Journey Through Christmases Past - Christmas in the United States

 

Welcome to our newest feature, Journey through Christmases Past. This series is a nostalgic celebration of the holidays we all remember...

• The history and traditions of the holiday.
• The décor that filled our homes.
• The toys that defined each decade.
• The television and movie shows that brightened the season.
• The outfits we adored (and the ones we definitely didn’t).

Along the way, I’ll sprinkle in a few of my own Christmas memories. So settle in with a cup of your favorite hot beverage and join me on a journey through Christmases past.

Happy Sunday! Well, at least for the next 45 minutes or so. We are back from our visit to Wilmington, NC. Let me tell you, it is way warmer down there than it is up here. I had to dig out my sleeveless tops and shorts. Here, I was cold in my light jacket.

For this week's Journey through Christmases Past post, I thought it would be neat to chat about Christmas in the United States. What was the first state to recognize it as a legal holiday? How about the last one? Which state banned the holiday? About when was it recognized by all 50 states? And when did Christmas become a federal holiday? 

Somehow, I thought that first question would have an easy answer. Many online sources cite Alabama as being the first state in the Union to declare Christmas a legal holiday. Then I read this article that said there are no records to support that statement. I also discovered this YouTube video debunking that theory. Then this article claimed that Louisiana and Arkansas declared Christmas a legal holiday in 1831. So, while we might not be sure, it happened in some state in the 1830s. 

The last state to recognize Christmas as a legal holiday was Oklahoma, which happened the same year it became a state, 1907. 

My lovely home state of Massachusetts was the one that banned Christmas in 1659. They didn't declare Christmas a legal holiday until 1856.

Then, in 1870, President Ulysses S. Grant declared Christmas a federal holiday, a move that might have been an effort to unite a country still in the midst of Reconstruction after the Civil War. When Alaska and Hawaii joined the nation in 1959, they followed the federal precedent, making Christmas a legal holiday in all 50 states. 

Journey through Christmases Past - Christmas Traditions

 

Welcome to our newest feature, Journey through Christmases Past. This series is a nostalgic celebration of the holidays we all remember...

• The history and traditions of the holiday.
• The décor that filled our homes.
• The toys that defined each decade.
• The television and movie shows that brightened the season.
• The outfits we adored (and the ones we definitely didn’t).

Along the way, I’ll sprinkle in a few of my own Christmas memories. So settle in with a cup of your favorite hot beverage and join me on a journey through Christmases past.

Happy Sunday! Well, at least for a little while more. We are 250 days away from Christmas! Doesn't it seem like we just celebrated? 

This week, as we journey through Christmases from the past, I thought it might be interesting to talk about traditions.

When 4RV Publishing released the second edition of my book, A Christmas Kindness, we added material for readers, including Christmas traditions from around the world. Readers can learn about:

• Letters that children in the United Kingdom write to Father Christmas. 
• The Christmas Eve party in Argentina with large dinners, fireworks, and special lit balloons floating through the air. 
• Children in Greece traveling from house to house singing Christmas carols on Christmas Eve. 

Growing up, we always knew Christmas was coming when my mother pulled the books out of the shelves in the living room and added her Christmas village. My sister and I were trying to find one online because it was unique. Then she rearranged the furniture to make room for the Christmas tree. Shiny Brite ornaments, Bradford Tinsel Garland, the flocked Santa, and the Christopher Radko bird ornaments dotted the branches of our artificial tree, which I think always had colored lights. 

Mom ordered from the Sears Wish Book and hid presents under her bed. She must have wrapped them after we went to bed, because I don't ever recall seeing her wrap gifts. We hung our stockings on a fake cardboard fireplace, and later on the lower bookshelf. 

One of the few photos I have of my childhood home on Christmas morning

Our bedrooms were at the opposite end of our apartment from our parents' room, so my middle sister and I would sneak into our oldest sister's room to play cards or listen to music before waking our parents. Once we were allowed to wake them, the first thing we did was sing Happy Birthday to baby Jesus. Then we opened gifts, cleaned up the remnants of torn paper and bows, and prepared for the extended family to arrive for dinner. 

What are some traditions you recall from your childhood Christmases? 

Journey through Christmases Past - Christmas 1871

 

Welcome to our newest feature, Journey through Christmases Past. This series is a nostalgic celebration of the holidays we all remember...

• The history and traditions of the holiday.
• The décor that filled our homes.
• The toys that defined each decade.
• The television and movie shows that brightened the season.
• The outfits we adored (and the ones we definitely didn’t).

Along the way, I’ll sprinkle in a few of my own Christmas memories. So settle in with a cup of your favorite hot beverage and join me on a journey through Christmases past.

Christos Anesti (Χριστὸς ἀνέστη)! Today, our family celebrated Orthodox Easter. For Christians, the holidays of Christmas and Easter are closely connected. Christmas opens the story of salvation, and Easter is its fulfilment. Just like Advent prepares our hearts for Christ to come, Lent prepares our hearts for why He came. With that spirit in mind, let's journey back to the Christmas of 1871.

The year opens with the birth of the German Empire, and by May, the Franco-Prussian War has ended. America, only five years past the end of the Civil War, is in the middle of its Reconstruction era. Ulysses S. Grant, the Commanding General of the United States Army during the war, is now serving his second term as President of the United States. It is also the year that Congress will pass the Third Enforcement Act, designed to protect African Americans from violence during Reconstruction. 

Photo credit: Wikipedia

The Rugby Football Union is formed in England in January. In March, journalist Henry Morton Stanley begins his expedition to find missing Scottish explorer Dr. David Livingstone in Africa, which will take him most of the year. Then, on April 10, 1871, P. T. Barnum debuts his first traveling circus. 

Sadly, the Great Chicago Fire in October would leave more than one-third of the city's population homeless. The city's residents focus on rebuilding. Machinists work day and night to restore water; General Sheridan's troops and volunteers patrol the city to keep people safe; the newly formed Union Fire Proof Ticket, comprised of Republicans and Democrats dedicated to restoring Chicago’s economy and reforming its politics, gathers with their supporters; and Members of the Young Men’s Christian Association of Trinity Church plan to open a free Young Men's Club and Reading Room to help homeless out of work young men. 

By December, residents of Chicago attend theater and lecture events as a distraction. A new mayor is elected. The new temporary city hall is constructed and welcomes employees of the city government. On Christmas Day, some stores welcome last-minute shoppers, and theaters attract large audiences. Four thousand Catholic worshippers attend a 4 a.m. High Mass with many Protestants on hand to witness the ceremony. [View a more complete timeline of Chicago in 1871, here.]

In the Big Woods of Pepin, Wisconsin, a four-year-old Laura Ingalls Wilder is growing up in a "little gray house made of logs," alongside her Pa, Ma, her sisters Mary and Carrie, and her brindle bulldog, Jack. In the fourth chapter of Little House in the Big Woods, Wilder describes the snowy days leading up to Christmas that year, when "Pa's breath hung in the air like smoke," and "icicles hung from the eaves  of the house to the snowbanks." 

Then the day before Christmas, the cousins come, and the little house is so full that Black Susan the cat runs out to hide in the barn. The children play outside, making pictures in the snow. When it is bedtime, they listen to the stories the adults tell until Pa gets his fiddle and sings them to sleep. In the morning, the children find that Santa Claus has come, leaving presents in their stockings. 

If we consider these two Christmases side-by-side, you have a holiday filled with hope and magic. For Chicagoans, Christmas 1871 arrived in a city that was rising from the ashes, forging a new identity that would usher in an era of steel-supported skyscrapers more than a decade later. Nearly 350 miles away, on the snowy Wisconsin prairie, a Christmas of frontier simplicity unfolds, bringing with it a visit from family and Santa, along with the magic of Christmas morning. Both holidays embrace the importance of gathering together and making room for joy, which we still embrace today. 

Journey through Christmases Past - Inside a 1940s Kitchen

 

Welcome to our newest feature, Journey through Christmases Past. This series is a nostalgic celebration of the holidays we all remember...

• The history and traditions of the holiday.
• The décor that filled our homes.
• The toys that defined each decade.
• The television and movie shows that brightened the season.
• The outfits we adored (and the ones we definitely didn’t).

Along the way, I’ll sprinkle in a few of my own Christmas memories. So settle in with a cup of your favorite hot beverage and join me on a journey through Christmases past.

Happy Sunday, everyone! Hope you had a nice Easter if you celebrate it. We had most of the family at the house today. Our youngest was working. After spending two days in the kitchen, cooking and baking, I felt inspired to share more about kitchens and landed in the 1940s. 

Before the 1950s, which is when the open floor plan concept began, kitchens were hidden workspaces that focused on functionality and efficiency. Metal cabinets with enamel finishes were typical; some still exist in homes I've shown and viewed here in Massachusetts. 

Depending upon where you lived in 1940, and how easily accessible and affordable electricity was, your home likely had an icebox or an electric refrigerator.

Vintage 1940 icebox - Photo credit: Architectural Salvage Warehouse

Electrical appliances were also found in some 1940s kitchens.

Drip coffee maker - found on Pinterest from an expired Etsy listing

2-slice toaster - Photo credit: Toaster Central

Stand mixer - Photo credit: Facebook page (no longer linked)

Features you might find in a kitchen in the 1940s included:

Farmhouse sinks or double bowl sinks with drainboards - Photo credit: Retro Renovation

Breakfast nook - Photo credit: Click Americana

A working pantry (jealous of this one)

A pullout cutting board 

A step to reach upper cabinets (super jealous of this one)

Built-in dishwasher - Photo credit for all these is Rare Historical Photos

Sometimes, you even had your washer and dryer in the kitchen, like in this photo featured in the "THEN AND NOW: Here's How US Kitchens Have Evolved Throughout the Years" article from Business Insider. 

Does your home have any of these neat features? 

Journey through Christmases Past - Christmas 1843

 

Welcome to our newest feature, Journey through Christmases Past. This series is a nostalgic celebration of the holidays we all remember...

• The history and traditions of the holiday.
• The décor that filled our homes.
• The toys that defined each decade.
• The television and movie shows that brightened the season.
• The outfits we adored (and the ones we definitely didn’t).

Along the way, I’ll sprinkle in a few of my own Christmas memories. So settle in with a cup of your favorite hot beverage and join me on a journey through Christmases past.

Happy Sunday! Here we are at 271 days before Christmas. Are you keeping up with your to-do lists to reduce stress around the holidays? I'll admit, I am slacking, though the Easter baskets will be all set by next Sunday. 

Let's wander back to Christmas 1843. This one is important, especially for lovers of the written word. But let's start with the first quarter of 1843 and work toward it. 

Photo credit: National Museum of American History

In March 1843, Samuel Morse, who had been working on the electro-magnetic telegraph for over a decade, built a telegraph system from Washington, D.C. to Baltimore with some assistance from a $30,000 appropriation from Congress. In mid-May of that year, the United Free Church of Scotland was formed. Then on May 22, the first wagon train left Missouri for Oregon along the Oregon Trail, with a committee appointed to establish a civil government that summer. 

An unexpected snowstorm hit Rochester and Buffalo, New York, and Cleveland, Ohio, on June 1, the same day that Isabella Baumfree would change her name to Sojourner Truth, leaving New York on a traveling tour to speak against slavery. 

Photo credit: kues1 on Freepik

In July of 1843, Great Britain would launch the SS Great Britain, the first vessel with an iron hull and screw propeller. Later that summer, American inventor Charles Thurber would patent the first practical typewriter. 

Image of Mr. Fezziwig's Ball from

  A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Sketch by John Leech.

Photo credit to Wikimedia Commons

As the world entered December 1843, Manila paper was patented in Massachusetts, the first Christmas card was commissioned by Sir Henry Cole and sent by Queen Victoria, and Charles Dickens published A Christmas Carol on December 19, with the first edition selling out by Christmas Eve. 

The Christmas of 1843 found the world on the cusp of cultural transformation. As people emmigrated from Europe, they brought their traditions with them to America, blending and adapting them across continents. The 1800s also saw Christianity expanding into Asia, Africa, and the Pacific, influencing how Christmas was observed or introduced. The Victorian Era in Great Britain was a time of industrial progress, making Christmas a holiday that more people could experience. 

However, much of what we call the spirit of Christmas is thanks to one man: Charles Dickens. Before 1843, some families celebrated while others let the day go unnoticed or treated it only as a religious observance. As A Christmas Carol made its way into homes, what Christmas felt like was rewritten. Through the miserly Scrooge, he showed readers what a life without charity, kindness, generosity, and social responsibility looked like. Dickens reminded us through the Cratchits that the holiday is not about extravagance; it's about spending time together. No longer just a date on the calendar, Christmas is a season with a shared spirit. 

Thank you, Charles Dickens, for giving Christmas its heart!

Journey through Christmases Past - Christmas 1986

 

Welcome to our newest feature, Journey through Christmases Past. This series is a nostalgic celebration of the holidays we all remember...

• The history and traditions of the holiday.
• The décor that filled our homes.
• The toys that defined each decade.
• The television and movie shows that brightened the season.
• The outfits we adored (and the ones we definitely didn’t).

Along the way, I’ll sprinkle in a few of my own Christmas memories. So settle in with a cup of your favorite hot beverage and join me on a journey through Christmases past.

Welcome back. Hope you had a great week. Did you know there are only 278 days until Christmas? Doesn't that sound crazy? Didn't we just pack away our decorations? 

Photo credit: Getty Images

Today, we journey back to Christmas 1986. In the middle of the "Decade of Greed," everything was over the top, even our Christmas decorations. The hair was big. The music was wild. We had Valley Girls, Yuppies, Preppies, Headbangers, New Wavers, Skaters, and Surfer Dudes. Madonna begged "Papa Don't Preach," Whitney Houston asked, "How Will I Know," and Bon Jovi sang that "You Give Love A Bad Name." 

If you were out and needed to reach your parents, you'd better have a quarter and a corner with a pay phone to call them. Malls were filled with teens dressed in oversized sweatshirts and leg warmers hugging their shins over their acid-wash jeans. They saw Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Aliens, and Labyrinth in the theater, and played Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda on Nintendo in their family rooms. They thought things were radical, bodacious, and tubular. During recess, kids ran around the schoolyard playing tag, Mother, May I?, and Red Rover.  

The Sears Christmas Wish Book in 1986 featured lower prices on childhood favorites like Disneyland playsets, musical toys, rocking horses, and dollhouses. Cabbage Patch Kids and Teddy Ruxpin were sought-after toys. 

Pound Puppies and My Pet Monster were popular stuffed animals in 1986. The Christmas bears below were found in many homes. I'm pretty sure my mother-in-law once owned one. 

Photo credit: MLive

By the middle of the decade, the price of VCRs had come down enough that it was predicted 44.5% of households would own one, and Sony was advertising cordless phones. Camcorders also became a household staple. 

Photo credit: Petal Pushers Nursery

We decorated our Christmas trees with satin ornaments, draping them in an overabundance of tinsel after wrapping them with layers of garland. Unless you owned a ceramic tree instead. 

Did you enjoy our journey? What do you remember about Christmas 1986? 

Five Holiday Hosting Tips

 

At this point in my life, I've hosted holiday gatherings for close to 40 years. When my son was little, I would have my family over for a Christmas Eve party each year. Once the girls were born, it turned into hosting my family on Christmas Eve and my husband's family on Christmas Day. Nowadays, I share holiday hosting duties with my sister-in-law. 

Here are five tips I've learned to make holiday hosting easier.

Plan Early

Whether writing invitations, trying new recipes, or figuring out how many chairs you need, make a plan at least three months in advance. This gives you time to deal with the unexpected or failed food attempts. 

Inventory Your Pantry Ahead of Time

How many times have you been partway through a recipe and discovered you are out of a key ingredient? Thanks to the Internet and that beautiful modern invention, the cell phone, you might learn of a substitute, but some ingredients can't easily be switched out. A month before the big day, grab non-perishables. 

Shop Sales

Speaking of non-perishables, ingredients like flours, sugars, and spices are often on sale each holiday. Grab an extra package if you have room. Buy paper products, disposable serving dishes, and decorations for next year's gathering at the end of the season. 

Make Food Ahead

Not everything needs to be fresh out of the oven. You can make appetizers, desserts, and sides ahead of time so that you can spend less time in the kitchen on the day of your event and more time with guests. 

Photo credit: Freepik

Clean Dishes As You Go

This is a daily practice in my kitchen. Cooking is hard work. The minute I sit down to dinner with my guests, I no longer feel like navigating a mountain of dirty dishes. So, most of the pots, pans, and prep dishes are cleaned up as I go. During holiday celebrations, I clear the table between courses and put the dishes in the dishwasher, so there is less to clean up once we are finished. It makes a HUGE difference.