A Christmas Cornucopia by Mark Forsyth

A Christmas Cornucopia

by Mark Forsyth

BY THE SUNDAY TIMES NO.1 BESTSELLING AUTHOR

The perfect gift for anyone who has ever wondered about the unpredictable origins and etymologies of our Christmas customs!

For something that happens every year of our lives, we really don't know much about Christmas.

We don't know that the date we celebrate was chosen by a madman, or that Christmas, etymologically speaking, means "Go away, Christ". We're oblivious to the fact that the advent calendar was actually invented by a Munich housewife to stop her children pestering her for a Christmas countdown. And we would never have guessed that the invention of crackers was merely a way of popularising sweet wrappers.

Luckily, like a gift from Santa himself, Mark Forsyth is here to unwrap this fundamentally funny gallimaufry of traditions and oddities, making it all finally make sense - in his wonderfully entertaining wordy way.

'Witty and revelatory. Blooming brilliant' Raymond Briggs

'Everything we ever thought about Christmas is wrong! Great stuff' Matthew Parris

Reviewed by MurderByDeath on

5 of 5 stars

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I'm a huge fan of Mark Forsyth's books: The Etymologicon and The Elements of Eloquence being just two examples of his excellent writing on language.  When he announced he'd be writing this small tome about the history of Christmas, I pre-ordered it, and I've been sitting on it all year, waiting for the Christmas season's approach to read it.    I needed something light after my last read, and this was perfect.  It's written in Forsyth's usual dryly hilarious style and for such a small volume (171 pages including the index) it's chock full of Christmas facts.  Spoiler alert:  almost none of the Christmas traditions we know and love today are tied to paganism.  If you want to know how this can be true, read the book.  It won't be a waste of your time, and you'll probably laugh at least once along the way.    If you do read it, make sure you skim the index at the end.  It might be the funniest index I've ever read (and I've been known to skim more than a few).    Pagan myths: see      Hogwash

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 15 November, 2017: Finished reading
  • 15 November, 2017: Reviewed