A guide to the legend and lore behind the traditions, rituals, foods, games, animals, and other symbols and activities associated with holidays and holy days, feasts and fasts, and other celebrations.

A guide to the legend and lore behind the traditions, rituals, foods, games, animals, and other symbols and activities associated with holidays and holy days, feasts and fasts, and other celebrations, covering calendar, ethnic, religious, historic, folkloric, national, promotional, sporting, and ancient events, as observed in the United States and around the world.

Describes the origins of more than 300 holidays observed in the United States and around the world. Explains where, when, and how each event is celebrated, with detailed information on the symbols and customs associated with the holiday. Includes contact information and web sites for related organizations.

Examines the origins of Christmas symbols--trees, ornaments, Yule logs, Santa Claus, cards, Christmas colors, and many other holiday observances.

If you're searching for research activities or multicultural topics for a diverse student population, this is the book for you. Reproducible quizzes guide students through subjects that range from holidays and food to sports heroes and literature. Cultural searches are related to Hispanics, Native Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, and other U.S. immigrant groups. For each quest, the author provides an annotated reference list, search questions, and an answer key. This is a fun and inspirational approach to building research skills while fostering an appreciation of diversity.

This book codifies, describes, and contextualizes group rituals and individual practices from world religious traditions. At the interface of religious studies, psychology, and medicine, it elucidates the cultural richness of practices and rituals from numerous world religions. The book begins by discussing the role that religious rituals and practices may play in the well-being of humans and the multi-dimensional cultural and psychological complexity of religious rituals and practices. It then discusses rituals and practices within a number of religions, including Christian, Islamic, Jewish, Buddhist, Taoist, Sikh, Hindu, Confucian, and other traditions. There is a need for a more inclusive collection of religious rituals and practices, as some practices are making headlines in contemporary society. Mindfulness is one of the fastest-growing psychological interventions in healthcare and Yoga is now practiced by tens of millions of people in the U.S.A. These practices have been examined in thousands of academic publications spanning neuroscience, psychology, medicine, sociology, and religious studies. While Mindfulness and Yoga have recently received widespread scientific and cultural attention, many rituals and practices from world religious traditions have remained underexplored in scholarly, scientific, and clinical contexts. This book brings more diverse rituals and practices into this academic discourse while providing a reference guide for clinicians and students of the topic.