Vine Crăciunul!

by Monika Utnik-Strugała, Mihaela Fiscutean (Translator)

Vă puteți imagina o iarnă fără Crăciun, și totuși plină de arome și de tradiții de neuitat? NU?! Dar le cunoașteți cu adevărat pe toate? Sunt la fel pretutindeni în lume? Monika Utnik vă invită să descoperiți mirosuri, gusturi, legende, tradiții inedite și totodată răspunsuri la întrebări precum: De ce sărbătorim Crăciunul pe 25 decembrie? De ce există târguri de Crăciun? Oare toți copiii primesc daruri în aceeași zi? De ce decorăm bradul? Cine a inventat primele globuri din sticlă? De ce construim iesle în miniatură? În plus, veți afla mai multe despre plantele specifice acestei sărbători, despre steaua din Betleem, despre Ebenezer Scrooge și despre Spărgătorul de nuci.

Vine Crăciunul! este o lectură relaxantă pentru serile lungi de iarnă, petrecute în sânul familiei, și nu doar în jurul bradului de Crăciun.

Genres: Christmas, Nonfiction, Picture Books, Childrens, Holiday, Audiobook, 21st Century

128 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2019

Reviews

[Reading_ Tamishly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very insightful and informative read about the origin of Christmas and the various traditions surrounding it.

The illustrations are the main highlights and they support the text well and good.

However, I had a difficult time trying to read the small texts.

I wish the lines weren't too crowded as it's a book for children. Hope it's better with the physical copy.

Thanks Authors and the publisher for the advance reading copy.

[Natalie all_books_great_and_small · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

Christmas is coming is a beautiful illustrated book for children about how Christmas is celebrated in different countries and within different cultures across the globe.
This book was very interesting and I think children would enjoy reading about how different places and cultures celebrate differently to themselves.
This book make a great classroom resource especially at Christmas time!
The illustrations are beautifully done throughout.

[Rosh ~catching up slowly~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a hard time resisting any book that says “Christmas” in its title. What with this book’s bright red cover pic, it was doubly difficult to resist it. But it didn’t exactly work out the way I had thought.
The book contains a treasure trove of Christmas-related information, be it with respect to special days around Christmas, traditions set in the festive season, customs associated with Christmas, and so on. It is very informative. Even many adults wouldn’t know many of the details covered in the book.

However, the book is almost encyclopaedic in its approach. I had assumed this to be a simple picture book with some information on how Christmas is celebrated across various countries. (My mistake entirely. The blurb didn’t promise a picture book. I think I jumped the gun because of the lovely illustrations on the cover.) Unfortunately, it is quite text-intensive and as such, it might lose out on the younger readers. Rather than presenting the information in smaller paragraphs and a bigger font, the text looks crammed with paragraphs and paragraphs of content. I would have loved to see a more informal approach as children tend to enjoy those better. Especially if this is marketed as children’s nonfiction, then the content has to be more appealing to them. With such lengthy writing, I feel kids will mainly look at the illustrations and not read the information alongside. The purpose of the book is lost then.

What helps the book to a certain extent is the marvellous illustrations. They are absolutely charming and support the content perfectly. But illustrations alone don’t make for a good book; sad, but true.

For those children aged 9+ who love reading trivia, this book will be a wonderful gift.

Thank you, NetGalley and North South Books Inc., for the Advanced Review Copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

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[Zhuki · Rating 5 out of 5]

дарувати книжки на свята - практика звична для багатьох книголюбів
⠀
але коли є ось така прекрасна різдвяна книжка - то проблему із вибором книжкового подарунка взагалі вирішено
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тепер до суті, про що ж ця книжка
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найперше, це різдвяно-новорічний нон-фікшн, на який я б не ставила вікових рамок узагалі
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невеликі розділи про святкування в різних культурах: від латинської америки й до східної японії й китаю, звісно багато про європейські традиції
⠀
окрім традиційного набору про виникнення вертепу, ялинки, скляних іграшок, колядок, страв - тут є багато цікавого про написання різдвяних хітів, залаштунки «Сам удома», про Ебенезера Скруджа й Ґрінча
⠀
і це справді знахідка: взнати, що не деякі хіти писалися влітку, або на день Подяки, або взагалі без різдвяного духу
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книголюби особливо оцінять розділ про нобелівську премію (до чого тут традиції й свята - інтрига)
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одне слово, я щоразу коли починаю розповідати про цю книжку, то важко стриматися й не видати всі родзинки
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але для мене це видання - справжня знахідна не лише цього року, а за весь час, відколи слідкую за різдвяними новинками: професійно й особисто
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і навіть для некниголюбів така книжка можна стати відкриттям
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р е к о м е н д у ю!

[Khrystyna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Чудова книжка для Різдвяного настрою — про різні (часом навіть дивакуваті) традиції святкування в країнах світу, як виглядає Миколай, коли приносять дітям подарунки, різдвяні ярмарки, звідки з’явився звичай прикрашати ялинки і як винайшли скляні прикраси. Правда, написано дуже коротко та стисло, без додаткових деталей, думаю цікаво читати з дітками.

Мені, звісно, найбільше сподобалося читати про те, чим смакують в різних країнах в цей святковий час. Ідеально було б якби подавали ще рецепти в книжці (наприклад, тих самих шафранових булочок, які шведи печуть на день Святої Люсії). Окремо варто виділити ілюстрації — продумані до найменших дрібничок і дуже гарно передають атмосферу.
Моя остання книжка під номером 30 з цьогорічного goodreads challenge :)

[Ольга-Марія · Rating 5 out of 5]

Прекрасний подарунок на свята зробила я сама собі :))
Чудова книга для дітей та дорослих про святкування зимових свят усюди від Мексики до Китаю, від Італії до Данії. Дізналась багато цікавих фактів, якими тепер діймаю усіх довкола.
Якщо шукаєте гарний дарунок на Миколая своїм рідним - ось саме воно!

[Ira Vozna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Неймовірні і смішні, але такі теплі традиції святкування Різдва, дня Святого Миколая і Нового року в різних куточках цього світу. Книга для дітей, але буде цікава всім. Планую перечитати у грудні:) Тут дуже багато крутих ілюстрацій.
Книга написана польським автором, у нас переклад. Чудова робота!

Звичайно в книжці згадано про східний обряд і все решта, але відчувається, що недостатньо порівняно з іншими країнами. Зрозуміло, що книжка була написана для польської аудиторії. Тому вихід або книжку локалізовувати для українців, більше загадавши все розмаїття традицій, або створити нову, але з Україною в фокусі, як поляки написали для себе.

[Kvitoslava Svitlytska · Rating 4 out of 5]

Дуже красива книга: ідея, ілюстрації, наповнення.
Дізналась про надзвичайно гарні, також місцями дивні, традиції святкування Різдва та Нового року в світі.

Чому святкують Різдво 25 грудня; як винайшли снігові кулі; чому почали виготовляти скляні ялинкові прикраси; чому ставлять ялинки на центральних площах міст; хто замовив першого лускунчика; в якій країні святкують Різдво в KFC; інсайти зйомок «Сам удома»; коли і як приходить Миколай в інших країнах та багато-багато всього іншого.

Загалом в книзі дуже гарно описані традиції інших народів.
Натомість українські звичаї місцями неправильно висвітлені.
Але тут, мабуть, потрібно окрему книгу публікувати)

4,5/5.

[Cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was fun and interesting. I don;t celebrate this holiday, but do enjoy reading how it's celebrated in various cultures. As I've discovered over the years all the similar books really don't cover the same territory each time one is written. Nothing is really lost by reading all of them, as they often cover things the others missed! So I consider it a must read if you, or your child, are reading about how this holiday is celebrated elsewhere,. Why not find a tradition or two and add to your own? Could be fun Or, maybe pick up on that's somehow related to your own heritage? Good book and well researched.

I received a Kindle arc from Netgalley in exchange for a fair review.

[oohlalabooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is interesting to see how other countries celebrate Christmas. This book is colorful and easy to read. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a gifted copy. This is my honest review.

[Marta Demianiuk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sporo ciekawych informacji przystępnie podanych i z pięknymi ilustracjami.

[Patrilibris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kniha Idú Vianoce ma na prvý pohľad očarila prekrásnou obálkou a ilustráciami. V origináli ide o poľskú publikáciu, a tak som bola zvedavá, ako sa tento aspekt premietne na knihe obsahovo a vizuálne.

A musím povedať, že pokojne by to mohla byť aj naša národná vianočná kniha. S Poliakmi sme si kultúrne veľmi blízki, takže vianočné tradície, jedlo, štýl obliekania a prežívanie sviatkov máme podobné. Páčilo sa mi, že preklad bol prispôsobený do najmenších detailov slovenským čitateľom, takže namiesto poľských kolied tu nájdete tie naše tradičné. Dokonca boli pozmenené aj niektoré informácie či celé pasáže jednotlivých príbehov, aby zodpovedali našim pomerom.

Veľmi sa mi páčilo, že autorka sa neobmedzila len na svoju rodnú krajinu, ale opísala a porovnala vianočné zvyky a tradície zo všetkých kútov sveta. Pridalo to tejto knihe na farebnosti a rôznorodej kráse, a to nielen vizuálne.

Ako inak, najviac ma bavili kapitoly o kultových vianočných filmoch a knižných príbehoch. Spomína sa tu napríklad Sám doma, Grinč, Tri oriešky pre Popolušku, Luskáčik či Vianočná koleda.

Množstvo informácií bolo pre mňa nových a po prvom čítaní som si ani nedokázala všetko zapamätať. Po tejto biblii Vianoc preto určite siahnem aj budúci rok a opäť sa s radosťou ponorím do objavovania tradícií z celého sveta. Mojou jedinou výhradou je obrovské množstvo komplexne podaných informácií, ktoré podľa mňa nie je vhodné pre odporúčanú vekovú kategóriu 7+. Obsahovo je kniha vhodná skôr pre staršie deti. A pre dospelých bude hotovým pokladom.

Kniha Idú Vianoce je však bez výnimky povinnou jazdou pre všetkých milovníkov Vianoc a krásnych ilustrácií! Ja som si ju zamilovala.

[Marta Barchuk · Rating 5 out of 5]

максимально Крісмасі книга💫
дуже багато навколоріздвяної тематики з цікавими фактами з усіх країн світу - дуже цікаво порівнювати хто як святкує, ілюстрації - неймовірно влучні та красиві

[Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Красиво оформлена книжка на різдвяну тематику, про традиції святкування у різних країнах. Багато нових і цікавих фактів, але відчувається, що вона більш дитячо-підліткова, ніж, наприклад, її пряма конкурентка "Велика різдвяна книжка".

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s a shame that the text doesn’t meet the same standards as the lovely illustrations. Beautiful to look at, only a little substance to read. There are so many wonderful traditions in this book. Yet most of the retellings here idealize (idolize?) modern reconstructions of ‘ancient’ pagan practices over against historic Christian tradition, whether the authors meant to or not. Christian beliefs and traditions are poorly and misleadingly explained, suggesting the authors did little to no research into historic sources but relied on hearsay and their own biases. The book opens with the famously baseless, ahistorical association of December 25th with a minor Roman sun deity as the explanation for Christian devotion on that day, and the expertise does not get better as the book goes on (the real reason Christians came to celebrate December 25th as the day of Jesus’ birth is much less exciting but far more supportable: December 25th is nine months after March 25th).

There is a plethora of church resources as to why these things are tradition. Much of the storytelling is pedantic towards Christian belief and practice. It’s such a bummer when people write books on Christmas traditions but are lazy about why they began and just spread popular-level misunderstandings.

[Kinga (oazaksiazek) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5
To bardzo dobra książka dla wszystkich, którzy chcieliby wyjaśnić dzieciom, czym są święta w kontekście religijnym.

Autorka nawiązuje bowiem do religii występującej zarówno w Polsce jak i na świecie. Pokazuje podobieństwa i różnice pomiędzy tym, co najmłodsi znają z własnego doświadczenia a tym, co jest dla nich obce. "Idą święta" przeprowadza czytelnika przez okres grudniowych przygotowań, sam czas świąt oraz obchody powitania Nowego Roku. Mamy opisy tradycji, lokalnych wierzeń czy jedzenia pojawiającego się na stołach w różnych krajach.

Wszystko jest urozmaicone przepięknymi ilustracjami, które przyciągają wzrok i sprawiają wiele radości.

To takie święta w pigułce dla dużych i małych, którzy są zainteresowani nie tylko świętami, ale też religią.

[Joanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Szata graficzna tej książki to inny wymiar piękna
Bardzo ciepła i przytulna książka idealna na święta
Wartość merytoryczna równie dobra i przydatna

[Naomi · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5 *

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Monika Utnik-Strugala's book, Christmas is Coming, is a fun adventure around the world. Highly informative, this book presents holiday traditions and history from the Americas, Europe, and a little bit of Asia and Australia. Christmas is Coming covers some of the more well known traditions including Christmas trees, the Nutcracker, and Christmas carols. There are also lesser known traditions like how nativity scenes came about and the tradition of hanging a Christmas tree upside down. Does anyone know the purpose of this tradition?

This is such a wonderful, information-packed book. Our plan is to utilize it in our morning basket time during the Advent season. I would recommend reading a section each morning leading up to Christmas and planning some picture books or projects to go along with it. This would be a great study to usher in the holidays. And I can't wait to share I with my kids.

*Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

[Erika · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting details of Christmas traditions across different countries. The book is quite Euro-centric however in what traditions are covered, how they’re shared, and what is cross-referenced. I suspect this is likely because the author is Polish and lives in Italy, so she is sharing the cultural traditions with which she’s most familiar. Still, this would be more complete with broader representation. More traditions from Latin America, for example, could have easily been worked into the existing structure of the book.

On the plus side, I learned a few interesting tidbits, the book is beautifully illustrated, and the writing is simple enough to share with children. Unfortunately the lack of diverse representation when this claims to be about traditions from “around the world” gives me pause to recommend it as a children’s book. If I read this with my kids, I’ll be challenging them to question what traditions and countries are not included.

[nαомι αndιno · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun Christmas encyclopaedia filled with beautiful illustrations! It starts with the advent calendar and makes its way through any Christmas traditions around the globe. From giant goats to upside down christmas trees to KFC for Christmas dinner, this book is very entertaining. It explains ancient (and newish) origins of festivals, superstitions, plants and many other traditions.

The only reason I’m not giving it 5 stars is because it’s main aim is children yet I fond the content very encyclopedic. The font was also very crowded and small (I had to zoom in a lot on my screen but I’m not sure how small it’d be on a physical copy).

Thank you, NetGalley and North South Books Inc., for the Advanced Review Copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

[Christine Zandt · Rating 5 out of 5]

An international collection of legends and traditions can be found in Monika Utnik-Strugala’s nonfiction book, Christmas Is Coming!: Traditions from Around the World. This book satisfies many of your holiday questions. Of course you’ll find info about Santa, but there’s much more. Such as how Swedish towns have candlelit processions on December 13, or how the Japanese have adopted Christmas but celebrate it with reindeer and pandas! In Mexico, Spain, and Columbia, the Day of the Holy Innocents (on December 28) is like our April Fool’s Day. Favorite sections of mine include food, decorations, plants, and finding good luck for the new year.

Full-color art by the talented Ewa Poklewska-Koziello adorns each page, enlivening people and their celebrations. While suitable for elementary-age kids who want to learn about more than just the US December 25 Santa Claus, older kids will have plenty to read. Overall, this lovely book promotes inclusivity and is one you’ll refer to repeatedly as a remembrance or to learn something new.

[Chelsea Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative and engaging!

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Christmas is Coming! is an informative book about various Christmas traditions around the world. I enjoyed how the book profiled different regions of the world and what they do for the holidays. This book would be perfect for a classroom who is doing a cross cultural study. Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read this book. (This review is also on Goodreads.)

[Ana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a free e-ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Every year, throughout my childhood, my mother always bought my sister and me a Christmas-themed book to open on Christmas Day. This is why I was drawn to this book. It's the sort of book I would have loved as a child.

I thought the writing was suitable for a young audience, and I learned a lot about different Christmas traditions from around the world. For some, they celebrate St. Nicholas' feast day in early December, while others don't celebrate until January 6. Not everyone is given gifts by Santa Claus. In some countries it is an old woman, or elves who bring children gifts.

I thought there was a wide range of examples, although most were pulled from European and North American traditions, and it would have been nice to see more from other parts of the world.

On the whole, a lovely little book. It would be a perfect gift for middle to upper-elementary years to celebrate Christmas.

[Rashae · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was a fun book! Interesting to learn about the different traditions of cultures and countries around the world and how they celebrate Christmas, and the history behind their traditions.

I do have to say it seemed poorly edited and I wished for a bit more information but overall I’d say it was worth the read and fun to think about ways to celebrate differently in our own way.

[Theediscerning · Rating 4 out of 5]

Come here for what counts as quite the encyclopaedia of Christmas – there's much more oomph to it than I expected. This takes us through the season, from the start of advent (with some hymns and other things I'd never even heard of), right up to the start of the new year and beyond, explaining what our world's traditions are, and the religious background of them. So Odin has something to say about the Dutch Santa Claus' white horse, there's a bit about Celtic reverence for mistletoe, and so on. We jump across the calendar and the globe to see how Filipinos and Colombians both light up their winter nights to herald the wish for brighter days. And here are Polish Christmas trees, hung upside down from the ceiling, Catalonian children eating sweets they pretend have been shat out of a log they've mothered throughout Advent, Venezuelans taking up their rollerskates to get to midnight mass, and the Mexicans – well, they just bash piñatas and carve radishes. Could be worse – Japanese descend on KFC en masse on the 24th.

It doesn't completely disguise its Polish origins to make it a thoroughly universal piece, but it's a great work. As I say it had a lot more to it than I thought, the artworks are classy and in keeping throughout, and you'd have to have a long, flowing white beard and a blue suit (yes, blue, Santa's original, pre-Coke days colour) to not learn anything from these pages. Four and a half stars.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and North South Books for a copy of "Christmas is Coming: Traditions from Around the World" in exchange for my honest review.

This is a fantastic book for young and old alike. The charming illustrations match the old world feel of the stories from around the world.

The stories will answer children's (and adults) questions about why we celebrate certain things and why we celebrate in certain ways. We learn why we celebrate on the 25th of December, the meaning of Advent and the Advent calendar, Christmas markets, how ornaments came to be, Midnight Mass, the Star of Bethlehem, Mistletoe, Holly, Poinsettia, the place set for the unexpected guest, the food and drink of the holidays, why we sing carols, do the animals really speak at midnight, the Nutcracker, Santa Claus, presents and so many more fascinating facts about Christmas.

The stories bring traditions from Sweden, Norway, Greece, Italy, Poland, Mexico, Slovakia, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Spain, Columbia, the Philippines, Germany to life.

There is a fun glossary at the end with how to wish a Merry Christmas in other languages, the name of Santa Claus.

This is a wonderful book that would be a great addition to any family's holiday traditions.

[Libby · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun book for middle grade readers who want to learn about Christmas customs. There is a strong focus on the religious celebrations of Jesus' birth with a Catholic bent. Almost all of the customs presented are European, although there is also a good representation from the Americas. There is much less from Asia, and only one mention of either Australia or Africa (Ethiopia), so the subtitle, "Traditions from around the World" is a misnomer. There are no source notes, bibliography, or suggestions for further research, which limits the usefulness of the book in school settings. Recommended for kids who want to be holiday armchair travelers.

[Jennica · Rating 3 out of 5]

More pronunciation guides would have been helpful, and there were some printing errors as well.