The Dance of Time: The Origins of the Calendar: A Miscellany of History and Myth, Religion and Astronomy, Festivals and Feast Days. Michael Judge.

The Dance of Time: The Origins of the Calendar: A Miscellany of History and Myth, Religion and Astronomy, Festivals and Feast Days. Michael Judge. Arcade Publishing, 2011.

The Victorian Book of the Dead. Chris Woodyard.

The Victorian Book of the Dead. Chris Woodyard. Kestrel Publications, 2014.

Ghosts of the Confederacy: Defeat, the Lost Cause, and the Emergence of the New South by Gaines M. Foster

Ghosts of the Confederacy: Defeat, the Lost Cause, and the Emergence of the New South by Gaines M. Foster Oxford University press, 1987. Confederate memory morphing over the decades. Very useful background for my dissertation.

The American Christmas by James H. Barnett.

The American Christmas by James H. Barnett. MacMillan, 1954. An earlier look at the holiday. Evolution of the holiday. Social role of Santa Claus. Social Role of Christmas art.

The Battle for Christmas by Stephen Nissebaum.

The Battle for Christmas by Stephen Nissebaum. Vintage Books, 1996. Another cultural history of Christmas. More depth on the Puritans, the antebellum south, the evolution of St Nick. Invention of tradition.

Christmas in America: A History. by Penne L. Restad.

Christmas in America: A History. by Penne L. Restad. Oxford U Press, 1995. Wild parties in the colonial south. No celebration at all under the Puritans. Gradual influence of European customs, emphasis on family celebrations, growth of commercialism. This is a great read.

We Are What We Celebrate: Understanding Holidays and Rituals. Ed by Amitai Etzioni and Jared Bloom.

We Are What We Celebrate: Understanding Holidays and Rituals. Edited by Amitai Etzioni and Jared Bloom. NYU Press, 2004. Family, Community, Nation building through ritual.