Christmas: A Biography

Judith Flanders' book, "Christmas: A Biography," chronicles the history of the holiday from the earliest records of celebration to the modern day. It is well written and researched, even handed and very engaging. After all, Christmas is relevant to just about everyone. Flanders' thesis seems to be that Christmas was not a sacred day that gradually became a cultural holiday before being commercialized in modern times. We think that is the story of Christmas -- everyone has always thought that was the story of Christmas. Not true: the really story involves the very human need to feast and celebrate in the depth of winter. This need is so engrained that religious leaders decided to move the celebration of the birth of Jesus to end of December in an attempt to sanctify the revelry. But is has almost never worked. Christmas celebrations have always involved groups of people acting silly (sometimes in public sometimes not), eating large amount of food and usually drinking while every merchant tried to make money off the holiday. Sometimes Christmas celebrations involved church but often did not. In every era there is a longing for Christmas in the old days which were imagined to be pure, free from commercialism and crassness so much so that almost nothing could be introduced into the Christmas season without it being somehow connected to Christmas in the old days - even if it was just made up recently. This is true of Christmas Carols and Christmas presents. Flanders is an astute cultural historian and she know her stuff. Her speciality is Victorian England so that portion of the book really shines especially as she shows how the Victorians pined for the Christmases of Tudor England even as they were creating the Christmas that everyone in the twentieth century would look back to with nostalgia. This was endlessly fascinating. If there is a weakness to the book it is the Flanders seems to revel in the lack of religion in most Christmas celebrations and too quickly dismisses how deeply meaningful the season can be for faithful Christians.

I've been looking forward to this book and enjoyed Ms. Flander's Victorian City book, but this one was disappointing.On the good side, this is a very broad overview of Christmas, beginning with ancient times and going all the way to the present. It focuses mostly on Britain, Europe, and America (though focusing mostly on areas of America that were significantly influenced by German, Dutch, and British customs). It gives some really interesting background on some of the traditions and even discusses the various attitudes -- both religious and secular -- towards the holiday.But the organization is haphazard at best. The book seemed focused on a chronological structure, with the first few chapters dedicated to individual time periods (like medieval and Tudor), but as it hits the Georgian, Regency, and Victorian, it starts jumping back and forth between a chronological organization and subject matter organization... and then geographical as it jumped between different countries and ethnic groups. I tried to take notes on what's in each chapter, but there wasn't any clear theme. It made it difficult to follow the author's thought process and led to repetition.And I'm a little shocked that a non-fiction book like this has no index and only a very small number of citations (and those are only listed in the text). There's tons of general notes at the end, but nothing else to back up some of the hypothesis and claims she made. It's hard to take what she says as fact at times.There's something about the book that feels like a podcast-type of info dump. A little rambling and hit-and-miss research. Something to take with a hefty grain of salt. I really enjoyed her book on Victorian London, but this one feels a lot more disjointed and thrown together.It's a decent jumping-off point if you're researching Christmas, but nowhere near a definitive "biography."

As a historian, I have been trained to research my work. I do not see any footnotes to check facts. Disappointing as it is almost as if the author hates Christmas and wants to debunk what we hold dear to our hearts.It is a religious holiday and tradition passed from family to family to generation. It is a blended holiday adapted to each person's belief.

In December, to get into the spirit, I try to read Christmas-themed fiction. This can get old after three straight weeks of reading several hours a day, so I picked up this non-fiction book to shake things up. It's not a rip-roaring page turner, but is readable and interesting, and suits my interests and intentions perfectly.

An entertaining, yet rigorous, source for a lay audience that wants to know what is known about the factual backstory behind how we celebrate Christmas (aka winter solstice) in the US and northwestern Europe. It has made me much more comfortable with how we’ve been doing it in our family for years, and I don’t feel so guilty about having played Scrooge, back in the day, in the Christmas play at my public elementary school. Christmas is a holiday for ALL Americans just like Thanksgiving is. Lack of an index makes it less useful as a reference, but it is still great for a family library.

A great addition source to the many books I have regarding the history of Christmas celebrations . I am glad to have it.

Really enjoyed the historical context for how we celebrate Christmas now. Would make a great holiday gift.

An interesting historical look at the traditions that make up this popular holiday. Many insights are given as to why we celebrate Christmas the way we do in the 21st century. Recommended.

I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I expected. At a minimum, any book about Christmas should be fun, an enjoyable read. This was not. This was a very dry look at the history of Christmas, with an endless bombardment of facts and figures down to the minutest detail.A lot of this detail was of course pretty interesting, but at times the interesting stuff was lost in the midst of the unnecessary detail. It was essentially an academic look at a non-academic subject, a sociological history.Good for what it is, just ensure what it is is what you want.

Ms. Flanders is to be congratulated on a highly readable, well-researched book on this annual fest which consistently raises the aspirations and expectations of so many of us (and, as Ms. Flanders discusses, of some many in previous times, although in ways often quite different from what we think we know.) In 2019, the full-on cant of commerce and church assaulted our senses in the usual way and some of us might have wished that they would not, preferring to celebrate the rather uncomplicated joy of human goodwill. However, it has to be recognised that Christmas inevitably brings the ecclestiastical and commercial deluge with it. Starting with the earliest extant records of the season, Ms. Flanders proceeds through evidential historical lilly-pads, recording salient traditions, myths, stories and what we might call facts in a somehow charming way; the voice is almost 19th century Dickensian as the axe is taken to all kinds of cherished beliefs (e.g. Prince Albert introduced the Christmas Tree in England; apparently he didn't.) Myths about, for example, the provenance of 12th night are pleasantly dispelled; the shadowy origins of 'The Holly and the Ivy' carol exposed as being unknowable, except that it seems first to have made it into widespread print mid 19th century. And there are lots more refreshingly non-judgementally honest exposees which somehow relieve the season of all of the baggage it has had to carry, much to this reader's delight. You are simply set free to wander through the findings and adjust your feelings accordingly. Anyone thinking of buying this, need not hesitate more, in this reader's opinion.

Good Clear text. Very informative about it's subject. Would have been improved with big colourful illustrations.

Mmmm-not her best book by far.The Victorian House was great but this book is plodding and a bit boring ,I was dissapointed,I am having a problem finishing it.

A very interesting book. Glad I bought it as I like all the facts.