Read Online What Do You Do With a Chocolate Jesus? by Thomas Quinn - Free Book Online
Authors: Thomas Quinn
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growing gap between rich and poor, and nobody did much about it because poverty was seen as a character flaw or a deliberate choice. But now the urban poor were becoming violent in the streets. Reacting to this, social activists and writers made Christmas an occasion to help the needy.
In 1840, Queen Victoria married Prince Albert, who was German, and thus popularized the Tannenbaum—the Christmas tree. The first Christmas cards appeared in 1843 and were an immediate hit. And while the days of boozing it up in the streets were over, a touch of naughtiness was preserved through the Scandinavian practice of kissing under the mistletoe—probably the most action Victorian men got all year.
In England, Charles Dickens crowned the sentiment of helping the poor in 1843 with A Christmas Carol , providing us with Tiny Tim, the first cutesy child star that everyone wanted to slap. Charity also became fashionable; it fit the Christian message of being your brother’s keeper. Even so, Protestant churches only reluctantly held Christmas services, mostly to keep up attendance.
Americans didn’t catch the Christmas spirit until well into the 19 th century, but once they did, they couldn’t leave well enough alone. They made it a family event. This was the era when technology allowed mothers to leave the fields to become the domestic goddesses we idolize today. Up until then, childcare manuals were aimed at Dad, and childrearing was more about fatherly discipline than motherly love. But with Mom now in charge, the modern nuclear family emerged. Children now deserved affection, and Christmas was the time to indulge the little darlings. This meant making a bigger fuss about the holiday and spending more time at that great new innovation, the department store.
All of which brings us to the patron saint of the shopping mall, Santa Claus, or, as they call him in France and England, Father Christmas. The real Saint Nicholas was a 4 th century bishop in the Greek Orthodox Church. His reputation as a traveling gift-giver made him popular throughout the Middle Ages. December 6 th was deemed St. Nicholas Day, when the good children would be given presents while the naughty ones came up empty handed. Santa became training wheels for their relationship with God—an unseen, supernatural dispenser of rewards for those who obeyed the rules.
The Dutch called the legendary saint “Sinter Klaus” and, once they brought him to America, the name morphed into “Santa Claus.” In 1822, Clement Clark Moore, an Episcopal minister, embellished the Santa legend with his classic, A Visit from Saint Nicholas , better known as ’Twas the Night Before Christmas. Moore is the guy who named the eight reindeer and had Santa slipping into the house through the chimney. (You know, between Santa, the Easter Bunny, and visits from various angels, there’s a lot of breaking-and-entering in Christian lore.)
There was no consensus on what Santa looked like, but Moore made him a jolly, jelly-bellied elf. Years later, political cartoonist Thomas Nast, who became famous for drawing caricatures of Boss Tweed and other New York robber barons, decided to draw the generous Santa Claus in the same tubby profile as the city fat-cats. The image stuck.
As a gift-giver beloved by children, it was only a matter of time before Saint Nick was co-opted by retailers, who enthroned him in their stores. By the time of the American Civil War, the department store Santa was an institution.
The bearded, red-and-white clad Santa image gradually emerged in the early 20 th century and was later popularized in the 1930s by famous Coca-Cola ads in which he wore the company colors. His emergency reindeer, Rudolph, was created in 1939 in a jingle written by an advertising copywriter at Montgomery Ward. The song was recorded by Gene Autry and it became a hit.
Since then, every generation has carped about the increasing commercialization of Christmas. Yet, in America, more people attend
In 1840, Queen Victoria married Prince Albert, who was German, and thus popularized the Tannenbaum—the Christmas tree. The first Christmas cards appeared in 1843 and were an immediate hit. And while the days of boozing it up in the streets were over, a touch of naughtiness was preserved through the Scandinavian practice of kissing under the mistletoe—probably the most action Victorian men got all year.
In England, Charles Dickens crowned the sentiment of helping the poor in 1843 with A Christmas Carol , providing us with Tiny Tim, the first cutesy child star that everyone wanted to slap. Charity also became fashionable; it fit the Christian message of being your brother’s keeper. Even so, Protestant churches only reluctantly held Christmas services, mostly to keep up attendance.
Americans didn’t catch the Christmas spirit until well into the 19 th century, but once they did, they couldn’t leave well enough alone. They made it a family event. This was the era when technology allowed mothers to leave the fields to become the domestic goddesses we idolize today. Up until then, childcare manuals were aimed at Dad, and childrearing was more about fatherly discipline than motherly love. But with Mom now in charge, the modern nuclear family emerged. Children now deserved affection, and Christmas was the time to indulge the little darlings. This meant making a bigger fuss about the holiday and spending more time at that great new innovation, the department store.
All of which brings us to the patron saint of the shopping mall, Santa Claus, or, as they call him in France and England, Father Christmas. The real Saint Nicholas was a 4 th century bishop in the Greek Orthodox Church. His reputation as a traveling gift-giver made him popular throughout the Middle Ages. December 6 th was deemed St. Nicholas Day, when the good children would be given presents while the naughty ones came up empty handed. Santa became training wheels for their relationship with God—an unseen, supernatural dispenser of rewards for those who obeyed the rules.
The Dutch called the legendary saint “Sinter Klaus” and, once they brought him to America, the name morphed into “Santa Claus.” In 1822, Clement Clark Moore, an Episcopal minister, embellished the Santa legend with his classic, A Visit from Saint Nicholas , better known as ’Twas the Night Before Christmas. Moore is the guy who named the eight reindeer and had Santa slipping into the house through the chimney. (You know, between Santa, the Easter Bunny, and visits from various angels, there’s a lot of breaking-and-entering in Christian lore.)
There was no consensus on what Santa looked like, but Moore made him a jolly, jelly-bellied elf. Years later, political cartoonist Thomas Nast, who became famous for drawing caricatures of Boss Tweed and other New York robber barons, decided to draw the generous Santa Claus in the same tubby profile as the city fat-cats. The image stuck.
As a gift-giver beloved by children, it was only a matter of time before Saint Nick was co-opted by retailers, who enthroned him in their stores. By the time of the American Civil War, the department store Santa was an institution.
The bearded, red-and-white clad Santa image gradually emerged in the early 20 th century and was later popularized in the 1930s by famous Coca-Cola ads in which he wore the company colors. His emergency reindeer, Rudolph, was created in 1939 in a jingle written by an advertising copywriter at Montgomery Ward. The song was recorded by Gene Autry and it became a hit.
Since then, every generation has carped about the increasing commercialization of Christmas. Yet, in America, more people attend
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