{"product_id":"the-battle-for-christmas-stephen-nissenbaum-9780679740384","title":"The Battle for Christmas: A Cultural History of America's Most Cherished Holiday","description":"\u003cb\u003ePULITZER PRIZE FINALIST - Drawing on a wealth of research, this \"fascinating\" book (\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review)\u003c\/i\u003e charts the invention of our current Yuletide traditions, from St. Nicholas to the Christmas tree and, perhaps most radically, the practice of giving gifts to children. \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnyone who laments the excesses of Christmas might consider the Puritans of colonial Massachusetts: they simply outlawed the holiday. The Puritans had their reasons, since Christmas was once an occasion for drunkenness and riot, when poor \"wassailers extorted food and drink from the well-to-do. In this intriguing and innovative work of social history, Stephen Nissenbaum rediscovers Christmas's carnival origins and shows how it was transformed, during the nineteenth century, into a festival of domesticity and consumerism. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBursting with detail, filled with subversive readings of such seasonal classics as \"A Visit from St. Nicholas\" and\u003ci\u003e A Christmas Carol\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Battle for Christmas\u003c\/i\u003e captures the glorious strangeness of the past even as it helps us better understand our present.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Stephen Nissenbaum\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0679740384\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780679740384\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Vintage\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/28\/1997\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 400\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.82lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.10h x 5.20w x 0.81d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e 12\/21\/1997 pg. 24","brand":"Stephen Nissenbaum","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":44043919261951,"sku":"9780679740384","price":18.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_e3afb36e-a063-4912-a000-20a0cb944b04.jpg?v=1684969881","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-battle-for-christmas-stephen-nissenbaum-9780679740384","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}