The Project Gutenberg EBook of Christmas in Ritual and Tradition,
Christian and Pagan, by Clement A. Miles

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Title: Christmas in Ritual and Tradition, Christian and Pagan

Author: Clement A. Miles

Release Date: August 21, 2006 [EBook #19098]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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Christmas In Ritual and Tradition, Christian and Pagan

by Clement A. Miles

Published by T. Fisher Unwin

1912

[Illustration:

THE ADORATION OF THE MAGI (DETAIL).

GENTILE DA FABRIANO

(_Florence: Accademia_)]

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PREFACE

In this volume I have tried to show how Christmas is or has been kept in
various lands and ages, and to trace as far as possible the origin of the
pagan elements that have mingled with the Church's feast of the Nativity.

In Part I. I have dealt with the festival on its distinctively Christian
side. The book has, however, been so planned that readers not interested
in this aspect of Christmas may pass over Chapters II.-V., and proceed at
once from the Introduction to Part II., which treats of pagan survivals.

The book has been written primarily for the general reader, but I venture
to hope that, with all its imperfections, it may be of some use to the
more serious student, as a rough outline map of the field of Christmas
customs, and as bringing together materials hitherto scattered through a
multitude of volumes in various languages. There is certainly room for a
comprehensive English book on Christmas, taking account of the results of
modern historical and folk-lore research.

The writer of a work of this kind necessarily owes an immense debt to the
labours of others. In my bibliographical notes I have done my best to
acknowledge the sources from which I have drawn. It is only right that
I should express here my special obligation, both for information and for
suggestions, to Mr. E. K. Chambers's "The Mediaeval Stage," an invaluable
storehouse of fact, theory, and bibliographical references. I also owe
much to the important mono