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Scotland's Christmas

Festive Celebrations, Traditions and Customs in Scotland from Samhain to Still Game

Thomas A. Christie Murray Cook

$41.95   $35.35

Paperback

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English
Extremis Publishing Limited
29 September 2023
Winter festivals in Scotland have been going on for a very long time-at least 10,000 years, in fact, which means that they predate traditional Christmas celebrations by some eight millennia! Scots have always loved to party when the days are cold and the nights are long. But what was the basis for all this seasonal merrymaking, and exactly what makes a Scottish Christmas so unique? And wasn't Christmas illegal in Scotland for 400 years?

In this book, thought to be the first on the subject, popular culture researcher Dr Tom Christie and archaeologist Dr Murray Cook take a look at how Christmas and other winter festivals have been celebrated, banned and reborn throughout Scotland's long history. As well as considering the cultural impact of Christmas on Scotland over the centuries, the authors also meander into yuletide myths and legends as well as the food, the literature and many little-known facts along the way.

In the modern age, Christmas has started to have an increasing impact on the popular culture of Scotland, and the book delves into how this celebration has been portrayed across different media such as TV, film, music, computer games and more. On top of all that, Scotland's Christmas also highlights a series of the worst festive seasons ever to be experienced in fair Caledonia through the years-and as you will read, there's a fair bit of competition for that infamous title over the ages, from Sir William Wallace to Bonnie Prince Charlie and beyond.

So get ready to discover exactly when Scotland discovered Santa Claus (and vice-versa), why the Wulver is arguably the country's least conventional festive hero, how Edinburgh influenced Charles Dickens's creation of Ebenezer Scrooge, where the country's first deep-fried mince pie was produced, and so much more besides. But whatever else you do, avoid the dreaded Chimney Demon at all costs-it might end up scorching more than your Christmas stocking on the fireplace!

Scotland's Christmas includes a foreword by actor, comedian, writer and presenter Sanjeev Kohli.

By:   ,
Imprint:   Extremis Publishing Limited
Country of Publication:   United Kingdom
Dimensions:   Height: 203mm,  Width: 203mm,  Spine: 12mm
ISBN:   9781739484507
ISBN 10:   1739484509
Pages:   216
Publication Date:  
Audience:   General/trade ,  ELT Advanced
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active

Dr Thomas A. Christie is a Scottish author with research interests in popular culture, literary analysis, interactive fiction and modern cinema. He has many years of experience as a literary and publishing professional, working in collaboration with several publishing companies on both sides of the Atlantic including Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Applause Books, Crescent Moon Publishing and Robert Greene Publishing. His full-length works to date have focused upon subjects such as cinema history and literary criticism, as well as the production of original prose fiction.His work has featured at international venues including at the Centre Pompidou in Paris as part of a major exhibition focusing on the filmography of award-winning director Richard Linklater in December 2019, and in conjunction with the Banco do Brasil Cultural Centre in Rio de Janeiro relating to an extensive exhibition on the life and films of cinematic polymath Mel Brooks in February 2020. He and his books have featured in many publications including The Smithsonian Magazine, The Digital Bits, Dwell, The Media Education Journal, History Scotland and Retro Gamer.A passionate advocate of the written word and literary arts, Tom was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in 2018. Fellowship to this learned society is only awarded to those who can demonstrate that they have made significant contributions to social change, progress and development, and who support the RSA's mission to find practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA Fellowship is a community of leaders in the fields of art, literature, journalism and business who have made noteworthy contributions to society, culture or the arts.Tom is also a member of the Royal Society of Literature, the Society of Authors, the Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society and the Federation of Writers Scotland. Over the years he has produced original writing for respected organisations such as the Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum and the Dementia Services Development Centre, a leading independent higher education research unit based at the University of Stirling. Additionally, he is regularly involved in public speaking events and has delivered guest lectures and presentations about his work at many locations around the United Kingdom.Tom holds a PhD in English Studies, on the subject of Scottish Literature, from the University of Stirling. He has also been awarded a first-class Honours degree in Literature and a Master's degree in Humanities, specialising with distinction in British cinema history, from the Open University in Milton Keynes. He is currently an associate lecturer with Forth Valley College in Stirling. Dr Murray Cook is Stirling Council's Archaeologist and is from Leith originally, though he also lived and went to school in Edinburgh. He lives in Stirling with a long-suffering wife, three teenage girls and two pesky but loveable cats. He has undertaken numerous excavations across the region and published over 40 books and articles. He won a Stirling's Provost Award in 2018 for his work for the Council, where he has helped raise over �300,000 to be spent on community archaeology and research and has even got invited to see the Queen at Holyrood Palace, along with a few hundred others! He has appeared on several TV programmes, and has sometime even been paid! He writes a regular column in the Stirling Observer and runs Stirling Archaeology, a Facebook page dedicated to Stirling's fantastic heritage!Murray studied at Edinburgh University worked first for AOC Archaeology, rising from subcontractor to Commercial Director. His PhD dissertation, which has a rather long and boring title, was based on 10 years of research in Aberdeenshire on settlement patterns between 2000 BC and AD 1000.He is an Honorary Research Fellow at Stirling University, a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, runs an occasional course at Forth Valley College on Stirling and likes to do it in ditches (archaeology, that is!). He also co-runs regular training digs open to all under the name Rampart Scotland, and is an associate lecturer at Forth Valley College.Archaeology is at first glance an off-putting word, easy to say but hard to spell, and Murray has been called the Council's Archivist and Architect before. But he believes that archaeology should be open to all, it is our shared past and it belong to everyone, so barriers should be removed. On this basis Murray runs a series of free walks, lectures and digs through the year to allow people to explore their past - and it's open to everyone.

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