Journey through Christmases Past - Red, White & Blue Christmas

 

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.

Hope you are having a blessed Memorial Day weekend. It is cold and rainy here, but the garden can always use a boost from Mother Nature. Tuesday is supposed to be sunny and about 80 degrees, so we should see some nice growth after two days of rain. 

If we look at the calendar, there are 214 days left until Christmas 2026. That is so crazy to me. Didn't we just take down our Christmas trees? 

This week's Journey through Christmases Past honors those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our nation, like one of our former high school classmates, Captain John W. Maloney, by featuring the red, white, and blue Christmas palette that...

• Became popular during World Wars I and II,
• Inspired the rise of Americana decor throughout the 1940s - 1960s,
• Picked up again for the country's bicentennial in 1976, 
• And still can be found in homes today.

As we mentioned in this post about the influence of World War II on Christmas decor, Christmas in America changed during wartime. Though Edward Hibberd Johnson first decorated his tree with electric red, white, and blue bulbs in the 1880s (see here), during wartime, decorating with these colors became a sign of patriotism for families at home. Families hung Service Flags in their windows. Paper garlands and flag-themed ribbons became popular. 

Photo credit: The National WWI Museum and Memorial

The notion of peace, already connected with Christmas, took on new significance. 

Photo credit: Getty Images

The government even encouraged citizens to shop early to boost the economy.

Photo credit: Getty Images

Though glass ornaments had typically been imported from Germany, during World Wars I and II, they were crafted by local artisans. 

Post-World War II America continued to embrace patriotic displays for national holidays--Independence Day and Armistice Day (now known as Veterans Day). But blue lights, silver tinsel paired with red ornaments, and Shiny Bright ornaments in patriotic hues brought these colors into Christmas. 

If you had any doubt that these colors worked for the Christmas holiday, check out this video of Jesse Rogers singing his 1952 single, "Red, White and Blue Christmas," with the Saddle Riders.

As we headed into the 1970s, America's Bicentennial was on the horizon. A thing Retro Renovation called "Bicentennial Chic" was popular, as seen in these photos of mid-70s Ethan Allen home furnishings and decor. 

Hallmark released Bicentennial commemorative ornaments that year.

And the movie, Young Pioneers Christmas, written by Blanche Hanalis (Little House on the Prairie) and based on a novel by Rose Wilder Lane (daughter of Laura Ingalls Wilder and influential American libertarian), aired in December. 

Today, red, white, and blue continue to be seen at Christmastime. Home Depot and Walmart offer a slim Christmas tree in patriotic hues for sale. Etsy artisans, Target, and Amazon offer patriotic ornaments, and Farmhouse-inspired patriotic Christmas tree ideas are found online. 

So, here's to the red, white, and blue! 

Journey Through Christmases Past - Christmas 1918

 

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.

My father used to say that he would rather owe you something than cheat you out of it. So, here is Sunday's post on a Friday. Hopefully, I will have the bandwidth to give you another post this coming weekend. 

In honor of Women's History Month, today's journey will take us back to the year 1918. World War I had been raging since July 1914, significantly affecting homes and economies as women showed they were more than homemakers or domestic servants. With men away fighting, women replaced them in the workforce, including in factories, shipyards, and steel mills. They served as nurses near the front lines and assisted war efforts by taking on the roles of drivers, translators, and administrative staff. 

While battles were waged on distant shores, in the United States, the military identified the Spanish Flu in the spring of 1918. The Flu Pandemic of 1918 spread across the globe, killing at least 50,000 people worldwide. A second wave of the flu emerged at Camp Devens outside Boston and at a Boston naval facility in September. Another wave came in November 1918, as people celebrated the Armistice that ended the war. 

Barracks Decorated for Christmas

Photo credit: Oak Bay History Facebook Page 

Contributor: Jim Wolf

Christmas 1918, often referred to as "Peace Christmas," was a time for people to grieve and reflect. Families observed quiet memorials for lost loved ones. Christmas trees were smaller, if they were put up at all. Church services honored those who would never come home. Many service members spent Christmas 1918 overseas, as they awaited transportation home. Because of the pandemic, gatherings were smaller, and hospitals were full of patients and weary staff. 

Bismarck Daily Tribune (Bismarck, ND, Dec 24, 1918)

Photo credit: Library of Congress

Despite all this, "Peace Christmas" gave people hope. Newspapers featured pictures of returning troops, they printed President Woodrow Wilson's "Fourteen Points," and they spoke of how determined people were to mark the holiday memorably. President Wilson traveled to France to have dinner with troops before the beginning of the Paris Peace Conference. 

As men arrived home, they expected to return to the jobs women willingly filled while they were away. But the women were no longer the same. They knew what they could accomplish. They returned to their domestic lives forever changed, while the rest of the world wanted to return to the way things used to be. As a result, women propelled the suffrage movement forward. The 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution was passed by Congress in 1919 and ratified in 1920. After WWI, schools admitted more women, and women entered male-dominated fields like medicine and engineering. 

"Peace Christmas" reminds us that when the world finally grew quiet again, women were standing at a crossroads. Not only did women know what they were capable of, but their daughters grew up watching them help the war effort while tending the fires at home, and once it was all over, they witnessed their mothers help to rebuild a world with expanded opportunities for women.