Creating Christmas: How a Centuries Old European Celebration Became Something Uniquely American
By the mid-1600’s, the centuries old European celebration of Christmas was such a drunken, bawdy, public affair that the early Puritans arriving in America put an immediate ban on any Christmas celebrations in their Godly communities. New York newspapers in the early 1800’s illustrate that Christmas was far from a silent night and instead was a night of crime and terror. How then did the Christmas holiday become such a treasured tradition of gift giving, Santa Claus, family feasts, and domestic bliss? Join historian and archivist Mickey DiCamillo as he explains how the holiday was tamed, domesticated, and transformed into something uniquely American.
The Zoom link for this program will be sent several days prior to the event. This program is provided by the Sharon Ford Fund.
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