Stations of the Sun

Rating:
Summary: Good overview of the holiday year in Britain.
Review: A very scholarly work on the origins and customs surrounding the holidays in Britain. This book has been a bit of a "tough read" for me as I worked through the dry parts of interest to folklorists between the parts of interest to genealogists. As an American, I had to have Guy Fawkes Night explained to me. As a genealogist working with UK sources, it's nice to understand what Rogationtide and Candlemas are, for instance.

In general, the book attempts to overturn the classical folklorist mistakes in the sources and symbolism of holidays dating back to Sir James Frazer's Golden Bough. Not every custom and tradition is a direct descendant of Celtic religious rites. Humanity has been very adaptable to inventing new "old traditions" as the need arises and our earlier ancestors where just as good at fulfilling these needs as were the Victorians who invented our concept of an "old fashioned Christmas".

Rating:
Summary: An excellent British scholar,
Review: Hope this great book comes back into print here. It's wordy, but I always appreciate the detail and background he provides. It's out of print here, it's still in print in the UK, so I got it from there.

Rating:
Summary: Actually, I returned this book after trying to read it.
Review: I was so excited when I found this book! I hate to tell you how disappointed I was when I read it. Many positive reviews are posted here, so maybe I should try it again, but I'm not sure I have the patience.

Hutton debunks everything he presents; after a while it kind of got on my nerves. Virtually every description and explanation is followed by some sort of "but this probably didn't happen" or "this probably wasn't really the way it was" disclaimer. After reading several chapters, my attitude morphed into "why are you wasting my time telling me about stuff that didn't happen? Can't you tell me about anything that probably DID happen?" I (barely) finished it, feeling that I was left with anti-information as opposed to information.

"Debunking" popular notions is all well and good, but without offering any alternative ideas or explanations, this book could have been written in one sentence: "No concrete information is available so don't believe anything you read or hear about this subject."

Rating:
Summary: Actually, I returned this book after trying to read it.
Review: I was so excited when I found this book! I hate to tell you how disappointed I was when I read it. Many positive reviews are posted here, so maybe I should try it again, but I'm not sure I have the patience.

Hutton debunks everything he presents; after a while it kind of got on my nerves. Virtually every description and explanation is followed by some sort of "but this probably didn't happen" or "this probably wasn't really the way it was" disclaimer. After reading several chapters, my attitude morphed into "why are you wasting my time telling me about stuff that didn't happen? Can't you tell me about anything that probably DID happen?" I (barely) finished it, feeling that I was left with anti-information as opposed to information.

"Debunking" popular notions is all well and good, but without offering any alternative ideas or explanations, this book could have been written in one sentence: "No concrete information is available so don't believe anything you read or hear about this subject."

Rating:
Summary: An excellent British scholar,
Review: This book is a great source for information about British customs and lore. Hutton is excited about his subject and holds it in deep regard all the wile telling us the way it really is. I learned a lot from this book and I consider it essential reading for everyone (especially neo-pagans) who has an interest in this subject.

As a neo-pagan I wouldn't want to have this vast subject explained to me in one sentence - I want examples as to why a certain custom or seasonal festival is important/necessary in the wheel of the year. Ialso want sources states because if someone were to just say to me "Everything you have read about British seasonal customs is wrong" I would say, "Prove it". Hutton indeed takes the time to prove his arguments.

Hutton isn't against neo-pagans, but he is _for_ scholarship.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Source
Review: This book is a great source for information about British customs and lore. Hutton is excited about his subject and holds it in deep regard all the wile telling us the way it really is. I learned a lot from this book and I consider it essential reading for everyone (especially neo-pagans) who has an interest in this subject.

As a neo-pagan I wouldn't want to have this vast subject explained to me in one sentence - I want examples as to why a certain custom or seasonal festival is important/necessary in the wheel of the year. Ialso want sources states because if someone were to just say to me "Everything you have read about British seasonal customs is wrong" I would say, "Prove it". Hutton indeed takes the time to prove his arguments.

Hutton isn't against neo-pagans, but he is _for_ scholarship.

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant research
Review: This is far and away the best book on the subject! Meticulously researched, I give it my highest recommendation -- especially for Neo-Pagans. It's a wonderful antidote for the misinformation so common in pop histories.