false <![CDATA[The Battle for Christmas]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173383527m/280722.jpg 280722 2 This scholarly analysis of our modern celebration of Christmas pulls together a thoroughly convincing case for the widely accepted notion that it is a 19th-century creation, indeed a deliberate reformation and taming of a holiday with wilder pagan origins. Christmas was set at December 25 in the fourth century, not for any biblical link with Christ's birth, but because the church hoped to annex and Christianize the existing midwinter pagan feast. This latter was based on the seasonal agricultural plenty, with the year's food supply newly in store, and nothing to do in the fields. It was a time of drinking and debauchery from the Roman Saturnalia to the English Mummers. The Victorians hijacked the holiday, and Victorian writers helped turn it into a feast of safe domesticity and a cacophonous chime of retail cash registers. 272315 1996 The Battle for Christmas total:60|5:15|4:17|3:24|2:4|1:0| 60 223 119 13 2 1 false false Sat Feb 28 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Feb 14 13:23:33 -0800 2009 Sat Feb 28 15:02:30 -0800 2009
The book itself probably would have been a good read for someone truly interested in the history of Christmas traditions, but what I had been looking for was something that explained the history of Christma...more...]]> 5 1 false false Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2003 Sun Jul 27 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Sep 14 07:43:34 -0700 2008
Christma...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Nov 29 05:29:17 -0800 2008 Fri May 08 05:55:58 -0700 2009 more...]]> 0 0 false false Mon Dec 08 13:52:59 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 08 13:53:59 -0800 2008 3 0 false false Sun Jul 12 17:03:07 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 12 17:06:05 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sun Dec 21 11:21:11 -0800 2008 Sun Dec 21 11:21:37 -0800 2008
"The Victorians hijacked the holiday, and Victorian writers helped turn it into a feast of safe domesticity and a cacophonous chime of retail cash registers."

Can't wait!]]> 0 0 false false Sat Dec 20 13:56:38 -0800 2008 Sat Dec 20 13:57:43 -0800 2008 3 0 false false Thu Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 09 07:13:52 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 13 12:19:34 -0700 2009 more...]]> 0 0 false false Mon Dec 22 12:38:32 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 22 12:39:00 -0800 2008 3 0 false false Thu Aug 21 12:22:31 -0700 2008 Tue Apr 29 06:59:49 -0700 2008 Thu Aug 21 12:22:31 -0700 2008 5 0 false false Fri Jan 25 07:31:14 -0800 2008 Fri Feb 01 09:38:17 -0800 2008 3 0 false false Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Jan 17 18:39:34 -0800 2008 Thu Jan 17 18:39:34 -0800 2008 3 0 false false Mon Dec 08 10:14:27 -0800 2008 Fri Nov 13 15:44:48 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Fri Nov 20 11:17:04 -0800 2009 Fri Nov 20 11:17:04 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Mon Nov 16 10:59:20 -0800 2009 Mon Nov 16 10:59:48 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Wed Nov 18 17:16:04 -0800 2009 Fri Nov 13 16:53:26 -0800 2009 Wed Nov 18 17:16:04 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Mon Nov 02 17:32:50 -0800 2009 Mon Nov 02 17:32:50 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Sun Nov 01 18:41:45 -0800 2009 Sun Nov 01 18:41:45 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Thu Oct 29 09:57:20 -0700 2009 Thu Oct 29 09:57:20 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Fri Oct 16 19:12:29 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 16 19:12:29 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=280722