Christmas in America: A History Hardcover - 1995
by Penne L. Restad
A fascinating look at Christmas through the years, from 'Twas the Night Before Christmas to the emergence of the decorated fir tree. Restad brilliantly captures the rise and transformation of our most universal national holiday. Filled with colorful detail, this book reveals what our celebrations tell us about ourselves. Illustrations.
From the rear cover
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, revealingthe inescapable presence - and ambiguous meaning - of Christmas in contemporary culture.
Details
- Title Christmas in America: A History
- Author Penne L. Restad
- Binding Hardcover
- Edition First Edition
- Pages 240
- Volumes 1
- Language ENG
- Publisher Oxford University Press, USA, New York
- Date 1995-12-07
- ISBN 9780195093001 / 0195093003
- Weight 1.22 lbs (0.55 kg)
- Dimensions 9.56 x 6.38 x 0.91 in (24.28 x 16.21 x 2.31 cm)
-
Themes
- Holiday: Christmas
- Religious Orientation: Christian
- Library of Congress subjects United States - Social life and customs, Christmas - United States - History
- Library of Congress Catalog Number 94042357
- Dewey Decimal Code 394.266
Media reviews
Citations
- New York Times, 12/03/1995, Page 30
More Copies for Sale
Christmas in America: A History
by Restad, Penne L.
- Used
- first
- Condition
- Used - Like New
- Edition
- 1
- ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
- 9780195093001 / 0195093003
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Medford, New York, United States
- Item Price
-
$16.92$3.99 shipping to USA
Show Details
Christmas in America: A History
by Restad, Penne L.
- Used
- good
- Hardcover
- Condition
- Used - Good
- Binding
- Hardcover
- ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
- 9780195093001 / 0195093003
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Seattle, Washington, United States
- Item Price
-
$19.06FREE shipping to USA
Show Details
Christmas in America : A History
by Restad, Penne L
- Used
- Condition
- Used - Very Good
- ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
- 9780195093001 / 0195093003
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Mishawaka, Indiana, United States
- Item Price
-
$25.15FREE shipping to USA
Show Details
Christmas in America : A History
by Restad, Penne L
- Used
- Condition
- Used - Very Good
- ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
- 9780195093001 / 0195093003
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Mishawaka, Indiana, United States
- Item Price
-
$25.15FREE shipping to USA
Show Details
Christmas in America: A History
by Penne L. Restad
- Used
- Hardcover
- Condition
- Used: Good
- Binding
- Hardcover
- ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
- 9780195093001 / 0195093003
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
HOUSTON, Texas, United States
- Item Price
-
$27.62FREE shipping to USA
Show Details
Christmas in America: A History
by Restad, Penne L.
- Used
- very good
- Hardcover
- Condition
- Used - Very Good
- Binding
- Hardcover
- ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
- 9780195093001 / 0195093003
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
GORING BY SEA, West Sussex, United Kingdom
- Item Price
-
$40.52$10.86 shipping to USA
Show Details
Christmas in America: A History
by Restad, Penne L.
- Used
- Hardcover
- Condition
- Used
- Binding
- Hardcover
- ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
- 9780195093001 / 0195093003
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Aberdeen, United Kingdom
- Item Price
-
$50.89$16.15 shipping to USA
Show Details
Christmas in America: A History
by Penne Lee Restad
- New
- Hardcover
- Condition
- New
- Binding
- Hardcover
- ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
- 9780195093001 / 0195093003
- Quantity Available
- 5
- Seller
-
Southport, Merseyside, United Kingdom
- Item Price
-
$65.99$12.60 shipping to USA
Show Details
Christmas in America: A History
by Restad, Penne L
- New
- Hardcover
- Condition
- New
- Binding
- Hardcover
- ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
- 9780195093001 / 0195093003
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
San Diego, California, United States
- Item Price
-
$87.64$5.45 shipping to USA
Show Details
Christmas in America: A History
by Restad, Penny L.
- Used
- Fine
- Signed
- first
- Condition
- Used - Fine
- Edition
- Signed First Edition
- ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
- 9780195093001 / 0195093003
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
-
Shepherdstown, West Virginia, United States
- Item Price
-
$95.00$5.00 shipping to USA