Trick or Treat

Trick or Treat
Author: Lisa Morton
Publisher: Reaktion Books
Total Pages: 231
Release: 2013-09-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 1780230559

Halloween has spread around the world, yet its associations with death and the supernatural as well as its inevitable commercialization have made it one of our most puzzling holidays. How did it become what it is today? Trick or Treat is the first book both to examine the origins and history of Halloween and to explore in depth its current global popularity. Festivals like the Celtic Samhain and Catholic All Souls’ Day have blended to produce the modern Halloween, which has been reborn with new customs in America—but there are also related but independent holidays, especially Mexico’s Day of the Dead. Lisa Morton lifts the cobwebs off everything from the explosion in popularity of haunted attractions to the impact of events like the global economic recession, as well as the effect Halloween has had on popular culture through literary works, films, and television series. Taking us on a journey from the spectacular to the macabre, this book is a treat for anyone who wants to peep behind the mask to see the real past and present of this ever more popular holiday.

Celebrating Ethnicity and Nation

Celebrating Ethnicity and Nation
Author: Jürgen Heideking
Publisher: Berghahn Books
Total Pages: 324
Release: 2001
Genre: Ethnicity
ISBN: 9781571812438

Arising out of the context of the re-configuration of Europe, new perspectives are applied by the authors of this volume to the process of nation-building in the United States. By focusing on a variety of public celebrations and festivities from the Revolution to the early twentieth century, the formative period of American national identity, the authors reveal the complex interrelationships between collective identities on the local, regional, and national level which, over time, shaped the peculiar character of American nationalism. This volume combines vivid descriptions of various public celebrations with a sophisticated methodological and theoretical approach.

The Halloween Encyclopedia

The Halloween Encyclopedia
Author: Lisa Morton
Publisher:
Total Pages: 248
Release: 2003
Genre: Fiction
ISBN:

The concept of Halloween as a holiday and cultural phenomenon worthy of serious study is only a few decades old, and only since the mid-1980s have scholars started to accept that Halloween's place in modern society (especially in American society) merits attention beyond horror fiction and children's books. The first book devoted solely to Halloween was published just over a century ago, and now, Halloween has its own encyclopedia. Major entries include Samhain, the Celtic ancestor of Halloween; witches, a major Christian addition to the mythology of Halloween and one that still generates interest and controversy; skeletons, a universally recognized symbol of death; the Day of the Dead, the Mexican holiday that is often compared to Halloween; the jack-o'-lantern, which has its roots in folktales starring the rascally Jack who always manages somehow to beat the Devil; and trick-or-treating, the most loved and misunderstood American Halloween ritual. Hundreds of small entries cover Halloween history and mythology, fortune-telling lore, harvest legends, and 20th century additions to the holiday's rituals.

Snowmen at Halloween

Snowmen at Halloween
Author: Caralyn M. Buehner
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 29
Release: 2022-08-02
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0593529103

The snowmen are getting their Halloween costumes ready for the latest board book in this New York Times bestselling series. Look for the hidden image on every page! Have you ever built a snowman and discovered the next day that his grin has gotten a little crooked, or his tree-branch arms have moved? And you've wondered . . . what do snowmen do when we're not watching? After an early snowfall, a few kids build some snowmen before going trick-or-treating. And when the kids go off to bed, the snowmen have their own Halloween festival! There's candy and apple-bobbing and costume contests and all sorts of autumn activities. When the kids wake up the next morning, the snowmen are gone . . . but they've left a very special message behind.

Christmas Holidays at Merryvale

Christmas Holidays at Merryvale
Author: Alice Hale Burnett
Publisher: Good Press
Total Pages: 45
Release: 2019-12-03
Genre: Fiction
ISBN:

'Christmas Holidays at Merryvale' is a fictional Christmas-themed book written by Alice Hale Burnett. It revolves around Daddy Williams' Toy Shop, which is the center of interest to "Toad" and his friends long before Christmas arrives. They plan a surprise that brings joy to a poor family. The boys erect snow forts and the two sides have a battle royal.

The Mountain Between Us

The Mountain Between Us
Author: Cindy Myers
Publisher: Kensington Books
Total Pages: 288
Release: 2013-11-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0758277431

From acclaimed author Cindy Myers comes a big-hearted story of pulling together, facing life's challenges--and knowing what it means to really come home. . . Cut off from the outside world by a blanket of snow, the holidays are usually a time for peace and quiet in tiny Eureka, Colorado. But this year the mountain town is in trouble. Thanks to a corrupt investor, the treasury is bankrupt, leaving residents to struggle through an especially harsh winter. Then there are those with more personal problems, like Maggie Stevens, pregnant and torn between single motherhood or drawing the father-to-be into a life he's not cut out for. And Olivia Theriot, the mayor's prodigal daughter, is harboring a secret so painful she may never be able to settle down. But mother nature is about to put things in perspective. . . When a blizzard blows through just days before Christmas, some are left stranded--and others missing. Now there's only one thing on Eureka's wish list: to live up to its name, and its reputation for coming together, and find a way to bring everyone back home--where they belong. Praise for The View From Here "Cindy Myers strikes gold with this warm-hearted novel about friendship, family, and second chances." --Deborah Smith, New York Times bestselling author "I loved this novel! It shines like a jewel. . .like solid gold." --Pamela Morsi, USA Today bestselling author"This novel is definitely one to add to your keeper shelf." ??RT Book Reviews, 4 1/2 Stars

Zen Effects

Zen Effects
Author: Monica Furlong
Publisher: Turner Publishing Company
Total Pages: 245
Release: 2013-08-22
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1594735530

The first and only full-length biography of one of the most charismatic spiritual innovators of the twentieth century. Through his widely popular books and lectures, Alan Watts (1915-1973) did more to introduce Eastern philosophy and religion to Western minds than any figure before or since. Watts touched the lives of many. He was a renegade Zen teacher, an Anglican priest, a lecturer, an academic, an entertainer, a leader of the San Francisco renaissance, and the author of more than thirty books, including The Way of Zen, Psychotherapy East and West and The Spirit of Zen. Monica Furlong followed Watts's travels from his birthplace in England to the San Francisco Bay Area where he ultimately settled, conducting in-depth interviews with his family, colleagues, and intimate friends, to provide an analysis of the intellectual, cultural, and deeply personal influences behind this truly extraordinary life.