“All Hail to Christmas”: Mormon Pioneer Holiday Celebrations

Authors

Richard Ian Kimball

Keywords

Mormon studies, Christmas, Utah, pioneer

Abstract

To Mormon historians and members of the Church generally, Christmas is not a particularly "Mormon" holiday. Though contemporary Latter-day Saints throughout the world embrace a variety of traditions that commemorate the holiday, no major body of distinctively Mormon tradition surrounds the day in December traditionally reserved for the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Mormons celebrate the holiday like most other Christians—reading from the nativity account in Luke, exchanging presents, and spending time with family and friends. Santa Claus, decorated trees, and the redemptive story of Ebenezer Scrooge all are staples of the winter holiday for Mormons in the United States (fig. 1). Some members of the Church lament that Christmas celebrations have devolved into a commercialized ritual focused on the acquisition of goods rather than on a solemn remembrance of the Savior's birth. Such critics seek to put "Christ" back into "Christmas" and return to the days of old, when the holiday meant more than toys and shopping trips.

Recommended Citation

Kimball, Richard Ian (2001) "“All Hail to Christmas”: Mormon Pioneer Holiday Celebrations," BYU Studies Quarterly: Vol. 40: Iss. 3, Article 2.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol40/iss3/2