Inventing Christmas: How Our Holiday Came to Be

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Harry N. Abrams, Oct 1, 2002 - Antiques & Collectibles - 128 pages
Where did the best-loved traditions that make Christmas America's favourite holiday originate? With vintage illustrations by artists such as Thomas Nast, Everett Shinn, Al Hirschfeld, Arthur Rackham and others, Inventing Christmas explains how most of America's traditions evolved over the 25-year period from 1822 (when Clement Clarke Moore's A Visit from St Nicholas was published) to 1848. Jock Elliott, who has been collecting Christmas ephemera for over 50 years, shows how Santa, the Christmas tree, gift-giving and Scrooge all came to signify Christmas.

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