Category: Holidays

A 1920s Traditional Christmas

On By Betty OwensIn 1920s, A 1920s Traditional Christmas, celebration, Christmas, Christmas trees, Holidays, traditions3 Comments

What did Christmas look like in the 1920’s? It depends on who you were, and where you lived. I guess you could say the same about contemporary Christmas celebrations. When I began this research, I was a little surprised. It didn’t look that different. But I shouldn’t have been surprised. Traditions are kept and passed down from one generation to the next. We love our traditions and Christmas wouldn’t be complete without them.

Christmas trees, wreaths, garlands, lights, candles, goodies, toys, and Santa Claus, stockings, ribbons, bows, nutcrackers, cookies, cakes, pies, nativity sets, train sets, Christmas villages…the list goes on. These are still part of our Christmas celebrations today, as they were almost a hundred years ago.

One of the greatest differences will not surprise you. One memoir-writer said, “We had neither the time nor the wherewithal to decorate our homes…” (earlier than Christmas week). Most waited until Christmas Eve. But when you think about it, with the use of real trees lit by candles, it wasn’t safe to keep one up longer than a few days.

Many families went out and cut their own trees from their property, a family’s farm, or they just went somewhere and found one. In the city of course, they were brought in on wagons and sold on the street. Here’s a link showing several scenes that include well-to-do families with their typical Christmas trees:  http://www.cardboardchristmas.com/papateds/Christmas1920s.html And some less fortunate children here:  http://streeturchins.blogspot.com/2010/12/merry-christmas-little-urchins.html

I was interested to see the train sets and villages set up beneath the trees, a tradition that continues in some families today. The trees were pine or cedar and didn’t always have the lovely traditional shape we go for these days. Some looked reminiscent of Charlie Brown’s tree.

Their traditional tree decorations included stringed popcorn, pine cones, red and green ropes (purchased at the store) or homemade paper chains. Snowflake cutouts and tinsel icicles were also used. And don’t forget the lights. Yes, those who had electricity could string lights on their trees. The lights were made by General Electric’s “Edison Decorative Miniature Lamp Division.” You’ll notice they were weather proof, so yes, our ’20s era counterparts decorated outdoors. But most folks either used candles or no lights at all.

What did the stockings contain? An apple (not the lovely red variety we now have, but a homegrown one), an orange, walnuts, pecans, Brazil nuts, candy canes, chocolate drops, and raisins (dried on stems). Maybe a small toy or two. One lady says, “We didn’t hang our stockings by the fireplace, we needed that for heat. Besides, our stockings were just that. Our stockings. They weren’t decorative.” They’d wake up Christmas morning to find their sock or knee-length stocking filled and lying on a chair, or tied around a bedpost or doorknob.

Most folks didn’t go all out for Christmas. Handmade items like socks, gloves, mittens, and scarves were the most common gifts and may be the only gifts a family received. The most popular gifts: the Raggedy Ann doll and die-cast metal toys. Also, roller skates gained popularity, along with wagons and bicycles. And of course the toy train sets and baby dolls.

A traditional Christmas dinner usually included roast chicken rather than turkey or ham. Cakes, pies, and cookies were included. And Jell-O! Yes! Beautiful Jell-O molds for the holidays. Do you think they made “pink stuff” and “green stuff” back then?

Folks baked extra during the holidays and shared desserts with family and neighbors. The wonderful fruitcakes probably got passed around. Some families are still passing the same ones around, apparently. I grew up eating fruitcake and liking it. During prohibition, I suppose they had to use rum flavoring for their cakes and eggnogs.

Religious celebrations included Christmas Eve services, Christmas morning services, traditional programs at church and school, and wandering carolers who usually waited until Christmas Eve, or sometimes Christmas Night to walk about their neighborhoods. You would recognize many of the songs they sang, because we still sing them today. Here’s a sample of some popular Christmas music of the 1920s: http://yuleplay.com/playlist/?pid=1524&pname=1920s%20Christmas%20Songs

Folks sent Christmas cards. I found some cute samples of Christmas cards from the twenties and they’re posted here on Pinterest, along with a few other goodies I found.

One thing that has never gone out of style is giving. We give gifts. It doesn’t really matter how big or how costly the gifts. Sometimes, it’s just really nice to be remembered.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this look back at an interesting era in our history. What traditions did your family observe (your childhood days or even further back)? What is/was your favorite food served at Christmas Dinner?

Photo from: http://streeturchins.blogspot.com/2010/12/merry-christmas-little-urchins.html

Five Days of Christmas Blog Posts – for extra fun:

FREE Today only: This Dance (ebook)

PNP: Does Your Nativity Set Have Personality? 
WIP: Authors and Characters Dream of Christmas Vacations
Sheryl Holmes: Give Hope: Dump an Omelet in the Trash
PNP: Writing and Teaching Romance Easier than Living It
WIP: The Unstoppable Power of Words 
Tracy Ruckman: Immersed in the 1920s as Historical Fiction Writer 
Julie Arduini: Christmas Music
Fay Lamb: On the Ledge: Miracle at 1782 Ayshire Drive
PNP: Treasured Christmas Ornaments of Authors and Characters
WIP: A Writer’s Sweet Tooth: Christmas Cookies
Sheryl Holmes: Give Hope: Be His Hands, Lips, and Feet
PNP: Movie Reviews Safe for Family Viewing
WIP: Variety of a Storyteller
Tracy Ruckman: Surrender is Key to Writers 
Julie Arduini: Christmas Pictures and Ugly Sweaters
Fay Lamb: On the Ledge: A Special Gathering
Sheryl Holmes: Created to Crave
PNP: Fictional Christmas Memories – and a Few Real Ones Too
WIP: 2014 Favorite Fiction
Sheryl Holmes: Give Hope: Send Balloons
                      
PNP: Writer’s Goal to Make God Tangible
WIP: Military Influence on Writer’s Life
Tracy Ruckman: 20 Favorite Christmas Movies of Authors
Julie Arduini:  Christmas Concert Memories
Fay Lamb, On the Ledge: Ho, Ho, Help          

FREE Today only: This Dance (ebook)

Merry Christmas, Dear Readers!

On By Betty OwensIn Christmas, gift, Gifts, Happiness, Happy Holidays, Holidays, Merry Christmas, Snow2 Comments
SnowPines-Shutterstock_165919043.jpg

Nothing says Christmas like a snow-covered pine bough. We’ve seen lots of the white stuff so far this year, which is a little unusual for our region. But it does give my Christmas spirit a boost. I hope your holidays are filled with family and fun this year. And remember, the important gifts don’t come in boxes. Time. Touch. Sound.

I know there are times when family can’t be physically together for the holidays. It’s those times that you can still take time to call or skype. Hearing a loved one’s voice from far away can make the holidays so much brighter. God bless you and your family with the most important things in life.

Now, I need to go hang up my stocking and put a pan of cookies in the oven while I watch my favorite Christmas movie. Thanks for stopping by. And don’t forget to buy books!

If the snow has you housebound, here’s a couple of Kindle suggestions for you. Happy reading! Nike Chillemi’s Goodbye, Noel, Write Integrity Press’ A Ruby Christmas (various authors), and The Christmas Tree Treasure Hunt (various authors). Those last two are novellas and so much fun! By the way, these are not paid links. I do not receive any payment for these suggestions.

Happy Holidays!

The Skinny on Some Christmas Traditions, by Nike Chillemi

On By Betty OwensIn Amazon, books, Christian, Christmas, historical, Holidays, Nike Chillemi, suspense5 Comments
http://nikechillemi.wordpress.com/

I’m so glad you stopped by today. It is with great pleasure I welcome Nike Chillemi as a guest writer. I am so honored to promote her latest release, Goodbye Noel. As you may have guessed, it has a holiday theme. Nike writes historical suspense/crime novels and she’s such a good storyteller! If the reviews (found here) are any indication, this one doesn’t disappoint.  

Nike Chillemi- 

In popular publications we’ve been told umpteen times the first “Christmas” celebrations came from the mid-fourth century during Constantine’s rule in ancient Rome and were adopted and adapted from solar pagan rites. This is not entirely accurate.
There is evidence the Ethiopian Church celebrated the birth of Jesus on December 25th in the 2nd century. Other Eastern churches in the second and third centuries determined the birth of Jesus to be January 5th or January 6th. The Eastern Church still celebrates the birth of Jesus on January 6th, while in the Western Church that date is Epiphany. These December 25th calculations came wholly from church history and heritage (much of that oral). This was before and separate from the papacy decision to declare December 25th the birth of Jesus for conversion reasons. The second century Egyptian theologian, Clement of Alexandria, wrote that ancient Egyptian church scholars practically tried to outdo each other with efforts to pinpoint the date of the birth of Jesus. They also came up with April 20th or 21st and May 20th…all of this having nothing to do with Roman paganism. Is December 25th the actual birthday of Jesus? I don’t know. To me every day is Christ’s birthday. 
It’s true worship of the oak and other trees were quite common in pagan Europe. However, the modern Christmas tree originated in Germany where legend has it St. Boniface cut down a great oak under which human sacrifices were made. Supposedly, in its place a tiny pine sapling grew the following spring and Boniface remarked it pointed to the heavens. That autumn he dug up the small tree and brought it into his house to have for Christmas. Many claimed these trees’ triangular shape signified the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The custom of a potted fir tree in the house at Christmas rapidly spread among Germanic Christians. In time they began decorating trees with bits of sugar candy which they gave to children on Christmas day. That tradition soon evolved into candy canes on tree boughs. Soon other gifts such as dried fruit and small bits of jewelry found their way onto trees.
Then in the 17th century, on a walk home from church late one night before Christmas, Martin Luther passed a grove of evergreen trees. When he looked up, it seemed as if the stars adorned the trees. He immediately cut and decorated a tree with lit candles for the Christmas Eve service. Cut and candle-lit trees quickly spread among Germanic Christians. When Germany’s Prince Albert married the love of his life, the young Queen Victoria, he brought to England the practice of decorating the Christmas tree with candles, candies, fancy cakes, small gifts, and toys. German immigrants brought this to Pennsylvania in the 1800s and the custom rapidly spread across America.
Eggnog is entirely American. While it’s true Europeans of wealth enjoyed eggy-milky drinks with fruit. The first true batch of eggnog was mixed up in 1607 at Captain John Smith’s Jamestown settlement. At that time it was called “egg and grog.” I’m sure we can all imagine what the ingredients were, as colonists called any drink with rum grog. It soon became a drink given to carolers at Christmas along with sweet meats and confections.
Stock.Xchng image #1148932
What about ye olde fruit cake? Cakes with fruit have been baked, well…as long as cakes have been baked. What we think of as the fruit cake, made with preserved fruit and nuts goes back to the middle-ages and the Crusades when people took this type of hearty cake on trips to sustain themselves while away from home. The British love affair with fruit cake began in the 1400s when dried fruits first arrived in the misty isles from the Mediterranean. In the mid-1800s cake with candied fruit had become a Victorian tea cake. It also became a cake served at weddings. Naturally in a time before fruit could be flown to markets from orchards and groves in a warm climate, the candied fruit cake made a perfect Christmas cake. In modern times it seems not to be as popular as years gone by, but fruit cake sales are still surprisingly high.
Whether you’re looking for a good holiday read, or the perfect gift, Nike Chillemi’s Goodbye Noel is a good fit. 


Links to order the book:

Amazon – ($2.99)                          Christianbooks – ($2.89)

Nike Chillemi has been called a crime fictionista due to her passion for crime fiction. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and the Edgy Christian Fiction Lovers (Ning). She was an Inspy Awards 2010 judge in the Suspense/Thriller/Mystery category and a judge in the 2011 Carol Awards in the suspense, mystery, and romantic suspense categories. She is the founding board member of the Grace Awards, a reader’s choice awards for excellence in Christian fiction. She writes monthly book reviews for The Christian Pulse online magazine. Burning Hearts is the first book in the crime wave that is sweeping the south shore of Long Island in The Sanctuary Point series. 

Fruitcake photo from: Stock.Xchng image #1148932