‘Christmas Around the Fire: Stories, Essays, & Poems for the Season of Christ’s Birth’
by Ryan N.S. Topping
Christmas is a time for celebrating the birth of Jesus with family and friends. Yet in our fast-paced, hyper-digitized lives, we are losing the sense of a good story, among good friends, around a good fire.
In “Christmas Around the Fire,” Ryan Topping invites us to turn off the television set, put down the device, quiet ourselves, and gather our loved ones to enjoy some of the best writing, in a variety of forms, about Christmas.
Included within are entries from legendary novelists and poets such as Leo Tolstoy, G.K. Chesterton, Charles Dickens, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and more, as well as the profound thoughts of great religious figures such as St. Bernard of Clairvaux, St. John Paul II, and Pope Benedict XVI.
For those who love the true spirit of the “most wonderful time of the year,” “Christmas Around the Fire” will quickly become a family tradition. This is one of those rarest of books, one around which family memories are made.
At www.tanbooks.com: Order your copy of “Christmas Around the Fire.” Catholic News Herald readers enjoy 20 percent off their order – use the exclusive coupon code “CNH20.”
‘Celebrating a Merry Catholic Christmas: A Guide to the Customs and Feast Days of Advent and Christmas’
by Rev. William P. Saunders, PhD
“Celebrating a Merry Catholic Christmas is a treasure,” one that offers its riches year after year.
It is a valuable resource for understanding and celebrating Advent and Christmas as a Catholic. And, in addition to providing the historical roots of traditions such as the Advent wreath and Christmas tree, it also features spiritual reflections and suggestions.
You’ll find all of the major feast days of Advent and Christmas along with devotions and traditions that will help your family get more out these important seasons.
Inside you’ll learn why candles are placed in windows, why poinsettias are used as a Christmas decoration, the origin of the Christmas tree, when Christmas actually ends, and more – so that you and yours can appreciate more fully the significance of these traditions and grow in love and honor of Christ.
At www.tanbooks.com: Order your copy of “Celebrating a Merry Catholic Christmas: A Guide to the Customs and Feast Days of Advent and Christmas” Catholic News Herald readers enjoy 20 percent off their order – use the exclusive coupon code “CNH20.”