Customer Reviews

Merry Christmas! : Celebrating America's Greatest Holiday

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Around Christmas 1983, controversial Philadelphia Daily News columnist Jill Porter semi-humorously theorized in a column that Christ was an invention so we could celebrate Christmas, rather than the reason for the season. The outcry, among the worst any Porter column generated, caused her to spend her next columns backpeddling from that assertion.

Christmas celebrated in its secular, sensory state is a perfect subject for cultural historian and author Karal Ann Marling to tackle. Her books on Elvis Presley, Disney architecture, and the TV-based 1950s culture dove deep in the sweet, shallow end of Americana. She successfully read us the instructions and mission statements behind history's garish, outlandish symbols and sounds, from tail fins to tinsel, seeing links and reasons deepening the meaning of a generation's shared memories.

It's no surprise, then, that "Merry Christmas" is Marling's most personal, well-researched and satisfying book yet. She writes as researcher, scholar, stubborn child (her epilogue on Christmas cookies is a delight, her closing a Santa Claus chapter by chastising "Dear Abby" surprising and funny), and lover of Christmas legends old, new, and rediscovered.

Except for a chapter on 1890s African-American Christmas celebrations (which text and illustrations are among the book's most intriguing chapters and merited such commentary) Marling resists the temptation to debunk or overanalyze her Christmas subjects. She writes with the knowledge, nostalgia, and joy of someone loving the season and wanting to share what she has learned.

Through 370 pages Marling sleigh rides across 150 years' Christmas history (or, better put, "Her"-story; Marling's version emphasizes women's creating and preserving holiday tradition). She explains and provides context for traditions like gift giving and wrapping, huge feasts, Christmas cards, holiday charity (with remarkable photos of a mass dinner for the poor in 1890s New York), department store parades and decorated windows, Christmas plants and trees and glowing with candle or electric light. She also walks through the winter wonderland of Christmas heroes real and imagined: Scrooge, Bing Crosby, Grinch and of course, Santa Claus as described by Thomas Nast, Coca-Cola, and the dreams of generations of children worldwide.

Marling does nearly all of this through the distant eye of media: magazine articles covers (touching on Norman Rockwell and J.P. Leyendecker with Nast),TV and movie screens, (yearly specials and songs restoring Christmas' homey, familial warmth) children's books (long-neglected holiday tales from Washington Irving and L.Frank Baum -- Baum's a Santa biography! - may get new attention after being described here). Even 100 years of department store Christmas windows (which Marling describes with delicious detail) show not only from behind a economic glass impenetrable to the poor, but from an idealized Christmas past few Americans enjoyed entirely.

That is Marling's point. If the night of the dear Savior's birth connects only dimly with America's celebration (a point Marling needed to cover sooner and harder)it may stem from Christ's birth being the most documentable story of the season. As Marling burrows through Clement Clark Moore poems and 19th century magazine stories through films like Crosby's "Holiday Inn" and "White Christmas," the seasons' backstory and memory bank grows and artificially glows until the Star of Bethlehem is outglowered by images of Chevy Chase and Liberace's garish Christmas decorations. The Nativity is one true, gritty, essential Christmas story surrounded by layers of fantasy. Marling's paralleling Joan Crawford's public, radio-broadcast Christmas to her cruel, well-publicized private one, antidotes the more sugary memories here, as do quotes from J.D. Salinger's "Catcher In The Rye" and from Elvis Presley's "notorious" 1957 Christmas LP.

Those bemoaning the season's commercialism may find comfort and joy in "Merry Christmas." Marling traces protests against the holiday's economic emphasis to the 1820s; since, everything from billboard campaigns to TV's "Charlie Brown Christmas" and "The Grinch" to the rise in more personalized and religious Christmas cards have addressed that conflict. Those rejecting supplemental Christmas traditions entirely (from 1870s Puritan factories and schools open Christmas Day to Michael Jackson, profiled at Christmas in a magazine although he did not celebrate the holiday) will be disheartened by their growth and acceptance, and Marling's tacit approval.

No protest over purpose diminishes the quality and scope of Marling's work, among the most essential books ever written about the Christmas season. Marling closes her prologue by saying, "Incidentally, this book would make a good present for your mom!" Matronly, perhaps, but I liked it too; like any good, factual story with a happy ending, "Merry Christmas" is as welcome a Christmas re-read as any Christmas tradition it charts. I look forward to her next project.

I must admit to being rather shocked that two of this book's few reviews are so negative. I adored this book, and found something to savor on almost every page. This is one of those books to curl up with on a quiet evening during the holiday season, and to enjoy during those moments of perfect contentment.

Marling's book devotes a chapter to the history of each of various Christmas traditions. For example, the first chapter covers the history of gift wrapping, including the wrapping paper and the bows. The second chapter covers the history of various Christmas decorations: toy villages, christmas lights, and ornaments. A very fine chapter discusses the history of the Macy's window displays. Another details the evolution of advertising images of Santa Claus. And there are many more.

What distinguishes Marling's writing is an undisguised affection for her subject. She is the furthest thing from a pedantic scholar; rather, she wants readers to know and to appreciate how Christmas was enjoyed by previous generations, and how our current traditions came to be.

The commercialism of Christmas is often decried; but Marling appreciates the positive aspects of that commercialism. The inevitable truth is that many of the things that bring us joy at Christmastime -- shiny ornaments, enticing packages, department store Santas -- exist because someone is trying to make a buck. But if someone makes the world a happier, more festive place in that effort, isn't that something to be celebrated? The chapter on the Macy's window displays is a classic example; while Marling doesn't gloss over the commercial purpose of these displays, she also conveys the reality that both children and adults walking by found enchantment in them.

Our current Christmas remains a blend of seasonal, religious, and commercial elements, and many of the commercial elements help to embed the holiday in the memories of both children and former children. The scent of a tree, the sight of a wreath, the feel of a package shaken curiously before the big day, all of these things have the power to make us children again.

Marling gets this. In her postcript about the Christmas cookie tradition, she writes: "I cannot smell a lemon, or see a frosted and decorated cookie in a bakery window, without thinking of Christmas, and home, and the people that I love. . . . without being nine or ten again, in a warm kitchen on a snowy day, standing in a magical shower of powdered sugar that dances in the light."

Just as Marling celebrates her own Christmas traditions, she studies and respects the traditions of others who have gone before all of us.

In analyzing why this book received some negative reviews below, the only thing I can think of is that it may occupy a place that some readers find awkard: neither a heavy scholarly tome, nor a light fluffy nostaglic picture book. But it's better than either; Marling delves deeply into her subject, combining the lively writing style of a nostalgia book with the substantive content of a history book. It's a delightful combination, and I give it a strong five stars.

Tedious, surprisingly joyless tome on Christmas. Not a "history of" exactly, more like an investigation into certain aspects of it. An entire chapter on wrapping paper, another on store displays. Yes, it's thoroughly researched, but there is a limit to how much a casual reader wants to know about things like this. I got through 3 chapters before I starting skimming, rather than reading it. A few interesting nuggets but no more than that. Choose a different book.

If ever there was a book which treated Christmas as a dry, historical narrative,this is it. Very well written, with insights I had never considered, it is not going to make some people happy because it is so academic.

The details and chronology throughout the history of Christmas were fascinating, although she cannot seem to help making personal commentaries. This was especially frequent in Chapter 7 where she lingered far too long with far too many commentaries on the "Black Christmas" experience. While I found the chapter thought provoking, I could have done without all the soap box.

If you are truly interested in the history of various Christmas traditions and their evolution, this is the book for you - dry, but detailed.

If you are more interested in beautiful pictures and fluff (I have MANY like that)you should probably pass.

Well-researched and very informative book on the origins and history of various Christmas traditions and customs. As a fellow Minnesotan, I do appreciate the photos from Minnesota the author used to illustrate her points. Many were reminders of my childhood Christmases. It takes a bit of an effort to plow through this tome; it's not one of those "so good you can't put it down" types of books. Christmas is such a vibrant, colorful holiday but the author manages to turn it into a painfully dry, albeit scholarly treatise. Her writing style is that of a college textbook, so it is not for general audiences. It would make an excellent reference book for anybody doing a research paper on the origins of modern Christmas customs.

A very informative and fun book about Christmas. Too few pictures to suit me but loved it none-the-less.

If you ever want a book that covers everything about Christmas, this is the one. It's informative and interesting. I had taken the book out of the library, then I had to buy it.

When grasping the realities of the Christmas holiday, it is the actual grasping towards the material things rather than the spiritual meaning. Karal Ann Marling examines the cultural history of Christmas and how it evolved into a secular holiday in American society from the nineteenth century and then to the present day, and its significance to how things determined identity and familial gatherings. The holidays would not be complete without the decorated Christmas tree, greeting cards, or the plum pudding.

MERRY CHRISTMAS! Takes a joyous and amusing look at the holiday with all its myths and legends that have been passed from generation to generation. The literary traditions that have been brought upon by Clement Moore's `Twas the Night Before Christmas' or Charles Dickens' A CHRISTMAS CAROL have only emphasized an image of the holidays to represent an Old England or Kris Kringle imagery that does not allow other representations to be looked at as the "real" Christmas image. However, Marling's study looks at the amusement and celebration and popular aspects that have allowed the image of the holiday to be shared and experienced by all cultures and religions in some form or another. Therefore, the image of the Christmas tree or sending greeting cards has caused many to participate in a form of communal unity.

Marling includes archival photographs and illustrations from several renowned sources that help bring alive the Christmas spirit of long ago. One of the most interesting illustrations that are presented through out the book are the most popular depictions as drawn by Thomas Nast, Civil War and 19th century artist for Harper's Weekly, of the Santa Claus image of Moore's literary creation as well as gathering around the Christmas tree as a form of family tradition. Other photos show the Salvation Army and how they have become synonymous with Christmas and giving.

Marling's concentration of the 1800s, 1930s and 1950s image of Christmas forever remains lodged in the mind of those who celebrate one of the most welcomed holidays in the history of civilization. Other periods during the twentieth century could have been further researched and presented, but nonetheless, Marling provides a vast amount of references that revolve around the holiday.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, indeed, shows the cheerful depiction of the Christmas holiday with all its material and consumer culture. The Macy's Thanksgiving Parade tells each and every holiday celebrant that Christmas is on its way. If one would like to complement their memories of Christmas past and understand what it represents, this book is recommended reading.

Marling has a way of exploring topics with a balance of intellectual curiosity and lightheartedness. Like the other books of hers I've read, she explores Christmas traditions (the book is organized by topics of Christmas, such as giftwrapping, or the tradition of giving cards) by tracing their development over time. In the process, some of our assumptions about where our traditions came from get shaken out to air. Fun, thought-provoking, and very much worth the read, as is her book _As Seen on TV_, which examines the pop culture of the 1950's.

I guess my search for the perfect history of Christmas will trudge on. While containing some interesting facts (e.g., Washington Irving's mythical view of the English Christmas predated Dickens by 20 years), the organization of the book make it a real pain to read. I can't begin to express how much I dislike the chapter organization. Marling has laid things out by topic (e.g., Christmas cards, Santa Claus, gift-giving). As a 'history' of Christmas, this organization makes it an utter hassle to comprehend how things played out over time. It would have been much more effective and compelling to read if the book were chronological. That way, one could truly appreciate the development of the holiday in America, rather than have to piece things together after the fact.

... I must also take issue with the illustrations in the book. The few that are actually in the book are dreadfully reproduced black and white pictures. Instead of appearing festive, they are just depressing.

I thought this book would help me to really get into the Christmas spirit. Instead, I found myself wishing I'd saved the money to buy myself a Christmas CD or video.