Stars, Stockings, and Shepherds: Discover the Meaning of Christmas Symbols

All holidays have their own signature symbols and totems, but no holiday seems to have as many as Christmas. From boughs and bows, to stars and shepherds, deeper meaning can be found all around you, from your tree to your front door.

Stars, Stockings, and Shepherds delves into what all these festive trappings represent, offering a gentle, informative touch to some wonderful art. Warmly illustrated with all sorts of family scenes, the book is multicultural, but does not pander to any one culture. (You know what I mean; it doesn’t feel like they were including ethnicities off a checklist. People of color are just there, and rightly so.)

Although the author doesn’t cite sources, most of the information comes off as credible. There are a lot of references to Jesus in the book, though, on the surface, it doesn’t appear to be overtly religious. (Are Christmas tree lights really meant to represent the light of the Lord?)

That being said, this would be a wonderful book to read with young ones, and explain richer significance to what some might see as simple decoration.