The Return of the Light: Twelve Tales from Around the World for the Winter Solstice

I've only skimmed through the book so far, but I am very intrigued by her clever use of language and I look forward to reading this one.

The introduction to this book is one of the best explanations of Solstice customs and celebrations I've ever come across. The stories themselves are an acquired taste imho, but that is the nature of these old stories.

I read the twelfth tale for our library solstice celebration; people said they had never known the tale and liked it very much. I enjoyed performing the dramatic bits of this tale to the delight of the "children" in the audience.

What a wonderful collection of short stories - really great to read and put down, come back later for more. The stories are from around the world which I particularly liked. All are very well written, easy to get into, leave you with things to think about. Here are the titles of the stories:Part 1: Theft - Why Hummingbird has a red throat- The golden earring- Raven steals the light- The sun cow and the theifPart 2: Surrender - How Maui snared the sun- How the cock got his crown- Loki and the death of light- The pull-together morningPart 3: The Grace- Grandfather mantis and his thinking strings- The girl who married the sun- The light keepers box- La Befana and the Royal Child of LightFor each story we're told what country its from and a little background for contect. Excellent!!The last part of the book has rites (e.g. tree offering, give away) and games for winter solstice nights and solstice songs (e.g. deck the halls, joy to the world etc - different lyrics from the traditional christian songs)There's also a great bibliography to check out more booksHighly recommended.

I love this little volume of Winter Solstice tales from diverse cultures around the world. I believe that exploring the rich symbolism of the Yuletide season helps to make this joyful time of year come more fully to life. These clever stories are sure to further your understanding of the meanings of the holiday celebrations you have enjoyed all your life, adding new dimension to your future celebrations. They offer an opportunity to increase your sense of oneness with others who may worship and believe differently from yourself but who are none-the-less your sisters and brothers. There are tables at the back of this book which have short ritual ideas to use in your own celebrations and revels as well as some clever lyric revisions to well-known carols that put a Winter Solstice spin on them. I am a Wiccan Priestess and have used this book in crafting an annual public, ecumenical Yule ritual with great success. I recommend it for fireside reading as you wait up to greet the new born light.