Christmas Curiosities: Odd, Dark, and Forgotten Christmas

by John Grossman

Oh, by gosh, by golly. It’s time for . . . rowdy bands of drunkards roaming the streets, lighting firecrackers, and firing off guns? Gangs of masked youths invading people’s houses, demanding food, drink, and money—and threatening to break the windows (or worse) unless they’re given what they want?

Welcome to Christmas, circa 1800. Yes, the season of light, joy, and gift-giving was once regarded as a time of darkness, danger, and dissipation—and celebrated with all-too-public displays of noisemaking, inebriation, and gluttonous overeating. (Well, maybe not everything has changed.) And though we tend to imagine Victorian-era Christmases as sentimental gatherings around the candlelit tree, blazing hearth, and festive punchbowl, the 19th-century evidence tells us quite otherwise.

Drawing from his extensive collection of antique postcards, greeting cards, advertising giveaways, and other ephemera, author John Grossman presents a picture of Christmas past that, frankly, looks a lot more like Halloween. Broomstick-riding witches and vampire bat–borne cupids deliver New Year’s greetings. Fur-clad fairies gather ’round a campfire to roast their Christmas dinner—a huge dead rat. And Saint Nicholas? He’s that skinny guy in the bishop robes who arrives with his dark companion, the Devil-like Krampus brandishing switches to punish the badly behaved.

With Christmas Curiosities, STC wishes you a very merry, very scary Christmas.

Genres: History, Christmas, Nonfiction, Holiday, Humor, Art

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Saturday's Child · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just for a bit of fun at Christmas time. I loved the illustrations on many of the early postcards that were sent during the festive season. It was also interesting to read about how many of the Christmas traditions came about. Krampus certainly gave me a laugh.

[Alex Sarll]

Essentially a collection of festive imagery which looks odd to modern eyes, whether that be deranged Krampuses abducting kids, or Santas engaging in off-brand behaviour from advertising cigars to wearing non-red outfits. I question some of the sweeping historical statements made in the introduction to each chapter - though it's very good on the cultural-artistic impact of the spread of cheaper and better printing processes. But as a miscellany of amusing old imagery and ephemera, it's great fun, and it's fascinating to watch the gradual convergence of different cultures' giftbringers and merrymakers, each with their own variety of representation, on the modern mainstay of the jolly old fat man in red and white. The final chapter is perhaps the strangest of all, collecting animal-themed Victorian cards. Not as in adorable donkeys and robins, though: think insect poker, dead birds, and Santa dancing with a tortoise in a hat.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Check out the strange, dark, and unusual stories, told through old-fashion holiday cards and artwork...
A unique take on Christmas...
It caters to a history lover's Christmas.

[Eris · Rating 5 out of 5]

The next person who complains about wanting a "traditional Christmas" is getting a copy of this book. Full of great snippets of history regarding the western celebration of Christmas, mostly in the last two to three hundred years. The bizarre imagery presented within is all historical, traditional Christmas paraphrenalia - from the beloved evil Krampus to the strange Victorian dead bird greeting cards. A great coffee table mini book to keep laying around during the holiday season, sure to inspire conversation in adults and frightened obedience in children.

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

A COLLECTION OF LITTLE-KNOWN THINGS ABOUT CHRISTMAS

Author John Grossman notes in this 2008 book that St. Nicholas “was to become the world’s most popular non-Biblical saint, with more than two thousand churches dedicated to him in France and Germany and four hundred in England. Artists have portrayed him more than any other saint except Mary. He is the patron saint of, among other things, banking, pawnbroking, scholarship, pirating, butchery, sailing, thievery, haberdashery, and of orphans and royalty---and New York City.” (Pg. 22-24)

He notes, “The dominance of the German lithographic industry and its imagery was such that speculation could be made that the Weihnachtsmann, not Santa, would have become the world standard—except that the whole thing was put to an end with World War I. Santa kept marching on.’ (Pg. 72)

He reports , "The earliest representation in America of St. Nicholas was the stern-looking bishop in the 1810 woodcut of the saint holding a birch rod in one hand… Then a remarkable thing happened in 1822… in America the switches disappeared altogether from Santa’s equipment... Clement Moore’s famous poem described Santa as
‘a right jolly old elf,’ who filled ALL the stockings with gifts… No judgment, no punishment, but rewards to all, never mind the children’s conduct during the year. Santa ever after in America was invariably portrayed as the benevolent spirit of Christmas.” (Pg. 102-103)

Noting that after Moore’s poem, it was still not known “from where and back to where” did Santa come? “Thomas Nast… finally came to grips with the problem. He decided that Santa Claus lived at the North Pole… The North Pole had also been the destination of several (unsuccessful) arctic expeditions… continuing into the 1850s, heightening the public’s fascination with the place. It appeared to Nast to be the ideal remote location for Santa to set up shop, equidistant to most places on the globe for his travels. Now everyone knew where Santa lived.” (Pg. 129-131)

He states, “Although nowhere in the Gospel Infancy Narratives of Matthew and Luke are animals described as being present at the birth of Jesus, people in the Middle Ages believed that to be an oversight and filled in a few blanks. Since then, a long list of animals have been associated with Christmas. Legends sprang up that a donkey carried Mary to Bethlehem; the donkey and the ox knelt before the child; the rooster crowed… the stork tore out its feathers to make a soft bed for the newborn… and a host of other animals are said to have been at the Nativity.” (Pg. 198)

This well-illustrated book will be of keen interest to those looking for the ‘unusual’ about Christmas.

[Meredith · Rating 4 out of 5]

The darker side of Christmas practices from circa 1800 to 1920 are presented through postcards, greeting cards, advertisements, and other holiday ephemera.

This would make an excellent Christmas coffee table book. It is a glorious collection of vintage Christmas cards and other print material, accompanied by historical narratives. Up until the Christmas season was sanitized in the mid-20th Century, the period surrounding the winter solstice was frightening and chaotic time. And this book captures the twilight of this more sinister side.

The book also contains some incredible Christmas kitsch, both amusing and puzzling. Some postcards are downright mystifying such as the one featuring bugs playing cards, captioned “Jolly Christmas to You,” (page 203) and one showing a dead bird, captioned “A Loving Christmas Greeting,” (page 215).

For you Krampus fans, there is a section dedicated to Krampus, which includes a postcard with a female Krampus (page 45). There is also a section chronicling St. Nicholas’s transformation into the American Santa Claus, followed by Santa Claus’s long evolution into the figure we know today.

Lesser known seasonal gift givers are not forgotten, and there is information on other Christmas gift bringers and helpers such as baby Jesus (Christkindl), Father Christmas, Père Noël, the Christmas Man (Weihnachtsmann), Christmas elves (Jultomten/Julenissen), and angels. Fairies, animals, anthropomorphic food, witches, bands of holiday musicians/carolers/wassailers/beggars, the Winter King, Father Time, Mother Christmas, La Befana, and African-American minstrels also make appearances.

There are citations for all artwork at the back of the book as well as a bibliography at the back.

[Sade · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of great illustrations, this is more of a (small) coffeetable book than anything particularly historical. Christmas history geeks (c'est moi) will likely already be aware of most of this. And if you're deep enough into it, you may find yourself screaming that the author *just can't figure out* why little dead birds appeared on Victorian Christmas cards. I don't think it's a spoiler to say - if you aren't one and don't know - that Hunting the Wren was a long-standing end of year tradition in the British Isles, which these cards clearly give the nod to. On the other hand, he does clarify that the appearance of a particular clown was a reference to a known figure at the time, so that was cool.

Anyway, worth a read if you like this sort of thing but not necessarily one for the must-have list.

[Britt · Rating 4 out of 5]

We all know about that Christmas devil called Krampus, but did you know about Joey the Christmas Clown, terrifying human-sized Santa nutcrackers, or people sending pictures of dead birds to wish you a Merry Christmas? This book will not only give you a brief history of Christmas, but also remind you why some aspects of the holiday in the 1800s and early 1900s went to the wayside. I found this book entertaining and liked all the old illustrations, even though I know a great deal about the topic already. The author could have really run with it and made the book more comedy than historical (because some of the pictures are hilarious), but I still enjoyed it for a seasonal read.

[Stella · Rating 4 out of 5]

The numerous illustrations from the author's collection of antique postcards, greeting cards, advertisements, etc. are fascinating and well worth a detailed analysis. They depict a unique look at the various manifestations of Christmas gift bringers and punishers, and their evolution over the years into our more recent American Santa. The history is interesting, if a little light, and the commentary under the illustrations sometimes borders on annoying speculation or cultural bias. For instance, goats pulling sleighs are pondered as an allegory for Satan, with no mention of the Scandinavian Yule Goat. Overall, an entertaining addition to Christmas history.

[Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great little coffee table book filled with fantastic art and fun little tidbits of information. The focus of the book is really on the metamorphosis of the Christmas giftbringer from St Nicholas to Santa Claus, and all the other iterations this character takes. It also focuses on the evolution of other characters associated with Christmas and their evolution as seen through greeting cards. I will say the subtitle of the book doesn't really fit in my opinion, but when you pick this up you know you're not getting an exhaustive examination of the darker side of Christmas.

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

it's just tons of fun! a great visual compendium of Christmas imagery and traditions in the 19th and early 20th centuries. short and humorous text introductions are accompanied by loads of rare postcards, posters, advertisements, etc. it's fascinating to see how little "Christmas consensus" there was prior to about 1920--so many odd traditions, Santa/Saint Nick variations, and bizarre and often dark images have fallen by the wayside. I dug this book.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting look at holiday traditions through the images used in advertising and on postcards in the 1800s and early 19oos. It was especially interesting to learn about all the mythological figures who helped shape the modern-day image of Santa Claus, including St. Nicholas, Christkindl, angels, elves, Père Noël, Wiehnachtsmann, and Krampus.

[Terri · Rating 4 out of 5]

The pictures of the historic postcards published in this book are worth you picking up this entertaining and fun holiday book. I laughed out loud seeing the cultural evolution of Santa Claus through time and within different countries.

[BoondocksGlam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting information about historical Christmas customs.....loved the images!

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book in an op shop and I’m so glad I did! I absolutely love the odd and dark Victorian Christmas imagery and it has good snippets of information about the history of Christmas too

[Gig Wailgum · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this about 4 or 5 years ago. Just a wonderfully odd collection of 19th century Christmas Images. The holiday as you might not know it.

[Becky Simmons · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful pictures of old Christmas items. Fun look at the season.

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I might have liked this better, but I received a damaged copy from a third-party seller on Amazon.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

A dead bird on a Victorian card wishing the recipient a Merry Xmas. I love it when something is so strange to modern eyes that no amount of research can explain it.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting look at the cultural history of Christmas in America and Europe through the artwork of Victorian era postcards. The symbolism and stories behind popular images was fascinating as was the history of forgotten images. The Victorian popularity of many of the darker images is perplexing.

[Bev · Rating 3 out of 5]

Using antique postcards, greeting cards and advertising giveaways, John Grossman illustrates and explains many Christmas traditions which surround us. He also shows the evolution of our current images of Santa Claus and other seasonal cliches and tales, both American and European. Very interesting, and more than a little strange at times.

[Theresa F. · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book wasn't quite as interesting as I thought it would be from reading the dust jacket. But then, it didn't tell me much that I didn't already know from reading other sources about the history and development of Christmas traditions.
Did I like it? It was okay.
Would I reread it? Probably not.
Would I recommend it? Some of the illustrations are worth a look, in my opinion.

[Vanessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author's collection of old-fashioned Christmas imagery and the historical and cultural background behind it is both fascinating and entertaining. It's one of those books I shared with others as I was reading it.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It's definitely not for young children, with all the weird old stages Santa went through, and the downright darkness of the Dutch Santa's "helper". But the illustrations were delightful, the facts amusing, and all of it well researched and written.

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting images: various Santas, witches, devils, dead birds and so much more. :-)

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a cute little book. A nice balance of history, with art reproductions of some truly head-scratching holiday imagery. A great way to pass an afternoon.

[Chrissy DeVore · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the unusual and absurd AND Christmas. This was perfect. I want more!

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is damn funny. learn about the origins of santa and his story through these funny postcards. turns out I even have one of these in my coll2. no Krampus though.

[Erinn Leach · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was full of fantastical photos and scans of old Christmas cards. The stories attached were very interesting!