The Christmas Encyclopedia, 3rd ed. William D.Crump. Jefferson: McFarland, 2013.

Abstract

The Christmas Encyclopedia, 3rd ed. William D. Crump. Jefferson: McFarland, 2013.Like lights on a tree, the variety of books that focus on the history, influence, and legacy of Christmas are difficult to number. Monographs like Stephen Nissenbaum's The Battle for Christmas (1996) and Restad's Christmas in America: A History (1995) are excellent accounts of the history of Christmas in America. Bruce Forbes's Christmas: A Candid History (2007) looks more broadly at how Christmas developed from its earliest roots until today. Chris tmasrelated artifacts, advertisements, and postcards can be seen in John Grossman's Christmas Curiosities: Odd, Dark, and Forgotten Christmas (2008). And an ethnobotany of Christmas is the focus of Christian Ratsch and Claudia Muller-Ebe ling's Pagan Christmas: The Plants, Spirits, and Rituals at the Origins of Y ule tide (2006).However, the significant breadth of interest in this holiday also has generated a market for encyclopedias relating to Christmas origins, background, practices, and influence. In framing the impact of the third edition of William Crump's The Christmas Encyclopedia, it is helpful to compare it first to the emphases of two other Christmas encyclopedias and then to Crump's own earlier editions.Tanya Gulevich's Encyclopedia of Christmas came out in 2002. This 729 page volume has 186 entries. It focuses on historical and ethnic customs, it downplays literature, music, and popular culture, and it would be particularly appropriate for those with ethnographic and anthropological interests in this holiday. Gerry Bowler's 288 page volume, The World Encyclopedia of Christmas, was published in 2004. With over 1,000 entries, this encyclopedia covers much ground quickly. Broad coverage in 288 pages means less development and that sometimes makes entries feel thin. Like Gulevich's volume, Bowler's has a strong historical and international focus. It also has helpful and thoughtprovoking illustrations. However, one frustration of this volume is that there is no index or bibliography, and so the encyclopedia, as a whole, is not as rich to use as a reference book as Crump's work can be.Crump's The Christmas Encyclopedia was first published in 2001. Twelve years later, this third edition has more than 760 entries (with 281 more entries than the previous version) and is 540 pages long, so it has more entries than Gulevich but fewer pages. And it has more pages than Bowler, but fewer entries. Even though The Christmas Encyclopedia is engaging to read casually, it feels like a reference book in that it points the readers to further opportunities for research. …