The 1930’s were an exciting time for christmas.. even though it was the depression it appears that a lot of what we come to know as our favourite christmas traditions had their beginnings in this decade.
Starting with the christmas tree –
Wikipedia states that “Americans were enamored with the floor to ceiling tree. Tree farms grew during this decade and live trees gained in popularity. In order to revive the feather tree, they were now sold in a variety of colors, including pink, blue, purple, and orange.”
“In the 1930’s , common Christmas tree decorations included bells, balls, and tinsel, and with a beautiful golden haired angel at the top. Commercial Christmas ornaments took off in America when F.W. Woolworth, of five-and-dime store fame reluctantly began selling German glass ornaments and they sold out in two days. That convinced him and he began his buying trips to Germany. Translucent plastic shapes, honeycomb paper angels, and glow-in-the-dark icicles became popular items.”
However at the same time the practise of using real candles on the tree became a safety hazard and people were warned against them – or other flammable ornaments.
Be careful little boy!
Two christmas songs that we love so much were written in 1934:
“Santa Claus is coming to town” and “Winter Wonderland”.
And the great time honoured tradition of leaving cookies out for santa began in this decade also.
AND.. Santa still smoked cigarettes.
Those were the days.
Starlet O Hara 