               
|
Weathervane Newsletter Winter 1996
The Battle for Christmas
Stephen Nissenbaum, professor of history at the University of Massachusetts, discussed his recent book, The Battle for Christmas (Knopf, 1996) at Historic Northampton on December 5th. Nissenbaum chronicled the evolution of Christmas celebration, arguing that Yuletide, with its Celtic, pagan origins, persisted as a rowdy, boisterous revel when wassailing peasants could demand the best food and, especially, drink from the gentry. In New England, Puritans actually outlawed the celebration of Christmas, arguing that it was purely a secular practice that promoted licentiousness and excess. By the end of the colonial period, Nissenbaum pointed out, traditional customs resurfaced, sometimes leading to conflict between social classes.
It was in the early 19th century, argued Nissenbaum, that a group of New York Knickerbocker elites fostered the notion of a domesticated Christmas embodied in Clemet Moore's The Night Before Christmas. Alarmed by the increasing riotous behavior of New York reveling mobs, they encouraged a child-oriented celebration, centered in the home. Though regional traditions persisted, especially in the south, by the end of the nineteenth century, Santa Claus was firmly established in the iconography of Christmas.
Accompanying Nissenbaum's talk was an exhibit of commercial Christmas greetings from the collections of Historic Northampton. Early commercial greeting cards featured brightly colored flowers, exotic plants or whimsical scenes to cheer midwinter spirits. Not until later in the century did St. Nicholas and his epigones begin to predominate.
Nissenbaum's book has been widely reviewed. He appeared as a guest on the Today show Christmas morning.
Contents Historic Northampton.