While most Decembers I re-read Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, this year I had the good fortune to work on a stage production of Scrooge’s adventures as an audio describer(more info on what that means soon). That means I also had the bad fortune to hear, read, and see my favorite Christmas story a half-dozen times in rapid succession, and you know what? I just can’t deal with any more of Tiny Tim’s false positivity this year. Little man, there are sarcastic ghosts in your city. Save the blessings for another day.
Instead, I got into this anthology, which gathers short holiday writings by Black Americans originally published between 1880 and 1953. Some are from writers as well-known as W.E.B. Dubois and Langston Hughes and others from figures less noted but just as important, like Mary Jeness and Augustus M Hodges.
Most of the stories are slices-of-life, religious reflections, or moral fables. That, plus the fact that all of them are pre-Civil Rights, makes this more of a historical record than a celebratory collection. It’s still fascinating to read because of the constant reminders of how young Black American culture is and how quickly it evolves. The first time I picked this up, I was startled by how many things these writers mention that I’d either never heard of or thought of, like Chinquapin trees, open market cooked chitlin sellers, and all sorts of social clubs and societies that were founded to try and fill in the social care and access gaps created by segregation. It’s also heartening to see just how early Black writers were casually challenging religious Euro-normativity and outlining class consciousness and radical politics. The moralizing and religiosity gives “trapped with the most senile elder after service because you can’t find your mama” at times, but overall, these works are well-chosen and sweetly written.
Nothing here is quite as iconic as the Cratchit’s baby boy, but what is, really? These stories of Black Christmases past are still precious, and God bless them, every one.
Merry Christmas, fellow readers. A happy, restful, meaningful day to you all.
(So it’s Boxing Day, not December 25th. Christmas is a season, after all, fellow readers. Thanks for reading and for being here all 2024, and here’s to more reading a reviewing in 2025. If you’re looking for something to get you started on next year’s reading challenge early, do check out the Equal Opportunity Bookshop–just remember that we get paid a commission for every purchase. Read something good, and have a happy holiday! Peace!)
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