Jungian and Psychoanalytic Perspectives on Christmas

Origins, Motifs, and Psychological Significances
1. Auflage 2025
ISBN: 978-1-032-94037-3
Verlag: Routledge

Buch, Englisch, 260 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm, Gewicht: 401 g

By examining its history, traditions, symbols, and representation in the arts through the lens of three major schools of depth psychology, Kendrick L. Norris, a Jungian Analyst and minister, shows how better understanding of the promise of Christmas can allow us to discover what it is that we long for the most.

Why does the winter celebration of Christmas have such a deep-rooted resonance, individually and collectively? This extensively researched book clearly and engagingly articulates the soul reasons why this holiday has such a significant impact on the human psyche. The work begins with an explanation about how depth psychology can be used to understand the Christmas phenomenon, followed by an investigation into the origins and symbols of Christmas. The book closes by delving into the soul meaning of Christmas through the perspectives of Freud, Kohut, and Jung.

This thought-provoking volume will appeal to Jungian Analysts, psychoanalysts, and psychotherapists, as well as those interested in religion and its relation to depth psychology.

Zielgruppe

Professional Reference

Autoren/Hrsg.

Norris, Kendrick Lyddon

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Psychologie Psychologie / Allgemeines & Theorie Psychologische Theorie, Psychoanalyse Psychoanalyse (C.G. Jung)

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Introduction 1. Approaching Christmas from a Depth Psychology Perspective 2. Origins of the Feast of the Nativity 3. Pagan Synergy 4. The 12 Motifs of Christmas 5. Christmas and the Oedipal: Freud 6. Christmas and Mirroring: Kohut 7. Christmas and Regressive Peace/Progressing Wholeness: Jung Conclusion Appendix. The Biblical Description of Jesus as Twin Selfobject and Idealized Selfobject Bibliography

Über Autor(innen)

Kendrick Lyddon Norris, PhD, NCPsyA, IAAP, is a graduate of the C.G. Jung Institute of New York, past president of the New York Association for Analytical Psychology (NYAAP), and a certified Imago Relationship Therapist. Dr. Norris has worked at the Pastoral Counseling Center of St. Raphael’s Hospital and Family Counseling of Greater New Haven, and has been in private practice for more than 30 years. He has three graduate degrees in clinical psychology and pastoral psychology, 40 years of parish experience, and is Minster Emeritus of the First Congregational Church of Guilford, Connecticut.