Christmas has always been the most treasured family and friend centered event, especially among Americans. However, this has not always been the case, or at least that is the point Stephen Nissenbaum makes in his riveting The Battle for Christmas . Far from being a quiet period of family celebration, Nissenbaum demonstrates that Christmas was once a dreaded event characterized by licentiousness, public drunkenness, and a considerable degree of violence. 1 In this wonderful work of social history, Nissenbaum takes his readers on a tour of Christmas, demonstrating in vivid accounts how the holiday has evolved over the years.
Nissenbaum starts by demonstrating how the Puritans attempted to instill a degree of moderation in Christmas celebrations, and in so doing, started its transformation. Christmas amongst the Puritans coincided with the downtime underwent in the winter when the fields in these agrarian societies were too frozen for work. It is at this time of the year that folks had the most fall harvest: the best meat, ale, and wine but more importantly a lot of time to enjoy it. As might be expected, drunkenness, licentiousness, rowdy public spectacles were very prevalent. 2 It was perfectly in order for the poor to visit the well-off and demand food and drinks in exchange for songs and other forms of entertainment. 3 The Christmas month was essentially an equalizer that put the rich and poor in equal footing.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
The depictions of Christmas offered by Nissenbaum certainly run counter to the conventional portrayals we have about puritan societies. Is this not the same community that has often been associated with punishment in stocks, witch trials and a rigid, even overly stringent attitude? To understand Christmas festivities in Puritan society, Nissenbaum essentially asks us to look past the stereotypes we have been accustomed to and learn more, perhaps different aspects of their convictions and times. In doing this, we are urged to look at the Puritan society in the colonies not just as the group that deemphasized centuries of Roman Catholic tradition in line with John Calvin's reforms and reconstructed the church along more stringent doctrinal lines, but also as a people with elaborate cultures.
Christmas was always a controversial festivity among the Puritans. The Massachusetts General Court prohibited its celebration in 1659 and set a fine of up to five shillings for would-be violators of the rule. 4 Nissenbaum takes his readers on an exploration of why Christmas was such a controversial event. First, the Puritans were well aware that no historical or biblical evidence linked the birth of Jesus to December, an issue Nissenbaum deems to be contentious to this day. 5 After all, Bethlehem was probably too cold for Shepherds to be watching their flocks. They also recognized Christmas had a deep background in the pagan festivals of the Roman Empire. However, their rejection was based on more than an academic understanding of its origins. 6 Given that Christmas coincided with a time of plenty and little work that led to licentiousness, gluttony, and drunkenness, it generally received a negative image and in the Christian tradition was seen as emblematic of tempting and even apocalyptic times. It, therefore, becomes evident why the Puritans, especially in the Massachusetts Bay, did not associate Christmas with the birth of Christ. In other words, Christmas was no longer a period of pious devotion (this was the case for just a minority) but a carnival.
For much of the 17 th century, the Puritans were quite successful in suppressing popular celebrations including Christmas. Nissenbaum informs his readers that even in the Almanacs of the period, the 25 th of December was without comment and would in some places even have notices that county courts would have a sitting, an explicit reminder that the 25 th of December was a working day like any other. Things would, however, change as the century progressed. The first major shift came from England where the newly restored government strongly rejected the Puritan rule. It subsequently annulled the 1684 Massachusetts Bay Charter and took direct control of New England. Although the Royal Governor would eventually be overthrown, Massachusetts never really had her charter. The major causality, however, was the state-church relationship, which never recovered 7 . Furthermore, close ties between the church and the state were increasingly becoming untenable in an increasingly diverse colony. New people brought with them novel and diverse views even on Christianity. The final nail on the coffin of Christmas suppression according to Nissenbaum was time. 8 With the passage of time, younger Puritans -unlike the old- were less willing to change all cultural aspects as the initial zeal waned in subsequent generations.
The return to Christmas festivities is according to Nissenbaum exemplified by the 1712 sermon by Cotton Mather. Confronting a divided congregation, he wasted no time denouncing Christmas festivities, though seemingly opposed to them. Rather, he insisted on the Christian values of sharing with the needy and the need to stick to certain moral norms. The concern, Nissenbaum observes, shifted from Christmas itself to the immorality that had characterized past Christmas celebrations. 9 Emphasis was now put on moderation and proper conduct.
Nissenbaum generally appears to share the concerns raised by Mather regarding the immoralities that had characterized past Christmas celebrations. He points to the findings of other social historians who note that in the early 18 th century New England, there was a tremendous increase in premarital pregnancies with the largest number taking place during the Christmas period. Later 18 th century Congregationalist would urge for a celebration of nativity during Christmas as they joined other Christians around the world in celebration. Nonetheless, there continued to be considerable lamentation on the origins and the excesses characterizing Christmas. 10 Nissenbaum has conducted remarkable research in this area and presents first-hand information to back up his case. For example, he cites the accounts from Ezra Stiles’-who would later become President of University- diary who demonstrated mixed feelings about the event, pointing to the ambiguity characterizing the specific day of Christmas. The Puritan Minister, Ebenezer Parkman, was even less compromising on the necessity of Christmas, urging all Christians to avoid the excesses and superstitions of the day. This ambivalence is in Nissenbaum’s view a lingering phenomenon.
The battle for Christmas, however, went beyond its earlier Bacchanalian excesses and the attempts by Puritans to wipe its off church calendar. The generations coming after John Carlyle are in Nissenbaum’s view keen on celebrating Christmas but in a more orderly home centered fashion. Nevertheless, the medieval customs of feasting and celebrating remained and the wealthy were encouraged to give food and money to their servants and slaves. According to the author, the next wave of change came in the early quarter of the 19 th century. The medieval custom of wealthy interacting with poor during Christmas became unacceptable as focus shifted from the old to the young. 11 The axis along which gifts had hitherto been issued-social class- shifted to Age. Children soon emerged as the object of benevolence and charity. To Nissenbaum, the Christmas tree is the chief embodiment of the shift towards focusing on children.
Christmas trees, however, have a far longer history and can be found in sixteenth-century Germany. Nonetheless, as Nissenbaum rightly notes, they were not widespread in the United States until the 19 th century. The tree would gain greater popularity in the 1840s when the husband to Queen Victoria, Prince Albert, made an image of his family gathered around a Christmas tree. 12 The image would capture the popular imagination and be widely reproduced. In the United States, the Image was altered to remove the Prince’s sash and, therefore, make it fit the American audience. 13
Santa Claus, explains Nissenbaum, emerged as an effort to modernize the new American society. 14 He was meant to embody the generosity of key past figures including Sinter Klass and Saint Nicholas. However, the popularity of Santa Claus is attributable most notably to Dutch immigrants who brought with them the practice and reinforced local efforts. Tradespeople, realizing the commercial value of Santa Claus and other gifts, spread them across the United States.
Nissenbaum is keen to observe how the culture of consumerism that took hold in the 19 th century greatly shaped the emergence of Christmas gift giving. 15 The Bible, coming in different colors and shapes, was the first and most commonly given gift. Paint, Penknives, pocketbooks, and toys were the other popular gift. By the start of the civil war, these Christmas traditions were deeply ingrained in American culture. How technology influenced the choice of gifts and nature of Christmas celebrations is surprisingly an under-discussed topic in the book.
Conclusively, Nissenbaum’s account of the evolution of Christmas offers a riveting and perhaps the most comprehensive account of the social origins of the most important celebration in American life. Indeed, it is yet another reminder of the peculiar origins of events we all too often assume to know. Given the profound changes that Christmas has undergone in the past years, Nissenbaum invites his readers to look at the ongoing changes in the celebration of major events including Christmas. Even so, avid readers do not need to look so hard to see such changes in contemporary society.
Bibliography
Coster, Sarah. "The Invention of the American Christmas 1753-1861." The Friends of Carlyle House Newsletter , 2011.
Kirkus. "The Battle for Christmas: Kirkus Review." KIRKUS , 1996: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/stephen-nissenbaum-2/the-battle-for-christmas-2/.
Nissenbaum, Stephen. The Battle for Christmas: A Social and Cultural History of Our Most Cherished Holiday. Vintage, 1997.
Ward, Doug. "Cotton Mather's Dilemma: Christmas in Puritan New England." BOOK REVIEW: ``THE BATTLE FOR CHRISTMAS'' , 2000: http://graceandknowledge.faithweb.com/cotton.html.
