Showing titles in Customs & Traditions

The cheerful, diminutive creatures of Santa's North Pole workshop stand in stark contrast to their folkloric ancestors. In ancient pagan traditions, particularly those of Norse and Germanic cultures, elves were not the jolly, toy making sprites we know today, but rather powerful and often...

It's easy to think of Santa Claus as just a jolly, plump man in a red suit, a cozy figure who perfectly sums up the magic of Christmas. But what if I told you that the story is a lot weirder and a lot older than you’ve been led to believe? Forget the North Pole for a minute, and picture...

In a world in which all the old certainties seem to be crumbling, it's hard not to feel we have lost our way. Long before they became bywords for people-pleasing princesses, these old stories – passed down to us through generations by our peasant ancestors – told us everything that women need to learn about the world. They teach us to be savvy, inspire us to grow in confidence, show us how to be bold and claim the future we dream of. They might be set in difficult and dangerous times, but they require their heroines to face the unfaceable and dig deep for previously unimagined inner resources.

This definitive and magnificent 10-volume unabridged translation is one of the rare English translations in full of the epic. Bibek Debroy makes the Mahabharata marvellously accessible to contemporary readers. Dispute over land and kingdom may lie at the heart of this story of war...

From stories of resurrected mummies and thousand-year-old curses to powerful pharaohs and the coveted treasures of the Great Pyramids, ancient Egypt has had an unfaltering grip on the modern imagination. Now, in Egyptian Mythology, Geraldine Pinch offers a comprehensive introduction that untangles the mystery of Egyptian myth. 

अलिफ लैला एक ऐसी नवयुवती की कहानी है, जिसने एक ज़ालिम बादशाह से विवाह करने के बाद न केवल उसका हृदय परिवर्तित कर...

Ontrafel de ware magie van de Egyptische mythologie en overleef de gevaarlijke, mystieke reis naar het hiernamaals. Terwijl je ontspant na een lange dag of gefocust luistert tijdens je dagelijkse rit, dompel je jezelf onder in een sfeervol, historisch epos langs de oevers van de Nijl. Hier is...

Séparez la vérité archéologique du mythe fondateur en explorant l'énigme de la cité engloutie la plus célèbre. Idéal pour enrichir vos trajets quotidiens, ce récit immersif vous plonge dans les eaux troubles d'une légende millénaire. Laissez-vous captiver par une enquête...

This audiobook is narrated by an AI Voice. Why do we decorate evergreen trees, exchange gifts, light candles, and gather around a fire each Christmas? How much of the festival comes from Christian worship—and how much from older winter traditions? In Christmas in Ritual and Tradition...

Scilly And Its Legends by Henry John Whitfeld is a 19th-century travelogue and collection of local legends about the Isles of Scilly. Whitfeld, a clergyman who visited for health, records his first impressions and journey from Penzance to Scilly, then narrates a sequence of chapters describing...

The history of the ancient Near East is often presented as a dry succession of empires, a ledger of taxes, territories, and kings. Yet, beneath the political maneuvers of the Bronze and Iron Ages lay a much more volatile landscape: the spiritual frontier. In this world, the boundaries between...

Often categorized simply as an "abomination" by Judean scribes, Chemosh represented a complex central figure in the socio-political identity of the Moabite people for nearly a millennium. To understand Chemosh is to understand the shifting borders of the Transjordan and the theological tensions...

The study of ancient Near Eastern deities often reveals a complex tapestry of cultural exchange; linguistic evolution; and religious transformation. Among these figures, few possess a history as layered and multifaceted as Ashtoreth. Known primarily to modern listeners/readers through the lens...

The figure of Tammuz represents one of the most enduring and complex archetypes in the history of Near Eastern religion. While often reduced to a simple god of vegetation or a tragic lover, his character is a composite of centuries of cultural shifts, theological debates, and linguistic...

The concept of the Satyr represents one of the most enduring and multifaceted archetypes in the history of human mythology. Emerging from the rugged, untamed landscapes of ancient Greece, these hybrid beings have occupied the peripheral spaces of the human imagination for millennia. They are...

The figure of Artemis remains one of the most complex and enduring archetypes in human history; she represents the untamed wilderness, the transition of youth, and the paradox of a protector who is also a predator. To understand Artemis is to look beyond the popular image of the Greek huntress...

Odin é um dos personagens mais enigmáticos e complexos da mitologia nórdica. Ele é o deus das palavras e da sabedoria, das runas e da magia. Este é o primeiro livro sobre Odin que se baseia em fontes históricas e é, ao mesmo tempo, acessível ao público em geral. A obra explora as...

What Doesn't Kill Us traces our evolutionary journey back to a time when survival depended on how well we adapted to the environment around us. Our ancestors crossed the Alps in animal skins and colonized the New World in loin cloths. They evaded predators and built civilizations with just their raw brainpower and inner grit. But things have changed and now comfort is king. Today we live in the thrall of constant climate control and exercise only when our office schedules permit.

Thor, Odin, Loki, Freyja, the Valkyries, Valhalla, Ragnarok — many of the places we encounter these and other names, places, and events from Norse mythology in daily life and pop culture are connected to the medieval sources in name only.

There is a basic human wisdom that can help solve the world’s problems. It doesn’t belong to any one culture or region or religious tradition—though it can be found in many of them throughout history. It’s what Chögyam Trungpa called the sacred path of the warrior.