An entertaining, often surprising look at the life of the world's most influential fictional character. He is the embodiment of charity and generosity, a creation of mythology, a tool of clever capitalists. The very idea of him is enduring and powerful. Santa Claus was born in e…
" ... A treasury of Christmas traditions, stories, songs, and recipes that promises to bring readers young and old together to celebrate the spirit of the season. Everyone will enjoy this delightful guide to all things Christmas, featuring: the perennial classic Christmas storie…
This book presents a historical study of the phenomenon of Holy Land tourism among American Protestants during the second half of the nineteenth century and the early twentieth century. During this period, overseas travel was newly available to the Protestant middle class due to…
Each book in this series provides an in-depth look at a major recurring theme in the Bible and its lasting theological influence. The series is designed to enhance the reader?s understanding of our biblical heritage and its relevance to faithful life today. This book examines th…
The objective of this book is the analysis of the relationships between the phenomenon of pilgrimage and political power within Europe. It establishes a discussion where contributors can compare very different situations such as the medieval pilgrims' protection by military orde…
Using the riches of traditional liturgical texts and classic hymns, together with the role of the natural world, this book examines the living reality of the liturgical year.
Mother Zion in Deutero-Isaiah: A Metaphor for Zion Theology offers the unique perspective that personified mother Zion in Deutero-Isaiah is not just a metaphor used for a rhetorical purpose but a cognitive metaphor representing Zion theology, a central theme in the Book of Isaia…
Christopher Deacy explores the premise that religion plays an elementary role in our understanding of the Christmas festival, but takes issue with much of the existing literature which is inclined to limit the contours and parameters of 'religion' to particular representations a…
How did early Christian Rome deal with the fact that Christ was never there? Sacred Stimulus is about the effect Jerusalem had on the formulation of Christian art in Rome during the fourth and fifth centuries. It deals with the visual Christianization of Rome from an almost negl…
This volume provides a theoretically- and empirically-grounded study of the significance of landscape, its intersection with cultural heritage, and associated implications for tourism, in Christian pilgrimage. It provides an international and interdenominational perspective on t…
"The collection examines the view of holiness in the "Holy Land" through the writings of pilgrims, travelers, and missionaries. The period extends from 1517, the Ottoman conquest of Syria and Palestine, to the Franco-British treaty of Utrecht in 1713 and the consolidation of Eur…
Old pilgrimage routes are attracting huge numbers of people. Religious or spiritual meanings are interwoven with socio-cultural and politico-strategic concerns and this book explores three such concerns of hot debate in Europe: religious identity construction in a changing Europ…
Presents an entertaining perspective on how the annual Yuletide celebration got to be what it is today. This book tells the story of Christmas - from its pre-Christian roots, through the birth of Jesus, to the holiday's spread across Europe into the Americas and beyond, and to i…
From Augustine to Caesarius, through the Reformation and the Puritan flight from England, down through the ages to contemporary debates about Sunday worship, Miller explores the fascinating history of the Sabbath.
