|  | Massacre Island | |  | | Massacre Island | | Twelve-year-old Nicolas de La Salle and his family sailed to La Louisiane (French Louisiana) with Governor Iberville to start a French settlement on the Gulf coast. Nicolas's father was with the explorer, Robert Cavelier de La Salle, when he reached ... | | | $16.95 | |  |
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| | | History | Home » » » American Christmases: Firsthand Accounts of Holiday Happenings from Early Days to Modern Times | | | | | | | Description: | | From Captain John Smith's description of his visit to a native village in 1608 to Major Carrie Acree's letter from Iraq in 2004, American Christmases offers firsthand impressions of the Christmas season as told in letters, journals, memoirs, newspaper articles, poems, songs, and advertisements. Passages from well-known people include Daniel Boone describing his Christmas as an Indian captive in 1769; George Washington begging for congressional assistance for his starving Continental Army troops at Christmas in 1777; F. W. Woolworth conveying how he guessed wrong about the popularity of German Christmas tree ornaments; Helen Keller experiencing her first Christmas with teacher Anne Sullivan in 1887; Edith Wharton writing about a 1905 Christmas party at George Vanderbilt's North Carolina estate; and Secret Service agent Edmund Starling telling about President Woodrow Wilson's secret Christmas honeymoon. However, some of the most moving entries come from ordinary people. Kate Cumming of Mobile, Alabama, writes of the Christmas she spent in 1862 with the Confederate Army of Tennessee's medical service. Hinda Satt, whose Jewish family emigrated from Poland, describes her first Christmas party at Jane Addams's Hull House in Chicago. Inez McDonald, who served with the Army Nurse Corps, tells of a treasured handmade Christmas card she kept during her imprisonment in a Bataan internment camp in 1943. Father Paul O'Connor, a Jesuit missionary in Alaska, remembers a special Christmas gift he gave to an "Eskimo lass of ten" in 1945. Army Specialist Don Odom describes a surreal experience in the Saudi Arabian desert during Operation Desert Storm at Christmas in 1990. By reading these 250 entries, you'll see how the role of Santa Claus has changed through the centuries, how the Christmas tree became a symbol of the season, and how America's celebration of Christmas has evolved over 400 years. | | | Product Details: | | | Hardcover:
| 319 pages | | Publisher:
| John F. Blair Publisher | | Publication Date:
| 2005-10 | | Language:
| English | | ISBN:
| 0895873192 | | Product Length:
| 0.74 inches | | Product Width:
| 0.75 inches | | Product Height:
| 0.11 inches | | Product Weight:
| 1.27 pounds | | Package Length:
| 7.4 inches | | Package Width:
| 7.2 inches | | Package Height:
| 1.2 inches | | Package Weight:
| 1.2 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 5 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
A lovely, diverse collection.Jan 06, 2007
By Midwest Book Review
Changing festivals and traditions of Christmas are celebrated in a warm survey of Christmas customs in AMERICAN CHRISTMASES: FIRSTHAND ACCOUNTS OF HOLIDAY HAPPENINGS FROM EARLY DAYS TO MODERN TIMES. Here are letters, memoirs, notes and reflections on the season, with a range of contributions moving from immigrant memories and experiences to passages from famous Americans from Daniel Boone who describes his Christmas spent as an Indian captive to a woman's Christmas with the Confederate Army during the Civil War. A lovely, diverse collection.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
A GLIMPSE INTO CHRISTMASES LONG PASTJan 27, 2006
By Tim Janson
Christmas is a bit of an odd holiday. As Americans we never long for a good old fashioned Easter or a good old fashioned Independence Day, we always pine for a good old fashioned Christmas in the belief that those were simpler, less stressful times. As writer Joanne Martell shows in her book "American Christmases" however, those days of Christmas past may not quite be the Currier & Ives picture perfect holidays that we may think they were. Martell has collected some 250 writings, culled from newspaper articles, memoirs, journals, letters, songs, etc...on the subject of Christmas dating from the earliest colonies in Plymouth right up through 2004. These writings give readers a unique and historical insight into the Christmas holiday that we've rarely had a chance to see.
The earliest Puritan colonists not only didn't celebrate the Christmas holiday, but it was virtually outlawed. The Massachusetts colony's first Governor William Bradford writes in 1621 about chastising a group of men who were engaged in playing sports and other frivolity and ignoring the work of the day. In 1659, the colony enacted an anti-Christmas law prohibiting any observance of the day such as drinking or feasting. Those violating the law were fined five shillings!
Eventually Puritan influence would wane and Christmas soon became celebrated throughout America. A recipe from 1797 is provided by the granddaughter of Martha Washington for the First Lady's famous "Great Cake". The book is filled with writings from important moments in history such as the men of the Lewis & Clark expedition writing in their journals about how they spent their Christmas in the Dakota Territory in 1804.
Some of the most poignant comments were written by slaves and former slaves such as Frederick Douglass. Douglass related how slaves were given time off between the Christmas and New Years and were allowed to celebrate, much to the amusement of their masters. Douglass notes that slaves who didn't take part in the gaiety were considered lazy for not having been able to save enough money throughout the year to buy enough whiskey to last for the week.
Lest we think that the commercialism of Christmas is a 20th century contrivance, an article from the Cincinnati Daily Enquirer from 1863 describes the shopping district filled with fur coats, silks, velvets, and "all variety of toys". One of the more humorous items was from the great early retailer F.W. Woolworth. Woolworth instructs his managers on preparing their stores for Christmas, especially reminding them to keep an eye on their cashiers to prevent stealing.
Martell includes excerpts from FDR's famous fireside chats of the war years and concludes the book with a letter home from a soldier serving in Iraq. It's a truly fascinating look at Christmas through the eyes of those who have experience the day for almost four hundred years. Touching and humorous, it's a fantastic book.
Reviewed by Tim Janson
WonderfulJan 18, 2012
By Mr. S
I bought a copy of this for myself and then I purchased one for a gift too for this past Christmas. This is the book that we should all sit around and read with our family at Christmas time. Wonderful Book!!
A great traditionApr 07, 2011
By EmilyCox
The one book that needs to be under your tree for your family at Christmas time. This is such a great compilation of stories and happenings of our great country! This is an amazing addition to anyones library and should definitely be on your family's book shelf!
Excellent compilation!Dec 28, 2005
By Betty A. Lloyd
"History & craft buff"
This book is excerpts from diaries, interviews, newspapers and other written sources. For anyone who loves history and stories to go along with it, this is a must for the holidays.
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