Christmas (Group G)

Christmas

The Christmas holiday began way back in 336. It was not until 1870 that the United States made it a national holiday. Christmas was created to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Many traditions have sprang from this holiday such as Santa Clause, present opening on the 25th of December, carolers, A Christmas Carol, The Grinch, and chocolates of course. People practiced and celebrated this holiday in many different ways. Christianity plays a major role in the holiday, so many families teach their children growing up about the purpose of the holiday and what it means, while telling them also about Santa Clause coming on Christmas Eve. The 12 days of Christmas is also an important part of the holiday. As it may seem like a silly jingle, there are many underlying meanings behind the lyrics. Certain lyrics represent Christ, the Old and New Testament, the 4 gospels, the fruits of the spirit, and many more hidden connotations. Most families will put up a tree, decorate it, and string lights while listening to Christmas tunes. Christmas now has not changed much since 1924. It is still a huge celebration for many people then just as it is now. Jewell's family seemed to celebrate Christmas, as it looked like a big part of her life. 

Christmas/December in 1924

1924 was a fascinating year. The first ever Winter Olympics was held earlier this year in France. It held 16 countries and included sports such as " figure skating, speed skating, hockey, curling and more". The Immigration Act of 1924 or the Johnson-Reed Act was enforced, "limiting the number of immigrants allowed entry into the United States." President Coolidge, at the time, moved the national Christmas tree lighting from the center of the ellipse to the Sherman Plaza and the tree was living for the first time. 

Santa Clause

St. Nicholas, or Santa Clause, was turned into a fictitous "magical gift bringer" because of two stories written about him and his life. As St. Nicholas was a real person at one point, the stories were based around his life. Children are told to believe in this 'Santa Clause' or they will not recieve gifts. One of the stories is about three young girls who were saved from prositution and Nicholas delivers "three bags of gold" for their dowries. Some countries do not believe in the Saint anymore, but the United States is not one of those countries. 

Christmas Break

Jewell celebrated the Christmas holiday as you can see from this page. She saved some of her Christmas tags from presents and cards that she received. Florida State College of Women allowed the girls to go home for a break from school to celebrate this holiday, along with other holidays around the same time as Christmas. Today, Florida State University still allows students to take a break between semesters to enjoy their family and celebrate Christmas or whatever their religion commemorates.

"Merry Christmas Anyway"

"Merry Christmas Anyway" by J. P. McEvoy is a comic posted in the scrapbook. Looking into this poem, it is very difficult to find the history about it. J.P. McEvoy is a popular poet but not for this one particularly. It must  have meant something special to Jewell since we do can not look upclose at whats inside of the paper in the scrapbook. 

Schraffts Chocolates 

Jewell pasted a Schraffts Chocolate package from a candy bar. They began their buisiness in 1861 with candy gumdrops. The company was very successful in the beginning. Helme Products bought Schraffts in 1974. It was a very popular candy during Jewells time, but slowly went downhill because customers lost interest so they closed the business around 1981. The New York Times wrote an article about the company shutting down "because of declining consumer interest in expensive boxed chocolates." This box of chocolates meant something important to Jewell, as it is one of the biggest items on this page of the scrapbook.