Mencken's Christmas Story

Henry Louis Mencken was an American journalist and cultural critic who had such a distinctively combative writing style that the term “Menckenian” was coined to describe it.

Best known for his satirical reporting on the famous 1925 Scopes Trial, which he called the “Monkey Trial,” Mencken was also famous for his various staunch beliefs, which included an opposition to organized religion and strong support for scientific progress. Born in Baltimore, Mencken lived in Maryland for his entire life and is one of the state’s most famed and prolific writers.

One of the last books published before Mencken’s death was 1944’s Christmas Story. Originally written for The New Yorker, this humorous holiday tale tells the story of Baltimore philanthropist Fred Ammermeyer, who attempts to throw a holiday party for the bums of Baltimore. Outraged at the humiliating treatment endured by the city's poor (especially at the hands of missions like the Salvation Army), Ammermeyer aspires to host a party free of sanctimony and judgment and full of merriment and cheer. The guest list was “made up wholly of men completely lost to human decency,” dinner “went on in rhythmic waves, all day and night,” and every attendee was free from “evangelical harassment” and able to enjoy the Burlesque show while drinking “as much malt liquor as they would buy themselves if they had the means to buy it.” Needless to say, this Christmas party does not go as Ammermeyer planned, though not in the way that one might assume.

Accompanying Mencken’s unique and hilarious tale are colorful illustrations by editorial cartoonist Bill Crawford. Get into the holiday spirit with this unusual Christmas story, available for checkout from Miller Library’s Maryland Collection.