Christmas Unwrapped...

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What will Christmas this year be like? Professor Emeritus Richard Horsley and co-editor James Tracey examine this question in their new book Christmas Unwrapped: Consumerism, Christ and Culture. The work examines the kind of holiday Christmas has become. Starting simply as a religious celebration, the holiday in America has become an unprecedented cultural and consumer event, with movies, songs, Santa Claus, and nativity displays creating a pervasive nostalgia for the holiday. Gifts and shopping dominate the season, with businesses surviving on holiday sales. In the face of these influences, Christmas Unwrapped goes beyond just asking how a Christian holiday became a national and worldwide phenomenon. Horsley and Tracey, who edited the book, feature contributions that combine both religious and biblical analysis with social and cultural history. The book is available now from Trinity Press International.

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