The holidays are on the way out, but we wanted to post some of the images we’ve received from readers over the past few weeks.
Photo by Bette Kerr of the performers from The Magic Flute at the Lincoln Center holiday tree lighting.
Photo by Gwen Solomon during the Winter’s Eve Festival.
Photo by Scott Matthews of Riverside Park on December 21, the 71-degree day that set a new record.
Photo by Allan Margolin of Santa at the Picnic Cafe.
Photo by Avi on Columbus Avenue.
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Nice pig pic, Avi. “Capitalism coopts Christmas,” eh?
Re: “…Capitalism coopts Christmas,” eh?”
With all due respect to the truly devout, Christmas IS capitalism, at least in this country.
Proof #1: all the frantic chatter in newspapers and on television about the volume of Christmas sales as a barometer of the overall economy.
Proof #2: the fact that “Santa Claus, at least the American version, is a product of soft drink companies, as explained in Wikipedia:
Haddon Hubbard “Sunny” Sundblom (June 22, 1899 – March 10, 1976) was an American artist best known for the images of Santa Claus he created for The Coca-Cola Company.
Sundblom’s Claus firmly established the larger-than-life, grandfatherly Claus as a key figure in American Christmas imagery. So popular were Sundblom’s images of Claus (Sundblom’s images are used by Coca-Cola to this day) that Sundblom is often credited has having created the modern image of Santa Claus.
According to the Coca-Cola company:[3][4] “For inspiration, Sundblom turned to Clement Clark Moore’s 1822 poem “A Visit From St. Nicholas” (commonly called “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas”). Moore’s description of St. Nick led to an image of Santa that was warm, friendly, pleasantly plump and human.
For the next 33 years, Sundblom painted portraits of Santa that helped to create the modern image of Santa – an interpretation that today lives on in the minds of people of all ages, all over the world.”
The popularity of the image spawned urban legends that Santa Claus was invented by The Coca-Cola Company or that Santa wears red and white because they are the colors used to promote the Coca-Cola brand.
Historically, Coca-Cola was not the first soft drink company to utilize the modern image of Santa Claus in its advertising—White Rock Beverages had already used a red and white Santa to sell mineral water in 1915 and then in advertisements for its ginger ale in 1923″
QED !!
@Scooter Stan….I bet your glass is always half empty. Don’t like a particular holiday? That’s fine. Let those who do and choose to participate enjoy it! Happy Holidays
Nope. The artistic inspiration was “cute pig.” Avi
Nice photos! Thank you. Don’t push the holidays out yet. There is still New Year’s Day tomorrow and Russian Christmas to come next week, January 7, and various friends’ birthdays!