Horsley, Richard and James Tracy, eds. Harrisburg, PA:  Trinity Press International, 2001.  234 + vi pp.  $20.00 (USD).  ISBN:  1-56338-319-5.

[1]  For the authors of Christmas Unwrapped, the American Christmas season represents a religion of consumer capitalism that reinforces the “ethic of consumption” and ultimately “has little to do with the birth of Christ” (167).  Movies such as Miracle on 34th Street provide its mythology; Santa Claus serves as its chief icon; gift-giving and shopping supply its rituals.  Together, these symbols inculcate consumer-oriented values that play an integral role in the success of the U.S. economy.  Not surprisingly, Christmas Unwrapped offers a poignant critique of American culture, and in particular, the frenzied consumerism associated with the Christmas holiday season.  Though of particular interest to those within the Christian tradition, the book will appeal to anyone concerned with the increasing commercialization of American culture and the underlying value systems that support a consumer-based society. 

[2]  The contributors consciously build on Stephen Nissenbaum’s analysis in The Battle for Christmas: A Cultural History of America’s Most Cherished Holiday (New York:  Alfred A. Knopf, 1996).  Nissenbaum traces the development of the iconography of Christmas during the nineteenth century, especially the creation of Santa Claus.  He argues that New York elites—such as Clement Moore and Washington Irving—sought to domesticate Christmas in reaction to the urban violence associated with the Christmas season as those without means often demanded gifts from the wealthy.  The figure of Santa Claus and the focus on gift-giving to children successfully moved the celebration of Christmas away from this class-based confrontation in the public sphere to a domestic, family-centred activity.  Nissenbaum concludes his analysis at the end of the nineteenth century; however, the contributors to Christmas Unwrapped focus on the devolution of the holiday during the twentieth century into an unparalleled celebration of greed and power.    

[3]  Divided into four sections, the book offers historical, cultural, biblical, and theological analyses of the holiday season.  James Tracy’s historical essay, for example, argues that the surplus of goods created by the industrial revolution, along with the subsequent need for new markets, fused the celebration of the holiday season with the profitable productivity of the economy.  Moving on to the 'sixties, Elizabeth Pleck details the emergence of protest movements against Christmas, paying special attention to the role of Black nationalism, Jewish group consciousness, psychiatric diagnosis of social problems, and feminism.  For each of these groups, the celebration of Christmas increased their sense of alienation as it reinforced a hegemonic culture.    

[4]  The second section focuses on cultural critiques.  Max Myers and Kathleen Sands dissect popular Christmas movies, highlighting underlying messages that reinforce an ethic of consumption and patriarchal values, among other things.  A. P. Simonds adds an insightful analysis of the implied value systems embedded in holiday advertising.  Image associations used in advertisements, he argues, reveal a “groveling before images of wealth and power” rather than a questioning of them (100).   

[5]  Parts three and four approach Christmas from the vantage point of biblical and theological studies.  Richard Horsley’s three essays highlight the sharp distinction between the biblical portrayal of Christmas and contemporary emphases.  The American celebration of Christmas resembles the festivals promoted by the imperial Roman Empire and ancient Mesopotamia.  Far from the humble story of a Saviour born in a manger, these festivals honored the power of Caesar and unseen forces that controlled people’s lives.  Max Myers compares the Christian notion of grace with the materialistic values associated with Santa Claus that encourage self-interest and the limitless pursuit of more goods.  Finally, Paula Cooey explores the implications of the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the establishment clause in Lynch v. Donnelly, in which they deemed a Nativity scene lawful considering its placement among secular Christmas symbols such as Santa Claus and reindeer.  Cooey highlights the ironic impact of the decision:  these displays dilute the religious value of traditional Christmas symbols even as they lend an air of religious authority to consumerism and capitalism.

[6]  Each essay reflects a bold interpretation of the American celebration of Christmas and carries strong moral import.  Clear and well written, they engage the reader from a variety of perspectives and encourage serious reflection on American culture.  One suspects, however, that the strong moral concern evidenced by the authors predisposed them to see the negative implications of the American Christmas and neglect other interpretations.  Tracy dismisses Leigh Eric Schmidt’s emphasis on the gift-giving aspect of Christmas in Consumer Rites: The Buying and Selling of American Holidays (Princeton University Press, 1995) as a “superficial analysis” that “runs the risk of facilely equating modern American consumer excess with underclass traditions of the European past” (5).  Perhaps, but morally concerned readings of the American Christmas run a similar risk of obscuring the ways in which the modern celebration of Christmas might build and maintain communities in a pluralistic society.  Only A.P. Simonds and Richard Horsley come close to this type of acknowledgment.  For example, Horsley briefly notes that the holidays “secure family identity as well as family solidarity” (171).  An extra essay exploring the possible benefits of a “consumerized” Christmas would go far to balance the more negative approach represented in the essays.  

[7]  Despite this criticism, Christmas Unwrapped brings numerous aspects of the American Christmas into sharp focus and successfully illuminates key developments in the celebration of Christmas during the twentieth century.  

Joseph W. Williams
Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL
jww03c@fsu.edu