The Business of Holidays

By: Lavin, Maud

Book Overview

Holiday celebrations in the United States are a major force driving the nation's approximately $3 trillion retail economy. The commercial culture of holidays extends from the traditional -- decorations, costumes, and cards -- to the immaterial and ephemeral -- phone calls, airline tickets, and department store bills. Simultaneously colorful presentation and careful analysis, The Business of Holidays interprets holiday commerce and design, corporate culture, and tradition (invented and inherited). This volume consists of more than thirty-five essays arranged according to the calendar year, from New Year's Day and Martin Luther King, Jr. Day to Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa, and explores longstanding holiday images, such as Santa Claus and shamrocks, as well as quirkier aspects of visual culture. The rites that surround these special days have been adopted, or even invented by, the pervasive marketing that surrounds them to such an extent that the celebration of holidays and the business of holidays have become inseparable.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1580931502
• ISBN13: 9781580931502
• Release Date: October 2004
• Publisher: Monacelli Press
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 2.46 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 7.6" x 9.5"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 12 and higher

Customer Reviews

Realization of Reality.

The book is a very interesting book. It helps to show the readers the way holidays are now. It points out how holidays have lost their culture and history, and that they are no longer celebrated for the right reasons. I would definitely recommend this book. OSU Comp Student 2009

Excellent introduction to retail in business, cultural customs

I'll point to the already existing reviews on this page as insightful enough as to the book's contents, but do also want to iterate that this book does stretch to some other lesser-known or recognized holidays in America, including Devil's Night, Sweetest Day, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa. Great introduction to business-retail cycles and holiday traditions in general. Design is also excellent, although those who have limited eyesight might need a magnifying glass. As befits most polished graphic design packages, the text can be a bit small. But the photos are telling enough and overall it's a pleasurable read.

Give this book a peep!

The holidays have never looked so horrifying. But the rubbernecker in me will not put down this wonderful examination of corporate manipulations of our holiday revelry. Beautfully designed, smartly written, funny, sincere and cynical. Also nice to see a publisher actually sew their books, ensuring they last for generations to come.

A Holiday Smorgasbord of Images and Ideas

Sometimes I have to restrain myself from punching in the nose those who bemoan the excessive commercialism of "the holidays" (as if said holidays forcibly removed them from their otherwise impeccably ascetic lives). Now, instead of suppressing the punch, I can point the whiners to this wonderful new book. Maud Lavin and her collaborators show us how consumerism, crass or otherwise, is no longer the enemy (if indeed it ever was) of spiritual engagement. As Lavin herself points out in her introduction: "Holidays can remind people of what they feel they are entitled to but are lacking. And sometimes celebrants go about trying to find it -- spirituality or connectedness or presents or just plain sex. Consumerism, in standard and less conventional forms, is one avenue for the search." Arranged chronologically from New Years Day to New Years Eve, and covering 34 holidays in between, the book adds up to a moving portrait of how invested (in all sense of the word) we are are in our celebrations. The writing is incisive, merry and provocative, and the graphic feast served up on every page a celebration in itself. I wholeheartedly recommend this book.

Perfect gift for the holidays

This book is a marvel for the eye and mind. A charming yet wise critique of the culture of holidays in America, the volume is lavishly illustrated in color and serves up platter upon platter of wonderfully written commentary about holiday custom, lore, and consumption. Maud Lavin draws upon the many quirky and fascinating details of material culture that constitute Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter. From traditional mashed potatoes to scary costumes, Santa to the Easter Bunny, Lavin and her collaborators show us how we consumers depend on the holidays and how the holidays depend on us. A very entertaining and handsome book. Highly recommended.