Page 34 - joa-12-22

Time to Take a Holiday

hristmas was the holiday that was just waiting to happen. For years, Christmas had quietly been observed with gatherings of
For whatever reason, whether it be there to fill a spiritual or an family and friends, but it wasn’t a big deal. The first real Christmas
Cemotional void, it waits for us at the beginning of winter to give book is all but forgotten today: Bracebridge Hall by American author
us a warm boost into the chilly new year. We moderns may bemoan the Washington Irving, published in 1822. Its scenes of English country
fact that Christmas is becoming more commercialized each year, but gentlemen inviting the locals into their homes at Christmas time to
the origins of Christmas actually predate the birth of Christ by as much celebrate struck a chord with both English and American readers and
as two thousand years which is why Christmas can’t quite decide if it the Christmas season was reborn.
wants to be the continuation of a pagan saturnalia The next bit of Christmas literature is just as popular now as it
of feasts and gift giving or the celebration of the was when it was published anonymously in a New York
Nativity of Jesus Christ. newspaper in 1823 – the unforgettable Night Before
Despite one network’s annual scares about the Christmas written, most people claim, by the Rev. Clement
so-called War on Christmas (which has been Moore for his two daughters. It was sometimes titled A Visit
around long enough to become a Christmas From St. Nicholas.
tradition as well), that’s not new either. Christmas Much of what we think of as Christmas was codified in
was not always loved in America. The early this tale. Saint Nicholas, plump, white-bearded, and cheerful
Protestants were down on Christmas and the is dressed in furs and arrives chimney side to bring toys to
Puritans outlawed it thinking it pagan and good little girls and boys via sleigh and eight tiny reindeer.
celebrating Saints Days – even the birthday of The ninth reindeer would not make his appearance until
Jesus (the word Christmas is derived from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer by Robert May blinked its way
Christ’s mass) reminded them too much of the to the bookshelves in 1939. Facsimiles of it
Roman Catholic traditions that they had just are common, so beware of any so-called
broken from. It wasn’t until the later 1800s “first editions.”
that most Protestant Churches relented and The Night Before Christmas is only 56
began offering the Christmas services that lines, but virtually invented the way we
their congregations wanted. Some Christian celebrate Christmas. Although published
denominations still sincerely believe that 193 years ago, today’s children have no
Christmas is anti-Christian because it is not problem understanding it. It is still one of
mentioned in the New Testament. the most popular poems ever written and
As for the date being December 25th, by one of the most often printed.
350 A.D., no one remembered the exact date
of Christ’s birth, so the powers that were These Old Books
decided that December 25th was as good a date Books have always made popular
as any. This date was sacred in several early Christmas gifts for children and adults. They
cultures as it was thought to be the winter solstice come in all sizes and prices to fit the pocket and the pocketbook. You
and the pagan celebrations of it worried the occasionally find old books with Christmas gift inscriptions in them.
Church Fathers. By taking that date, they could Although that probably won’t add to the value, it is pleasing to try and
de-paganize the holiday that wouldn’t go away. imagine the circumstances of the gift and what
Actually, scholars say that whenever Jesus was born, top: Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer, 1st Edition, other presents were under the tree then.
c. 1939; left: Visit of St. Nicholas printed by
it was not in December because the shepherds McLoughlin Brothers, New York; right: In the late 1800s, Tuck and McLoughlin
would not have been watching their flocks by night Bracebridge Hall by Washington Irving Brothers and others sold beautifully printed books
then they would have been put up for the winter. that were often used as Christmas gifts. The colors
Some think it was actually in September. Nor was the first Christmas were lithographed, usually in Germany, and there is still nothing like their
white, nor did Joseph and Mary have a Christmas tree, nor were there any rich, shiny texture printed with wonderful inks which never seem to fade
reindeer in the manger and it was the three Magi who brought Jesus gifts, that lay on the surface of the paper like pools of pure color.
not Santa Claus. The heyday of these books was from about the 1880s to about 1910.
After that, less expensive color printing processes took over. These cost
Christmasing in the U.S.A. less but just can’t match the quality of the earlier ones which are very
The Christmas tree first appeared in the U.S. in the 1840s likely collectible (naturally) and can sell from tens of dollars to hundreds of
because Queen Victoria’s husband Prince Albert brought that tradition to dollars and more. The price depends on size, subject matter, and rarity.
England from Germany. If you pardon the pun, the Christmas tree prob- Like it or not, and be it Christian or be it otherwise, or some of each,
ably has pagan roots and predates Christmas by several thousand years. there is good in it. Christmas is the holiday that just won’t go away!

James Dawson has owned and operated the Unicorn Bookshop in Trappe, MD since 1975, when he decided that it would be more fun to buy and sell old books and maps than to get
a “real” job. For a born collector like Jim, having a shop just might be another excuse to buy more books. He has about 30,000 second hand and rare books on the shelves, and just
about all subjects are represented. He can be contacted at P.O. Box 154; Trappe, MD 21673; 410-476-3838; unicornbookshopMD@gmail.com; www.unicornbookshop.com

32 Journal of Antiques and Collectibles