Ethiopian fringed umbrellas; star-shaped Filipino parol lanterns;candlelit Swedish St. Lucia crowns-Mary Lankford bringstogether Christmas traditions from twelve different lands,like decorations on a splendid tree.

The physical book itself is well made and festive. Each page is colorful and has vibrant paintings of Christmas events in each culture. The type is small, so parents would need to read this to their younger kids. To help readers, the author has included a pronunciation guide in the back. There is also a "fact and fiction" section about common Christmas things which serves as a reference for those who may never have heard of Epiphany or even Jesus Christ. Fun and simple craft guidelines are also included.

While this is a book about Christmas, it is not a religious book (which disappointed me). It mentions religious events associated with Christmas, but treats it holiday as if it is essentially a cultural event. Nevertheless, it is a fun book that is very educational. It would be a great book to have to bring out to display and enjoy at Christmastime.


Wonderful! Appropriate for all ages!   January 6, 1999
 52 out of 54 found this review helpful

As a third grade teacher, this book was a useful tool in teaching about Christmas Around the World. There are so few good books on this topic, and my students enjoyed the one page synopsis of Christmas for each of the countries discussed (about 10). The illustrations for each country are wonderful and vivid. We were able to learn about customs from these countries not usually presented in other books. I would recommend this book to any teacher, parent, or child seeking information about Christmas customs in countries around the world in this enjoyable and fact-filled book.