A Christmas Cornucopia

The unpredictable origins and etymologies of our cracking Christmas customs For something that happens every year of our lives, we really don't know much about Christmas. We don't know that the date we celebrate was chosen by a madman, or that Christmas, etymologically speaking, means "Go away, Christ". Nor do we know that Christmas was first celebrated in 243 AD on March 28th - and only moved to 25th December in 354 AD. We're oblivious to the fact that the advent calendar was actually invented by a Munich housewife to stop her children pestering her for a Christmas countdown. And we would never have guessed that the invention of crackers was merely a way of popularising sweet wrappers. Luckily, like a gift from Santa himself, Mark Forsyth is here to unwrap this fundamentally funny gallimaufry of traditions and oddities, making it all finally make sense - in his wonderfully entertaining wordy way.

A Christmas Cornucopia is a delicious feast of Christmas stories - and food -from well-known and emerging Australian authors. With delectable illustrations byDavid Allan and Fiona McDonald, this is a book sure to make your tummy grumble.Featuring Wendy Blaxland, Sally Odgers, Sophie Masson, Jenny Blackford, AnnaBell, Phoebe McArthur, Debbie Tidball, Amani Gunawardana, Sharon Boyce,Victoria Nugent, Danielle Viera, and Laura Hockley.

Lucy has one great wish – she wants to find the vampire of her dreams. So it’s obvious she would put this heartfelt desire right at the top of her Christmas wish list... again. It’s annoying Santa hasn’t been very helpful up till now and apart from Lucy no one seems to know of the existence of vampires. But she saw him with her own eyes – when she was a child and he saved her from drowning. After Lucy’s first boyfriend turns out to be a complete loser, it seems like there can only be one real man for her – her guardian angel. But how on earth is she supposed to find him? On top of that, her best friend Pia keeps trying to interest her in normal men. And then there’s Adam, an incredibly sweet guy she can’t get out of her head since he almost kissed her. Really, life could be a lot simpler, and Christmas is right around the corner... Interview with the Author How would you describe Lucy’s Wish? Lucy’s Wish is a humorous love story which captures the hopeful atmosphere and romance of Christmastime. Anything is possible...isn’t it? And how do we envision the world in which Lucy lives? A bit like our world. So it isn’t ruled by vampires, but they exist in secret: vampires, werewolves, ghosts and a few other types of creatures. So in the midst of the magic of Christmas, there is also another ‘magic’. A touch a fantasy in our midst. Is it part of a series or a standalone novel? Both. Lucy’s Wish is complete in its own right, but I have two more winter romances planned for the coming winters, in which the reader will again encounter Lucy’s friends and the affairs of their hearts. They will all be characterized by wishes, dreams and hopes. What made you write Lucy’s Wish? My readers. I made a survey and a whole lot of people took part. In the responses, a Christmas vampire romance was frequently requested. Va

Discover the fascinating (and sometimes downright odd!) ways that people and nations celebrate the holiday season and share this festive compendium's unique traditions together with family and friends. Do you know that in Guatemala there's a "Burn the Devil" tradition to kick off the Christmas season, where revelers gather to set fire to devil-piñatas? In Sweden, a popular figure in Christmas traditions is the Yule Goat, a rowdy, menacing character who demands gifts. And in Japan, a big bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken has become the classic Christmas Day feast. These and many other global Christmas traditions are featured here in this delightful book. From decorations and activities to feasts and special treats, there's a wide range of both lovely and unusual traditions from around the globe.

A survey of the rituals of the year in Victorian England, showing the influence of the Middle Ages.

As WW2 drew to a close, hundreds of thousands of British and American prisoners of war, held in camps in Nazi-occupied Europe, faced the prospect that they would never get home alive. In the depths of winter, their guards harried them on marches outof their camps and away from the armies advancing into the heart of Hitler's defeated Germany. Hundreds died from exhaustion, disease and starvation. THE LAST ESCAPE is told through the testimony of those heroic men, now in their seventies and eighties and telling their stories publicly for the first time.

A Devotional That Dudes Will Actually Read! Is there a connection between hairiness and holiness? Some would say a hearty “Yes!” In fact, the world is in the middle of a beard mania. Events like Movember and Decembeard are becoming global movements and manly sites are appearing all over the internet. Is this just another fad? And what does it say that so many of the most famous Christian communicators have or did have a beard? Throughout history, Christian men have gloried in male pattern magnificence. Saint Benedict of Nursia wore a superb double forker. The benevolently-bushed Euthymius wouldn’t allow clean-shaven monks to enter his Judean Desert monastery. St. Francis of Assisi had a beard, and now there’s a Pope named after him. He’s clean-shaven, but we’re praying for him. Of all the great Christian men who wore beards, none stands so highly as the headless martyr Sir Thomas More. On the day of his beheading, the tufted knight supposedly positioned his beard away from his soon-to-be-severed neck, saying: “My beard has not been guilty of treason, and it would be an injustice to punish it.” But of course, Bearded Gospel Men is about far more than beards – it’s about manliness and godliness. Through this 31-day devotional, men are inspired to rise to a higher calling. The humor and facial hair is the perfect means to have a broader conversation about living a faithful life. So, let’s study some of these famous Bearded Gospel Men!