A world of their own making
Subtitle: myth, ritual, and the quest for family values
By: John R. Gillis.
Edition: 1st ed.
Publisher: Basic books
Published: 1996
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 310
Subjects: Family -- Folklore; Family festivals -- History; Family -- North America -- History; Family -- Europe -- History
Description: Our whole society may be obsessed with "family values," but, as historian John Gillis points out in this entertaining and eye-opening narrative, most of our images of "home sweet home" are of very recent vintage. In fact, our most cherished family rituals (Christmas, birthdays, anniversaries, Valentine's Day, white weddings, reunions, Father's Day, and Mother's Day) didn't even exist until the Victorian era.

A World of Their Own Making questions our idealized notion of "The Family," a mind-set in which myth and symbol still hold sway. As the families we live with become more fragile, the symbolic families we live by become more powerful. Yet it is only by accepting the notion that our rituals, myths, and images must be open to perpetual revision that we can satisfy our human needs and changing circumstances. Our families are worlds of our own making.

By using the past to throw light on the present, Gillis empowers us to enjoy and accept responsibility for our own creations.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (241-298) and index.