Christmas Curiosities ('Tis the season to be reading)

This year, I started on Facebook the tradition I had already started on this blog of sharing a book for the Christmas season (or for other seasons at other times of the year). It has been so far quite successful, so I thought I'd keep it alive on the blog as well. I know I already mentioned Christmas Curiosities, but I thought I would plug it again as it was four years ago. So this was a present from my brother PJ which is now among my early Yuletide reads. It is about the darker side of Christmas in its iconography: you have plenty of images of Krampus, creepy Santa Claus, Saint Nicholas who carries a rod to beat naughty children, dead birds (!) on season's greetings' cards, elves, devils, the Christm Child advertising cigars (!), winter spirits, etc. Because one should always remember Christmas' more sinister overtone, its part of darkness which makes us enjoy its lights all the more, I recommend that you read it.