An Anglican priest hands out brass knuckles to his congregation to guard his church from anti-Christmas fanatics. Fascists insist that the real Christmas is the Winter Solstice, while Communists stage atheist musicals outside of churches on Christmas Eve. Activists vandalize shops that set out holiday advertising in October and anti-consumerists sing parody carols in shopping malls. Is there such a thing as a War on Christmas? As Gerry Bowler demonstrates in this entertaining book, there is and always has been a War, or rather, several wars, on Christmas. Christmas, a global phenomenon adored by billions and a backbone of international trade, is the biggest single event on the planet. For Christians it is the second-most sacred date on the calendar. But whether one celebrates it or not, it engages billions of people who are caught up in its commercialism, music, sentiment, travel, and frenetic busyness. Since its controversial invention in the Roman Empire, Christmas has struggled with paganism, popular culture, fierce Christian opposition to its celebration, its abolition in Scotland and New England, and its neglect and near-death experience in the 1700s, only to be miraculously reinvented in the 1800s. The twentieth century saw it opposed by Bolsheviks, twisted by Hitler, and appropriated by every special interest group in the industrialized world. Lately it has been caught up in the cultural struggles between the left and the right in America, often misinterpreted as a war on Christmas, when the fight is really over whether religion in general will be allowed a public face. Gerry Bowler tells the fascinating story of the tug-of-war over Christmas, replete with cross-dressing priests, ranting Puritans, atheist witches, the League of the Militant Godless, aesthetic terrorists in Quebec and rap-singing Santa killers in Spain.

About the Author
Gerry Bowler is a Canadian historian whose research focus on the intersection of religion and popular culture, especially Christmas. He has taught at a number of universities in western Canada and spent 25 years with the University of Manitoba as a Professor of History.

Reviews
Bowler's research into the origins of popular Christmas icons and images is thorough and often surprising. * John Carey, The Times *
far-ranging and intriguing book * John Carey, The Times *
a lively and well-researched history of Christmas across the centuries * Timothy Larsen, Times Literary Supplement *
Historian Gerry Bowler's Christmas in the Crosshairs says no feast or festival has endured so many attacks on its existence * Daniel Bates, Daily Mail online *
Bowler offers a fascinating reflection upon the development of Christmas from earliest Christianity * Adrian Burdon, Methodist Recorder *
Gerry Bowler has a fascianting story to tell involving everyone from Puritans and anti-consumerists to Bolsheviks and atheists. * The Bookseller *
[A] fascinating historical exploration that spends as much time in our modern era with the rebels and radicals who have sought to co-opt Christmas for their own political, ideological and theological agendas as much as it does our ancient ancestors. * PopMatters *



Book Information
ISBN 9780190499006
Author Gerry Bowler
Format Hardback
Page Count 312
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 612g
Dimensions(mm) 160mm * 236mm * 31mm