Christmas in July- 2024 Day 30

[sweetpumkinpye]

Christmas during the Great Depression​

When the economy collapsed, so did the banks and many factories ended up shutting down. The Middle Class became poor and the poor became desperate. Needless to say, practically no one had any real money, so Christmas gifts became items of necessity rather than gifts of whimsy.

Most everything that was received as gifts was either homemade or homegrown. Gifts were made by hand and great thought was given into the making of a gift. People were self-sufficient because they had to be or they and their families didn’t survive.

Mothers and grandmothers made dresses and aprons for girls from printed flour sacks. Boys got socks, maybe gloves or a scarf that was hand knitted often from yarn saved from another item. Mothers and fathers would spend many months making the few gifts to give out at Christmas often working at night after the children were in bed.













Christmas decorations were simple. Many people often used paper to make paper chains. A paste would be made by using flour and water and these decorations would be used to decorate the tree if the family had one or were hung with pride around the house. Other ornaments may have included hand carved wood ornaments, pine cones or greenery





Homemade stockings were hung over the fireplace or at the end of the bed. These did not contain much, often just an orange which was received with great delight as fruit was a delicacy during these times.

 

[Lori K]

Although difficult, it's an important time in the history of our family's lifetime. So much knowledge to be gained (and retained), yet so much is being lost. Thank you for reminding us of this period and the traditions that developed from those days. I look back on my family and am grateful for all that I've learned from them about this time peirod.

 

[Ahorsesoul]

Homemade stockings were hung over the fireplace or at the end of the bed. These did not contain much, often just an orange which was received with great delight as fruit was a delicacy during these times.
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I still remember going to the school for Santa to hand out stockings which had an orange in the bottom. Also remember my 8 yr olderer brother trying to give me a lot of candy and nuts for the orange. Remember deciding that if that orange was worth all that candy and nuts I had been keep it and find out why my brother put so much value on a piece of fruit. I was four at the time. lol

 

[sweetpumkinpye]

The Great Depression certainly had an impact on my family in a small way.
My Nanna was born in 1924 and I can remember her talking about money saving and house hold tips. I always thought it was so interesting.
I was talking to her one day about recycling and reusing items and she said that she had done it her whole life but she called it 'making do'.

My dad was born in 1935 and although he was too young to live through the height of the depression years he was always very resourceful and thrifty. My Grandfather, uncle and my dad would go out to the bush and hunt rabbits which they would barter with the neighbours for other useful items. They would also pick up the horse manure in their street (from the baker/ night cart man) and trade the manure for items. He loved back yard gardening and had a thriving garden most of my life. He was vehemently against owing anyone money. If you could not afford it then you could not have it. I think the only time he owed money was when they took out the small mortgage for our family home. He liked to get value out of a dollar where he could.

I think in a small way my interest in living at the farm, being self reliant and living simply has a little to do with what my parents and grandparents endured in their early lives.

 

[Holiday_Mom]

We had stockings with oranges and hard ribbon candy wrapped up in foil on Christmas because that's what my parents remember from their childhood. It's what their parents had when they were kids too. Eventually, we stopped getting the oranges and I tried that idea with my own children. It went on as long as I remembered the oranges but one Christmas I forgot and I just never got back to doing that tradition.

When I was little, my grandmother saved all the wrapping paper and ribbon to reuse. All of her gifts to us were home made. She said home made was better because it meant that someone was thinking of you while making it. She was little when the depression started. I imagine she heard that from her mother.

 

[jampss]

Love this info and all the sweet memories/ stories of your families.