Of Christmases Long, Long Ago

by Brian Earl

• ISBN13: 9781493089659
• ISBN10: 149308965X
• eBook ISBN(s): 9781493089666
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 2025-09-09
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• More Book Details

Summary

Author Brian Earl is back with another look at the fascinating stories behind the most wonderful time of the year. Get ready to experience Christmas as you’ve never seen it before.

Surely, Christmas in the distant past must have been different from the one we know today. But how different? You’re about to find out. The Christmases of long long, ago were a merry mess of of odd superstitions, dangerous games, and overindulgences that lasted from Christmas Day until Epiphany twelve days later. The “Christmas season” of earlier times was not the period from Thanksgiving to Christmas Day that Americans experience today, but rather a no-holds-barred bacchanalia following the austerity period of Advent. From it evolved some of our present-day traditions, such as caroling, which had its roots in beggars performing for a meal. This book also answers such questions as: when was Christmas Day first celebrated on December 25? Which president celebrated the first White House Christmas? What are the origins of holly and ivy as Christmas décor? These questions and more are answered in this fascinating look back at Christmases past.

Author Biography

Brian Earl is the host of Christmas Past, the hit podcast that tells the fascinating stories behind Christmas traditions. Christmas Past has appeared on The History Channel and NPR, and in Time, People, Vanity Fair, The Saturday Evening Post, Newsweek, and elsewhere. Brian lives in San Jose, California, with his wife and son. This is his second book.
 
Dorothy Siemens is an illustrator and printmaker based in Portland, Oregon. Her work is an exploration of form and color, drawing on warm textured shapes, bold colors, and spirited (but casual) actors to weave atmospheric stories. Her work has appeared in publications such as Mother Jones, and The New York Times. She lives in Portland, Oregon.

Table of Contents

Foreword
Introduction

PART 1: SOCIAL INVERSION 
Chapter 1: Cross-Dressing 
Chapter 2: The Boy Bishop 
Chapter 3: The Feast of Fools
Chapter 4: The Bean King

PART 2: PARTIES AND FEASTS 
Chapter 5: The Lord of Misrule
Chapter 6: Masking 
Chapter 7: Dangerous Games 
Chapter 8: Gross Foods

PART 3: RAUCOUS REVELS 
Chapter 9: Callithumpian Parades
Chapter 10: A “Breech” of Christmas Spirit
Chapter 11: Holly Beating
Chapter 12: Blowing the Christmas Pudding 

PART 4: MONEY AND CHARITY
Chapter 13: Begging Visits
Chapter 14: Saving at the Pub
Chapter 15: Wren Day

PART 5: KEEPING HOUSE
Chapter 16: Undecking the Halls 
Chapter 17: First-Footing

PART 6: GIFT BRINGERS
Chapter 18: The Saint’s Surly Servants
Chapter 19: Baby Jesus, Gift Bringer
Chapter 20: Grandfather Frost 

PART 7: THE WILD SIDE
Chapter 21: Monsters
Chapter 22: The Mari Lwyd
Chapter 23: Skeklers
Chapter 24: The Broad 
Chapter 25: Ghost Stories

Acknowledgments
About the Author and Illustrator