Christmas Past

Christmas past is more than just history. It is memories and music and food and style and unique traditions. It is the stuff of legends, too. We grandly embrace the Christmas of the past.

Christmas 1924
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A Glimpse of Christmas 100 Years Ago

The best part of looking back at Christmas 100 years ago is that we see both change and lasting tradition. As with many things, only Christmas gives this unique perspective. In 1924 Calvin Coolidge was president, the average income was about…
Ancestor Christmas Tree
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My Ancestor Christmas Tree

Years ago I had an epiphany listening to the SBMX Christmas Podcast about ancestral Christmas trees. The idea was simple: have a theme tree dedicated to your ancestors. My first impression was "Why didn't I think of this?" After all, I'm…
Christmas Past
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Celebrating Christmas Past

Christmas past is more than just history. Christmas past is a combination of the stuff of love. That is why we keep going back to Christmas of yore. We love love. Christmas past is also the title of a new book by podcaster Brian Earl, host…
Not a Happy Christmas
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Not a Happy Christmas

In 1944, Christmas was celebrated for the sixth time since the Second World War had broken out on September 1, 1939. Men who often shared the same religious background fought each other to the death in sharp contrast with the old Christmas…
Charles Dickens
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The Tears of Charles Dickens

It is said the tears of Charles Dickens were shed as he wrote A Christmas Carol. During a brief period in the fall of 1843 Dickens would take late-night strolls on the streets of London as he mulled the story he was creating over and over in…
Influencers of Christmas
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The Influencers of Christmas in the 20th Century

Who are the influencers of Christmas? Influencers are people who create a lasting impact. In 21st century terms, influencers are people with a long reach via media that everyone follows what they do. As we go back in history we can see influencers…
Christmas Anniversaries
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Christmas Anniversaries 2020

Every year for Christmas in July we recount the anniversaries of Christmas – literally a history of Christmas history. The amount of Christmas to recount in 2020 is amazing. ~ Christmas 25 Years Ago (1995) ~ One of the amazing things…
Mistletoe Ghost Story
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The Ghost Story of Mistletoe

The ancient roots of mistletoe have nothing on the 19th century popularity of mistletoe. It was, for all intents and purposes, a great fad of Christmas. It began with a poem, as many things popular with Christmas of the 19th century did.…
Christmas Social Media
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A Christmas Social Media Post from 1818

Social media Christmas is a thing. From Twitter to Reddit to Facebook, today’s youth do comment about Christmas. The social media of today is building a wonderful record of their thoughts about Christmas and that record will be available for…
Christmas Stress

Traditions of Christmas Stress

Stress at Christmas is a fact of life. In fact, it could be called a time-honored tradition. In our ongoing exploration of Christmas past we stumbled upon this poem, titled The Christmas Nightmare, written by Carolyn Wells and published in…
Christmas Future
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A Prediction of Christmas Future from 1896

In preparing for another episode of the Merry Podcast I came across an editorial from a New York newspaper published in 1896. It contains an amazing prediction of Christmas-yet-to-come. It is interesting to contemplate this being written considering…
Christmas gifts in the 1970s
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Great Christmas Gifts in the 1970s

Christmas gifts in the 1970s were very different than the decades before. It was an age before computers yet an age when technology affected nearly everything in gift giving. You could give Dad a tie for Christmas. But why would you when you…
Thanksgiving
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Josiah, His Turkeys and His Sweetheart

(Editor’s Note: This Thanksgiving story was published sometime in the early 19th century. Like A Visit from St. Nicholas it was published as a tradition year after year in many newspapers. We found it in the Boston Traveler from 1836, though…
Christmas in the 1970s
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Christmas in the 1970s

Christmas in the 1970s was an era between eras. Music and television stars of the 1950s still produced major Christmas releases and the gifts, toys and fads of the time seemed caught sometimes between a time warp to the past and to the future. Take,…
O Holy Night
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The Story of O Holy Night

O Holy Night is like the national anthem of Christmas songs. Hauntingly beautiful but so difficult to sing it is often presented a cringe-worthy performances by even the best of singers (Celine Dion is perhaps the best example of one who over-sings…