Christmas

=== 19th century ===

[[File:Scrooges third visitor-John Leech,1843 edit.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Ebenezer Scrooge]] and the [[Ghost of Christmas Present]]. From [[Charles Dickens]]'s ''[[A Christmas Carol]]'', 1843.]]

In the early 19th century, Christmas festivities and services became widespread with the rise of the [[Oxford Movement]] in the [[Church of England]] that emphasized the centrality of Christmas in Christianity and charity to the poor,<ref name="Rowel1993">{{cite journal|last=Rowell|first=Geoffrey|date=December 1993|journal=[[History Today]]|volume=43|issue=12|quote=There is no doubt that A Christmas Carol is first and foremost a story concerned with the Christian gospel of liberation by the grace of God, and with incarnational religion which refuses to drive a wedge between the world of spirit and the world of matter. Both the Christmas dinners and the Christmas dinner-carriers are blessed; the cornucopia of Christmas food and feasting reflects both the goodness of creation and the joy of heaven. It is a significant sign of a shift in theological emphasis in the nineteenth century from a stress on the Atonement to a stress on the Incarnation, a stress which found outward and visible form in the sacramentalism of the Oxford Movement, the development of richer and more symbolic forms of worship, the building of neo-Gothic churches, and the revival and increasing centrality of the keeping of Christmas itself as a Christian festival.{{nbsp}}[...] In the course of the century, under the influence of the Oxford Movement's concern for the better observance of Christian festivals, Christmas became more and more prominent. By the later part of the century cathedrals provided special services and musical events, and might have revived ancient special charities for the poor – though we must not forget the problems for large: parish-church cathedrals like Manchester, which on one Christmas Day had no less than eighty couples coming to be married (the signing of the registers lasted until four in the afternoon). The popularity of Dickens' A Christmas Carol played a significant part in the changing consciousness of Christmas and the way in which it was celebrated. The popularity of his public readings of the story is an indication of how much it resonated with the contemporary mood, and contributed to the increasing place of the Christmas celebration in both secular and religious ways that was firmly established by the end of the nineteenth century.|access-date=December 28, 2016|url=http://www.historytoday.com/geoffrey-rowell/dickens-and-construction-christmas|title=Dickens and the Construction of Christmas|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161229101255/http://www.historytoday.com/geoffrey-rowell/dickens-and-construction-christmas|archive-date=December 29, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> along with [[Washington Irving]], [[Charles Dickens]], and other authors emphasizing family, children, kind-heartedness, gift-giving, and [[Santa Claus]] (for Irving),<ref name="Rowel1993"/> or [[Father Christmas]] (for Dickens).<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j5c9GqZ_7BMC&pg=PA178 |editor-first1=Sally|editor-last1=Ledger |editor-first2=Holly |editor-last2=Furneaux |title= Charles Dickens in Context |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-19-513886-3 |page=178 |access-date=December 25, 2020}}</ref>

In the early-19th century, writers imagined [[Tudor period|Tudor]]-period Christmas as a time of heartfelt celebration. In 1843, [[Charles Dickens]] wrote the novel ''[[A Christmas Carol]]'', which helped revive the "spirit" of Christmas and seasonal merriment.<ref name=standiford>{{cite book |first=Les |last=Standiford |title=The Man Who Invented Christmas: How Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol Rescued His Career and Revived Our Holiday Spirits |publisher=Crown |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-307-40578-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/manwhoinventedch0000stan}}</ref><ref name=AFP>{{cite news
 |title=Dickens' classic 'Christmas Carol' still sings to us
|url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2008-12-17-dickens-main_N.htm
 |work=[[USA Today]]
 |access-date=April 30, 2010
|first=Bob
 |last=Minzesheimer
 |date=December 22, 2008
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091106135858/http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2008-12-17-dickens-main_N.htm
 |archive-date=November 6, 2009
|url-status=live
 }}</ref> Its instant popularity played a major role in portraying Christmas as a holiday emphasizing family, goodwill, and compassion.<ref name="Rowel1993"/>

Dickens sought to construct Christmas as a family-centered festival of generosity, linking "worship and feasting, within a context of social reconciliation."<ref name="Hutton2001">{{cite book|last=Hutton|first=Ronald|title=The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain|date=February 15, 2001|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-157842-7}}</ref> Superimposing his humanitarian vision of the holiday, in what has been termed "Carol Philosophy",<ref name="Forbes2008">{{cite book|last=Forbes|first=Bruce David|title=Christmas: A Candid History|date=October 1, 2008|publisher=--University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-25802-0|page=62|quote=What Dickens {{em|did}} advocate in his story was "the spirit of Christmas". Sociologist James Barnett has described it as Dickens's "Carol Philosophy", which "combined religious and secular attitudes toward to celebration into a humanitarian pattern. It excoriated individual selfishness and extolled the virtues of brotherhood, kindness, and generosity at Christmas.{{nbsp}}[...] Dickens preached that at Christmas men should forget self and think of others, especially the poor and the unfortunate." The message was one that both religious and secular people could endorse.}}<!--|access-date=November 22, 2014--></ref> Dickens influenced many aspects of Christmas that are celebrated today in Western culture, such as family gatherings, seasonal food and drink, dancing, games, and a festive generosity of spirit.<ref>{{cite book |editor-first=Richard Michael |editor-last=Kelly |year=2003 |title=A Christmas Carol |pages=9, 12 |publisher=Broadview Press |isbn=978-1-55111-476-7}}</ref> A prominent phrase from the tale, [[Christmas and holiday season#History of the phrase|"Merry Christmas"]], was popularized following the appearance of the story.<ref>Cochrane, Robertson. ''Wordplay: origins, meanings, and usage of the English language''. University of Toronto Press, 1996, p. 126, {{ISBN|0-8020-7752-8}}.</ref> This coincided with the appearance of the [[Oxford Movement]] and the growth of [[Anglo-Catholicism]], which led a revival in traditional rituals and religious observances.<ref>Hutton, Ronald, ''The Stations of the Sun: The Ritual Year in England''. 1996. Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 113. {{ISBN|0-19-285448-8}}.</ref>

[[File:The Christmas Tree at Windsor Castle, by J. L. Williams - ILN 1848 (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|upright|The Queen's Christmas tree at [[Windsor Castle]], published in the ''Illustrated London News'', 1848]]

The term ''[[Ebenezer Scrooge|Scrooge]]'' became a synonym for [[miser]], with the phrase [[Humbug|"Bah! Humbug!"]] becoming emblematic of a dismissive attitude of the festive spirit.<ref>Joe L. Wheeler. ''Christmas in My Heart'', Volume 10, p. 97. Review and Herald Pub Assoc, 2001. {{ISBN|0-8280-1622-4}}.</ref> In 1843, the first commercial [[Christmas card#History|Christmas card]] was produced by [[Sir Henry Cole]].<ref>{{cite web |last = Earnshaw |first = Iris |title = The History of Christmas Cards |publisher = Inverloch Historical Society Inc. |date = November 2003 |url = http://home.vicnet.net.au/~invhs/2004.htm |access-date = July 25, 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160526174327/http://home.vicnet.net.au/~invhs/2004.htm |archive-date = May 26, 2016 |url-status = live }}</ref> The revival of the [[Christmas Carol]] began with [[William Sandys (antiquarian)|William Sandys]]'s ''Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern'' (1833), with the first appearance in print of "[[The First Noel]]", "[[I Saw Three Ships]]", "[[Hark the Herald Angels Sing]]" and "[[God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen]]", popularized in Dickens's ''A Christmas Carol''.

In Britain, the [[Christmas tree#18th and 19th centuries|Christmas tree]] was introduced in the early 19th century by the German-born [[Queen Charlotte]]. In 1832, the future [[Queen Victoria]] wrote about her delight at having a Christmas tree, hung with [[Christmas lights (holiday decoration)|lights]], [[Christmas ornaments|ornaments]], and presents placed round it.<ref>''[https://archive.org/details/girlhoodofqueenv01vict/page/60/mode/2up The Girlhood of Queen Victoria: a selection from Her Majesty's diaries]'', p. 61. Longmans, Green & Co., 1912. University of Wisconsin. Retrieved December 25, 2023.</ref> After her marriage to her German cousin [[Albert, Prince Consort|Prince Albert]], by 1841 the custom became more widespread throughout Britain.<ref name="Lejeune, Marie Claire p.550">Lejeune, ''Marie Claire''. ''Compendium of symbolic and ritual plants in Europe'', p.550. University of Michigan {{ISBN|90-77135-04-9}}.</ref>

An image of the British royal family with their Christmas tree at Windsor Castle created a sensation when it was published in the ''[[Illustrated London News]]'' in 1848. A modified version of this image was published in ''[[Godey's Lady's Book]]'', Philadelphia in 1850.<ref name="Shoemaker">Shoemaker, Alfred Lewis. (1959) ''Christmas in Pennsylvania: a folk-cultural study.'' Edition 40. pp. 52, 53. Stackpole Books 1999. {{ISBN|0-8117-0328-2}}.</ref><ref>''[[Godey's Lady's Book]]'', 1850. ''Godey's'' copied it exactly, except he removed the Queen's tiara, and Prince Albert's moustache, to remake the engraving into an American scene.</ref> By the 1870s, putting up a Christmas tree had become common in America.<ref name="Shoemaker" />

In America, interest in Christmas had been revived in the 1820s by several short stories by [[Washington Irving]] which appear in his ''[[The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.]]'' and "Old Christmas". Irving's stories depicted harmonious warm-hearted English Christmas festivities he experienced while staying in [[Aston Hall]], Birmingham, England, that had largely been abandoned,<ref>Kelly, Richard Michael (ed.) (2003), ''A Christmas Carol'', p. 20. Broadview Literary Texts, New York: Broadview Press, {{ISBN|1-55111-476-3}}.</ref> and he used the tract ''Vindication of Christmas'' (1652) of Old English Christmas traditions, that he had transcribed into his journal as a format for his stories.<ref name=BTR>{{Cite book
 |author=Restad, Penne L.
 |year=1995
 |title=Christmas in America: a History
 |location=Oxford
 |publisher=Oxford University Press
 |isbn=978-0-19-510980-1
 }}</ref>

[[File:Adolph Tidemand Norsk juleskik.jpg|thumb|upright|A Norwegian Christmas, 1846 painting by [[Adolph Tidemand]]]]

In 1822, [[Clement Clarke Moore]] wrote the poem ''[[A Visit From St. Nicholas]]'' (popularly known by its first line: ''Twas the Night Before Christmas'').<ref>Moore's poem transferred the genuine old Dutch traditions celebrated at New Year in New York, including the exchange of gifts, family feasting, and tales of "sinterklass" (a derivation in Dutch from "Saint Nicholas", from whence comes the modern "Santa Claus") to Christmas.[http://www.thehistoryofchristmas.com/ch/in_america.htm ''The history of Christmas: Christmas history in America''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180419103042/http://www.thehistoryofchristmas.com/ch/in_america.htm |date=April 19, 2018 }}, 2006.</ref> The poem helped popularize the tradition of exchanging gifts, and seasonal Christmas shopping began to assume economic importance.<ref>[http://usinfo.state.gov/scv/Archive/2005/Dec/19-344398.html "Americans Celebrate Christmas in Diverse Ways"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061210120636/https://usinfo.state.gov/scv/Archive/2005/Dec/19-344398.html |date=December 10, 2006 }}, Usinfo.state.gov, November 26, 2006.</ref> This also started the cultural conflict between the holiday's spiritual significance and its associated [[commercialism]] that some see as corrupting the holiday. In her 1850 book ''The First Christmas in New England'', [[Harriet Beecher Stowe]] includes a character who complains that [[the true meaning of Christmas]] was lost in a shopping spree.<ref>First [[Presbyterianism|Presbyterian Church]] of Watertown [http://www.watertownfirstpres.org/sermons/12-11-05.html "Oh ... and one more thing"] December 11, 2005 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070225081456/http://www.watertownfirstpres.org/sermons/12-11-05.html |date=February 25, 2007 }}</ref>

While the celebration of Christmas was not yet customary in some regions in the U.S., [[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow]] detected "a transition state about Christmas here in New England" in 1856. "The old puritan feeling prevents it from being a cheerful, hearty holiday; though every year makes it more so."<ref name=APH>Restad, Penne L. (1995), ''Christmas in America: a History'', Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 96. {{ISBN|0-19-510980-5}}.</ref> In [[Reading, Pennsylvania]], a newspaper remarked in 1861, "Even our presbyterian friends who have hitherto steadfastly ignored Christmas—threw open their church doors and assembled in force to celebrate the anniversary of the Savior's birth."<ref name=APH />

The First Congregational Church of Rockford, [[Illinois]], "although of genuine Puritan stock", was 'preparing for a grand Christmas jubilee', a news correspondent reported in 1864.<ref name=APH /> By 1860, fourteen states including several from [[New England]] had adopted Christmas as a legal holiday.<ref name=ABD>{{cite web|url=http://www.christianchurchofgod.com/httpwww.christianchurchofgod.comhistofchristmas.htm |title=Christian church of God – history of Christmas |publisher=Christianchurchofgod.com |access-date=February 24, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101219215754/http://www.christianchurchofgod.com/httpwww.christianchurchofgod.comhistofchristmas.htm |archive-date=December 19, 2010 }}</ref> In 1875, [[Louis Prang]] introduced the [[Christmas card#History|Christmas card]] to Americans. He has been called the "father of the American Christmas card".<ref name="meggspage148">Meggs, Philip B. A History of Graphic Design. 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. p 148 {{ISBN|0-471-29198-6}}.</ref> On June 28, 1870, Christmas was formally declared a [[Federal holidays in the United States|United States federal holiday]].<ref name="federalholidays">{{cite web|url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R41990.pdf|title=Federal Holidays: Evolution and Current Practices|publisher=Congressional Research Service|author=Jacob R. Straus|date=November 16, 2012|access-date=January 2, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103115217/http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R41990.pdf|archive-date=January 3, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>