The illustrated book of Christmas folklore

by Tristram Potter Coffin

First edition bound in red decorated cloth. Oblong 4to, illustrated through-out. About Fine in DJ. Light corner rubs, a few tiny dust spots.

Genres: Christmas, Nonfiction

145 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

Tristram (“Tris”) Potter Coffin was an American folklorist and leading scholar of ballad texts in the 20th century. Coffin spent the bulk of his career at the University of Pennsylvania, where he was a professor of English and a co-founder of the Folklore Department. He was the author of 20 books and more than 100 scholarly articles and reviews.

Reviews

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

(There's an edit later that covers the other "edition" of this book, which Goodreads believes to be the same book even though it isn't.)

In my search for books about Christmas folklore, I'm quite pleased with this one. Early chapters focus on proponents of Christianity slowly adopting the customs of various pagan traditions into Christmas practices, changing their meaning and ultimately creating the secular traditions we have today. In fact, there was a time after that when all forms of celebration were to be stopped due to their origins, essentially making them blasphemous. That clearly did not last.

The book goes through further aspects of tradition, such as carols and pageants. It ends with Christmas tales, which of course touches on Dickens' A Christmas Carol. What the book doesn't do is speak of that story's impact on the culture in that it made Christmas popular again. Nor does it say that the story of its resparking interest is apocryphal. I do appreciate the search for an American analog to Dickens, though.

EDIT:

According to Goodreads, The Book of Christmas Folklore and The Illustrated Book of Christmas Folklore are the same book -- now one that I've read twice. This is inaccurate. There is certainly overlap in coverage, but the latter version is the superior of the releases. Not only do the illustrations break up the text with appreciable "pop," the writing itself shows more refinement. It's a more interesting read than the other edition, and there's more time spent on the growing trend of Christmas literature (thanks to Charles Dickens). Both books are out of print today. If you can get both, get both. If one must be voted off of the island, it's the The (non-illustrated) Book of Christmas Folklore that must go.

Neither is as in-depth about folklore as I would like, though. When it does say anything about folklore, it's simply that it exists. This is disappointingly not a comprehensive compendium of Christmas folklore. At this point I think we're long overdue for that.

Not enough talk about folklore outside of the English language and European progenitors, but this is understandable given that the author's specialty is American folklore.

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

A FOLKLORIST PROFESSOR LOOKS HISTORICALLY INTO CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS

Professor of English and Folklore Tristram Potter Coffin wrote in the first chapter of this 1973 book, “The celebration of Christmas really began ‘circa 320 A.D.’ when the Catholic fathers in Rome decided to convert the Mithraic ‘Birthday of the Unconquered Sun’ into a birthday more suited to their aims. Western Christians had long harbored a belief that … the twenty-fifth, was the date on which Mary bore her Son, but they hadn’t been able to settle on the month… The Church Fathers were ultimately successful in regrouping the excitements of the Roman mid-winter about the Mass of Christ, Jesus, becoming the ‘Unconquered Son’ and December 25 emerging as a major feast-day of the Church..." (Pg. 3-4)

He notes, “the Calvinistic tirade, which lasted over a century in Scotland, England, and the New World, had its effect. For some, Christmas became a time for self-denial. Most, however… simply ‘attended’ to the ‘usual business’ of the day… Thus, it is not hard to believe that no New England college had a ‘Christmas holiday’ in 1847, that December 25 was a common workday in Boston until 1856, that as late as 1870 classes were held in Boston public schools on Christmas…” (Pg. 12)

He explains, “Few Americans… bother with a yule log any longer, yet the yule log was once one of the most firmly entrenched of customs. Often a stump or root, it was brought home Christmas Eve, where it was placed in the kitchen hearth or in the main fireplace… it was burned, as people told ghost stories and tales of olden times, drank cider, and watched their shadows on the wall… but in the world of today, the … yule log [has] been replaced by the Christmas tree, which became popular as the cities began to grow.” (Pg. 15-16)

He states, “As the mistletoe is still ceremoniously plucked by Celtic and Scandinavian peoples at Midsummer Eve, it probably was once particularly associated with that festival, and kissing under it probably didn’t become sexual until the custom of kissing among men vanished.” (Pg. 22)

He reports, “Today, true Christmas wassailing has pretty well vanished, and in America vestiges of this tradition of going from house to house, caroling, being fed, and socializing are more vigorous at Halloween than they are at Christmas. Wassailing was originally an important part of agricultural ritual…” (Pg. 28)

He says of December 26th, “a day widely called ‘Boxing Day.’ The Christmas box may have started as a church charity. Boxes were customarily placed in the churches for contributions after the Christmas Day service, and on the twenty-sixth the money so gathered was distributed by the priests to the poor.” (Pg. 30)

He clarifies, “Though the canonical gospels mention no animals being present near the manger, it took little imagination for the bearers of tradition to infer that oxen were in a stable, that an ass was used to carry the pregnant Mary toward Bethlehem, or even that camels transported the Magi from the East.” (Pg. 44)

He observes, “Nicholas, the saint who started all this, is a genuine folk figure. Everything we know about him comes to us through oral tradition, the first written legends having been transcribed about 500 years … after his death… Except for the fact that he was probably Bishop of Myra during the reign of Diocletian, was imprisoned to be released when Constantine came to the throne, we really know nothing about him---so little, in fact, that in 1969 the Pope made his annual celebration optional for Roman Catholics and dropped his Day from the Calendar.” (Pg. 60) He continues, “In spite of the fact that his name does not appear on the lists of those attending [the] Council [of Nicaea] and is not mentioned by a single ancient historian, Nicholas is deemed to have been the most honored churchman there and to have taken a lead in quashing the heresy of Arius…” (Pg. 62-63)

He recounts, “‘The Night Before Christmas’ … was first published anonymously… on December 23, 1823… Clement Clarke Moore… is now consistently credited as author. Moore, a professor ‘of Biblical learning and interpretation of Scripture’ … may not deserve the honor. The chances are excellent it should go to … Henry Livingston Jr. (1748-1828). Most people who have taken time to look into this scholarly enigma agree that Harriet Butler… heard Dr. Moore read the poem at his home … before Christmas Day in 1822… The mystery lies in where Dr. Moore got the verse he read…. The truth probably is that Moore heard verses about a visit from St. Nicholas somehow, somewhere… He probably reworked these verses, possibly adding enough that he came to think of them as his own.” (Pg. 69-70)

This book will be of great interest to anyone studying the history and development of Christmas customs and traditions.”

[Rachel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Confused? Me too. This really isn't a book of folklore. I was expecting a history of Christmas traditions throughout Europe, or something of the like. This is not that. The author picks one aspect of Christmas, say Santa Clause, and goes off on a meandering tangent that ends up nowhere near the topic of the chapter. I do not recommend.

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

Between the editorializing (this is published in 1969 and the author is having none of it), the chapter on “mumming” and a chapter in Dickens without discussing “Christmas Carol’s” and Victorian Era’s impact on the modern celebration, I had to drop this one hard.

[Lori Sheats · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too dated for a modern audience.

[Nathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

While this book is by no means comprehensive it provides the folklorist perspective on Christmas showing how various traditions developed over the centuries. This book will definitely enhance one's appreciation of Christmas and aid and reflecting upon the season.