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).
Happy Sunday! We are now 60 days away from Christmas 2026. That is only two months, people. Are you ready?
Today, we journey back 189 years to see what happened in 1837 and how it shaped the holiday season.
The year opens on January 1 with the Galilee Earthquake. It devastates northern Israel and southern Lebanon--which at the time were part of the Ottoman Empire--leading to thousands of casualties. Later in the month, aftershocks leave thousands dead in Syria. On the opposite side of the globe, the United States welcomes Michigan as the 26th state before month's end. Its statehood was delayed because of a border dispute with Ohio known as the Toledo War.
In February, blacksmith Thomas Davenport patents the first United States electric-powered motor. Still six years away from publishing A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens begins serializing Oliver Twist. In March, Canada grants Black citizens the right to vote. Meanwhile, the States inaugurate Martin Van Buren as their eighth president.
As the world enters the second quarter of 1837, the Cheyney University is founded in Pennsylvania, making it the first institution of higher education for Black students. In May, the Panic of 1837 begins, leading to a nationwide economic depression that lasts six years. Then, in June, an eighteen-year-old Queen Victoria ascends the throne following the death of her uncle, King William IV.
The summer of 1837 sees the opening of the Grand Junction Railway, the world's first long-distance railway, linking Liverpool and Birmingham. Lea & Perrins concocts Worcestershire Sauce in August, and in September, Charles Tiffany founds Tiffany & Co.
As the world heads into the last quarter of the year, the "Racer Hurricane" strikes the Gulf of Mexico and sweeps across the entire Texas coast. Days later, the steamship Home, en route from New York to Charleston, encounters the "Racer Storm" and sinks off Ocracoke Island on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, leading to the loss of 70 passengers and 25 crew members. In November, abolitionist Elijah Parish Lovejoy is murdered in Illinois; Mary Lyon founds Mount Holyoke Seminary, the first women's college, in Massachusetts; and Issac Pitman first introduces shorthand. William Lyon Mackenzie leads the Rebellion of December 1837 in Upper Canada. And on Christmas Day, U. S. forces led by Colonel Zachary Taylor engage in a major battle against Seminole and Miccosukee Native Americans camped on the northeast shore of Lake Okeechobee.
Christmas 1837 closed out a year marked by fierce storms, financial strain, and political unrest, yet it also shone with remarkable breakthroughs and moments of progress that brought a sense of hope to the season.
Though historical records conflict, it appears Louisiana may have been the first to declare Christmas a holiday in 1837. Queen Victoria is said to have spent her first Christmas privately exchanging gifts and attending church in a country poised for transformation. Considering the financial crisis and the ongoing tensions of the Second Seminole War, Christmas in the United States was a simple one centered around family, especially when Clement Clarke Moore was cited as the author of "A Visit from St. Nicholas."
One of the wonderful things about Christmas is that it gently reminds us that even in uncertain times, hope still finds its way into the season, bringing warmth, connection, and the quiet promise of brighter days ahead.
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