Four notable annual winter festivals with similar secular and religious origins often coincide in December. Today, we celebrate a comparatively new holiday, Kwanzaa (1966 A. D.)—or “First Fruits,” a week-long celebration of African and African-American cultural heritage.

Alongside Hanukkah, Winter Solstice, and Christmas, these diverse festive holidays evoke time-honored universal values through feasts, gift-giving, decorations, worship, and music. This presentation of select festival holdings in the University of Virginia’s Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library is curated by Reference Librarian Regina Rush with contributions by Research Archivist Ervin Jordan and will continue over the holiday season to rekindle treasured holiday memories—and optimism—during these stressful times.

Kwanzaa Is A Way of Life That We Celebrate!, is the creation of Amos Kennedy, a renowned African American printer, book artist and paper maker. Kennedy is most noted for using his printed posters as a medium to voice his social and political commentary. This beautifully adorned 56 x 76 mm miniature book is crafted in an accordion style fold with African Kente cloth covering each board.

The text is flanked on each side by Ghanaian Adinkra symbols of the Akan People. To the left of the text is the Adinkra symbol Bese Saka, which translates as “a sack of cola nuts” and represents abundance, wealth and unity.  The cola nut was a major cash crop in Ghana before cocoa became the main cash crop. The heart-like Sankofa symbol on the right is from the Twi language of Ghana and translates as “go back and get it,” reminding us of the past as a guiding force in planning the future.

Amos Kennedy, Kwanzaa Is A Way of Life That We Celebrate! York, AL: Amos Kennedy, 2000. 
McGehee Miniature Book Collection in the Small Special Collections Library (McGehee 00899)

Four notable annual winter festivals with similar secular and religious origins often coincide in December. Today, we celebrate Christmas (336 A. D.) which commemorates the Nativity of Christ and is probably the world’s most celebrated event.

Alongside Hanukkah, Winter Solstice, and Kwanza, these diverse festive holidays evoke time-honored universal values through feasts, gift-giving, decorations, worship, and music. This presentation of select festival holdings in the University of Virginia’s Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library is curated by Reference Librarian Regina Rush with contributions by Research Archivist Ervin Jordan and will continue over the holiday season to rekindle treasured holiday memories—and optimism—during these stressful times.

Christmas Eve

Although unsure of its exact origin, food historians agree eggnog originated from the British medieval drink “posset,” a hot milky ale. Eggnog has become an American cultural culinary staple for the Christmas holiday seasons since it was brought to the colonies in the 1700s. Search online for “eggnog recipes” and the results will exceed 18 million hits! Ranging from alcoholic and non-alcoholic to a cooked eggnog recipe, the basic ingredients include some variant of the following: milk, cream, sugar, whipped eggs whites, and egg yolk.

Ice cream in egg-nog?!

This printed recipe for “Real Eggnog from Ice Cream” was laid in a 1926 edition of The Physiology of Taste, or Meditations on Transcendental Gastronomy by Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin. First published in France in 1825, this classic work on all things gastronomical examines the intersections of food and culture. Brillat-Savarin’s wisdom and witticisms regarding food and its importance in society still resonates with modern gastronomes of today, which brings us back to the egg-nog and ice cream recipe. Was it worthy to share such a sacred space in this canon of gastronomy? Try it and see!

This clipping was found in the 1926 edition of The Physiology of Taste, or Meditations on Transcendental Gastronomy by Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin.

“To Make Real Egg-Nog from Ice Cream” a clipping found in The Physiology of Taste, or Meditations on Transcendental Gastronomy by Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin. Garden City, N. Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1926.(TX637 .B86 1926)
Gift of Clarence Wagener

A Christmas Carol

Some of the traditions and festivities of Christmas as we know it today would not be celebrated without the influence of our British cousins across the pond. Sir Henry Cole invented the Christmas card in 1843, and Queen Victoria and Prince Albert popularized decorating Christmas trees in homes during the holiday season. And, of course, it goes without saying that Christmas is synonymous with Charles Dickens!

The culture that surrounds the Christmas holiday today is a direct correlation with his 1843 classic A Christmas Carol: family-centric holiday feasts, decking the halls, and even Ebenezer Scrooge’s promise to “honour Christmas in my heart and keep it all the year.”

In 1983, the Small Special Collections Library acquired a small collection of Charles Dickens miscellany (MSS 10562). The collection includes a liquor flask used by Dickens when he toured America, correspondence, and a portable desk, both pictured below. Our holdings also include several editions of the holiday classic, A Christmas Carol.

Charles Dickens’ writing desk and quill

This Liquor Flask was used by Charles Dickens during his travels in the United States

Charles Dickens began writing A Christmas Carol October 1843. It was published December 19, 1843. A Christmas Carol , 1843. First edition 1st issue, with original covers (E 1843 .D53)

Written by children’s book author Mary Packard, this Advent calendar was created around the Christmas classic A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Housed in a pictorial glazed paper fold-out “book,” this Advent collection of miniature Christmas ornaments are meant to be read one per day. The 24 booklets follow the chronology of Ebenezer Scrooge’s journey from “a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner” to a man who “knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge.”

Mary Packard. Dickens’ A Christmas Carol Story Book Set & Advent Calendar. New York: Workman Publishing, 1995. (McGehee 05770 no.1/24)
The McGehee Miniature Book Collection

From the McGehee Miniature Book Collection, this book’s cover folds out to reveal 24 booklets and as Advent calendar journey of Ebenezer Scrooge.

Inside the book, 24 miniatures follow the chronology of Ebenezer Scrooge’s journey from “a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner” to a man who “knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge.”

Good Night, John-Boy

The Small Special Collections Library holds a small but rich collection of the late Earl Hamner Jr.’s archives. A Virginia native and Emmy-winning television writer and director during the 1970s and 1980s, Hamner’s collection includes a first edition of his 1970 novel, The Homecoming: A Novel about Spencer’s Mountain, the final shooting script for the 1971 film The Homecoming: A Christmas Story, and television scripts for three mid-1970s episodes of The Waltons. The novel, drawn from Hamner’s childhood experiences growing up in Schuyler, Virginia during the Great Depression, was the impetus for the film. Originally airing on CBS on December 19, 1971, the movie was so popular that it spun off a series, “The Waltons,” which aired on CBS in September 1972 and became wildly popular, lasting nine seasons.

Earl Hamner, The Homecoming, 1971, Typescript (MSS 10380) and “Waltons” Television Scripts, 1975 (MSS 10380-b).

Four notable annual winter festivals with similar secular and religious origins often coincide in December. Today, we celebrate Winter Solstice (10,000 BCE), also known as Midwinter, has been observed by a variety of cultures throughout much of recorded history.

Alongside Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanza, these diverse festive holidays evoke time-honored universal values through feasts, gift-giving, decorations, worship, and music. This presentation of select festival holdings in the University of Virginia’s Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library is curated by Reference Librarian Regina Rush with contributions by Research Archivist Ervin Jordan and will continue over the holiday season to rekindle treasured holiday memories—and optimism—during these stressful times.

Winter Solstice

In 1927, British publisher Faber and Gwyer (later Faber and Faber) introduced a series of illustrated poetry poems written by various major authors and illustrated by prominent artists of the period. Contributors to The Ariel Poems series include Thomas Hardy, T.S. Eliot, and Edith Sitwell. T.S. Eliot’s 1927 poem Journey of the Magi was number eight in this series and written shortly after his conversion to Anglo-Catholicism. Marketed as Christmas cards, each pamphlet featured a writer who wrote about Christmas or a seasonal theme. Published in two series, the first run consists of 38 pamphlets published between 1927-1931; the second series was published in 1954 with only 8 issues.

Cover of The Winter Solstice

The Winter Solstice, written by poet Harold Monro and illustrated by poet/artist David Jones was the thirteenth of the first Ariel Poems series. This poem’s four stanzas are accompanied by two illustrations: a black and white illustration on the cover; another in color. The shadings of black around the perimeter of the color illustration represent the long bleak winter days to come. The center of the drawing embodies the warmth and celebratory “eat, drink, and be merry” overtone that follows a successful harvest. Images of a burning yule log and the gathering of wood and other provisions hint at the needed preparations to survive the cold months ahead. The streaming rays of sun in the background let the revelers know warmer and more fruitful days will follow this midwinter night.

The poem is accompanied by an illustration by David Jones. Like solstice, the dark and long, bleak winter scenes are juxtaposed by warm and celebratory “eat, drink, and be merry” overtones that follow a successful harvest. A burning yule log and the gathering wood and other provisions hint at the needed preparations to survive the cold months ahead.

Marketed as Christmas cards, each pamphlet in The Ariel Poems featured a writer who wrote about Christmas or a seasonal theme. Harold Monro wrote The Winter Solstice, published in 1928.

Harold Monroe with drawings by David Jones, The Winter Solstice, number 13 in The Ariel Poems. London, Faber & Gwyer Limited, 1928. (PR6025 .O35 W54 1928)
From The Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature

Four notable annual winter festivals with similar secular and religious origins often coincide in December. Winter Solstice (10,000 BCE), also known as Midwinter, has been observed by a variety of cultures throughout much of recorded history. Hanukkah (165 BCE), the Jewish “Festival of Lights,” is observed over eight days. Christmas (336 A. D.) commemorates the Nativity of Christ and is probably the world’s most celebrated event. A comparatively new holiday, Kwanzaa (1966 A. D.), “First Fruits,” is a week-long celebration of African and African-American cultural heritage.

These diverse festive holidays evoke time-honored universal values through feasts, gift-giving, decorations, worship, and music. The symbolic significance of ancient and modern ritualized traditions strengthens bonds of family, friends, and community. Conversely, their multi-billion-dollar seasonal commercialization inherently boosts the global economy.

This presentation of select festival holdings in the University of Virginia’s Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library is curated by Reference Librarian Regina Rush with contributions by Research Archivist Ervin Jordan and will continue over the next two weeks to rekindle treasured holiday memories—and optimism—during these stressful times.

Hanukkah

Craftswoman Barbara Schuckman has been making modern, one-inch scale collectible dollhouse miniatures since 1978. This world-renowned artisan’s body of work, known simply as “By Barb” includes such items as miniature books, dinnerware, ceramic decorative plates, artwork for holidays and celebrations, and a Judaic-inspired miniature line which features collectibles celebrating Jewish Holidays. Chanukah Story is a tiny, 25mm collectible that tells the history surrounding the Jewish holiday Hanukkah. The book consists of 12 unnumbered accordion fold pages, and the cover is illustrated with the image of a menorah. This collectible, handcrafted by Barb in 1974, is part of the McGehee Miniature Book Collection.

Barb, The Chanukah Story, 1974. (McGehee 07817)
McGehee Miniature Book Collection

The Chanukah Story, a miniature book in the McGehee Miniature Book Collection, given by Caroline Yarnall McGehee Lindemann in memory of her husband, Carden Coleman McGehee, UVA 1947

The lighting of the menorah in The Chanukah Story.

Written by Lenore Cohen in 1963, Came Liberty Beyond Our Hope: A Story of Hanukkah is aimed at a young adult audience. The story recounts the history which surrounds the festive Jewish celebration of Hannukah. This 26cm, 44-page book is encased in a robin-egg dust jacket that shares the same illustration as the book cover.
The beautifully illustrated plates by Hungarian artist Georges Gaal accompanies the text of the story.

Lenore Cohen, Came Liberty Beyond Our Hope: A Story of Hanukkah, 1963. 
(BM695 .H3 C6 1963)

The cover of Came Liberty Beyond Our Hope with an illustration by Hungarian artist Georges Gaal.

An illustration of the lighting of the menorah in Came Liberty Beyond Our Hope, illustrated by Georges Gaal.

Rich with visual imagery, this three-dimensional montage tells the story of Hanukkah in pop-up book form. Writer Sara Freeland and illustrator Sue Clark explore the events and many traditions that surround the festive Jewish holiday. The book includes a pop-up menorah, latke recipes, and a paper dreidel that can be assembled. Hanukkah! A Three Dimensional Celebration is part of the Brenda Foreman Collection of Pop-up and Moveable Books in the Small Special Collections Library.

Sara Freedland, Hanukkah! A Three-Dimensional Celebration, 1991. (PZ92 .F6 H38 1991)
Brenda Forman Collection of Pop-up and Movable Books. 

A pop-up menorah in Hanukkah! A Three-Dimensional Celebration.

The legend of the Maccabean Revolt in Hanukkah! A Three-Dimensional Celebration.