Jesse Rieser has a special holiday tradition: photographing everyone else's traditions. The West Coast-based photographer is the artist behind the photo series "Christmas In America: Happy Birthday Jesus," which documents the best of America's love affair with Christmas decor.
Rieser has traveled around the United States documenting the lengths people go to in decorating for the holidays. He's been to the South, Southwest, and up and down the West Coast. As the geographical parameters expand, so does the project.
Like so many good things, the project's inspiration came from Santa Claus. It started in 2009 when Rieser's parents relocated to Phoenix. “I was coming to see them for the first time in Phoenix, and I started to kind of pick up on some things that seemed kind of unique,” he said. “I was driving in from Los Angeles, and in the rearview there was this kind of illuminated, five-story Santa over a Christmas-tree lot, just kind of swaying in the wind. Almost waving to me. I was just like, ‘Oh, that’s strange.’”
The extravagant decorations are overwrought, gaudy, and utterly fascinating. The region that goes most all-out? The Southwest, Rieser said. "The areas with warmer weather [allow] people to have a little more freedom than, say, a place like Seattle or Portland where they’re dealing with a lot of rain and the climate isn’t quite as dry, because they can utilize a lot of affordable lights and electronics," he said. "You always think about Christmas in cold, traditional climates, and so far I’ve found that the warmer, drier climates can be a little more visually stimulating."
“A lot of my work comes from a place with a sense of humor, but also it’s kind of exploratory in nature. I definitely look to a lot of domestic things and things that are very familiar that maybe [aren't] quite as celebrated.”
Flocking Station, Glendale, AZ, 2012
Pacific Furs Tree Lot
Photo: Jesse Rieser.
"I started to notice just more and more people in this part of the country that really displayed their love of the holiday in a very outward manner."
Christmas Tree Study No 2, Riverside, CA, 2012
Salvage Yard
Photo: Jesse Rieser.
“What is it that they love? Is it something that was a carryover from their childhood and tradition, was it a suburbia, ‘Keeping-up-with-the-Joneses’ type of thing? And it actually all comes from this sincere and celebratory place, and it’s almost as if they have a stage built into the calendar year when they can be as creative as they want.”
Domesticated Reindeer, Surprise, AZ, 2012
Photo: Jesse Rieser.
“The first couple of years, the project was focused on more residential and people’s individual ways of celebrating the holiday.”
Lauren, Dothan, AL, 2013
Bateman Residence
Photo: Jesse Rieser.
“It may look kind of crazy, and I hate to use the word ‘tacky’… but it’s something that really comes from a sincere, genuine place. It’s something they do for the community and the neighborhood.”
Santa Sea, Las Vegas, NV, 2013
The Great Santa Run
Photo: Jesse Rieser.
“Suburbia, for whatever reason, has something they offer. They take it to another level.”
Protecting Dreams, Phoenix, AZ, 2011
North Phoenix Baptist Church
Photo: Jesse Rieser.
“A lot of times, I’ve seen that they actually do it for the kids in the neighborhood, and they don’t have kids themselves. So, there’s that angle, but they’re also kind of doing it because they never started their own family. This isn’t in every instance, but… in a sense they do it for other people.”
Christmas On Elm Street, Boise, ID, 2013
Residence
Photo: Jesse Rieser.
“These things that you find that border on the absurd, but it comes from a good place.”
Pawn Shop Santa, Phoenix, AZ, 2013
Mo Money Pawn Shop
Photo: Jesse Rieser.
“It’s tongue in cheek.”
Happy Birt Jesus, Phoenix, AZ, 2011
Residence
Photo: Jesse Rieser.
“The most fun thing is when you walk into a home and you see that someone’s spent just who knows how many hours, and it’s just this transformed space.”
Bob Rix’s Dining Room, Phoenix, AZ, 2011
Rix Residence
Photo: Jesse Rieser.
"It’s kind of a by-product of some of these [decorated] homes that they create almost a sort of community center for the kids in the neighborhood. If the kids want to come, so do the parents, and then they get to know the neighbors, and the kids are having hot chocolate and playing, and their parents are having a beer and getting to know each other. So there are some interesting positive things that go beyond the ‘wow’ factor.”
Christmas Morning, Glendale, AZ, 2012
Residence
Photo: Jesse Rieser.
"It’s something that really comes from a sincere, genuine place. It’s something they do for the community and the neighborhood, something that’s a carryover from their own family traditions that they enjoyed doing as children."
Holiday Landscaper, Las Vegas, NV, 2013
The Bellagio Conservatory
Photo: Jesse Rieser.
“It’s like they’re coming from a very trusting, almost innocent place.”
Mayor Goodman and Friends, Las Vegas, NV, 2013
Photo: Jesse Rieser.
“I don’t know if it’s to feel a little more individual, all the homes look the same, or if it’s just a different mindset.”
Happy Birthday Jesus, Chandler, AZ, 2012
Residence
Photo: Jesse Rieser.
"I don’t want it to look like we’re making fun of them, as much as, let’s just celebrate their celebration. It might seem strange, and if you want to use the word ‘tacky,’ that’s fine, but you know what? They really love that. I love that they love that, so good [for] them."
Wirschern Sisters’ Christmas Dinner, Phoenix, AZ, 2011
Wirschern Residence
Photo: Jesse Rieser.
“It’s not usually the neighborhoods where people have [a lot]. They’re not affluent families. They’re usually middle to lower class, and they probably spend way more money than they should. It’s a really big deal to them.”
Dive Bar Santa, Las Vegas, NV, 2013
Stoney’s Rockin’ Country
Photo: Jesse Rieser.
“It sounds really strange, because I think intrinsically you look at it, and it’s like, ‘This is tacky!’ But it actually does come from a creative, sincere place.”
Electric Blue, Henderson, NV, 2012
Residence
Photo: Jesse Rieser.
“Some of these houses have self-guided tours. You show up, the owner greets you, and you just roam around a stranger’s house unattended.”
Bavarian Christmas Village Garage, Tempe, AZ, 2012
Residence
Photo: Jesse Rieser.
"It’s crazy, sure, but it’s also kind of beautiful and it’s sincere and it’s kind of cute."
TV Room, Mountain Home, ID, 2013
Residence
Photo: Jesse Rieser.
“It’s a big part of their identity.”
Behind the Scenes, Phoenix, AZ, 2011
Residence
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