An interesting incident occurred in Sicily recently: A Roman Catholic bishop was accused of telling a group of schoolchildren Santa Claus does not exist. The Church has since apologized for these remarks, explaining to outraged parents that the cleric’s intention was direct children away from the consumerism of contemporary Christmas celebrations and towards veneration of the historic Saint Nicholas. This incident provides an opportunity to reflect on the figure of Santa Claus, how he emerged in Northern European and Anglo-American history, and his role in contemporary Christmas festivities. (more…)
Tag: Puritans
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It might be, too, that a witch, like old Mistress Hibbins, the bitter-tempered widow of the magistrate, was to die upon the gallows. In either case, there was very much the same solemnity of demeanour on the part of the spectators; as befitted a people amongst whom religion and law were almost identical . . . — Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter
The superstitious mind is a powerful thing. It manages fear and apprehension. (more…)
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The howling of wolves is one of the most evocative and unsettling sounds on earth, awakening something primordial in the human soul. Among the most intelligent and graceful of terrestrial animals, wolves have been an object of fear and fascination throughout history. While many early societies venerated wolves for their skill at hunting and ferocity in battle, as the world grew tame and domesticated the wolf became a hated vestige of wild nature, an outlaw whose ruthless elimination was necessary to the safety and progress of mankind. (more…)
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Gloucester Fisherman’s Memorial overlooking Gloucester Harbor, Gloucester, Massachusetts (Bronze, 1925)
5,880 words
The defining characteristic of WASPs is that they are much less ethnocentric than other peoples; indeed for all practical purposes Anglo-Saxon Protestants appear to be all but completely bereft of in-group solidarity. They are therefore open to exploitation by free-riders from other, more ethnocentric, groups. [1]
There is a woeful lack of ethnic consciousness and cohesion among Anglo-Saxons worldwide. (more…)
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1,605 words
The Yankee tunesmiths were a group of composers active in New England in the late 18th century. Most of them were self-taught and made a living as craftsmen or farmers. Many also fought in the Revolutionary War. Their music draws on their British heritage, namely the tradition of English psalmody, but it is also uniquely American. (more…)
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2,226 words
On December 18, 1620, the Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth Bay, on the western part of Cape Cod Bay. They were a small group of people, a mix of Protestant religious fanatics and venture capitalists. They would go on to found an enormously successful society. (more…)
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Puritan-descended poet Robert Frost in the 1910s, about 40 years old. Even his physiognomy was Yankee.
1,853 words
Discussing Robert Frost’s collection Steeple Bush in the New York Times upon its release in 1947, poet Randall Jarrell devoted the bulk of his review to quoting and summarizing just one poem, “Directive,” saying,
Reading through Frost’s new book one stops for a long time at “Directive. . . .” There are weak places in the poem, but these are nothing . . . (more…)
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4,951 words
4,951 words
After the Saintly Sub-Saharan George Floyd (may perpetual light shine upon his blessed soul) died while being arrested, a loud social movement developed to bring down symbols of America’s cultural past — especially America’s white cultural past. The controversy over the Confederate flag is well known, but another controversy exists (more…)
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Franklin Delano Roosevelt (front, second from left) with his football team, 1899.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (front, second from left) with his football team, 1899.
2,687 words
Chapter 6, “Puritanism: The Rise of Egalitarian Individualism and Moralistic Utopianism,” of Kevin MacDonald’s Individualism and the Western Liberal Tradition, claims that Puritanism and the intellectual movements descending from this religion were the “most important” forces shaping the culture of the United States “from the eighteenth century down to the mid-twentieth century.” (more…)
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Janice Drew, Vandalized Plymouth Rock
Janice Drew, Vandalized Plymouth Rock
1,310 words
The Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth Rock 400 years ago. Sadly for the occasion, unknown vandals defaced the actual Plymouth rock and other monuments dedicated to the Pilgrims’ arrival.
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This essay is part of the George Lincoln Rockwell Centennial series.
George Lincoln Rockwell was assassinated on August 25, 1967 in the parking lot of a northern Virginia laundromat by a former follower named John Patsalos. In many ways, Rockwell’s death was an ironic end to a valorous life. (more…)
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Author’s Note:
The following short excerpt is from a forthcoming essay titled ‘How the Irish Became White’, which makes an ethnonationalist critique of the ‘whiteness historians’ (Ignatiev, Roedeger, Allen, etc.) and their treatment of Irish-America.