Sign-In
Cart
Christmas in America
Paperback
General ChristianityGeneral SociologyGeneral United States History
Please select the version of book you would like to purchase.
ISBN10: 0195109805
ISBN13: 9780195109801
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: Dec 5 1996
Pages: 240
Weight: 0.71
Height: 0.63 Width: 5.54 Depth: 8.48
Language: English
ISBN13: 9780195109801
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: Dec 5 1996
Pages: 240
Weight: 0.71
Height: 0.63 Width: 5.54 Depth: 8.48
Language: English
The manger or Macy's? Americans might well wonder which is the real shrine of Christmas, as they take part each year in a mix of churchgoing, shopping, and family togetherness. But the history of Christmas cannot be summed up so easily as the commercialization of a sacred day. As Penne Restad reveals in this marvelous new book, it has always been an ambiguous meld of sacred thoughts and worldly actions-- as well as a fascinating reflection of our changing society.
In Christmas in America, Restad brilliantly captures the rise and transformation of our most universal national holiday. In colonial times, it was celebrated either as an utterly solemn or a wildly social event--if it was celebrated at all. Virginians hunted, danced, and feasted. City dwellers flooded the streets in raucous demonstrations. Puritan New Englanders denounced the whole affair. Restad shows that as times changed, Christmas changed--and grew in popularity. In the early 1800s, New York served as an epicenter of the newly emerging holiday, drawing on its roots as a Dutch colony (St. Nicholas was particularly popular in the Netherlands, even after the Reformation), and aided by such men as Washington Irving. In 1822, another New Yorker named Clement Clarke Moore penned a poem now known as 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, virtually inventing the modern Santa Claus. Well-to-do townspeople displayed a German novelty, the decorated fir tree, in their parlors; an enterprising printer discovered the money to be made from Christmas cards; and a hodgepodge of year-end celebrations began to coalesce around December 25 and the figure of Santa. The homecoming significance of the holiday increased with the Civil War, and by the end of the nineteenth century a full- fledged national holiday had materialized, forged out of borrowed and invented custom alike, and driven by a passion for gift-giving. In the twentieth century, Christmas seeped into every niche of our conscious and unconscious lives to become a festival of epic proportions. Indeed, Restad carries the story through to our own time, unwrapping the messages hidden inside countless movies, books, and television shows, revealing the inescapable presence--and ambiguous meaning--of Christmas in contemporary culture.
Filled with colorful detail and shining insight, Christmas in America reveals not only much about the emergence of the holiday, but also what our celebrations tell us about ourselves. From drunken revelry along colonial curbstones to family rituals around the tree, from Thomas Nast drawing the semiofficial portrait of St. Nick to the making of the film Home Alone, Restad's sparkling account offers much to amuse and ponder.
Filled with colorful detail and shining insight, Christmas in America reveals not only much about the emergence of the holiday, but also what our celebrations tell us about ourselves. From drunken revelry along colonial curbstones to family rituals around the tree, from Thomas Nast drawing the semiofficial portrait of St. Nick to the making of the film Home Alone, Restad's sparkling account offers much to amuse and ponder.
Also in
General United States History
Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America
Kendi, Ibram X.
Paperback
$10.99
Making America's Public Lands: The Contested History of Conservation on Federal Lands
Sowards, Adam M.
Hardcover
$56.00
Up from the Depths: Herman Melville, Lewis Mumford, and Rediscovery in Dark Times
Sachs, Aaron
Hardcover
$67.50
The Agrarian Seeds of Empire: The Political Economy of Agriculture in Us State Building
Bauerly, Brad
Paperback
$43.50
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong
Loewen, James W.
Paperback
$9.99
What Every American Needs to Know about the Qur'an: A History of Islam & the United States
Federer, William J.
Paperback
$23.75
American Struggle: Democracy, Dissent, and the Pursuit of a More Perfect Union: An Anthology
Meacham, Jon
Hardcover
$34.20
When Trees Testify: Science, Wisdom, History, and America's Black Botanical Legacy
Montgomery, Beronda L.
Hardcover
$26.59
Live Laugh Love: The Secret History of White Christian Women and the World They Made
Kobes Du Mez, Kristin
Hardcover
$30.39
Country of Lords: Neo-Aristocrats, Social Darwinists, Tech Utopians, and the Long Fight Against Equality in America
Phillips-Fein, Kim
Hardcover
$31.50
1,000 Days in America: An Illustrated History of the Moments That Defined a Nation
National Geographic
Hardcover
$47.50
Miracles in American History: 32 Amazing Stories of Answered Prayer
Federer, Susie
Federer, William J.
Paperback
$19.00
Mysteries of the National Parks: 35 Stories of Baffling Disappearances, Unexplained Phenomena, and More
Bezemek, Mike
Paperback
$18.04
The Promise of a Nation: Commemorating 250 Years of Patriotism, Resilience, and Aspirations from the National Collection
Smithsonian Institution
Hardcover
$38.00
Department of Fate: The Promise, the Power, and the Collapse of America's Most Consequential Institution
Maddow, Rachel
Hardcover
$33.25
American Reich: A Murder in Orange County, Neo-Nazis, and a New Age of Hate
Lichtblau, Eric
Hardcover
$27.00
How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America
Smith, Clint
Paperback
From $11.99
The Price of Democracy: The Revolutionary Power of Taxation in American History
Williamson, Vanessa S.
Hardcover
$30.40
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong
Loewen, James W.
Paperback
$18.99
Travels with Charley in Search of America: (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)
Steinbeck, John
Paperback
$17.10
The Lost History of Liberalism: From Ancient Rome to the Twenty-First Century
Rosenblatt, Helena
Paperback
$17.96
We the Women: The Hidden Heroes Who Shaped America (Large Print Edition)
O'Donnell, Norah
Andersen Brower, Kate
Paperback
$35.15
Chosen Land: How Christianity Made America and Americans Remade Christianity
Sutton, Matthew Avery
Hardcover
$36.00
Old Glory: Iconic Flags and the Stories They Tell of America's 250-Year History
Miller, Roland
Hardcover
$31.50
Freedom's Daughters: How a Generation of Black Women Resisted Oppression Through Literacy and Education
Headlee, Celeste
Hardcover
$29.44
The Elections That Changed the World: Fifteen Pivotal Moments That Shaped How We Live
Bash, Dana
Hardcover
$30.40
American Soul: The Black History of Food in the United States - Including 40 Recipes
Malik, Anela
Wilson, Renae
Hardcover
$38.00
American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America
Woodard, Colin
Paperback
From $10.99
Forever Stamps: 250 Years of United States History Writ Small
Smith, Brian E.
United States Postal Service
Anderson, Gail
Hardcover
$25.20
Sunrise Through the Darkness: A Survivor's Account of Learning to Live Again Beyond 9/11
Moats, Michael
Jimeno, Will
Paperback
$25.60
The East Wing: Power, Intrigue, and the Untold Story of America's First Ladies
Moaveni, Azadeh
Hardcover
$31.35
Rooted: The American Legacy of Land Theft and the Modern Movement for Black Land Ownership
Baker, Brea
Hardcover
$28.50
The Girls Who Beat the Odds: Stories of Women Who Changed the Course of Sports History
Eder, Mari K.
Hardcover
$27.54
Princeton Review AP U.S. History Premium Prep, 26th Edition: 6 Practice Tests + Digital Practice Online + Content Review
The Princeton Review
Paperback
$26.59
Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America: Second Revised and Updated Edition
Gonzalez, Juan
Paperback
From $11.99
The Twilight War: The Secret History of America's Thirty-Year Conflict with Iran
Crist, David
Paperback
$32.00
Unusual Orcas Island: Ghost Stories and Other Legends from the Gem of the San Juans
Reigel, Joseph
Paperback
$18.04
1000 American History Facts and 101 True Tales: A Journey Through America's Defining Moments and Figures
Publications, Ahoy
Hardcover
$31.34
The Last American President: A Broken Man, a Corrupt Party, and a World on the Brink
Hartmann, Thom
Paperback
$23.70
Medicine River: A Story of Survival and the Legacy of Indian Boarding Schools
Pember, Mary Annette
Paperback
$18.00
AP U.S. History Premium, 2027: 5 Practice Tests + Comprehensive Review + Online Practice
Resnick, Eugene V., M. a.
Paperback
$28.49
This Land Is Your Land: A Road Trip Through U. S. History (Large Print Edition)
Gage, Beverly
Hardcover
$55.10
How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America
Smith, Clint
Hardcover
From $12.99
The Invention of Infinite Growth: How Economists Came to Believe a Dangerous Delusion
Jones, Christopher F.
Hardcover
$30.88
Strangers in the Land: Exclusion, Belonging, and the Epic Story of the Chinese in America
Luo, Michael
Hardcover
$31.50
Ruin Their Crops on the Ground: The Politics of Food in the United States, from the Trail of Tears to School Lunch
Freeman, Andrea
Paperback
$18.04
Confronting the Presidents: No Spin Assessments from Washington to Biden
O'Reilly, Bill
Dugard, Martin
Hardcover
$33.25
The Grift: The Downward Spiral of Black Republicans from the Party of Lincoln to the Cult of Trump
Cane, Clay
Paperback
$17.09
Ohio Curiosities: Quirky Characters, Roadside Oddities & Other Offbeat Stuff
Gurvis, Sandra
Paperback
$24.95
The Declaration Of Independence, United States Constitution, Bill Of Rights & Amendments
Fathers, Founding
Paperback
$8.58
America in 25 Revolutions: The Story of Our Imperfect Nation's 250-Year Quest to Become a More Perfect Union
Graff, Garrett M.
Hardcover
$30.88
Chicken Soup for the Soul: Celebrating the Spirit of America: 101 Stories about the Country We All Love
Newmark, Amy
Paperback
$16.14
The Cherokees: A Captivating Guide to the History of a Native American Tribe, the Cherokee Removal, and the Trail of Tears
History, Captivating
Hardcover
$25.64
Colonial Williamsburg: The Guide: The Official Companion to the Historic Area
The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Paperback
$24.95
Not "A Nation of Immigrants": Settler Colonialism, White Supremacy, and a History of Erasure and Exclusion
Dunbar-Ortiz, Roxanne
Paperback
$18.95
Imperialist Realism: Politics and Culture at the End of the American Century
Bessner, Daniel
Paperback
$24.65
Miracles in American History, Volume Two: Amazing Faith That Shaped the Nation: Adapted from William J. Federer's American Minute [With 2 Paperbacks]
Federer, Susie
Federer, William J.
Paperback
$19.00
Delivering for America: How the United States Postal Service Built a Nation
Bruns, James H.
The United States Postal Service
Hardcover
$47.50
This Haunted Land: Reckoning with Ghosts and the Stories That Shape America
Quammen, Betsy Gaines
Hardcover
$23.70
The Myth of American Idealism: How U.S. Foreign Policy Endangers the World
Chomsky, Noam
Robinson, Nathan J.
Paperback
$18.00
A Student Workbook for Land of Hope: An Invitation to the Great American Story
McBride, John
McClay, Wilfred M.
Paperback
$28.49
Re-Inhabited: Republic for the United States of America: Volume II The Story of the Re-inhabitation
Hertler, Jean Hallahan
Paperback
$37.44
The American Plague: The Untold Story of Yellow Fever, The Epidemic That Shaped Our History
Crosby, Molly Caldwell
Paperback
$27.00
Princeton Review AP U.S. History Premium Prep, 25th Edition: 6 Practice Tests + Digital Practice Online + Content Review
The Princeton Review
Paperback
$26.59
250 Great American Things: A Semi-Quincentennial Celebration
Samuels, David
Kirn, Walter
Highway, County
Paperback
$23.75
New York's Secret Subway: The Underground Genius of Alfred Beach and the Origins of Mass Transit
Algeo, Matthew
Hardcover
$33.25
Strangers in the Land: Exclusion, Belonging, and the Epic Story of the Chinese in America
Luo, Michael
Paperback
$22.80
The Girl Who Sang to the Buffalo: A Child, an Elder, and the Light from an Ancient Sky
Nerburn, Kent
Paperback
$18.95