etc.  Good book.
	Another couple of Christmas books, while I'm at it:
		_The Romance of a Christmas Card_ by Kate Douglas Wiggin
			Boston & New York, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1915
An old-fashioned romance story with _wonderful_ illustrations by Alice
Ercle Hunt (beautiful full-color plates with small subtitles, tho not
enough of them :)
and,
		_The Reader's Digest Merry Christmas Songbook_
			Reader's Digest, 1981
Probably the only Reader's Digest thing I would ever recommend <grin>, but this
book has almost every Christmas Song I can imagine in it (and lots I couldn't
imagine) along with a little note of "Story Behind the Song" for all of them.
The only thing missing is "Winter Wonderland" <sigh>.  I'm having a terrible
time finding the words to that song.  Anyway this one has everything from the
traditionals ("The Holly & the Ivy :) to "Nuttin for Christmas" (I'm gettin'
Nuttin' for Christmas, cuz I ain't been nuttin but bad") including all the
words to "Frosty" and to "The Little Drummer Boy" or anything else the kids are
asking for.  
		Well, again, Happy Holidays,
				Laura Mollett
>PPS- John, it's he who refuses to do LOGIC who is doomed to talk nonsense.
>Case in point.
>-- 
>Jennifer Heise                           Net: jahb@lehigh.edu
>Reference Dept.,                         Phone: (215) 758-3072
>Fairchild-Martindale Libraries #8A,  Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA 18015
>My opinions are my own. No one else would HAVE them anyway.
>
>"The toad beneath the harrow knows
>Exactly where each tooth-point goes;