Christmas Past

This unforgettable collection of nostalgic images and entertaining lore celebrates the many ways of commemorating the birth of the Christ child. More than two hundred colorful illustrations, dating from the Victorian age through the early-twentieth century, portray Christmas traditions of years gone by. Nostalgic images of angels, St. Lucia, Yule logs, and wassailing are only some of the treasures selected from the more than thirteen hundred items in the author’s own collection of vintage Christmas books and ephemera. The beautiful artwork, which originally appeared in magazines, newspapers, advertisements, and greeting cards from across the United States and Europe, recalls the wholesome holidays of simpler times.

Accompanying these fantastic images is a text full of holiday history. Author and Christmas historian Barbara Hallman Kissinger explores the long-ago origins of the Christian world’s most celebrated holiday, from the Norse tradition of the Yule month to the story of the real St. Nicholas. She also includes the many fascinating variations of gift-giving, tree-decorating, and carol-singing traditions practiced by families across Europe.