Description
Book SynopsisThis book provides an original perspective on the West's most enduring social and cultural institution. The author covers all the vital themes contributing to the modern Christmas: its Anglo-German origins and the idea of the bourgeois Christmas expressing family virtues; the need for a touchstone with the past in an age of rapid expansion and thus the myth of Merrie England; and the revival of English music: in short, all the elements making up the modern Christmas.
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Acknowledgements Introduction The Englishness of Christmas John Bull and the Christmas Pantomime The Christmas Carol Revival and the English Musical Renaissance Christmas in the British Empire The BBC and the Broadcasting of the English Christmas Cinema and Representations of the English Christmas The English Christmas and the Growth of a Shopping Culture Epilogue: The English Christmas from 1953 to the Present Day Conclusion Appendix Notes Bibliography Index
