Key Takeaways
- The Times photographic archive spans a century of Christmas scenes, chronicling enduring festive rituals and traditions.
- The Not Forgotten charity has been holding an annual Christmas party for wounded soldiers since 1921.
- London has seen only a handful of white Christmases in recent decades, but in 1938, snow carpeted the city.
- The Second World War affected Christmas celebrations, with postal services severely impacted and rationing of food and goods making large celebrations difficult.
- Christmas traditions have continued to evolve over the years, with families and communities coming together to celebrate the holiday season.
Introduction to Christmas Traditions
The year is coming to a close, and one annual photo assignment remains a steadfast tradition: the quest for festive images in the run-up to Christmas. The Times photographic archive spans a century of Christmas scenes, and photographers have chronicled enduring festive rituals, from charitable Christmas parties and carol singing to visits to Father Christmas, turkey preparations, and kisses under the mistletoe. The archive provides a unique glimpse into the history of Christmas celebrations, showcasing the traditions and customs that have been passed down through the generations.
Historical Christmas Celebrations
In the wake of the First World War, the first Not Forgotten Christmas party for wounded soldiers was held in 1921. The following year, the Prince of Wales, the future Edward VIII, hosted the event at the Royal Riding School at Buckingham Palace. The Not Forgotten charity continues to hold the annual event over a century later. In 1938, snow carpeted London, and Boxing Day walkers left their footprints on Ludgate Hill, perhaps on their way to St Paul’s Cathedral. The outbreak of the Second World War three months earlier severely affected postal services, with Waterloo packed with postal bags waiting for distribution in time for Christmas.
Wartime Christmas Celebrations
During the Second World War, pupils from Cranbrook Terrace School in Bethnal Green, east London, had adopted the HMS Anson. In 1946, they were treated to a Christmas party attended by two officers and ten ratings, who brought festive cheer to the classroom. In October 1947, the ship Highland Chieftain brought 200,000 turkeys to Britain to be frozen and stored for Christmas. Workers at Royal Victoria Dock, southeast London, showed off some of the birds shipped in from Argentina. Christmas 1947 is remembered as the stay-at-home Christmas, as postwar Britain struggled with the continued rationing of food and goods, making large celebrations difficult.
Post-War Christmas Celebrations
In the years following the war, Christmas celebrations began to return to normal. In 1948, youth clubs gathered at a bomb site at Elephant and Castle, south London, for a Christmas carol service. The photographer David Johnson shot a Christmas Eve scene at his family home, staged a few days earlier for production purposes. Paul, aged two, and Mark, aged three months, anticipated the arrival of Santa Claus with their Christmas wishes. Iris Hawkins of Eastbourne took her usual morning dip in December 1949, and Father Christmas rewarded her for braving the elements, greeting her on the beach with a gift and a kiss under the mistletoe.
Christmas Traditions in the 1950s
In the 1950s, Christmas celebrations continued to evolve. In 1951, Marie Hayday, originally from Brussels, was among the women passing on festive greetings at the Continental Telephone Exchange in the Faraday Building on Queen Victoria Street, central London. The same year, staff at J Lyons & Co were photographed during a taste test of their Christmas puddings mix at Cadby Hall in Hammersmith, west London. Eight-year-old twins caused their parents a fright when they went missing from their home in Chelsea, west London, on a walk to find Santa. After a police search, Cheslyn and David Baynes were found alive and well, and The Daily Graphic newspaper took them to meet the man himself at Selfridges department store.
Christmas Celebrations in the 1960s and Beyond
In the 1960s, Christmas celebrations continued to be an important part of British culture. In 1960, Harry Kerr photographed children with their cheeks pressed close to the glass of a shop window in Regents Street, staring longingly at the toys that they hoped might come their way on Christmas Day. Father Christmas clearly had a busy run-up to the festivities in 1961, taking a well-earned nap in the toy packing department at Harrods. In 1971, one hundred children from Belfast visited London, enjoying a pantomime in the West End and a tour of the Christmas lights, before a lunch party at Waltham Cross. The party was organized by Harry O’Byrne, a Dublin-born office manager in Bolton, who had heard of many parties being cancelled in Northern Ireland due to security problems.
Modern Christmas Celebrations
In recent years, Christmas celebrations have continued to evolve, with families and communities coming together to celebrate the holiday season. In 1981, two members of the Santa Claus Agency, which specializes in providing Father Christmases for parties, were captured in a wintry silhouette. Mark Lyndon (Father Christmas) and Ingrid De La Bije (Mother Christmas) traveled by bicycle to their appointments. In 1987, Karla Smith, Kelly Patterson, Kunj Hwa Choi, Seth Washington, and Jennita Hurley were stars of the show at West Hill Primary School in Wandsworth, south London, in a school nativity play. These images and stories provide a glimpse into the history and traditions of Christmas celebrations, showcasing the enduring spirit of the holiday season.
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