Weird Christmas

Ah, the delights of Christmas Holiday carolers, beautifully wrapped packages, twinkling lights, and...a feast of caterpillars fried in oil?!? Welcome to Weird Christmas, a journey off the beaten path to the bizarre side of the world's favorite holiday, where, for every Christmas sugarplum there is a plate of lutefisk (that's cod soaked in lye-- a Christmas favorite in Norway).
You don't have to travel around the world to find the peculiar aspects of Christmas-- it's all a matter of perspective. What can you say about a holiday on which you invite a strange old bearded man to break into your house, and leave him a snack for his troubles? Or cut down a stately, ancient evergreen so you can drag it inside and drown it in fake icicles? December 25th has become so much more-- and less-- than a sacred religious celebration. It is a time to be joyously selfless and a time to indulge in an orgy of consumerism; a time for sober reflection and a time to lift a few too many glasses of eggnog and wake up face-down under the office conference table. And, apparently, if you are Werner Erhard, a time to send out 62,824 personal greeting cards.
You'd be surprised at the range of crimes and catastrophes that have taken place on Christmas, the mishaps, the mayhem, the hideous sweaters and inedible fruitcakes, the momentous births and untimely deaths. In Weird Christmas, Joey Green has unearthed stockings-full of juicy holiday curiosities, all cunningly illustrated by Lisa K. Weber, adding up to an offbeat look at a heartfelt tradition-- and a one-size-fits-all Christmas present no one will ever return!

Ah, the delights of Christmas Holiday carolers, beautifully wrapped packages, twinkling lights, and...a feast of caterpillars fried in oil? ? Welcome to Weird Christmas, a journey off the beaten path to the bizarre side of the world's favorite holiday, where, for every Christmas sugarplum there is a plate of lutefisk (that's cod soaked in lye--a Christmas favorite in Norway).