What is Reddit's opinion of The Battle for Christmas: A Cultural History of America's Most Cherished Holiday?

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I just finished reading "The Battle for Christmas" which is a history of Christmas in America since the days of the puritans. It's a great read, though sometimes a little academic. It is actual history, BTW, not a religious tract (the author is/was a professor at Amherst). If you are one to celebrate Christmas, you'll probably learn something surprising.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Battle-Christmas-Stephen-Nissenbaum/dp/0679740384

Added: Here's the blurb from Amazon:

Anyone who laments the excesses of Christmas might consider the Puritans of colonial Massachusetts: they simply outlawed the holiday. The Puritans had their reasons, since Christmas was once an occasion for drunkenness and riot, when poor "wassailers extorted food and drink from the well-to-do. In this intriguing and innovative work of social history, Stephen Nissenbaum rediscovers Christmas's carnival origins and shows how it was transformed, during the nineteenth century, into a festival of domesticity and consumerism.

Newspaper carriers asking for holiday tips is actually a centuries-old tradition. Really: historian Stephen Nissenbaum writes about it in The Battle for Christmas. Our request usually comes the weekend after Thanksgiving weekend, and is often written from the carrier's supervisor and includes an addressed envelope.

Two-time Pulitzer-prize winning Post columnist Gene Weingarten recommends a $20 tip. This is consistent with another Post author recommending $10-$30.

Did the note come with your newspaper? Perhaps a little strange if not, but you could call the Post and try to confirm the identity of your delivery person. The tradition (which may be changing) is that the supervisors usually ask the customers for the tips for the delivery people; if you can talk to the supervisor they should be able to clear it up. Elsewise, you can tip your carrier through the website: on your account, go to "my home delivery" and find "tip your carrier."

Try this book. You should be able to get it at your local library, or you can interlibrary loan it! http://www.amazon.com/Battle-Christmas-Stephen-Nissenbaum/dp/0679740384/ref=pd_sim_b_1 ,