Experiencing an Appalachian Christmas
A Selected Booklist
Here are some useful sources for further reading about Appalachian celebrations. Since some of these titles may be out of print, be sure to contact your public library.
Old Songs & Singing Games by Richard Chase, Dover, 1972.
Singing Games and Playparty Games by Richard Chase Dover, 1949, 1967.
Smokehouse Ham, Spoon Bread, & Scuppernong Wine: The Folklore and Art of Southern Appalachian Cooking by Joseph E. Dabney, Cumberland House, 1998.
More Than Moonshine: Appalachian Recipes and Recollections by Sidney Saylor Farr, University of Pittsburgh Press, 1983.
The Christmas Revels Songbook: In Celebration of the Winter Solstice by John and Nancy Langstaff, Revels, 1985.
Foxfire Book of Toys and Games by Linda Garland Page and Hilton Smith, Dutton, 1985.
Folk Songs of the Southern Appalachians. 2nd ed. by Jean Ritchie, University Press of Kentucky, 1997.
Singing Family of the Cumberlands by Jean Ritchie, Geordie Music, 1980.
Foxfire Christmas: Appalachian Memories and Traditions by Eliot Wigginton, Doubleday, 1989.
Children’s Books
The Adventures of Johnny May by Robbie Branscum, Harper & Row, 1984.
Renfroe’s Christmas by Robert Burch, Viking, 1968.
A Certain Small Shepherd by Rebecca Caudill,Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1965.
*Grandfather Tales by Richard Chase, Houghton Mifflin, 1948.
Tall Tales from the High Hills by Ellis Credle, Nelson, 1957.
Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree by Gloria Houston, Dial, 1988.
Littlejim’s Gift: An Appalachian Christmas by Gloria Houston, Philomel, 1994.
The Complete Peddler’s Pack: Games, Songs, Rhymes, and Riddles by May Justus, University of Tennessee, 1967.
Granny Will Your Dog Bite, and Other Mountain Rhymes by Gerry Milnes, Knopf, 1990.
On Christmas Day in the Morning Foreword by John Langstaff. Candlewick, 1999
Silver Packages: An Appalachian Christmas Story by Cynthia Rylant, Orchard, 1987
Children of Christmas: Stories for the Season by Cynthia Rylant, Orchard, 1987
American Folk Songs for Christmas by Ruth Crawford Seeger, Oak, 1953.
An Appalachian Mother Goose by James Still, University Press of Kentucky, 1998.
*Stories from the Grandfather Tales have been published as separate titles in many versions by various authors. Some examples are Old Dry Frye, Sody Saleratus, Soap, Soap, Soap, The Green Gourd, etc. Check with a children’s librarian.
Recorded Music
Kentucky Christmas: Old and New Jean Ritchie family and friends. CD. Greenbays Recordings, n.d.
Wassail! Wassail! Early American Christmas Music Directed by John Langstaff. CD. Revels Records, 1982, 1988.
American Folk Songs for Christmas [CD]. - Mike Seeger. - Rounder Records, 1989
A Folk Song Christmas [CD]. American Melody, 2001