Christmas Superfan Photos Reveal a Nation Full of Care and Kitsch

Christmas means a lot of different things to a lot of different people – religion, family, charity, presents. For photographer Jesse Rieser, Christmas is a time to cast an almost anthropological eye over the “monuments to merriness” assembled by Americans in full holiday spirit.

“I’m celebrating people celebrating,” says Rieser. “They have the stage this one time a year to show their feathers, even if it is just buying a bunch of stuff and throwing it up in the yard.”

Rieser began the project, titled Christmas in America: Happy Birthday Jesus four years ago after his parents – who are featured in some his images – relocated from St. Louis, Missouri, to Phoenix, Arizona.

“There was a giant five-story Santa Claus glowing in my rear-view mirror as I drove into Phoenix,” says Rieser. “It was like the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters. There’s something haunting about inflatable, happy-looking things that move around in the wind. They’re both cheery and frightening.”

Christmas decorations in the crisp, winter sunlight of the Southwest can look a bit out of place but Rieser found some of the most elaborate displays in suburban Phoenix. “In the drier climate, people can be a bit more adventurous with electrics and wiring,” he says.

As time has progressed, Rieser’s feelings about these public displays have changed. At first he thought it might have been about ego, a keeping-up-with-the-Joneses type of thing, but soon realized most people do it for community and tradition.

“It’s based on nostalgia for what they liked to see when they were children,” he says. “I don’t want to just find the weirdest people. I want to find interesting people and include things that are more relatable, more empathetic.”

Rieser’s main challenge is to make images that embody the respect he has for his subjects but also reflect his reservations toward kitsch consumer items.

“Christmas is a religious holiday but often it doesn’t seem very religious. Sure, it’s celebratory, but it’s also big money,” says Rieser. “My project is based around a religious happening that wasn’t even widely celebrated until 150 years ago. We didn’t decide what Father Christmas looked like until recently. Coca-Cola had a huge role in imaging Santa. One the images I found most interesting and disturbing last year was of Santa Claus kneeling over baby Jesus. They’re trying to make these two things work together, but it’s off.”

It would be a mistake to view Christmas in America: Happy Birthday Jesus as a detached, ironic study of eccentrics indulging their seasonal folk-art itch. Rieser wants viewers to go past the plastic fantastic weirdness and share in the joy.

“My work can be taken many different ways,” says Rieser. “But you can make true and respectful work that has humor too. I don’t show up and tell people what to wear. Sure, I frame the shot but this is who these people are – folks who are embracing creativity.”

Rieser and his younger photo-assisting brother, Shea, are currently trailblazing through the western states on a month-long photo sortie. They have enjoyed remarkable hospitality throughout Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.

“It blows my mind that I can meet someone one day and then the next I’m invited into their home,” says Rieser, who recalls fondly the Christmas cheer of a couple in Idaho. ”We left with two Christmas ornaments, two cards, a rum cake and an offer to take us out for dinner!” says Rieser. “They’d just put up with me for hours, which is not always comfortable.”

Gradually, Rieser – who didn’t grow up going to church – has gone from outsider to insider. Where at first he was afraid to knock on people’s doors, he now looks forward to meeting new subjects.

“You don’t get to do that much anymore – to meet a stranger and go into their home and have a cup of tea, or glass of wine. And then, to take their photograph and to photograph their things!” he says.

Sporting a spongy beard that Father Christmas himself would be proud of, Rieser gifts images whenever and wherever he can. He leaves participants with a wide-angle shot of their decorations for them to do with what they will.

Rieser was humbled by early plaudits for Christmas in America: Happy Birthday Jesus with features in Resource Magazine, Russian Esquire and on NPR, but feels his recent work has refined the series. It’s not a project near completion by any means. Rieser expects to continue the work over the next three or four years, even if he has figured out why people put on these displays.

“I know why they do it,” says Rieser. “They do it because of kindness.”

All images: Jesse Rieser