The frenzy of the holidays: The photographer showed how wasteful and ridiculous people celebrate Christmas

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Running crowd of Santa Clauses. Christmas figures, filling someone's yard so that you can't see the house. An apartment full of trinkets … American photographer Jesse Reiser spent almost ten years looking for such pre-holiday shots. "Christmas in America: Happy Birthday Jesus" is the title of his photo collection. As the author himself says, his photo gallery shows the flip side of Christmas consumer surplus, much of which includes numerous lights and crazy parties.

There is a kind irony in the photographs, and Jesse is sure that in these frames everyone will surely recognize themselves.

As Jesse explains, America is generally characterized by a penchant for splendor. However, such Christmas abundance is not always a bad thing, as it can be a driving force for good - for example, when a holiday is used to unite neighbors (or even strangers) for a good cause. Why not have some fun if it helps someone?

As the photographer explains, his search for the most compelling Christmas imagery is rooted in his childhood. After he and his parents had to leave the Springfield home in which he spent his early years, the family settled in Los Angeles. In 2009, on his first Christmas outside the Midwest, Raiser drove past the Christmas tree bazaar and suddenly saw a giant (four-story building) Santa Claus. He swelled in the wind, and it was completely incomprehensible whether he was waving goodbye to passers-by or saying hello. So the idea was born to collect a collection of ridiculous and funny photographs that demonstrate the attitude of people towards the New Year holidays. Here are some pictures from Jesse Riser's gallery.

One of the events that is truly worth showing off in this gallery is the Great Sant Race, which Jesse managed to photograph in 2012. Early in the morning, the participants of the unusual cross-country put on the costumes of Santa Claus and set off in a crowd at the signal of the starting pistol. The race was dedicated to raising funds for an organization helping men and women with disabilities. By the way, this unusual Christmas event regularly breaks the Guinness World Record for the number of Santa Clauses gathered in one place.

By the way, on this day the photographer managed to take another interesting photo: he captured how one of the Santa Clauses was playing billiards in a bar after the race.

The next photo was taken in 2016 in a historical place - the city of Grune (Texas), which was once German. Pictured is Cowboy Kringle posing for a photographer before riding his horse through the city streets. By tradition, he has to turn on the Christmas lights, waving his arms and handing out sweets to local children during his route.

By the way, the name of this famous ceremony in the USA - Kris Kringle - comes from the name Christkind (Baby Jesus). There are many variations of this tradition in the world, including the "Secret Santa" game that has become popular in our country in recent years.

In the next shot, a worker is watering several thousand poinsettia flowers. It takes place at the Christmas Exhibition in the large conservatory at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas in 2011. The flower arrangements are grouped to form intricate Christmas symbols.

And this picture is perplexing and even a little scary. For the 2017 Christmas season, Steve Lanzillo's Arizona home was teeming with inflatable Santa Clauses. The figures puffed out only after dusk, and all the bright part of the day they were lying half-open in Steve's yard, and at this time passers-by constantly hung around the house, wanting to gawk at how limp figures rise and come to life awkwardly, and then descend again. And if you look at the composition from afar, it looks just like a bright multi-colored chaos.

And Jesse took a photo of a bright neon sign on a private garage in his North Phoenix in the first year of filming his "series". By the way, he still considers this photograph to be the title image of the project, embodying his ideas.

- The owner installed a luminous inscription: "Happy Birthday, Jesus!", However, a strong storm wind knocked down part of this sign. I noticed this as I drove by on my way home from a day of shooting. It was after Christmas - apparently, since the holiday had already passed, the owner did not attach any importance to this problem. Without even meeting the owners of the house, I quietly climbed the stairs, set up a tripod and took this picture, risking a bullet for trespassing on private property, says the photographer.

The small La La bar in Austin, Texas is well known to locals for its vibrant year-round Christmas decorations. The owners of the establishment do not bother trying to comply with some ethical standards: it seems that they confused Christmas with honoring Elvis.

Well, this photo, perhaps, will anger believers. Two bar patrons dressed as Cindy Lou from the movie about the Grinch and Jesus Christ. They enjoy beer and exchange phone numbers during a Christmas costume party at a pub in Scottsdale, Arizona. The picture was taken in 2016.

The next photo shows wealthy landlord Jennifer Houghton. She has a successful home decor and renovation blog and has a popular Instagram account. Jennifer's Christmas tree, which Reiser captured at her home in 2016, looks like a huge fabulous confection. Moreover, her entire house on the holidays was literally stuffed with Barbie-style decorations. The photographer explains that in this shot he wanted to show the huge difference between the homemade working-class Christmas decorations seen in other pictures of him and the “rich” decorations. By the way, the photographer noted that Jennifer has a very large and friendly family.

Of course, on New Year's and Christmas, it is better not to waste money on meaningless things, but to do something good. For example, here's what a woman did when she bought a random urn with ashes, thinking that this is a retro souvenir.