Christmas Unwrapped: The History of Christmas

Christmas Unwrapped: The History of Christmas (1997 TV documentary)

Everyone knows that the Christians usurped December 25. However, many people do not know where some of the other obscure traditions came from. No documentary could be the end-all-be-all. However, this one comes fairly close. At least it touches on the main themes and traditions of today's Christmas and their roots in history. A few things have been overlooked such as Clara and her Nutcracker. But overall, you will find that the subjects they cover are covered well. Who would have suspected the metamorphosis of Santa Claus? Or the real transference of the Christmas tree from its origins to the US?

There are a lot of great visuals, some nice music and narration by Harry Smith. I was surprised to see Elaine Pagels's "The Gnostic Gospels" (1979); I think this was her first media introduction.

Once again, the History Channel does a decent job of unwrapping Christmas for us and we get to enjoy watching snippets of our favorite old movies, seeing our traditions from a traditional standpoint, and downright having fun saying I did not know that.