A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year c. 1859

Winslow Homer created this wood engraving, *A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year*, for *Harper’s Weekly*. This illustration offers a glimpse into the socio-economic contrasts of Christmas celebrations in post-Civil War America. Homer contrasts scenes of wealth and poverty, juxtaposing images of the upper class enjoying sleigh rides with the less fortunate navigating snowy streets. In the center we see the celebration of Christmas, but below that we see a crowd of children gathered inside for a holiday party, a moment of shared joy and celebration, but even here the stark reality of racial segregation is clear. Black children are excluded from the festivities and instead are seen peering in through a window, excluded from the warmth and merriment within. Homer's illustration invites us to reflect on who is included and who is excluded from the promise of the holidays, revealing the complex intersections of class and race in shaping individual experiences. It is a reminder of the societal disparities that persist beneath the veneer of seasonal cheer.