Customer Reviews

Christmas in New England

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What a fun book this is! Lots of adults really love Christmas but most books on the subject are for children, or are tales from the dark side i.e The Christmas Wars. This book is a historical take on Christmas that is interesting, enjoyable and a mostly happy look at Christmas.

We learn about people like James Van Allen a Newport Rhode Island native, who portrayed Clement Moore; the author of 'A Visit From St. Nicholas' (or 'Twas the Night Before Christmas') in recitations of that poem, for children. He wanted to start a Santa Claus Society. There are lots of people stories.

This book is heavily illustrated for its size (167 pages): there are lots of vintage and modern (i.e. 1950's) photographs in black and white and color.

For some of us, Christmas seems to pass by very fast. One way of extending it, is to start enjoying the history, poetry and literature about it, early in the season. This book is a very nice addition to any Christmas library, It also travels well on subways.

Another wonderful, historical and profusely illustrated Christmas book is: 'St. Nicholas: A Closer Look at Christmas' by Joe Wheeler and Jim Rosenthal. Amazon says of this book:

"This beautiful, fully-illustrated coffee table book provides a closer look at Christmas and the St. Nicholas of history and legend. Full of historical information and rare illustrations from Christian traditions around the world..." This is a gorgeous book.

I purchased two orders of 12 each. I belong to Women's Seafarers Friend Society and our ladies wanted copies of the book. We heard from the chaplain of New England Seafarers Mission that we were featured in the book, noting the 2005 ditty bag total of 1800 bags for the seafarers. This year we filled 1836 bags. The ladies were thrilled we are mentioned in a book about Christmas.

I found the balance of the book very informative and heart warming. Thank you for carrying this book.

Some fifty New England holiday regional traditions are gathered in a survey fit for either residents or ex-natives of the region, making for a lovely holiday celebration. From different interpretations of Santa - the flying version versus Secret Santa - to Christmas traditions in city and countryside and even historic holiday celebrations, Christmas in New England is a wonderful multi-faceted celebration any holiday enthusiast will love.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

This book covers every kind of Christmas topics and gives meaty stories behind them. I especially like the stories that include recipes like the Chirstmas pudding recipe and I think of many of the stories as mini travelogues and history lessons that come in a most palatable form. I think this would be a great book for the family to hold on to and try to visit one of the places or events described in the book every year. It would also help instill in children that Christmas is not just something invented to sell toys :) McGuiggan has an easy to read style and combines alot of information in one book.

This is a delightful compendium of short takes about notable Yuletide events from the New England states, with a little Christmas history tossed in. Since many people's idealized Christmas is that of a New England Christmas, with sleigh rides, fresh balsam trees, etc., it's always hard to realize that for a long time, due to Puritan influence, the very word "Christmas" was anathema in the far Northeast, unlike the South which celebrated with guns and bonfires and the middle states with their settlers of German and Dutch ancestry, who had Christmas trees and the custom of St. Nicholas.

McGuiggan's text, enlivened by black and white photos and a color insert, talks about the various memorable parts of a New England Christmas: fresh balsam trees from Maine, Nova Scotia's annual tree gift to Boston in memory of that city's assistance after the deadly explosion in Halifax Harbor in 1916, the "Flying Santa" who for years dropped gifts to the isolated lighthouse keepers' families, a bell factory that made the original sleigh bells (far from being just "something pretty" to listen to when you went sleighing, bells were actually required by law, so pedestrians could hear the silent sleighs coming), Boston's "Christmas for the Horses," charity events, etc. Some very touching personal stories are included.

I'm hoping McGuiggan is aiming for a sequel, because it beats me how she's done a book about notable New England Christmas traditions and not once mentioned Edaville Railroad! Now Edaville USA, this is a small steam train setup in South Carver, Massachusetts, that is especially popular in the fall and winter. It was closed in 1991 but was resurrected in 1999. Before the cranberry harvests, Edaville would offer a ride through the cranberry bogs and then take riders to a pumpkin patch with refreshments of hot cider and other goodies. But Christmas is when Edaville really "shines." They have a seven-million-strong holiday light display and other events.

I also didn't see the fact that the first department store Santa Claus originated in New England. In 1841, a Philadelphia storekeeper named Parkinson had a man dress as "Crisscringle" and enter his store through the chimney as a publicity stunt (a pivotal scene in Jeff Guinn's THE GREAT SANTA SEARCH), but the masqued Santa didn't remain at the store and talk to children. Fifty years later, the Boston Store in Brockton, Massachusetts, featured a Santa who sat among the toys and listened to children's wishes for Christmas, the first real "department store Santa."

Since New Year's is part of the Christmas season, I also expected to see some events in that area mentioned, especially "First Night," which originated in Boston. Still, this is worth buying and reading!