CHRISTMAS IN THE YEAR 2000 (1895) – This was written by Edward Bellamy as one of the additions he made to the lore surrounding his look at the world of the “future” year 2000 AD in Looking Backward (1888).
In Bellamy’s year 2000 Christmas is still celebrated, but in ways that are so different that they would be unrecognizable to a person of 1895. Readers are told that many in the year 2000 are astonished to learn that people of the 1890s marked Christmas at all given how every element of society in that time seemed devoted to ignoring Christmas and all it meant.
If you’ll recall, Bellamy’s 1888 work Looking Backward depicted large-scale communal living, with trade unions for every profession. The author’s depiction of his “future” utopia was largely socialist.
Continuing in that fashion, people in 2000 AD look down on the economic inequality of the 1800s with contempt and mistaken notions that Christmas used to be outlawed flourish. That’s because the people of the future feel that the 1800s were the antithesis of what Christmas stood for.
With smug self-satisfaction, future-folk feel that they celebrate the “real” meaning of Christmas – sharing of wealth and providing all necessities for everyone in a spirit of giving that is not limited to just one day a year.
This short piece presented the world of 2000 AD marking Christ’s birthday as the coming of the great liberator from economic need and social inequality.
BALLADEER’S BLOG
With the lack of self-awareness common to so many utopians, Bellamy’s citizens of the future failed to realize they were as pompously hypocritical as the greedy Robber Barons and religious zealots of the 1800s.
The future population felt pity for people of the past because they did not “celebrate Christmas in the way we do, as the world’s great emancipation day and feast of all the liberties.”
No future science presented in this item, just a look at a Christmas Holiday that incorporates elements of what we would call May Day celebrations. I’m not condemning or praising this work from so long ago, just describing it.
FOR MORE “ANCIENT” SCIENCE FICTION CLICK HERE.
Balladeer's Blog 
This is really interesting! Like I said, your blog is a treasure trove for cool and curious information. The smug, self-satisfied folk you mention in “Christmas in the Year 2000” seem pretty spot on, even if the rest of it didn’t work out to plan. (I can think of a few myself!)😃💜
Ha! I know some people like that too! Thanks for the nice comment! I’m glad you;re enjoying my blog posts!
Great posts as always. I have never heard of this science fiction story in the past but found it interesting all the same. The dystopian aspect of the story set in a futuristic world reminded me a lot of classic science fiction movies that I love. For instance, it brought to mind the classic film “Blade Runner”. Ridley Scott’s movie has stood the test of time as a science fiction classic. It happens to share several common themes with the story you discussed here. One of my favourite films of all time.
Here’s why I recommend it (if you have not already seen it):
Thank you! Yes, Looking Backward is one of the most-imitated works of science fiction in history.