R obert E. M ay . Yuletide in Dixie

Tales of slaves feasting, singing, and dancing at Christmas on southern plantations are well-known to historians of the American South. Stories of this kind first appeared in the writings of proslavery authors, who used them to illustrate slaves’ supposed contentment and the apparently superior condition of their lives as compared to wage laborers in the North. After the Civil War, they became common in nostalgic remembrances of southern plantation life. In Yuletide in Dixie: Slavery, Christmas, and Southern Memory, Robert E. May reaches past stereotypes to examine the history and mythology of Christmas celebrations in the slaveholding South. May finds a complex set of practices that varied widely and illustrate conflicts at the heart of master-slave relationship. For slaves, Christmas afforded opportunities for a few days’ reprieve from labor; travel passes to visit family members; and delicacies such as beef, eggnog, and gingerbread. Some masters threw barbecues and supplied...

Archaeology · Art · Mythology · Singing · Spanish Civil War · American History and Culture · Classics · Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis · History · Vietnamese History and Culture Studies