Bruce Forbes to share information from his new book on the history of Christmas

Bruce Forbes, Ph.D., professor and chair of religious studies at Morningside College, will provide information about the history of Christmas when he summarizes his new book at 11:45 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 28, in the UPS Auditorium of the Lincoln Center, 3627 Peters Ave.

The public is invited to the free event, which is sponsored by Morningside’s Academic and Cultural Arts Series (ACAS).

Forbes said he wrote “Christmas: A Candid History” as a concise, 153-page book because he wanted to explain the religious and secular roots of Christmas to people curious about the holiday’s origins who want to get the facts from a scholar in the field.

“It’s for people who both love Christmas and are driven crazy by Christmas at the same time and want to understand why that is and what they can do about it,” he said.

He will summarize his book using a PowerPoint presentation. Some visuals in the presentation are included in his book, but many of them are not. Forbes will provide basic information on a wide range of topics, including the historical origins of Santa Claus, gift giving, and the Christmas tree.

Forbes has written a number of articles and chapters in books examining religion and popular culture. He holds a master of theology degree from Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, and a doctorate in the history of American Christianity from Princeton (N.J.) Theological Seminary. He is an ordained minister in the United Methodist Church.