Christmases Past (Updated from Last Year)

I posted some of this last year at Christmas and decided to post it again this year with a few extras at the end. I'll be back sometime after the new year - hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season. ~Ginger

From the journals:

In the early 1900’s, most Christmas shopping was done locally and from Sears & Roebuck and Montgomery Ward catalogs.  There was very little traveling to neighboring towns or to Lexington because few people owned automobiles.  Even though gasoline was very cheap, there was very little money.  If a person owned a horse and buggy, they could make the trip to Mt. Sterling, but it was time consuming.

Unlike children today, most children back then were well pleased if they received one gift and perhaps some hard candy or nuts.

Most folks either used cedar or pine for their Christmas trees because there were no artificial ones.  There were not any electric lights for trees then, so if people desired lights, they used candles.  This was extremely dangerous but most used them cautiously.  One of the most common decorations was popcorn on a string.  Possibly, garlands and/or tinsel grew out of the use of strung popcorn.  Homemade wooden ornaments painted with various colors and paper colored with watercolors or some of other kind of coloring were also popular.

A large part of the Christmas season was the preparation of food.  The making of candy, such as fudge, fondant, and cream candy, was not only a chore but also entertainment.  Baking cakes, usually fruit cakes, was a traditional custom for many families.  The author knew a lady who always had a fruitcake, a jam cake, a spice marble cake, a white layer cake, and a hickory nut cake all baked prior to Christmas Day.