Customer Reviews

The Making of the Modern Christmas

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The authors state in the first chapter of this 1986 book, "It is the central argument of this book that the festival was extensively reworked and reinterpreted during the nineteenth century to meet the needs of modern urban society; yet, like every vital tradition, it is built upon foundations which, like rock formations, contain layers from different ages. The old Christmas, which Victorians so admired, even while they changed it so radically, was itself the result of Christianity's partial incorporation of and partial coexistence with the old pagan Winter Feast. We, as we turn the central heating up another notch and watch the children unwrap their complex modern toys, are also recognizing the frailty and resilience of humanity, the mysteries of trees, seasons and fire and, whether we believe in it literally or not, the hope contained in the Christian Nativity." (Pg. 19)

Here are some other quotations from the book:

"The English Puritans certainly disapproved of much that went on at Christmas but only a minority wished to abolish the festival itself. It was pressure from their Scottish Presbyterian allies brought about the ordinance of 1644, proclaiming that Christmas Day should be kept as a fast and a penance rather than as a feast. For a dozen years the traditional Christmas festivities were prohibited: Parliament sat on Christmas Day, its soldiers attempted to ensure that shops were open, and the churches remained closed while evergreen decorations were prohibited." (Pg. 33)
"By 1900 Christmas was THE holiday in both Britain and the United States. Most of the main characteristics of the modern Christmas had been established but it was a very different festival from the one which the early Victorians had remembered and envied. Mumming and guising were little more than folk memories save in some country districts, while many of the special seasonal foods and drinks which had enjoyed great regional variations had almost disappeared. The new Christmas in Britain and America was more standardised and more national." (Pg. 81)
"The trouble with Christmas is that we expect so much from it. There is always the gap between expectation and the event itself, between ideal and reality. It's easy to be cynical about Christmas, to emphasize the bells of the cash registers instead of the churches and to point to the paradox of the celebration of the transcendental with plum puddings and brandy. Few of us would wish with Charles Dickens 'that Christmas lasted the whole year through.' Yet, within a few months, we shall be anticipating and preparing for next Christmas. We will remember only the best things about the Christmas just past: the beauty of the midnight service, the excitement of Christmas morning and the heightened sense of fellowship and family unity. Perhaps next year Christmas will be like it used to be!" (Pg. 141)