America's Favorite Holidays: Candid Histories

America's Favorite Holidays explores how five of America's culturally important holidays--Christmas, Valentine's Day, Easter, Halloween, and Thanksgiving--came to be what they are today, seasonal and religious celebrations heavily influenced by modern popular culture. Deftly distilling information from a wide range of sources, Bruce David Forbes reveals often-surprising answers to questions about each holiday's traditions. Was Christmas always as commercialized as it is today? Is Thanksgiving a religious or secular holiday? When did we begin trick-or-treating on Halloween? Appealing and insightful, America's Favorite Holidays satisfies our curiosity about the origins of our holidays and the fascinating ways in which religion and culture mix.

Author: Bruce David Forbes
Publisher: University of California Press
Published: 10/27/2015
Pages: 232
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.70lbs
Size: 8.00h x 6.00w x 0.80d
ISBN: 9780520284722

Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 01/01/2016 pg. 83
Choice 05/01/2016

About the Author
Bruce David Forbes is Professor of Religious Studies at Morningside College, author of Christmas: A Candid History, and coeditor of Religion and Popular Culture in America.