Figure 1.--Christmas 1958 with Ted, Tom, Terry and Timmy. It looks like the boys are about to go to bed in the evening. Notice the older boys wears a bathrobe and moccason socks. |
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Family practices varied. Tghe most common was for the children to come down to the living room when mom and dad woke them up or when they woke up themselves. There the presents would be arayed around the Christmas tree. Some parents did not set up the tree until the children went to bed, but most families set up the tree a week or two before Christmas and the children helped decorate. With young children the presents were not put under the tree until Christmas Eve because of the temptations involved. One impact during the 1950s was the increasing popularity of new secular characters which became Christmas icons. These includedf not only Rudolf, but Frosty, but also the Grinch. It was in America that the "Nutcracker" emerged as an important Christmas tradition. And economic prosperity over time transformed how Christmas was celebrated. The prosperity of the 1950s meant that parents could spend lavisly on the kids and this included working-class families. While Christmas in the 20th century became more commercial and secular, the heart of the Victorian tradition remained--Christmas as a central family-oriented event. After World War II a range of changes occurred. Family photographs of the kids became popular Christmas cards. Mother still dressed the children up for Christmas portraits (figure 1). "The Chritmas Story" is a wonderful movie view of Christmas in the 1950s. Radios and phonographs became increasingly inexpensive and a great present for teenagers. The '45 single was inexpensive and all the rage.
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