New Ideal has an delightful article by Jeff Britting about Christmas at the O’Connors’: How Ayn Rand Celebrated:
To celebrate Christmas, [New Ideal] asked Jeff Britting, former curator of the Ayn Rand Archives, to supply us with images and text from an article he wrote that originally appeared in the Ayn Rand Institute’s newsletter, Impact, in 2010. The article was devoted to anecdotes about Christmas visits, letters from Ayn Rand’s family in Russia about Christmas, images of Rand and her husband, Frank O’Connor, at Christmas and Christmas cards she and Frank gave and received (some with their pet names for each other, “Fluff” for her and “Cubbyhole” for him).
One observation that stands out to us is Miss Rand — America’s greatest defender of Capitalism — attitude towards gift-giving:
As to gifts, Miss Rand preferred to exchange presents only among very close friends and special business associates. And given that many of her friends were of modest means, she insisted that gifts not be burdensomely expensive. This challenge often resulted in flights of ingenuity. The artists and musicians among her circle often produced handcrafted ornaments, jewelry and recordings.
Overall the entire article for Ayn Rand fans is a joy to read. Merry Christmas!
