Bill Anderson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in part: >It is important to understand the differences in how the hollyday was >celebrated then and now. Going by the descriptions given in journals >kept by colonial writers and visitors, what was celebrated then is not >what is celebrated now. Indeed the celebrations common at the time were >more in line with what I referred to as the Christmas story in my >earlier post. The celebrations were about partying and being hospitable.
That's why in the 18th C., anti-Christmas sentiment was bound up with anti-alcohol sentiment, and also helps explain the ethnic breakdown of pro- and anti-Christmas segments. >Clement Moore and Washington Irving felt that their social class and >indeed their authority as a ruling class was under siege by Christmas. >Why? Go back to my first post where I list the origins of it. Recall >that the celebrations were about a levelling of the classes, or in some >cases a reversal of them. This frightened and offended the ruling elites >so they had to do something about it. They were known as the >Knickerbockers; they were mad as hell and were not going to take it any >more. >They managed to get new stories written, "massaged" old stories into >"new old traditions", and invented the "new" Christmas story. it is here >that we see the origin of the gifts being for *children*. BTW, almost a century later they (i.e. NY society) tried to reform Independence Day somewhat similarly, albeit not attempting to rewrite history. Ca. 1900 they tried to abolish fireworks, drinking, and general noisemaking on July 4th, and turn it into something more like Memorial Day. Be Irony? Is Truly, Robert _______________________________________________ Libnw mailing list Libnw@immosys.com List info and subscriber options: http://immosys.com/mailman/listinfo/libnw Archives: http://immosys.com/mailman//pipermail/libnw
