Free delivery on all orders above $30
Get 10% off all year round! Join Thryft Club
Get 10% off all year round and $10 off your next order! Join Thryft Club

Your cart

Your cart is empty

Check out these collections!

Bestselling Fiction
Bestselling Nonfiction
Bestselling Books for Children
Vintage and Rare Books
Vinyl Records
Women's Clothing
Men's Clothing

Stay in touch and win free books

Keep up with our latest sales and events, and receive
recommendations direct to your inbox. We'll only send the good stuff, promise!

By completing this form, you are signing up to receive our emails and can unsubscribe at any time

Just Arrived

Christmas: A Biography

by Judith Flanders
$9.90
Compare to estimated retail price: S$29.90  

The item you've got your eye on is secondhand. You probably already know that, but just in case!

The estimated retail price shown next to any listed item represents the first-hand prices we've seen elsewhere, or the estimated original retail price of a comparable item of the same quality, construction and material offered elsewhere in new condition.

Christmas: A Biography
Christmas: A Biography

Seasonal traditions explored with historical depth.

If you're curious about how Christmas became the festive behemoth it is today, Judith Flanders' book is a perfect read. It delicates a fine balance between being informative and engaging, unraveling the history and evolution of Christmas traditions. It's like time traveling through winters past to understand our present celebrations.

Note: While we do our best to ensure the accuracy of cover images, ISBNs may at times be reused for different editions of the same title which may hence appear as a different cover.
Just Arrived

Christmas: A Biography

by Judith Flanders
$9.90
Compare to estimated retail price: S$29.90  

The item you've got your eye on is secondhand. You probably already know that, but just in case!

The estimated retail price shown next to any listed item represents the first-hand prices we've seen elsewhere, or the estimated original retail price of a comparable item of the same quality, construction and material offered elsewhere in new condition.

Condition guide

Book Condition Guide

Books in Like New Condition

This book may contain very minor cosmetic defects, but it is in pristine condition. There should be no yellowing, no foxing, no water damage, and no annotations of any kind on the cover and the pages. For paperbacks, there should not be any crease marks on the spine. This book is good as new — lucky you!

*Books may be missing bundle media (e.g. CD, e-book code), if included.

Books in Very Good Condition

This book has been used, but it is still in a clean condition. There should be no foxing or annotations of any kind on the inner pages, but a sparse amount may be present on the cover, title pages, or outside edges of the book. There should be no water damage of any kind. For paperbacks, there may be light crease marks on the spine.

*Books may be missing bundle media (e.g. CD, e-book code), if included.

Books in Good Condition

We do our best to ensure the quality of our books, but there is no escaping the wear and tear that comes with time. Slight foxing and some annotations may be present on the pages and the cover. There should be no water damage of any kind. For paperbacks, there may be several crease marks on the spine.

*Books may be missing bundle media (e.g. CD, e-book code), if included.

Books in Well Read Condition

This is a well-read book, which means that the previous owner probably really enjoyed it! The cover and pages may include moderate foxing and annotations, but the text is not obscured and still readable. Moderate cosmetic defects and minor water damage may be present on the edges of the book. For paperbacks, there may be multiple crease marks on the spine.

*Books may be missing bundle media (e.g. CD, e-book code), if included.

 

Find out more about our process here.

Special Offer

Buy 3, Get 1 Free On All Items Under S$10

Add 4 items under S$10 to your cart — the cheapest one is on us.

ISBN: 9781250118349
Authors: Judith Flanders
Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
Date of Publication: 2017-10-24
Format: Hardcover
Related Collections: History, Sociology, Biographies & Memoirs, Religion
Related Topics: History, Ancient History, World History, European History, Theology, Church History, Historical, Biography, Roman, Pop Culture
Goodreads rating: 3.46
(rated by 1134 readers)

Description

A critically acclaimed New York Times bestselling author explores the Christmas holiday, from the original festival through present day traditions. Christmas has always been a magical time. Or has it? Thirty years after the first recorded Christmas, one archbishop was already complaining that his flock was spending the day, not in worship, but in dancing and feasting to excess. By 1616, the playwright Ben Jonson was nostalgically remembering the Christmases of the old days, certain that they had been better then. Other elements of Christmas are much newer – who would have thought gift-wrap was a novelty of the twentieth century? That the first holiday parade was neither at Macy’s, nor even in the USA? Some things, however, never change. The first known gag holiday gift book, The Boghouse Miscellany, was advertised in the 1760s ‘for gay Gallants, and good companions’, while in 1805, the leaders of the Lewis and Clark expedition exchanged–what else?–presents of underwear and socks. Christmas is all things to all people: a religious festival, a family celebration, a period of eating and drinking. In Christmas, bestselling author and acclaimed social historian Judith Flanders casts a sharp eye on its myths, legends and history, deftly moving from the origins of the holiday in the Roman empire, through the first appearance of Christmas trees in Central Europe, to what might be the origins of Santa Claus – in Switzerland – to draw a picture of the season as it has never been seen before.
 

Seasonal traditions explored with historical depth.

If you're curious about how Christmas became the festive behemoth it is today, Judith Flanders' book is a perfect read. It delicates a fine balance between being informative and engaging, unraveling the history and evolution of Christmas traditions. It's like time traveling through winters past to understand our present celebrations.

Note: While we do our best to ensure the accuracy of cover images, ISBNs may at times be reused for different editions of the same title which may hence appear as a different cover.