It's Christmas time... 2016

Alfred Freddy Krupa made this photograph, “It’s Christmas time…”, using black and white film. The image depicts a nighttime street scene in what looks to be Krupa's native Croatia. The stark contrast between light and dark evokes the long, dark nights of winter, punctuated by the artificial glow of holiday lights. In the foreground, we see illuminated symbols of a crescent moon and a heart, icons of hope and love that resonate with the Christmas season. But beyond the immediate festive associations, this photograph prompts deeper questions. What does it mean to celebrate Christmas in a post-communist society like Croatia? How do these symbols of Western consumer culture interact with local traditions and values? As historians, we can explore these questions through archival research, oral histories, and comparative analysis of holiday celebrations in different cultural contexts. Only then can we begin to understand the complex social and cultural forces that shape our understanding of art, and of Christmas itself.