Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Bible?

Funny enough, not really- only 2 mentions of it. Obviously there is nothing about December 25 since that was "declared" as the birthday some 400 odd years later- and is widely agreed upon by biblical scholars that there is no way to validate that date.

I can't help you with recommendations OP, I'm a nontheist, but I know that you probably will need to look more in modern lit to talk about 'reason for the season' type books.

Jesus was born in the spring, my priest told us that but I forgot how they know (maybe because of reference to lambs or something like that; just can't remember). The date was given so as to not take away the Roman Saturnalia celebration from Christians.

And all that doesn't matter; it doesn't invalidate anything.

OK here, yes I remember something vaguely about the date being linked to the likely time of year for the Roman census, but I can't remember that source at all

Not sure how this would work as a read-aloud, but The Battle for Christmas is a great book on how we ended up celebrating Christmas the way we do, from the religious elements, shifting culture, influence of Dickens and the old New York families that worked to reshape Xmas from a rowdy public celebration to our now more domestic-focused celebration.

https://www.amazon.com/Battle-Christmas-Cultural-History-Cherished/dp/0679740384/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1512327547&sr=8-1

Really young choice here too:
The three trees.

I love it! My favorite Christmas book. Again, it would be young; but at Christmas time it’s fun to sit as a family and read kids books again.

Anonymous wrote:This book was cool And very interesting!
https://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Apocalyptic-Prophet-New-Millennium/dp/019512474X

Yeah, I don’t think OP is looking for books by atheists who take from the Jesus Seminar without acknowledging them, and then go further in a lot of sketchy and controversial directions.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Bible?

Funny enough, not really- only 2 mentions of it. Obviously there is nothing about December 25 since that was "declared" as the birthday some 400 odd years later- and is widely agreed upon by biblical scholars that there is no way to validate that date.

I can't help you with recommendations OP, I'm a nontheist, but I know that you probably will need to look more in modern lit to talk about 'reason for the season' type books.

Jesus was born in the spring, my priest told us that but I forgot how they know (maybe because of reference to lambs or something like that; just can't remember). The date was given so as to not take away the Roman Saturnalia celebration from Christians.

And all that doesn't matter; it doesn't invalidate anything.

Anonymous wrote:Well, it seems there is a whole lot of disagreement about what the true meaning of Christmas is.

PL who just complied the list.

Of course people disagree!

Some value fun. Others spend time with family. Other see only faith and belief. Some encourage giving while others are just happy to see their kids happy. Some do presents, some don't.

Part of the reason the list was so eclectic is that there are so many different things that different people value about this holiday season. I could have found links for many, many more.

Anonymous wrote:Have any suggestions? I have an 8 & 12 year old and I would like to read them a book about the true meaning of Christmas. I have a couple books but they are not very engaging.

Some of these are very young in comparison to your children's ages (Berenstain bears), while others may be written in language that is beyond them (dickens). Good luck!

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/319498.Christmas_After_All

http://www.readbrightly.com/9-books-that-celebrate-the-meaning-of-christmas/

Gift of the magi by o henry

Christmas Carol by Charles Dickenson

Best Christmas Pageant by Barbara robinson

https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/the-legend-of-the-poinsettia/9780698115675-item.html?ikwid=legend%20of%20the%20poinsettia&ikwsec=Home&ikwidx=0

https://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Miracle-Jonathan-Toomey/dp/0763678228

Berenstain bears and the joy of giving, and the nutcracker, meet santa bear, Christmas tree, etc.

https://www.amazon.com/World-Cookies-Santa-Follow-Santas/dp/0544226208/ref=sr_1_32?ascsubtag=13140c4b-d791-11e7-9921-6d5e72e02194&ie=UTF8&qid=1511886154&refinements=p_n_publication_date%3A1250227011&s=books&sr=1-32&tag=rewardstyle-20

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0152438173/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0152438173&linkCode=as2&tag=wdwdad-20

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0823417433/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0823417433&linkCode=as2&tag=wdwdad-20

Well, it seems there is a whole lot of disagreement about what the true meaning of Christmas is.

A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, is the ultimate tale about the meaning of Christmas. My tween DS loved to read it years ago. It is a hard read for children who aren't used to reading the classics, because of the period vocab and sentence structure, and even perhaps some historical aspects they might not be familiar with. You can turn it into a bedtime story you read and explain to them during the run-up to Christmas - that would be a memorable December!

Which "true meaning"?

Anonymous wrote:The Bible?

Funny enough, not really- only 2 mentions of it. Obviously there is nothing about December 25 since that was "declared" as the birthday some 400 odd years later- and is widely agreed upon by biblical scholars that there is no way to validate that date.

I can't help you with recommendations OP, I'm a nontheist, but I know that you probably will need to look more in modern lit to talk about 'reason for the season' type books.

This book was cool And very interesting!
https://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Apocalyptic-Prophet-New-Millennium/dp/019512474X

A marketing textbook?

The Bible?

Have any suggestions? I have an 8 & 12 year old and I would like to read them a book about the true meaning of Christmas. I have a couple books but they are not very engaging.