There is certainly room for a
comprehensive English book on Christmas, taking account of the results of
modern historical and folk-lore research.
The writer of a work of this kind necessarily owes an immense debt to the
labours of others. In my bibliographical notes I have done my best to
acknowledge the sources from which I have drawn. It is only right that
I should express here my special obligation, both for information and for
suggestions, to Mr. E. K. Chambers's "The Mediaeval Stage," an invaluable
storehouse of fact, theory, and bibliographical references. I also owe
much to the important monographs of Dr. A. Tille, "Die Geschichte der
deutschen Weihnacht" and "Yule and Christmas"; to Dr. Feilberg's Danish
work, "Jul," the fullest account of Christmas |6| customs yet written;
and of course, like every student of folk-lore, to Dr. Frazer's "The
Golden Bough."
References to authorities will be found at the end of the volume, and are
indicated by small numerals in the text; notes requiring to be read in
close conjunction with the text are printed at the foot of the pages to
which they relate, and are indicated by asterisks, &c.
[Transcriber's Note: The 'small numerals' are represented in this
ebook by numbers in {curly braces}.
Pages:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25