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Reexamining the story of holidays in the United States, Leigh Schmidt shows that commercial appropriations of these occasions were actually as religious in form as they were secular. The new rituals of America's holiday bazaar offered a luxuriant merger of the holy and the profane - a heady blend of fashion and faith, merchandising and gift giving, profits and sentiments.
In this richly illustrated book that captures both the blessings and ballyhoo of American holiday observances from the mid-eighteenth century through the twentieth, the author offers a reassessment of the "consumer rites" that various social critics have long decried for their spiritual emptiness and banal sentimentality.
Schmidt uses everything from diaries to manuals on church decoration and window display to show in bright detail the ways people have prepared for and celebrated specific holidays - such as going Christmas shopping, making love tokens, choosing Easter bonnets, sending flowers to Mom, or buying ties for Dad. He demonstrates, in particular, how women took the lead as holiday consumers, shaping warm-hearted celebrations of home and family through their intricate engagement with the marketplace.
Bringing together the history of business, religion, and gender, this book offers a fascinating cultural history of an endlessly debated marvel - the commercialization of American holidays.
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Previews available in: English
Subjects
Economic aspects of Holidays, Economic conditions, Holidays, Religious life and customs, Christendom, Conditions économiques, Kaufverhalten, Feiertag, Aspect économique, Vercommercialisering, Jours fériés, Feestdagen, Fest, Vie religieuse, Verbraucherverhalten, Economic aspects, Economic history, United states, religion, 20th century, United states, social life and customs, United states, moral conditionsPlaces
United StatesShowing 3 featured editions. View all 3 editions?
Edition | Availability |
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1
Consumer Rites
October 27, 1997, Princeton University Press
Paperback
in English
0691017212 9780691017211
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2
Consumer rites: the buying & selling of American holidays
1995, Princeton University Press
in English
0691029806 9780691029801
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3
Consumer rites: the buying & selling of American holidays
1995, Princeton University Press
in English
0691029806 9780691029801
|
zzzz
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
Book Details
Edition Notes
Includes bibliographical references (p. [311]-358) and index.
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