Reading Series
Calendar Chronicles
Where familiar holidays came from.
Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, and the holiday business. The books look at how the rituals started and how they changed.
5 booksThere’s no required order. Start wherever you want.
In this series
Browse all books- 01Trick or TreatA deep dive into Halloween's roots — from Celtic Samhain to Catholic saints, medieval superstitions to modern candy, tracing how ancient rituals became America's spookiest tradition.41 min read
- 02Thanks, But No ThanksA sharp takedown of Thanksgiving mythology that exposes how a brutal colonial history got whitewashed into paper feathers and pageant scripts.31 min read
- 03The Most Wonderful TimeA revealing history of Christmas that traces how an ancient religious holiday transformed into modern consumer culture's biggest commercial spectacle.45 min read
- 04
Out of TimeHow humanity invented, standardized, and became enslaved by clocks and calendars—from sundials to time zones.40 min read - 05
The Holiday BusinessA critical exposé of how corporations transformed holidays and cultural milestones into engineered profit cycles that dictate our emotional and financial lives.34 min read