Holly and reindeer, angels and stars, trees sparkling with colored lights. Many weeks before Christmas, these and other holiday symbols appear all around us. Each of the symbols has a story, many of them going back to the first Christmas or long before. And each of them has a special meaning for us today.

Following the simply written, generously illustrated pattern they set in Lilies, Rabbits, and Painted Eggs, Edna Barth and Ursula Arndt now turn from Easter to Christmas, and its even richer hoard of symbols from cultures all over the world. A blazing log and colored lights express joy in the triumph of light and warmth over darkness and cold. Evergreens, "the plants that do not die," link us with all of nature. Santa Claus and older Christmas gift bringers embody the spirit of loving and giving.

Stressed are the similarities between Christmas and earlier pagan festivals that celebrated the winter solstice. For, as Mrs. Barth points out, Christmas is more than a festival of one particular religion. It is a celebration of the deepest and best of human feelings—a festival to life itself.

An annotated list of collection of Christmas stories and poems, and an index, add to the interest and usefulness of the book.

From the dust jacket