It really is more of a history book than a novel with a plot. I love history and I loved this little refresher course. Did you know the word Christmas came from the special mass that was held on December 25 each year in England -- Christ's Mass. Santa Claus is derived from the Dutch word Sinterklauss. The Dutch who were living in New York (or previously New Amsterdam) at the time of the American Revolution were required to learn English. So when telling their English neighbors about their Christmas traditions, the Dutch couldn't say Saint Nicholas very clearly. What the English heard was "Sintnicklus" and they walked away thinking this great gift-giver was Sinta Klauss. Christkind or Christkindel is the German name for Saint Nicholas which eventually became Kris Kringle.
This was just a fun book to read about the origin of Christmas and all the traditions that go along with it. I may start a few months before Christmas this year and read it to my kids.
2 comments:
I hope you do not have double comments from me. I just wanted to tell you thanks for the reference I enjoy history too. We are actually celebrating Pres. Lincoln's b-day today with treats and fun. Those bits from Elder Holland's talk were nice, I too have learned of faith this last year. It is fun to see how our interests are similar.
Courtnee
I'm so glad that you read this book because it was a bit different than my normal reads too, but like you I enjoyed the update of learning history all over again. I think your kids will enjoy this reading as a family before Christmas.
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