Now you can discover the magical delight of the Yuletide season as it has been and is celebrated in cultures around the world, when you read Yule: A Celebration of Light and Warmth by Dorothy Morrison. In the pages of Yule: A Celebration of Light and Warmth, you'll find a wonderful potpourri of holiday lore from around the world and throughout history, along with fun crafts, delicious recipes, and even a calendar of celebrations for every day in December. You'll learn where the traditions of the season originated. For example, did you know that the ringing of bells was originally meant to drive away the demons that inhabited the darkest days of the year? You might be surprised to learn that leaving cookies for Santa mirrors the old tradition of leaving a loaf of bread on the table overnight to bring prosperity in the New Year. That Yule log in the fireplace? It can be traced back to ancient Greece. The recipes are going to put a smile on your face. You'll get simple instructions for such things as Quick Ambrosia, Mama's Mock Mincemeat Pie, Cherry Cola Salad, Dragon's Layer Cake, Miz Sadie's Pecan Divinity, Crockpot Wassail, St. Nick's Fudge, and many more.

For adult and teenage readers, here is the history of Halloween from a Wiccan perspective. Writing in an unforced, easy-going style, author Ravenwolf manages to untangle the various threads of rumor and misinformation that have tainted many religions and their rituals for centuries. She offers insight into the roots of Halloween, leading up to the Americanization of the holiday in Colonial times, and its present day celebration (including a debunking of the urban myths that have rendered Halloween "unsafe" in the public's imagination). To top it off, Ravenwolf includes spells and recipes for warding off evil spirits and inviting good fortune.

A couple of years ago, I put out a winter holiday greeting on the Web. Its purpose: to explore the ancient origins of the winter holiday season and its deep cross-cultural roots, and to help me give greater meaning to my own celebration at this time of the year. Little did I know when I began candlegrove.com that someone had already "written the book" on this subject. Richard Heinberg has collected archeological evidence, myths and folklore from all over the globe and throughout human history. His stories and examples resolve into a beautiful and compelling picture. Cultures the world over -- from ancient China to the megalith builders 5,000 years ago in Ireland who predate the pyramids -- from the Maori to the Maya -- marked the solstices and equinoxes as tremendously important temporal and seasonal thresholds with deep spiritual and practical meaning. Today, our modern, urban lives are in so many ways insulated and disconnected from the turn of the seasons and their importance in the cosmic dance. Are the solstices and equinoxes still relevant? Heinberg argues that they can be, and not just for neopagans or those of one brand of faith or another. I cannot evaluate his research, but his writing drew me in. With few lapses into over-poeticizing, and only a small measure of new-age, environmental hectoring, he gives us simple ways to renew the solstices as life-affirming celebrations to help reconnect us with the earth.

There are two basic types of holidays. The first come at the Solstices and Equinoxes. The others divide the time between those dates in two, resulting in eight major holidays or Sabbats with approximately the same amount of days between them. The balance, here, gives the appearance of spokes in a wheel, so this cycle is commonly called the Wheel of the Year. The book is filled with ways you can follow the Wheel of the Year, whether you work with a coven, with your family, or by yourself. You will learn the secrets of ritual construction and handicrafts appropriate to each of the festivals. You will also learn recipes for traditional foods for each holiday and even songs appropriate to the Sabbats.