The Old Magic of Christmas: Yuletide Traditions for the Darkest Days of the Year

Written by Linda Raedisch

Narrated by Chloe Cannon

'Tis the season for witches, elves, and a legion of ghosts.

Not so very long ago, Yuletide was as much a chilling season of ghosts and witches as it was a festival of goodwill. In The Old Magic of Christmas, you'll rub elbows with veiled spirits, learn the true perils of elves, and discover a bestiary of enchanted creatures.

Rife with the more frightful characters from folklore and the season's most petulant ghosts, this book takes you on a spooky sleigh ride from the silvered firs of a winter forest to the mirrored halls of the Snow Queen. Along the way, you'll discover how to bring the festivities into your home with cookie recipes and craft instructions, as well as tips for delving more deeply into your relationship with the unseen.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Dec 22, 2020
• ISBN: 9781705292846

Linda Raedisch

Linda Raedisch has been contributing crafts, recipes, and ethnobotanical lore to Llewellyn's Herbal Almanac since 2012. She is the author of The Old Magic of Christmas and The Lore of Old Elfland. Outside the kitchen, she has special interests in papercrafts, minority languages, and exploring the suburban jungle. You can follow her culinary, crafting, and linguistic adventures on Instagram @lindaraedisch.

Reviews for The Old Magic of Christmas

[Deea WL · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Simply a treasure book!
Myths, folklore, fairytales, and dark and forgotten stories all in one place, beautifully wrapped up in a detailed book. It's a view on the darker side of "how we know Christmas" now. Talks about the old traditions from around the world, their similarities and differences.
A very powerful starting point to begin searching the meaning behind the modern traditions and diving deep into the old mysteries from our ancestors.
It has all the elements you could think of traditional recipes & customs, malicious creatures, ancient Yule traditions, spirits, and some craft instructions.