Christmas during 19th & 20th Century

Pagan Symbol--Christmas was a pagan holiday

            It is hard to believe that the holiday of Christmas had been celebrated long before people had a clue about Jesus Christ. In actuality, Jesus was probably not born in December. So how did December 25^th become important? Ages ago in Babylon, people celebrated every December 25^th for the Goddess of Nature. These celebrations included: feasts, parties, liquor, and gift-giving. Eventually, Christmas started to catch on in Europe and was slowly brought to America by Dutch settlers. In the late 19^th century and early 20^th Century, aspects of Christmas involved: Santa Claus, Christmas trees, and the controversies over commercialized Christmas.

The 1910 version of Santa Claus

The idea of Santa Claus arose during this time period.  When settlers came to New York, St. Nicholas became their patron saint. People believed St. Nicholas would bring presents in stockings, every December. As Santa Claus’s persona grew, more people became curious about if he was real or not. Through authors, illustrators and news articles, Santa Claus grew into a phenomenon.  One of the most infamous newspaper editorials was a response to an eight year old girl writing about whether or not Santa was real. “Yes, Virginia, Santa is Real.” To this writer, Santa appeared to be an angelic god-like figure—“He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, […] he lives, and he lives forever…” To people in the late 19^th Century, Santa Claus was a sense of comfort during hard times. 

Advertisement that includes Tree

The tradition of Christmas Trees in America started from the German Settlers i the 1830s. By 1890, ornaments became popular to decorate the tree. Large, colorful became popular throughout American homes during the early 20^th century. The popcorn garland and tinsel also originated in this time. Americans liked a lot of color during the holidays. Advertisements continually pictured large decorative trees in homes. Eventually Trees were placed in town squares all over the country. The traditional Rockefeller Christmas tree was first placed in 1931. 

Ladies World Magazine that included
the article "Greedy Wife"

Dear Virginia
letter

In the late 19^th Century the people faced the fear of Christmas becoming commercialized. The actual meaning of love during Christmas time was easily forgotten by the attempts to create the popular ritzy style of a Victorian Christmas. Newspapers, Magazines, and plays, satirized the thought of a commercialized Christmas. In an article from a newspaper, the writer mentions the art of giving. “If you have money to spend on presents, do not waste on people richer than yourself, but on those poorer.” Christmas became commercialized by people not following this piece of wisdom—presents were the prominent aspect of Christmas to many people in America. Further, in the skit “A Gentle Reminder”, Santa Claus explains to the little boy that presents were for those in need, to essentially cheer them up. The little boy had everything she wanted and didn't need any petty gifts.  Lastly, in 1892 in the magazine “The Ladies World”, published an article about how a husband could not satisfy his wife because all she wanted was material possessions for Christmas and not his love itself.  By the 21^st century, Christmas became fully commercialized.

Christmas originated as a pagan holiday. In the late 1800s and early 1900s Christmas developed a lot of the same traditions like Santa Claus and trees. During this time period, many holidays, especially Christmas, started became an annual event. These traditions kicked off how people celebrate the holidays now.