December 1, 2004
Singing Christmas carols while reading a book? Wistfully embarking on a nostalgic trip to Christmases past? This well-written and comprehensive book will answer nearly any reference question relating to Christmas, including "What is callithumpian music?" Originally published in 2000, this improved edition includes over 1000 entries and 200 black-and-white and color illustrations for nearly half the price. Bowler's (Europe in the Sixteenth Century) special lists are particularly intriguing: How to say "Merry Christmas" in 85 languages, famous events that took place on December 25 in the last two millennia, U.S. presidents and Christmas, and favorite Christmas toys dating back to 1867. The book includes illustrations of many world Christmas stamps and the complete lyrics for 115 Christmas carols from all over the world-some in their original languages with English translations. Bottom Line This is a better choice for most libraries than Tanya Gulevich's Encyclopedia of Christmas, which contains 240 long articles and goes for $68. The meager price of Bowler's book makes it a wonderful seasonal compendium.-Gary P. Gillum, Brigham Young Univ., Provo, UT
Copyright 2004 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
May 1, 2001
\deflang1033\pard\plain\f3\fs24 This encyclopedia is described as a "truly comprehensive look at Christmas and all its customs" on its book jacket. It provides more than 1,000 entries on worldwide secular and religious Christmas practices expressed in song, literature, events, film, arts, and trivia and is aimed at young adult and adult readers as well as researchers. Entries are primarily descriptive, but a number of them, especially those on films, contain critical commentary.
The entries proceed from \plain\f3\fs24" A\plain\f3\fs24 to \plain\f3\fs24" Z\plain\f3\fs24 with a liberal number of black-and-white illustrations and 16 pages of color plates. An entry heading is in boldface if it is historical or factual; in italics if it is a book, film title, or foreign phrase; and in quotation marks if it is a song or short story title. Cross-references are in capital letters or given as a s\plain\f3\fs24" ee\plain\f3\fs24 item. Notable among the entries are \plain\f3\fs24" Quotes about Christmas, \plain\f3\fs24 which\plain\f3\fs24" \plain\f3\fs24 lists quotations related to the season; a chronology of \plain\f3\fs24" December 25 events; \plain\f3\fs24 discussions of films such as \plain\f3\fs24" A Christmas Carol \plain\f3\fs24 and \plain\f3\fs24" It's a Wonderful Life; \plain\f3\fs24 entries giving the histories as well as the words of individual songs and carols; and descriptions of practices like mumming.
A serious shortcoming is the lack of a detailed index, which would bring together the various songs, carols, films, etc., that are referred to within the various entries. Lack of a bibliography or list of sources is another weakness, as is the fact that the scope is not explained in the introduction. Some countries have been omitted, including much of Africa, India, Korea, and Turkey. Finally, the illustrations, though they are captioned, lack dates or sources. It is tedious to scroll through the Copyright Holder's page for this information.
On the positive side, the book is enticing reading with its many descriptions of exotic customs and its blend of the ancient and the modern. It is written well and concisely. Many of the older books on Christmas customs, now out of print or difficult to find, are admirably updated in this new volume, which can enrich high-school, college, and public library collections. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2001, American Library Association.)