CHRISTMAS BOOK REVIEW: Christmas: Its Origins and Associations

"The origin and associations of Christmas, together with its historical events and festive celebrations during 19 centuries: depicting, by pen and pencil, memorable celebrations, stately meetings of early kings, remarkable events, romantic episodes, brave deeds, picturesque customs, time honored sports, royal Christmases, coronations and royal marriages, chivalric feats, court banquetings and revelings, Christmas at the colleges and the inns of court, popular festivities, and Christmas keeping in different parts of the world, derived from the most authentic sources and arranged chronologically. Illustrated."

Let's say if you were expecting a light, colorfully illustrated volume on the history of Christmas over the years—this ain't it. :-)

Like Clement Miles' 1912 Christmas, this 1902 volume by W.F. Dawson is a scholarly approach to Christmas, beginning with the retelling of the Christmas story and the orthography of the word "Christmas." After briefly touching on some early celebrations, the book returns to its main concentration: the history of the Christmas celebration in England, beginning with the early tribal kings and of course King Arthur, and then describing the Christmas feast for each English king all the way back to King Alfred. While the London "Inns" and some Yuletide experiences at Oxford and the other colleges are chronicled, this largest portion of the book (at least a half dozen chapters) is about Christmas as celebrated in the royal courts (peasants and the middle class are only briefly mentioned in a few sentences), ending in "Modern Christmases at Home," which begins with King George III! There is also "Modern Christmases Abroad," describing the customs of expatriates in any area the British Empire covered, and also a chapter about the mixed celebrations in the United States, which includes two pages devoted to the unfortunate Victorian predeliction for stories about the "quaint celebrations" of "amusing" and "childish" "darkies" in the American South.

Recommended only if you are a student of Christmas history or are interested in the kings and queens of England.