I’m a nostalgic old sap pretty much year-round, but what better time to reminisce than at Christmas?

My two sisters and I, (and my mother, too!), spent a lot of time with our noses in books. Many were borrowed from the public library, but a respectable number bore our names and graced our two built-in bookcases in the basement. Among our personal stash was the 15-volume Childcraft–The How and Why Library.  My favorite volumes were Volume 2: Stories and Fables, (it had a beautiful two-page spread of a pink fairy!), and Volume 9: Holidays and Traditions.  The latter volume contained colorful pictures of Santas around the world.  Santa Claus.  Father Christmas.  Frere Noel.  The volume also contained a picture of the nativity and a brief explanation of “the shining star” that led the Wise Men (the Magi) to Jesus.

Childcraft–The How and Why Library, 1972 Edition