Inventing Christmas: How Our Holiday Came to Be [Hardcover]

Jock Elliott (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2002

Where did the best-loved traditions that make Christmas America's favourite holiday originate? With vintage illustrations by artists such as Thomas Nast, Everett Shinn, Al Hirschfeld, Arthur Rackham and others, "Inventing Christmas" explains how most of America's traditions evolved over the 25-year period from 1822 (when Clement Clarke Moore's "A Visit from St Nicholas" was published) to 1848. Jock Elliott, who has been collecting Christmas ephemera for over 50 years, shows how Santa, the Christmas tree, gift-giving and Scrooge all came to signify Christmas.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

If Christmas did not exist, Madison Avenue would have to invent it. Yet as Elliott shows in this beautiful book, not only is the Christmas season a time of lavish spending and entertaining, it also brings with it a flood of images and customs and totems that has come to epitomize what happiness with family and friends should look like. Not only is Elliott chairman emeritus of the advertising firm Ogilvy & Mather, he is also a man who was given wonderful Christmas celebrations as a child. Over his more than 80 years, he has learned a great deal about the holiday he loves. Drawing on his collection of more than 3,000 pieces of Christmas ephemera, including such extraordinary possessions as Charles Dickens's reading copy of A Christmas Carol, Elliott tells the beguiling tale of how this most dual-sacred and secular-of human festivals came into being. Nodding to its earliest origins, Elliott focuses on the "invented traditions." "Most of our Christmas customs," he explains, "were invented in an amazingly short twenty-five-year period, from 1823-1848-a sort of `Big Bang' of our Christmas." Gorgeous illustrations by Thomas Nast (who created the Republican elephant and Democratic donkey) show the invention of Santa Claus, which began with a story by Washington Irving and culminated in "The Night Before Christmas" by Clement Clarke Moore. Nast's vision became iconic, but Elliott persuades us that a trio of New Yorkers-Irving, the holiday booster John Pintard and Moore-invented the child-centered family holiday that we know today. Further chapters cover the introduction of Christmas trees and Christmas cards, Christmas carols and Dickens's influence on our understanding of Christmas. Opening this book each year deserves to be a tradition in itself.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Jock Elliott, Chairman Emeritus of the advertising firm Ogilvy & Mather, has been collecting Christmas ephemera for over 50 years. His collection, comprised of over 3000 pieces, ranges from the first appearance of the Christmas story in the Algonquin language to Charles Dickens's reading copy of A Christmas Carol. Mr. Elliott lives in New York with his wife, Elly.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams (October 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810934930
• ISBN-13: 978-0810934931
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 9.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #433,686 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars FUN AND FASCINATING!, December 1, 2004

By 

Tim Janson (Michigan) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Inventing Christmas: How Our Holiday Came to Be (Hardcover)

Almost all Americans celebrate Christmas but so few of us really know its deep-rooted and ancient origins as well as the origins of so many of the traditions we hold so dear.

In his wonderful book called, Jock Elliott has charted all of this story (and more) with care and good cheer. He reminds us of how recent the Christmas "tradition" is, and how ancient. He tells us, for example, that the Christmas tree is basically a product of the second half of the American 19th century, and can be traced to England. The British royal family - themselves imports from Germany - first pitched such trees in their palatial homes. But the trees, and the rituals of winter celebrations, could themselves be traced all the way back to pagan times and the celebrations of the winter solstice.

We learn about the men who defined Santa claus Including Clement Moore who wrote the "Night Before Christmas", and Thomas nast. Nast was the greatest political cartoonist of the 19th century, perhaps of any American century. During the holiday season of 1862-63, Nast put visual flesh on the poetic bones provided by Moore. In the Jan. 3, 1863, issue of Harper's Weekly, he showed Santa Claus cheering up the battered Union troops. He's wearing striped pants and a shirt spangled with stars. Nast would do a year-end drawing of Santa Claus for each of the following 25 years.

From giving gifts to misletoe, Elliots great book fills us in on the origins of Everything Christmas. Highly Recommended

21 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Real Christmas Gem, October 6, 2003

By 

Ken Roberts "social historian" (Michigan United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Inventing Christmas: How Our Holiday Came to Be (Hardcover)

This book is such an amazing find! It tells the whole celebration of the Christmas holiday, from it's pre-Christian pagan celebrations, through the 20th century. Particularly interesting is how it became a Christian Holiday a few hundred years after the birth of Christ. But the book also covers how Santa Claus came to be, the history of the Christmas Tree, carols, and a pretty extensive article on Charles Dickens 'A Christmas Carol.'
The author, Jock Elliott, is probably the foremost collector of Christmas memorabelia, and through many color photos has shared some of his extensive collection with us. The man even has his letters to Santa from the 1920's! But, most impressive of all (to me!) is his 'A Christmas Carol' collection. He has a copy of the original first edition from 1843, as well as the original newspaper advertisement for the book from that same year! And, yes, Mr. Elliott shares this with us, too.
I've compared his history of the holiday with other books I own and I feel I can safely say that Mr. Elliott has done his research. His writing style is very entertaining and easy to follow, so the younger set can enjoy this book, too.
All in all, this is one of the most entertaining books I've read on the Christmas holiday. I guess if I had one complaint it would be for Mr. Elliott to maybe add a bit about the Reason for the Season - Jesus Christ.
Very highly recommended.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous color!, August 10, 2006

By 

Lisa K. Gleeson "Lisa G" (Troy, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Inventing Christmas: How Our Holiday Came to Be (Hardcover)

Saw this book when it was listed with a book I wanted to buy about Christmas and the history of our American traditions. It is a beautiful book with lots of pictures- not alot of written information. Still find it interesting and informative.