tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8378359295868499245.post318342640891733843..comments2019-12-25T22:04:24.075-08:00Comments on Mainlining Christmas: Book Review: Christmas: A Candid History, by: Bruce David ForbesLindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10372317376002783405noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8378359295868499245.post-16819223048078352822011-11-29T06:13:30.570-08:002011-11-29T06:13:30.570-08:00I went to a lecture by Stephen Nissenbaum with a m...I went to a lecture by Stephen Nissenbaum with a more even-handed look at the history of Christmas. I haven&#39;t read <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Battle-Christmas-Stephen-Nissenbaum/dp/0679740384/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1322575020&amp;sr=8-1" title="Nissenbaum" rel="nofollow">his book</a>, but I&#39;m sure it&#39;s one of the &quot;better ones&quot;. He talked a lot about the influence of Medieval social inversion holidays, especially the wassailing tradition, where the wealthy were expected to open their homes and serve feasts for the working class. He pointed out that the emergence of Christmas as a religious holiday, at least in the US, coincided almost exactly with the rise of workers&#39; movements in the US, and a series of particularly violent labor riots in New York in the 1820s. He argued that the riots prompted the wealthy to quash the social inversion celebrations by closing their doors and Christmas it a family/religious holiday.Samhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07342728373980612279noreply@blogger.com