Gene Wolfe's world is nothing like our own... It is bizarre and fantastical, grotesque and wonder-filled. It is a world of prowling houses, pregnant cars, space-age slaves and toys that are more than life-like. It is a world of shadows and unexceptional violence where man's technological fantasies have surpassed his dreams.

From this world comes a story for every holiday from New Year's Eve to Christmas Day - each marked by Gene Wolfe's unique imagination. And each, of course, about a world nothing like our own.

Contents:

• Introduction
• Lincoln's Birthday: How the Whip Came Back (1970)
• Valentine's Day: Of Relays and Roses (1970)
• Arbor Day: Paul's Treehouse (1969)
• St. Patrick's Day: St. Brandon (extract from Peace)
• Earth Day: Beautyland (1973)
• Mother's Day: Car Sinister (1970)
• Armed Forces Day: The Blue Mouse (1971)
• Memorial Day: How I Lost the Second World War (1973)
• Father's Day: The Adopted Father (1980)
• Labor Day: Forlesen (1974)
• Opening Day: An Article About Hunting (1973)
• Homecoming Day: The Changeling (1968)
• Halloween: Many Mansions (1977)
• Armistice Day: Against the Lafayette Escadrille (1972)
• Thanksgiving: Three Million Square Miles (1971)
• Christmas Eve: The War Beneath the Tree (1979)
• Christmas Day: La Befana (1973)
• New Year's Eve: Melting (1974)