Analysis of the history of alcohol use and the evolution of the modern day celebration of Christmas demonstrates two considerations in context of the early history of our nation: Alcohol had a significant impact in how Christmas came to be in America.
Butler, PA December, 25 1987: I had spent many Christmas mornings away from my extended family in the past few years. I was eight and we had recently traveled from our home in Roy, Utah to my grandmother’s house in Butler. Attending this year’s event was my mother’s two sisters, her cousins, and all of her aunts and uncles. My Dad’s side of the family congregated at their house across town with all of his aunts and uncles in attendance. The two sides of the family rarely spent the holidays together, I’m sure it was an Irish- Italian thing (my mom being Italian and my dad was obviously Irish). Even at this early age I knew the chain of events that were to follow upon the waking of all of the holiday residents within the house. My dad would get his first cup of coffee, followed by his second, but with a little “stiffener” in it, my Grandmother would have wine, and everyone else would grab what they could before the present opening melee took place. After we opened presents we would eat a light or late breakfast/early lunch and head out to visit with the other half of the family. There my grandfather and dad would partake of a few more mixed drinks and we would open more presents (I believe a clear pattern has developed here). The remainder of the day would be a shuffle back to my Mom’s side of the family and a huge Christmas dinner. This was the norm through most of my childhood, or at least as far back as I can remember. We did manage to attend the midnight mass, as we were practicing Catholics at the time, but this would change soon. Alcohol use and distance would see to that.
Early American families living in what would later become the original 13 colonies celebrated Christmas somewhat different than how we do today. To understand this evolution from a series of wild, uninhibited, alcohol fueled parties to a somewhat more conservative family oriented and economically driven holiday we must look at the origins of Christmas in America as well as the history of its peoples’ use of alcohol. As we begin to examine how this popular Christian based holiday has changed, I feel it is important that the theme of alcohol use during the celebration must be mentioned as somewhat of a catalyst for the different phases this holiday endured. I believe the two are very tightly connected to each other. I will argue that our modern Christmas would not be the holiday we know today without alcohol. I could go one step further and say America wouldn’t be the country it is today without alcohol. A debate for another day, and the question that should really get your mental gears turning would be: “Would Christmas and/or our country have been better without it?”
Christmas was associated with the birth of Christ, as a compromise the Roman Catholic Church made many centuries before the Puritan exodus from England.[1] December 25 represented a time in society that naturally resulted in celebration and misrule within the community. Food was aplenty, drink was all around, and there wasn’t much else to do with the fields frozen over with the winter weather. The hope was that people could make the leap to celebrate both the harvest and the birth of Christ. This would appear to be sound analysis with one issue however; people were not going to give up their wild ways without a fight. With there only being one acceptable time of the year to act out and do less than desirable acts towards your fellow man, it was somewhat foolhardy to think that slapping the title of “Birth of Christ” on a day would change people’s ways overnight.
The Puritans saw this and recognized the behaviors associated with the holiday as sinful, and the work of the devil.[1] As a result of this the Puritans made efforts to stop Christmas initially. They felt this was the best way to prevent this type of unruly behavior from happening. They also felt that the consumption of alcohol had direct ties with why the holiday allowed for people to submit to such actions. There were attempts in England to force legislation to stop Christmas all together; they failed due to the Puritans not having a majority vote in the local governments. The Puritans made their journey from England to America, forcing legal action to stop the holiday; and alcohol consumption became easier, as they founded not only the settlements, but concurrently the governments as well.
Time, it would seem, conquers all, and in the case of alcohol and Christmas celebrations this was the case. During the late 1700’s and early 1800 Christmas celebrations had begun to be common place in the new world. This resulted from people outside the Puritan culture immigrating to America and bringing with them their own traditions and cultures. Society was now faced with a tough decision. With no feasible way to completely remove Christmas from society, what could be done to curb the outrageous behavior and activities during the season from getting out of hand? In the end it was people like Cotton Mather and other popular preachers that discovered the best way to stop the madness; they had to change public perception.[2] The church and aristocrats of society found that they should encourage the celebration of Christmas, but try to do what the church had originally wanted to do, and emphasize the meaning of the holiday. This form of temperance would foreshadow the temperance movements of the 1840’s to curb the overuse of alcohol consumption.[3]
In the early 19th century a social trend had begun within both the US and England. This is known as the Temperance Movement. Up to this point alcohol consumption was, by and large, a major part of American society. The manufacturing of various forms of alcohol had increased through both demand and production capacity.[4] As a result of the increased use of alcohol and its relative ease of acquisition to the general public, drunkenness and all the less desirable behaviors associated with it were trending upwards. The connection between this and the growth of the celebration of Christmas were directly connected. Christmas celebrations at this point in history often grew out of control. House to house wassailing and general misrule were very popular in American cities. Alcohol only served to fuel these celebrations. The evolution of our modern Christmas at this time gives us a somewhat “micro” view of the larger problem of alcohol abuse in the US.
As early as the late 18th century, the church had begun to make concessions in both the celebration of Christmas and in their views on the consumption of alcohol. James Barnett in his essay “The American Christmas" discusses how the famous 18th century pastor, Cotton Mather, began to realize his congregation was split on their views on both Christmas and alcohol. Almost his entire congregation drank some form of spirits; this was common at the time.[5] Rorabaugh argues this point in his book The Alcoholic Republic.[6] As a result, Mather knew he had to find a way to make the situation work. He began to speak of the importance of Christmas. He believed it was good for people to celebrate the birth of Christ, regardless of the accuracy of the date. To try and stop the less desirable parts of the celebration, he spoke of the need for restraint and moderation. He chastised certain behaviors and encouraged others.
Along with support of the church, there began a slow but powerful move for Christmas to become a more family oriented holiday. This started with German and other immigrants having their traditions become common place in both the celebration of Christmas and the lore associated with it (both the Christmas tree and Santa Claus).[7] These changes coincided with the Temperance Movement and worked to reinforce what the church was selling to its congregations about the Christmas holiday. Turning Christmas into a family oriented event, more private in nature, and more focused on the why vs. the how helped diminish the need to over-indulge during the holiday season. Despite these efforts, drinking too much and acting foolish during Christmas would never truly go away.
Jeffersonville, IN December, 25 1993: Much had changed in my family’s life since the late 80’s. My parents had divorced since my dad could no longer control his alcoholism, my mother remarried and we had moved a few times because of my step-dad’s job in the Army. We had recently moved to Indiana the summer before and I was in my first year of high school. I hadn’t made many friends yet, was slightly active in Boy Scouts (I had earned my Eagle before our last move) and we had no family to speak of in the immediate area. Christmas traditions still remained slightly the same. I had a new half-sister who was four and so we played the “wake up for Santa” game still. My mother tried to maintain the same traditions I grew up with in our new house. She made us take turns opening presents and fixed a huge dinner for the five of us. Despite all of this things just didn’t feel the same. My mom and step-dad didn’t drink, or at least not in front of us. I always thought she felt guilty over what we went through with my dad as he really struggled with his disease. I’m not saying that we didn’t have a great time; it just felt small. It was too quiet, I had actually grown to enjoy the mass of people I didn’t really know crowding a small house all day. I missed the smells, the conversations, the traditions. My step-dad passed away the following summer, and after that Christmas really just died for me. My mother tried, but without the whole family the old traditions we tried to hold on to just kind of faded away.
With temperance societies gaining popularity in the mid 19th century, the move to diminish the use of alcohol from Christmas was gaining traction. As I stated before, the consumption of alcohol never truly left the American families’ traditional holiday celebration. The need to dress as one’s spouse and go from house to house and demand free food and lodging, while committing what we might call adultery, began to vanish from popularity at this time.[1] Christmas now began to take a different form with Americans. We had the tree, we had the family getting together, and now we had something new that would be a constant thorn in the church’s side all the way to the 21st century: Santa and his big bag of gifts. Yes, now we had something to replace the need to drink throughout the Christmas season as they did in the early 18th century and before: buying, receiving, and giving gifts.
The process of gift giving and the economics behind it deserve mention in this discussion. If nothing else it provides a new motivation, and for some a distraction, from the need to consume alcohol during Christmas. Are the two linked together as having effects on the evolution of the American Christmas? Maybe not directly, but they definitely had an effect. As temperance took hold, and the newer traditions of Christmas took hold, society’s attitudes and feelings towards alcohol naturally changed. As I stated before, and Rorabaugh supports, alcohol never completely left our mainstream society.[2] The church knew this as they reformed how we celebrated Christmas. They were, however, successful for the most part in diminishing its overuse and re-focusing how people viewed and celebrated Christmas.
The overall changes during this time in history towards the use of alcohol during the Christmas season can still be seen today. Some members of society still struggle from the demons associated with alcoholism. Unfortunately for some, Christmas only exacerbates this problem. Kate Mulvey goes in-depth with her own personal battles with this very problem in her article "The Sobering Truth about Drinking at Christmas."[3] She explains that she had always had problems with controlling her drinking habits. Christmas for her always made it harder to show moderation; as a result she ruined several Christmas celebrations with her disease. I felt this article gave great insight into what the church and society may have been dealing with in the 19th century as the push to temper alcohol use at Christmas came to a head.
Jeffersonville, IN December, 25 2013: So much had changed in my life since the 90’s, as is often the case. I chose not to include the 2000’s as I was often deployed in the military during those years and that would not support this paper very well. Instead I now have a wife and a son of my own. As with any marriage family traditions have collided, mixed, and found common ground. I’ve done my best to hold on to the traditional Christmas I enjoyed as a kid, as my wife has done as well. There is a hope that one day we get it right, if there is a way to even do that. Both my wife and I drink on occasion. In my 20’s it had been a bit more excessive, but when you’re a paratrooper stationed in Italy and Korea, what else is there to do, right? At this point in our life it is more of a social event for us. Neither of us feels totally compelled to drink during Christmas. For my wife it was never something common place to do; they are very traditional people. As you have read, alcohol use in my family was a strong part of our family holiday tradition. It is interesting to see that two completely different forms of celebrating the same holidays existed, and in this case, formed a whole new tradition. We wake up with my son, eat a traditional Christmas breakfast my wife’s family invented (fruit and sherbet), open presents, and go to their church. The rest of the day we will visit my mom, who still lives in the area, then eat dinner at one of the houses and call it a day. I would not go so far as to say we have not come full circle with my family, nor would I say we completely changed our ways. I would safely say the O’Brien family Christmas has evolved. I don’t feel it will ever be a set tradition, I don’t feel alcohol shaped it, yet it can still be a part of how we celebrate it; it’s just what it is for now and we seem ok with that.
Up to this point I have discussed the mostly negative issues that arose from the connection between alcohol and Christmas. It would be wrong not to discuss some of the more positive effects that alcohol has had on Christmas. Though temperance societies gained significant traction in the 1840’s, so too did drinking clubs. These clubs grew in popularity due to the fact that men from all levels of society could gather and be “equals” when drinking together.[4] This too applies to families “enjoying” some form of alcohol during the Yule tide season.
As I mentioned in my first family vignette, drinking was just part of what my family did at Christmas. There is no doubt that alcohol (as I found out in my twenties while stationed in Italy) can loosen even the tightest and most introverted of personalities. It serves as the lubricant to discussion, more to the point it loosens everyone up and for the most part makes the party more enjoyable. Of course, with anything, when not consumed in moderation alcohol can easily cause more trouble than it’s worth. Shelly White breaks this down quite well in her news column published a few years ago.[5] Despite the negative outcome there is something to be said about “of-age” members of families enjoying eggnog or wine during the Christmas celebration together. I feel this was what Cotton Mather, and those that followed him, were trying to say to the people: “Christmas is good, too much alcohol is bad, enjoy both, but remember why and act properly when you do”
It has been said that time cures all wounds. While I would not consider the “battle for Christmas” or our country’s relationship with alcohol a wound per say, I would consider both essential growing pains that have helped shape who we are. Christmas, much like alcohol, seems to have grown better over time. I say better, in that it has grown more accepted, and the reason behind its celebration is well known. It would be incorrect to say that Christmas is not without its form of controversy, of misunderstanding today, but its growth as a national holiday has direct ties with our consumption of alcohol.
The two are directly connected with each other. They have been since before Christmas was even marked by the church to be the official holiday that it is. Drinking fine wines, “hard” eggnog and cider, and various other spirits is just something we associate with celebrating Christmas. As I have pointed out there are just as many negative issues with this as there are positive ones. Perhaps the real battle for Christmas was not to have it a recognized and wildly celebrated holiday (as it seems to have always been), but rather to find a way to have our Christmas “cake” and eat it too. The church and leaders of our society in the late 18th century to the middle 19th century sought to have people understand the true meaning of Christmas. To accomplish this tradition, several different cultures were brought together to create the holiday we recognize today.
Today most Americans celebrate Christmas; all of us do it a little differently. For some it’s all about the gifts, others it’s about seeing family we rarely get to see, and still others it’s an opportunity to renew their faith and reconnect them with their church. Still for others Christmas is also a time of personal conflict for many. It provides the perfect outlet to consume alcohol, a demon many wrestle with daily, but often succumb to this time of the year for one reason or another. I have presented several facts that I would hope support that alcohol in fact did impact Christmas and its evolution in our country. It can be understood that there are specific events that alcohol has always been considered a part of, and this holiday is one of the biggest. The one thing, however, I could not explain for the reader, is the Christmas sweater……. We may never understand its origins!
[1] Nissenbaum, The Battle for Christmas, Pg 34-38
[2] Rorabaugh, Pg 219-220
[3] Mulvey, Kate, "The Sobering Truth about Drinking at Christmas." Mail Online. Accessed November 3, 2014.
[4] Rorabaugh, Pg 32
[5]White, Shelly, "Stop the Madness! Don't Let Family Fights Ruin The Season." The Huffington Post. Accessed November 3, 2014
[1] Nissenbaum, Stephen. The Battle for Christmas. New York: Vintage Books, 1997. Pg 11-16
[2] Nissenbaum, Stephen. "Christmas in Early New England^ 1620-1820: Puritanism, Popular Culture, and the Printed Word." American Andquarian Society Online Essay (1996): 79-83.
[3] Rorabaugh, W. J. The Alcoholic Republic, an American Tradition. New York: Oxford University Press, 1981. Pg 191-195
[4] Rorabaugh, 126-129
[5]Barnett, James. The American Christmas: A Study in National Culture. No 5 ed. Vol. 57. 1955. 1107.
[6] Rorabaugh, 30-31
[7] Nissenbaum, The Battle for Christmas, Pg 186-189
[1] Nissenbaum, Stephen. "Christmas in Early New England^ 1620-1820: Puritanism, Popular Culture, and the Printed Word." American Andquarian Society Online Essay (1996): 79-83.
Butler, PA December, 25 1987: I had spent many Christmas mornings away from my extended family in the past few years. I was eight and we had recently traveled from our home in Roy, Utah to my grandmother’s house in Butler. Attending this year’s event was my mother’s two sisters, her cousins, and all of her aunts and uncles. My Dad’s side of the family congregated at their house across town with all of his aunts and uncles in attendance. The two sides of the family rarely spent the holidays together, I’m sure it was an Irish- Italian thing (my mom being Italian and my dad was obviously Irish). Even at this early age I knew the chain of events that were to follow upon the waking of all of the holiday residents within the house. My dad would get his first cup of coffee, followed by his second, but with a little “stiffener” in it, my Grandmother would have wine, and everyone else would grab what they could before the present opening melee took place. After we opened presents we would eat a light or late breakfast/early lunch and head out to visit with the other half of the family. There my grandfather and dad would partake of a few more mixed drinks and we would open more presents (I believe a clear pattern has developed here). The remainder of the day would be a shuffle back to my Mom’s side of the family and a huge Christmas dinner. This was the norm through most of my childhood, or at least as far back as I can remember. We did manage to attend the midnight mass, as we were practicing Catholics at the time, but this would change soon. Alcohol use and distance would see to that.
Early American families living in what would later become the original 13 colonies celebrated Christmas somewhat different than how we do today. To understand this evolution from a series of wild, uninhibited, alcohol fueled parties to a somewhat more conservative family oriented and economically driven holiday we must look at the origins of Christmas in America as well as the history of its peoples’ use of alcohol. As we begin to examine how this popular Christian based holiday has changed, I feel it is important that the theme of alcohol use during the celebration must be mentioned as somewhat of a catalyst for the different phases this holiday endured. I believe the two are very tightly connected to each other. I will argue that our modern Christmas would not be the holiday we know today without alcohol. I could go one step further and say America wouldn’t be the country it is today without alcohol. A debate for another day, and the question that should really get your mental gears turning would be: “Would Christmas and/or our country have been better without it?”
Christmas was associated with the birth of Christ, as a compromise the Roman Catholic Church made many centuries before the Puritan exodus from England.[1] December 25 represented a time in society that naturally resulted in celebration and misrule within the community. Food was aplenty, drink was all around, and there wasn’t much else to do with the fields frozen over with the winter weather. The hope was that people could make the leap to celebrate both the harvest and the birth of Christ. This would appear to be sound analysis with one issue however; people were not going to give up their wild ways without a fight. With there only being one acceptable time of the year to act out and do less than desirable acts towards your fellow man, it was somewhat foolhardy to think that slapping the title of “Birth of Christ” on a day would change people’s ways overnight.
The Puritans saw this and recognized the behaviors associated with the holiday as sinful, and the work of the devil.[1] As a result of this the Puritans made efforts to stop Christmas initially. They felt this was the best way to prevent this type of unruly behavior from happening. They also felt that the consumption of alcohol had direct ties with why the holiday allowed for people to submit to such actions. There were attempts in England to force legislation to stop Christmas all together; they failed due to the Puritans not having a majority vote in the local governments. The Puritans made their journey from England to America, forcing legal action to stop the holiday; and alcohol consumption became easier, as they founded not only the settlements, but concurrently the governments as well.
Time, it would seem, conquers all, and in the case of alcohol and Christmas celebrations this was the case. During the late 1700’s and early 1800 Christmas celebrations had begun to be common place in the new world. This resulted from people outside the Puritan culture immigrating to America and bringing with them their own traditions and cultures. Society was now faced with a tough decision. With no feasible way to completely remove Christmas from society, what could be done to curb the outrageous behavior and activities during the season from getting out of hand? In the end it was people like Cotton Mather and other popular preachers that discovered the best way to stop the madness; they had to change public perception.[2] The church and aristocrats of society found that they should encourage the celebration of Christmas, but try to do what the church had originally wanted to do, and emphasize the meaning of the holiday. This form of temperance would foreshadow the temperance movements of the 1840’s to curb the overuse of alcohol consumption.[3]
In the early 19th century a social trend had begun within both the US and England. This is known as the Temperance Movement. Up to this point alcohol consumption was, by and large, a major part of American society. The manufacturing of various forms of alcohol had increased through both demand and production capacity.[4] As a result of the increased use of alcohol and its relative ease of acquisition to the general public, drunkenness and all the less desirable behaviors associated with it were trending upwards. The connection between this and the growth of the celebration of Christmas were directly connected. Christmas celebrations at this point in history often grew out of control. House to house wassailing and general misrule were very popular in American cities. Alcohol only served to fuel these celebrations. The evolution of our modern Christmas at this time gives us a somewhat “micro” view of the larger problem of alcohol abuse in the US.
As early as the late 18th century, the church had begun to make concessions in both the celebration of Christmas and in their views on the consumption of alcohol. James Barnett in his essay “The American Christmas" discusses how the famous 18th century pastor, Cotton Mather, began to realize his congregation was split on their views on both Christmas and alcohol. Almost his entire congregation drank some form of spirits; this was common at the time.[5] Rorabaugh argues this point in his book The Alcoholic Republic.[6] As a result, Mather knew he had to find a way to make the situation work. He began to speak of the importance of Christmas. He believed it was good for people to celebrate the birth of Christ, regardless of the accuracy of the date. To try and stop the less desirable parts of the celebration, he spoke of the need for restraint and moderation. He chastised certain behaviors and encouraged others.
Along with support of the church, there began a slow but powerful move for Christmas to become a more family oriented holiday. This started with German and other immigrants having their traditions become common place in both the celebration of Christmas and the lore associated with it (both the Christmas tree and Santa Claus).[7] These changes coincided with the Temperance Movement and worked to reinforce what the church was selling to its congregations about the Christmas holiday. Turning Christmas into a family oriented event, more private in nature, and more focused on the why vs. the how helped diminish the need to over-indulge during the holiday season. Despite these efforts, drinking too much and acting foolish during Christmas would never truly go away.
Jeffersonville, IN December, 25 1993: Much had changed in my family’s life since the late 80’s. My parents had divorced since my dad could no longer control his alcoholism, my mother remarried and we had moved a few times because of my step-dad’s job in the Army. We had recently moved to Indiana the summer before and I was in my first year of high school. I hadn’t made many friends yet, was slightly active in Boy Scouts (I had earned my Eagle before our last move) and we had no family to speak of in the immediate area. Christmas traditions still remained slightly the same. I had a new half-sister who was four and so we played the “wake up for Santa” game still. My mother tried to maintain the same traditions I grew up with in our new house. She made us take turns opening presents and fixed a huge dinner for the five of us. Despite all of this things just didn’t feel the same. My mom and step-dad didn’t drink, or at least not in front of us. I always thought she felt guilty over what we went through with my dad as he really struggled with his disease. I’m not saying that we didn’t have a great time; it just felt small. It was too quiet, I had actually grown to enjoy the mass of people I didn’t really know crowding a small house all day. I missed the smells, the conversations, the traditions. My step-dad passed away the following summer, and after that Christmas really just died for me. My mother tried, but without the whole family the old traditions we tried to hold on to just kind of faded away.
With temperance societies gaining popularity in the mid 19th century, the move to diminish the use of alcohol from Christmas was gaining traction. As I stated before, the consumption of alcohol never truly left the American families’ traditional holiday celebration. The need to dress as one’s spouse and go from house to house and demand free food and lodging, while committing what we might call adultery, began to vanish from popularity at this time.[1] Christmas now began to take a different form with Americans. We had the tree, we had the family getting together, and now we had something new that would be a constant thorn in the church’s side all the way to the 21st century: Santa and his big bag of gifts. Yes, now we had something to replace the need to drink throughout the Christmas season as they did in the early 18th century and before: buying, receiving, and giving gifts.
The process of gift giving and the economics behind it deserve mention in this discussion. If nothing else it provides a new motivation, and for some a distraction, from the need to consume alcohol during Christmas. Are the two linked together as having effects on the evolution of the American Christmas? Maybe not directly, but they definitely had an effect. As temperance took hold, and the newer traditions of Christmas took hold, society’s attitudes and feelings towards alcohol naturally changed. As I stated before, and Rorabaugh supports, alcohol never completely left our mainstream society.[2] The church knew this as they reformed how we celebrated Christmas. They were, however, successful for the most part in diminishing its overuse and re-focusing how people viewed and celebrated Christmas.
The overall changes during this time in history towards the use of alcohol during the Christmas season can still be seen today. Some members of society still struggle from the demons associated with alcoholism. Unfortunately for some, Christmas only exacerbates this problem. Kate Mulvey goes in-depth with her own personal battles with this very problem in her article "The Sobering Truth about Drinking at Christmas."[3] She explains that she had always had problems with controlling her drinking habits. Christmas for her always made it harder to show moderation; as a result she ruined several Christmas celebrations with her disease. I felt this article gave great insight into what the church and society may have been dealing with in the 19th century as the push to temper alcohol use at Christmas came to a head.
Jeffersonville, IN December, 25 2013: So much had changed in my life since the 90’s, as is often the case. I chose not to include the 2000’s as I was often deployed in the military during those years and that would not support this paper very well. Instead I now have a wife and a son of my own. As with any marriage family traditions have collided, mixed, and found common ground. I’ve done my best to hold on to the traditional Christmas I enjoyed as a kid, as my wife has done as well. There is a hope that one day we get it right, if there is a way to even do that. Both my wife and I drink on occasion. In my 20’s it had been a bit more excessive, but when you’re a paratrooper stationed in Italy and Korea, what else is there to do, right? At this point in our life it is more of a social event for us. Neither of us feels totally compelled to drink during Christmas. For my wife it was never something common place to do; they are very traditional people. As you have read, alcohol use in my family was a strong part of our family holiday tradition. It is interesting to see that two completely different forms of celebrating the same holidays existed, and in this case, formed a whole new tradition. We wake up with my son, eat a traditional Christmas breakfast my wife’s family invented (fruit and sherbet), open presents, and go to their church. The rest of the day we will visit my mom, who still lives in the area, then eat dinner at one of the houses and call it a day. I would not go so far as to say we have not come full circle with my family, nor would I say we completely changed our ways. I would safely say the O’Brien family Christmas has evolved. I don’t feel it will ever be a set tradition, I don’t feel alcohol shaped it, yet it can still be a part of how we celebrate it; it’s just what it is for now and we seem ok with that.
Up to this point I have discussed the mostly negative issues that arose from the connection between alcohol and Christmas. It would be wrong not to discuss some of the more positive effects that alcohol has had on Christmas. Though temperance societies gained significant traction in the 1840’s, so too did drinking clubs. These clubs grew in popularity due to the fact that men from all levels of society could gather and be “equals” when drinking together.[4] This too applies to families “enjoying” some form of alcohol during the Yule tide season.
As I mentioned in my first family vignette, drinking was just part of what my family did at Christmas. There is no doubt that alcohol (as I found out in my twenties while stationed in Italy) can loosen even the tightest and most introverted of personalities. It serves as the lubricant to discussion, more to the point it loosens everyone up and for the most part makes the party more enjoyable. Of course, with anything, when not consumed in moderation alcohol can easily cause more trouble than it’s worth. Shelly White breaks this down quite well in her news column published a few years ago.[5] Despite the negative outcome there is something to be said about “of-age” members of families enjoying eggnog or wine during the Christmas celebration together. I feel this was what Cotton Mather, and those that followed him, were trying to say to the people: “Christmas is good, too much alcohol is bad, enjoy both, but remember why and act properly when you do”
It has been said that time cures all wounds. While I would not consider the “battle for Christmas” or our country’s relationship with alcohol a wound per say, I would consider both essential growing pains that have helped shape who we are. Christmas, much like alcohol, seems to have grown better over time. I say better, in that it has grown more accepted, and the reason behind its celebration is well known. It would be incorrect to say that Christmas is not without its form of controversy, of misunderstanding today, but its growth as a national holiday has direct ties with our consumption of alcohol.
The two are directly connected with each other. They have been since before Christmas was even marked by the church to be the official holiday that it is. Drinking fine wines, “hard” eggnog and cider, and various other spirits is just something we associate with celebrating Christmas. As I have pointed out there are just as many negative issues with this as there are positive ones. Perhaps the real battle for Christmas was not to have it a recognized and wildly celebrated holiday (as it seems to have always been), but rather to find a way to have our Christmas “cake” and eat it too. The church and leaders of our society in the late 18th century to the middle 19th century sought to have people understand the true meaning of Christmas. To accomplish this tradition, several different cultures were brought together to create the holiday we recognize today.
Today most Americans celebrate Christmas; all of us do it a little differently. For some it’s all about the gifts, others it’s about seeing family we rarely get to see, and still others it’s an opportunity to renew their faith and reconnect them with their church. Still for others Christmas is also a time of personal conflict for many. It provides the perfect outlet to consume alcohol, a demon many wrestle with daily, but often succumb to this time of the year for one reason or another. I have presented several facts that I would hope support that alcohol in fact did impact Christmas and its evolution in our country. It can be understood that there are specific events that alcohol has always been considered a part of, and this holiday is one of the biggest. The one thing, however, I could not explain for the reader, is the Christmas sweater……. We may never understand its origins!
[1] Nissenbaum, The Battle for Christmas, Pg 34-38
[2] Rorabaugh, Pg 219-220
[3] Mulvey, Kate, "The Sobering Truth about Drinking at Christmas." Mail Online. Accessed November 3, 2014.
[4] Rorabaugh, Pg 32
[5]White, Shelly, "Stop the Madness! Don't Let Family Fights Ruin The Season." The Huffington Post. Accessed November 3, 2014
[1] Nissenbaum, Stephen. The Battle for Christmas. New York: Vintage Books, 1997. Pg 11-16
[2] Nissenbaum, Stephen. "Christmas in Early New England^ 1620-1820: Puritanism, Popular Culture, and the Printed Word." American Andquarian Society Online Essay (1996): 79-83.
[3] Rorabaugh, W. J. The Alcoholic Republic, an American Tradition. New York: Oxford University Press, 1981. Pg 191-195
[4] Rorabaugh, 126-129
[5]Barnett, James. The American Christmas: A Study in National Culture. No 5 ed. Vol. 57. 1955. 1107.
[6] Rorabaugh, 30-31
[7] Nissenbaum, The Battle for Christmas, Pg 186-189
[1] Nissenbaum, Stephen. "Christmas in Early New England^ 1620-1820: Puritanism, Popular Culture, and the Printed Word." American Andquarian Society Online Essay (1996): 79-83.