Christmas in usa wikipedia biography

2017 book by Judith Flanders

Christmas: A Biography is a 2017 book by Judith Flanders about the history of Christmas, released from Picador. Flanders suggests the holiday has been less about religion and more about celebration and enjoyment since its inception in the fourth century. The author describes the origins of Christmas festivities and its development over time, focusing on its cuisine, hospitality, and holiday music, all based on the contributions of multiple cultural traditions, culminating in the eventual modernisation and commercialisation of the holiday in the 19th and 20th centuries. Critics praised the book for its coverage and details but criticised its geographic bias towards North America and Europe and lack of analysis compared to her previous work.

Contents

Christmas: A Biography starts by exploring what Flanders calls the "two most common assumptions" on the origins of the titular holiday: that it originated as "a deep