We wanted to take this opportunity to highlight some of our material covering the theme of Christmas from fiction, cookery, crafts, traditions and quizzes. All of these items are available to borrow through Order and Collect from the Library of Birmingham.

A full list of items can be accessed through the library catalogue. Here are three examples that you might find interesting.

Christmas : a biography by Judith Flanders, 2017

Christmas has been all things to all people: a religious festival, a family celebration, a period of eating and drinking. In 'Christmas: A Biography', acclaimed social historian and best-selling author Judith Flanders casts a sharp and revealing eye on the myths, legends and history of the season, from the origins of the holiday in the Roman empire to the emergence of Christmas trees in central Europe, to what might be the first appearance of Santa Claus - in Switzerland - to draw a picture of the season as it has never been seen before.

Have yourself a very British Christmas : twelve days of discomfort and joy by Rhodri Marsden, 2017

'Have Yourself a Very British Christmas' is a 12-stage sleigh ride through the best, worst, strangest and funniest aspects of the Christmas holiday, with cultural icons saluted, national habits dissected and personal reminiscences from those who've eaten all the mince pies and lived to tell the tale.

The twelve birds of Christmas by Stephen Moss, 2019

Naturalist Stephen Moss digs beneath the surface of some of our most popular Christmas carols in an ornithological celebration of the festive season. Using the structure of the carol as a jumping off point, he explores the place of twelve fascinating British birds in our history, culture and landscape. Some of the birds are obvious, there's the swan and of course the partridge. Other chapters are loose interpretation of a verse: for drummers drumming he delves into the woodpecker's distinctive drumming tap. Woodpeckers, he explains, have special padded skulls to mitigate against using their head like hammer drills. They carefully select dead trees for the most hollow, sonorous sound, and in Florida a space mission was once delayed because woodpeckers had pecked holes in the outer surface of the space shuttle.

Article posted 26 November 2020